When I received an invite from GLAD to attend a sandwich masterclass with my ‘little one’, I initially thought ‘but my little one isn’t so little!’.  Then amusing visions of my 6’2″ ‘little one’ attending a sandwich masterclass with hip high kids filled my head.  The thought appealed to me no end, so much so I put it out there on my private Facebook profile to see what friends thought of the idea.  I received many a ‘LOL’ and ‘Do It!’ responses.  Which resulted in a ‘yes’ RSVP to GLAD’s kind invitation.

This is how my ‘little one’, Josh, and I ended up at Food, Wine & Dine surrounded by real little ones and a bunch of mummy bloggers.  Actually a first time experience for me with mummy bloggers and I was quite glad to have my 6’2″ security blanket with me for company, they all seemed to know each other, we were definitely the odd ones out. Read more →

Share

It has been giveaway central at Belly Rumbles leading up to Christmas.  This is our third and final for the year, but before I tell you about this one, a bit of housekeeping on the last few competitions.

Appletiser PeepToe Voucher Giveaway:  The $200 voucher was won by Dilhara.
Gloria Jean’s & Caffitaly Giveaway:  The two major prize winners were Michele T & Rachel R , the runner up prize goes to Kaya.
Congratulations to all the winners.  I have been in contact via the email address you provided.

I always have a stash of roasted salted pistachios at home.  You could say I am a little addicted to this particular nut.  I recently found out that pistachios are naturally cholesterol free, are one of the nuts lowest in kilojoules, lowest in fat and highest in fibre, as well as on e of the most nutritious nuts you can buy.

Who knew I was making the right decision all these years over other nuts!

I did spy the Wonderful Pistachio range when I was doing my weekly shopping, but declined on buying any of their flavoured nuts, instead I stayed true to what I like and purchased the Roasted & Salted variety.  By coincidence a week later Wonderful Pistachio contacted me.  Having enjoyed their Roasted & Salted nuts, I was quite happy for them to send their flavoured ones to me to sample.

Beside the Roasted & Salted, Wonderful Pistachio is also available in Sweet Chilli and Salt & Pepper flavours.

Read more →

Share

Christmas has definitely arrived here at Belly Rumbles.  Have you guys entered the wonderful Appeltiser competition yet?  We are giving away a $200 voucher for you to spend at PeepToe any way your little heart desires.  If you haven’t entered then be quick as entries close Monday 10th December at 5pm.

The lovely people at Gloria Jean’s are giving away prizes to three lucky Belly Rumbles readers, in order to celebrate the launch of their new high quality coffee capsules.  There are two major prizes and one runner up prize to giveaway.

Gloria Jean’s new coffee capsules are 100% ground Arabica coffee.  The freshness of the roasted ground coffee is locked in to deliver a fresh espresso shot with delicate aromas.  Each capsule contains 8 grams of coffee, many other brands only contain 4 or 5 grams.  This means you a  full bodied espresso from every Gloria Jean’s capsule.  The capsules can be used in any Caffitaly machine or the very popular Aldi Expressi machine. Read more →

Share

I was recently approached to get on board the Appletiser ‘Get your sparkle on’ campaign by way of Instagram.  If you follow me on Instagram, and I really hope you do, you would have seen some photos posted sharing rules I live my life by and mention of a great giveaway.

Perfectly in time for Christmas, Appletiser are generously giving one lucky Belly Rumbles reader a $200 PeepToe voucher.  All you have to do is leave a comment and let us know, what rules you live your life by.  Don’t you love simple and easy competitions!

I posted five photos on Instagram that represent my rules using the hashtag #appletisersparkle, I encourage you to tag and share your photos too!

It was harder than I thought to narrow down just five rules.  There are so many rules in life and a lot of them are quite boring.  There are the obvious ones regarding family and friends.  I am an animal lover to the core and I adore nature.  So many rules, but only five to share, so here they are; Read more →

Share

We have definitely become a nation of Cooks.  Did you know that around 52% of Australians eat their main meal at home seven days a week?  It is with this in mind that Winning Appliances decided to create a community for Australian food lovers to share recipes.

John Winning, CEO of Winning Appliances, today launched the Best Home Chef website.  Not only a place to share recipes, but also the hub of a national cooking competition.  Enter for a chance to win over $100,000 worth of prizes, including $50,000 worth of kitchen appliances.

There are also six celebrity chef brand mentors involved who will be sharing their favourite recipes;  Peter Evans, My Kitchen Rules star (Wolf), Mark Best, Chef at Marque Restaurant (AEG), Adam D’Sylva, Chef at Coda Bar & Restaurant (Siemens), Anthony Fischbeck, Australian Chef (Scholtès), Luca Ciano, Chef Consultant (Smeg) and Massimo Mele, Ready Steady Cook star (Winning Appliances). Read more →

Share

Sydney is currently full of dining bargains to be had.  Unless you are dining out during prime time Saturday night, there are deals a plenty at some of the most popular restaurants around town.

These past twelve months haven’t been fruitful for many Sydney restaurants.  We have seen some of the big names in the business collapse.  The Bilson group of restaurants went into voluntary receivership this time last year and the Becasse group a couple of months ago.  Also gone are Ad Lib, Berowra Waters Inn, Bird Cow Fish, Cotton Duck, Etch, Manly Pavilion, Montpellier Public House, Smiths of Bayswater, Rambutan and many others.

There is a bright side to this doom and gloom, and that is, customers are benefiting.  Restaurateurs are enticing us to eat with them like never before. Read more →

Share

I am not a dessert person, not at all.  If dining out, often when others are having dessert, I will opt for the cheese plate.  It will take something exceptional to head for something sweet, but there is one general exception.  Crème brulee, if I see it on the menu, then there is a high chance it will be chosen.  The magic of cracking through that thin toffee layer to get to a creamy custard wins me over every time.

Read more →

Share

I am not a breakfast person, never have been and never will be.  Brunch on the other hand is a totally different story.  Sunday brunch would have to be my ultimate meal.  Lazy sleep in, Sunday papers and a decadent breakfast.

The great thing about brunch is that if it is heading towards lunch, the you can always add alcohol.  Bloody Marys are fantastic for those who are suffering a hangover from a heavy Saturday night.  Ultimately for me it is a glass of sparkling white.  Please don’t think I am having a boozy Sunday brunch every weekend, but on this occasion I had a recipe I wanted to try as well as a bottle of Wolf Blass’ Yellow Label Pinot Noir Chardonnay Sparkling. Read more →

Share

Oh how I am praying that the rain eases in time for the big parade tomorrow.  Even though I am not LGBTQ or I, Mardi Gras is one of my favourite times of the year.  I may no longer venture out to watch the parade live, but I will be enjoying a cocktail and watching it on TV.

Cocktails were always on the cards for Mardi Gras.  This year, when Gillian of Casella Wines contacted me in regard to creating ‘winetails’ with Yellow Tail wines, timing was just perfect. Read more →

Share