chicken schnitzel.

Although this blog is called Baking with Maggie I also love cooking meals that work beyond the oven, although its not often this happens. One of my favourite meals to cook is chicken schnitzel and my signature pumpkin, feta and rocket & spinach salad. I started cooking this for my best friend who ONLY eats chicken, yes Becky, I'm talking about you. But after a while it just became my go-to chicken dish. It's also great when I accidentally overcook as you can use the chicken schnitzel the next day for lunch in a sandwich or something :)

I use to buy pre-made schnitzel but found that this way I knew what ingredients was being used and sometimes ends up much cheaper.

There's no specific serving quantities this recipe makes as it depends on the size of the chicken breast and how many you buy, but as a guideline one chicken breast can be halved and therefore make two decent sized schnitzel.

INGREDIENTS:

• Chicken breast - one chicken breast, as mentioned before, makes two schnitzels
• Eggs
• Plain flour
• Bread crumbs (I use wholemeal)
• Salt & Pepper

METHOD:

1. Pour out some plain flour and bread crumbs on separate plates
2. Crack two-three eggs (this may vary depending on how many schnitzels you're making) and crack some salt and pepper before a quick whisk
3. Cut chicken breasts into half, sideways...if that makes sense
4. Get some gladwrap and cover the chicken, then use a glass bottle and flatten the chicken until about 2-3mm thick - the thinner it is, the quicker it will cook
5. Once flattened, cover chicken in plain flour, then dip into egg wash before covering in bread crumbs
6. I like to double crumb, so if you want to, just dip the piece of chicken through the egg wash again before crumbing it again
7. Repeat until all of the chicken has been crumbed
8. Now, coat a pan with oil and wait till it's hot before putting the chicken in
9. Cook chicken on either side until golden brown and VOILA! Serve with a side of pumpkin feta salad or some potato bake!

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the cupcake bakery.

I LOVE cupcakes, so much so that my blog's logo is of a cupcake. So when I first heard of The Cupcake Bakery about 5years ago (it was the first of it's kind back then) I was ecstatic, but I was even more ecstatic to find out they were opening up a permenant stall at my local shopping centre, Rhodes. I could finally have my fix of non-crappy cafe cupcakes without needing to bake a whole batch for myself. The best thing about The Cupcake Bakery is that because they're a franchise (ie. the cupcakes come out of one place) you know the quality is going to be consistantly good.

I've tried a few of their flavours over the years, but I can't stray past my favourite the red velvet. They have a few adventureous flavours and a few extravagant looking cupcakes (like the lemon meringue). They're a little pricier than other cupcakes of similar quality, but because I've known of them the longest and have had consistant quality I can't help but go back.

How much for their cupcakes?
A standard flavour like my favourite the red velvet is $3.80 each or $42 for a dozen.
The deluxe flavours like the lemon meringue mentions above is $4.50 each or $51 for a dozen.

Find them:
They have several locations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane - so check out their locations! I'm so glad there's one in Rhodes now, I kind of want a job there but I doubt they'll make any sales while I'm behind the counter - "Oh? You want a dozen red velvet cupcakes? Just let me taste a few of them for you first" *nom nom nom* "oops, sorry I ate them all..."

Image from @lpmmags Instagram

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chocolate coconut balls.

There are certain smells, tastes and sounds that remind you of specific moments or induces a sense of nostalgia - chocolate coconut balls is one of those things for me. These deliciously innocent chocolate coconut bites of heaven casts my memory back to when I was just a wee lass and making these in my aunty's small kitchen with my cousin. Although these are more a Christmas treat, we made them whenever we craved these little bites of deliciousness.

It was weird though, because it had been so long since I last made these the ingredient list had to be changed. When I was younger we used golliwog biscuits, which have been discontinued due to it's racist nature - so I have subtituted that with something else :)

This recipe makes approximately 20 balls with 3cm diameter.

INGREDIENTS:

• 250g packet of milk arrowroot biscuits
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2  cup desiccated coconut (plus a little extra for rolling in)
• 400g tin of condensed milk - I used the skim condensed milk

METHOD:

1. Crush the biscuits and place in a mixing bowl - the smaller the biscuit pieces, the smoother your chocolate coconut balls will be
2. Add cocoa powder and coconut, and mix through crushed biscuits
3. Pour in condensed milk
4. Use a silver spoon and take a small amount of the mixture and use your other hand to mould the topside of the ball then remove the ball from the spoon and coat in the coconut - repeat for the rest of the mixture
5. Once all the balls have been made, pop into the fridge to chill for 30mins
6. VOILA! Enjoy these bite sized Christmas treats :)

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slim secrets.

Recently I was gifted a lovely gift bag full of Slim Secrets goodies to try. I opened the bag and was slightly overwhelmed by the amount of products they have in their range, so instead of choosing what I was going to have every day I'd do a lucky dip to see what I got to try for the day and here's my verdict.

Guilt Free Potato Chips: Cheese & Onion
The taste of these were fantastic, tasted just like the flavour you'd get from a normal packet of cheese & onion chips, if not better. However the gluten free aspect gave them a slightly odd texture, but you get over that very quickly.

Mintabolism Boost: Cool Mint Choc
I absolutely loved this. I've always loved mint chocolate however the best thing about this is the flavours are created with green tea extracts! This was perfect is curbing my sweet tooth craving for the afternoon.

Wanted! Less Than 100 Calories: Vanilla Almond
When I read the flavour I was excited about the vanilla, but not about the almonds however this was amazingly tasty! You couldn't tell there are almonds in it and I loved the sweetness of the vanilla in the chia seeds!

Wanted! Less Than 100 Calories: Juicy Apple & Cinnamon
This was delicious! The apple made it nice and sticky, and sweet. This was perfect for the afternoon snack to tie me over to dinner!

Wanted! Less Than 100 Calories: Peach Perfection
This was amazing! Better than the muesli bars I usually have! The chia seeds had a light quality, almost popcorny and I loved that! I've never had chia seeds before and they taste amazing! There were also fruit pieces and the bottom was dipped in yogurt!! I've never had a peach flavour muesli bar before, and peach being one of my favourite fruits, I absolutely loved it! I'm definitely stocking up on this!

Wanted! Less Than 100 Calories: Cranberry, Choc & Nuts
What more can you ask for? Chia seeds, which I discovered my love for with the other slim secret bars, chocolate and cranberries! Super tasty and you don't feel guilty afterwards!!

Designer Cookie: Choc Chip
The perfect treat when you're craving a bit of chocolate! Tasted alright but had a slightly odd texture due to the gluten free nature. Just make sure you don't keep it in your handbag in the same compartment as everything else like I did, I opened it and it looked more like crumble than cookie.

Designer Cookie: Trail Mix
This was a lot nicer than the choc chip one! I was skeptical after having the other cookie but this was delicious!! I can't explain how amazing it tasted but I'm definitely getting more of these!

Afternoon Snack-Attack: Choc Caramel Decadence
This was absolutely delicious! I loved how it was more a chocolate bar than a muesli style bar compared to what I had previously had. This curbed my craving for chocolate while satisfying my hungry - perfect!

Craving Crusher: Cookies & Cream
Words can't explain how amazing this one tastes! I love cookies & cream and although this is made for extracts of plants (green tea and neopunita) you wouldn't expect to make cookies and cream, this tasted better than any other cookies & cream I've ever tasted. Perfect to nip that sweet craving in the bud and tie you over to your next meal!

Morning Rev-Up: Cafe Latte
The moment I opened the wrapper I was hit with the fragrant smell of coffee. The best thing about it is it's like eating coffee, no need to have your muesli bar + coffee this bar has it all-in-one. The low GI also ensured it was filling. Usually after a run I'd e starving and inhale a kilo worth of food, but all I had was this and a punnet of strawberries which tied me over to a late lunch! Impressive, hey?

Night Time Binge-Buster: Berries Drizzled In White Choc
This was so tasty! Really is perfect for that midnight snack everyone craves every now and again.


All in all the Slim Secrets products really live up to their motto - 'designed to fill you up not out!'.
Thank you to the girls at Sweaty Betty for letting me try out these fantastic products! These products were so good I've placed an order to replenish my snack drawer! (I placed an order of over $100 when that's how much I earn over one shift - just to show you how much I love these products!)

Image taken from @lpmmags Instagram

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endeavour growers ale.

As summer comes around and the light of day lasts just that little bit longer, the natural thing to do as an Aussie is to kick back after work with a beer. I love hitting up a pub after work or after uni to relax with a nice cold cider in hand, but beer has never been something I've overly enjoyed. The only moments you will see me with a real beer in hand is when I'm too poor to afford the extra few dollars for a cider during happy hour (happy hour beers can be as low as $2.50!). So when I tried Endeavour's beer I was a little hesitant.

I'm not going to lie, this tasted like every beer I've ever had, and it wasn't something I enjoyed but my boyfriend on the other hand loved it and happily polished off my bottle and the rest of the pack. So for those beer drinkers out there, this beer has the vote of approval from a very picky beer drinker.

A six pack is RRP $15.90 and is stocked at Endeavour.

Image courtesy of Trish Nicol PR

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pumpkin, feta with rocket & spinach salad.

This salad is my signature salad. I make it as a side for most of my meals or just as lunch. It's quick, it's simple (I just taught my boyfriend how to make this, so yeah, it's simple) and it's healthy, well...depending of whether you used light feta and how much of it you use...

This recipe makes approximately 3-4 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• One bag of rocket & spinach salad mix - the one I buy from is about 150g per bag
• Half a butternut pumpkin
• 200g feta cheese - every now and again I would use light or reduced fat
• Paprika - I like using the spicy paprika oppose to the sweet
• Salt & Pepper
• Dash of oil

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C
2. Skin and cut pumpkin into bite-sized chunks
3. Lightly coat pumpkin in oil and season with paprika and pepper, generously and crack a little bit of salad then rub the mixture in thoroughly on a baking tray
4. Pop tray into oven for approximately 30mins, or until slightly golden
5. Put a handful of salad mix into a bowl, crush some feta and top with pumpkin
6. VOILA! Simple, healthy and most importantly, tasty salad to have either as a side or as a meal!

Image from @lpmmags Instagram.

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max brenner, newtown.

Attention all chocolate lovers, Max Brenner is THE place to go for all your chocolate cravings! I go there whenever I catch up with my friends, and it helps that they're located in all the right places (read: located near places I always grab lunch at etc.). I love going there to get my chocolate fix and it helps that they're always serve the best quality chocolate based desserts!

These desserts are from three separate occasions (if only one could eat so many desserts in one sitting...). All of them are absolutely fantastic! But just in case you want to know more about each dessert, keep reading.

First up, the brownie. I highly recommend you share this. It's small, but potent. The ice-cream is also recommended because it balances out the richness of the brownie!
Second, the crepes. These were absolutely delicious! Very filling though. The bananas were perfectly warm and works amazingly with the chocolate sauce and ice-cream!
Third, the waffles. I chose the tutti-frutti opposed to the classic because I had this during a breakfast catch up and figured a bit of fruit makes it more healthy and therefore more breakfast appropriate.

Find them:
I usually go to the Max Brenner in Newtown or the one near Broadway as I study at Sydney Uni, but I've been to some all around Sydney.
Newtown: 142-146 King St
Ultimo: 175-179 Broadway
Have a look at their other locations here!

Images from @lpmmags Instagram.

 Choc-Nut Fudge Brownie (with ice-cream), $8.50 - without ice-cream $5.80

 Banana Praline Crêpes, $15.50

Tutti-Frutti Waffle (for one), $14 - for two $18.50

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mocha flourless cake.

I decided this week to bake something that my boyfriend's sister would enjoy seeing as she jets off to the US today for a post-HSC trip. She loves chocolate and so do I, so what better treat for her than a bit of chocolate before she leaves? I even bought a whole book on chocolate recipes, and boy is it going to be fun working through that book!!

For some reason this recipe gave me enough batter to make two cakes the same height...BUT
This recipe (is suppose) to make 8-10 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 350g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped - I used a block, so I just broke it up in to a few pieces
• 250g (1 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 10 large eggs, separated
• ¼ cup (60ml) milk
• 1½ (300g) white sugar
• OPTIONAL: ½ cup (125ml) whipped cream to decorate

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 150˚C
2. Butter 10" (25cm) circular spring form pan
3. Melt the chocolate, butter and coffee in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water - be sure to stir regularly to prevent burning - once melted, set aside to cool
4. Beat the egg yolks and milk in a bowl with an electric mixer on high until pale and thick
5. Fold egg yolk mixture into chocolate mixture
6. Beat the egg whites and sugar with an electric mixer on high until stiff peaks form
7. Fold egg white mixture into chocolate mixture
8. Spoon mixture in to prepared pan
9. Bake until firm in the centre, approximately 45mins
10. VOILA! You've got yourself a mocha flourless cake! Serve with a dollop of whipped cream (or vanilla custard) and you're set :)

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ichiban boshi, sydney.

I love Japanese food. My friends all know this so my good friend took me to her favourite ramen place, Ichiban Boshi, conveniently located right next to Kinokuniya in Sydney's Galleries of Victoria. Now, I'm quite a small person so I usually don't eat all that much food but despite the massive serving sizes at Ichiban, I managed to polish off all of my ramen with ease.

Their Tantan-men is the most popular choice, which is what myself and two other of my friends ordered. My other friend had ramen earlier that day so decided to opt for the Katsu-ju Chicken which is served with rice.

Find them:
I went to the Ichiban next to Kinokuniya in Sydney CBD however they have several other stores that you can check out!
Bondi Junction: Shop 1, 171-173 Oxford St

They also have one up in Queensland -
Southport: Shop 1, Cecil Hotel Complex, Scarborough St

Edamame, $4.80

 Katsu-ju Chicken, $11

Tantan-men, $13

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frangelico spiced highball.

This was my favourite cocktail when I attended the Frangelico Master Class. Much like the first cocktail, the Frangelico Lime & Soda, this one is a very refreshing cocktail! When I first read the ingredient list I was rather put off by the ginger beer, it's not something I enjoy drinking, but after having this my feelings towards ginger beer has changed! Thanks Frangelico ;) Mmm now I'm craving one...

This recipe makes one serving.

INGREDIENTS:

• 45ml Frangelico
• 15ml fresh lemon juice
• 30ml cloudy apple juice
• 30ml ginger beer

METHOD:

1. Pour Frangelico, lemon juice and apple juice into glass shaker filled to top with ice (it's very important to fill the ice to the very top!)
2. Put metal bottom to glass shaker - hit the bottom of the metal shaker to tighten to glass
3. Carefully turn shaker over, holding both top and bottom and shake!
4. Strain into tall glass filled with ice - leaving a little space at the top
5. Top with ginger beer
6. Garnish with lemon wedge and grated nutmeg
7. VOILA! Pop in a straw and enjoy!

 Image courtesy of @lpmmags Instagram

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tiramisu.

I fell in love with tiramisu at the same time I fell in love with coffee, and when I was old enough the "adult" version with a shot of Frangelico made it that much better.

So, I decided, seeing as yesterday was so hot, that a cold dessert was required and settled on a tiramisu.

This recipes makes 6-8 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 cups (500g) mascarpone 
• Pinch of salt
• 20 sponge finger biscuits
• 2 cups strong black (espresso) coffee
• 150g dark chocolated, grated

METHOD:

1. Beat egg yolks with sugar until pale and creamy
2. Carefully fold in mascarpone
3. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff and fold into mixture
4. Spread a thin layer of this cream at the bottom of your dish
5. Soak sponge finger biscuits in the coffee before layering on top of the cream in the dish
6. Cover with a layer of cream and top with some grated chocolate
7. Repeat this until all the ingredients are used up - I made two layers with this recipe
8. Put into fridge for 3 hours to chill and VOILA! You've got yourself some tasty tiramisu!

Note: This recipe contains raw eggs - so use organic or free-range eggs to avoid any risk of salmonella.

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pablo & rusty's, epping.

I love meeting up with friends in their "hometown" (read: their suburb) because I get to be taken to new places I would never have been to on my own, it's local knowledge that you need a guide for!

So when I first met up with my friend in her hometown of Epping (the Ping!) she took me to Pablo & Rusty's right next to the train station. I absolutely loved it the first time so decided that we'd meet there again!

It's a cute little cafe that serves amazing coffee and even better food! The ingredients are all organic, natural and healthy which just makes it that much better! Another plus is that the food and coffee isn't overly expensive! My meal (toastie and coffee) only cost me $10!

Find them:
I went to the one in Epping: 42 Langston Place, but they have several locations!
Lane Cove: The Plaza, 13 Burns Bay Rd
Gordon: 1 St Johns Ave
Sydney Olympic Park: Jacaranda Square, Cnr Dawn Fraser Ave & Park St

They also have a HQ which JUST serves coffee and can be found at: 19 Porter St, Ryde.

 Bacon & Free Range Egg Roll with Tomato Relish, $7.50

Image courtesy of @lpmmags Instagram

 Mango Nectar Chia Pudding, $6.50

Kurobuta Ham & Madden Cheese Toastie, $6.50

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spinach & feta pastizzis.

I first made this recipe for a picnic I had with my friends three years ago and ever since this has been my renown dish that I whip out whenever I need to bring food - well before I started baking dessers... Many of my friends are vegetarian so this recipe was perfect for picnic days so everyone could have some.

This recipe makes 40 small, 20 big pastizzis.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 brown onions, diced
• [amount] g chopped spinach - I use frozen, so make sure you defrost and strain it before use
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• [amount] g feta cheese
• [amount] g cottage cheese
• 10 sheets of puff pastry
• 50g of unsalted butter, melted

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C
2. Dice brown onions, and defrost and chop spinach
3. Brown onions in a pan, then add chopped spinach
4. Once spinach is lightly cooked, add eggs, feta and cottage cheese
5. Once cheese has melted, set mixture aside to cool
6. Cut pastry into in or into 4 strips, spoon a bit of cooled mixture onto one end and fold into triangle down the strip
7. Place pastizzis onto oven tray lined with baking paper, lightly brush melted butter over pastizzi
8. Pop into oven until golden
9. VOILA! Take them to a picnic, or just kick back with a pastizzi...or five.
10. Note: You don't have to bake them all at once as it does make a fair bit. You can have them set on the oven tray without butter and pop into the fridge for a day or two before baking. Just brush the butter on before baking :)

Image courtesy of @lpmmags Instagram

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oliver brown, rhodes.

Confession: I love chocolate. So when I spotted Oliver Brown at my local shopping centre I knew it would be a crime not to try it, and boy am I glad I did!

Oliver Brown have the most spectacular selection of gelato and use lovely, creamy Belgium chocolate as their core ingredient. Me being me (read: a dessert whore - when I go out with my family, or even just my boyfriend, I co-ordinate everyone to get a different dessert that I want to try so I can steal some...) I got the OB Ice-Cream Treat which gives you 3 scoops of gelato, bread sticks, Oreos and a HUGE "shot" aka pot of Belgium chocolate. All of this was only $12.50!

When they brought out the dessert I most definitely wasn't expecting what is pictured below! First of all, the fruit loops put me off a little. I've never liked Fruit Loops growing up as a kid, and to be honest, it was a bit of a shock seeing them put so generously on a dessert that sounded so elegant. The bread sticks also put me off a little but realised very quickly how perfect they were for dipping (read: spooning) the chocolate into my greedy mouth.

Find them:
They have a few locations around Sydney, but the one I went to was in Rhodes shopping center near Target.
Top Ryde - Ground Floor Shop C3000, Top Ryde Shopping Centre
Chatswood Westfield - Shop 212, Westfield Shopping Centre
Rhodes - Shop 51, Rhodes Shopping Centre

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frangelico lime & soda.

This recipe is easy and extremely refreshing! Perfect for a relaxing day and forgetting about reality, even if just temporarily.

This recipe makes one serving.

INGREDIENTS:

• 45ml Frangelico
• Soda water
• Two lime wedges
• Ice

METHOD:

1. Pour Frangelico into tall glass filled with ice
2. Top with soda water
3. Squeeze in two lime wedges and stir
4. VOILA! Your perfect summer drink!

Brand Ambassador Oliver Stuart making the Frangelico Lime & Soda at the Master Class

Image courtesy of Trish Nicol PR

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apple pie.

My favourite winter dessert would have to be the apple pie. Luckily, Sydney's weather is a bit bipolar so I can still get away with making/eating apple pie in spring ;) My love for apple pies first started in Year 11 when I fell in love with the pie maker, Lee Pace, from my favourite TV show Pushing Daisies. I would frequently buy whole (full-sized) apple pies from my local Woolies and plonk down in front of the TV and polish it off while watching Pushing Daisies. However, Woolies frozen food being Woolies frozen food, it never tasted or looked as good as what the lanky pie maker was making on the show. I didn't even consider making apple pies until second year university when my baking was reignited!

So, here's my very simple apple pie recipe. Best serve with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream ;)

This recipe makes approx. 8-10 slices.

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 Granny Smith apples
• Two squares of short crust pastry - I promise to start making this one day, I just have some left over in the freezer
• Ground cinnamon
• ½ cup caster sugar
• ¼ cup water

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C
2. Lay over one sheet of short crust pastry on tart tin, trimming the excess
3. Poke holes on the base and place baking paper over base and pour out baking beans, or rice and place in oven until lightly golden
4. While base is cooking, skin and core apples, and cut into wedges (or dice them, depends on what you like)
5. Put apples, sugar, cinnamon and water into large saucepan over medium heat, stir regularly and don't let the sugar burn! Burnt sugar is very bitter.
6. Once all the apples have soften, pour apple mixture into tart tin
7. Place second sheet of short crust over the top of the apple pie, fork down the edges
8. Put three slits on the top of the pie
   Optional: decorate with three leaves made out of the excess pastry
9. Put pie in oven until golden brown
10. VOILA! Your apple pie is ready to be devoured! Scoop a bit of vanilla ice-cream and enjoy the warm treat!

Image courtesy of @lpmmags Instagram

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night noodle markets, sydney.

Every year when spring hits Sydney, Hyde Park gets transformed into the perfect location to get your noodle hit. With various Asian restaurants taking part you get a variety of cuisines to choose from, some might say too many. Let's just say my boyfriend wasn't too thrilled that we did 4-5 laps of the markets before I settled on a place to eat from - albeit a slightly biased choice.

So what did we have?
The choice I made was a little biased, I chose to dine on something from my friend's mum's malaysian restaurant Jackie M. It's a renown restaurant hailing from Concord's food strip Majors Bay Rd. I use to get my friend to bring in food from the restaurant for my lunch. Eating the Char Kway Teow with chicken and chili, at only $15 for a giant portion, reminded me of my highschool years.

If you missed out on the markets, don't fret it'll be back next year. But in the meantime why not visit Jackie M? I know where I'm going the next time I'm in Concord!

Find them:
85 Majors Bay Rd, Concord

Wild berry Rekorderlig to go with our dinner

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