Foodie Penpal: Month 10

Another month flies by and another great month of Foodie Penpal foods. I was paired with someone in Indiana that has an insulin intolerance - thus she prefers high protein, low sugar foods. I had never heard of this before, but how many people do you know that have a low intolerance to Vitamin C like myself? I put a nice package together for her with items from Penzey's and Brennans. To read more, here is her blog.

My Foodie Penpal (her blog) was from Alabama and told me to expect my package on a Monday. I came home from work and found a package on my front porch after a torrential downpour. Unfortunately, the box had seen better days and was soggy. I couldn't figure out if it was just rain, but I feared something inside must have broke.

I took it right into the bathtub to open (probably not the smartest spot thinking back on it, but luckily it turned out ok).

Turns out that a jar of pickles broke open in the box. I told her about this and she said that when the USPS worker was helping her wrap it all up, she noticed the deflating air packs and pointed it out the the worker. The worker said it would be fine and she would just stamp the box Fragile. (Typical response from USPS!!! Do they really not know how packages are received??? I never get them in nice shape!)

Anyways, besides not getting the pickles (and I love pickles), everything else made it in once piece. The letter was a little hard to read with the vinegar saturation, but I got the gist of it and I thank her for it.

Here are the goods -- all from Alabama! I love that she truly got me local goods. I try to do that too as much as I can and being as I have never been to 'Bama, I will experience it with my belly!

Whistle Stop Fried Green Tomato mix. I am not a huge tomato fan, but for the fact that the word "fried" is involved, this will have to happen soon!

Bama Strawberry Jam (at least I think its Strawberry. When I washed the pickles from the jar, the label disintegrated. I have seen this brand before but have never had it - I love me some jam on an english muffin. I'll finish up what I have in the fridge and then I have a date with this jar. 

Big Sky Granola = heaven. Although the clumps are larger, this is amazing granola. I take two pieces out for a morning snack and am good to go. The honey and almond taste so fresh and are real flavors - no fake products here!

Golden Rule Original BBQ Sauce - From what I can see online, this is a restaurant as well in Birmingham. BBQ is something that I put on a lot of things. I dip fries in BBQ, chicken, pork, beef - it all goes great with BBQ. I can't wait to open this bottle and try it. 

Pitas - I love making flatbreads with pitas and it said for ultimate freshness, store in the freezer until ready to use. They are safely in my freezer at the moment and hopefully I can make a pita soon. 

If you want to join the fun of the Foodie Penpal program (and maybe have as fun of an experience as I did this month), here are all the details.

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penplas is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

Foodie PenPal: Month 5

It's time to share my Foodie Penpal for January. I really enjoy this program and if you haven't joined yet, and are a foodie like me, you should really consider it. Here are the details from Lindsey at the Lean Green Bean Blog

 

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penplas is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

This month I was paired with Janelle from Sturgis, MI. She is a mother of 3 grown children and a grandma for 2 with another on the way. She works at a camp and retreat center in the food service - how awesome is that job? She has been in the penpal program for three months and told me to just surprise her. 

I put together a box of some of my most favorite things I have come across in the last few months. I love the Sonoma Jack cheeses I found a my local grocer as well as the individual hummus packets a former Foodie Penpal got me addicted too! I then headed over to Penzey's Spices, one of my fave cooking stores in the area and grabbed some great spices for her. Penzey's also gave me a catalog and a postcard to include in the box. I snagged a few recipes to include in the box while I was there. Here is what Janelle had to say about her box. 

Hi Sarah - My husband and I finished off the parmesan peppercorn cheese wedges in 2 days and I loved the hummus! I mixed some of the Turkish spice in some plain greek yogurt and dipped pita chips in it! it was delicious! The fig bar was great with my coffee for breakfast this morning!

I plan to use the Fox Point seasoning and the maple BBQ sauce on Super Bowl Sunday when we're hosting a party!

Thanks again for such a great foodie package!!

I received a box from Kendra in Lake Tahoe. She didn't even know it but I collect postcards from all over and now I have another to add to my collection. I haven't had a chance to try everything in the box yet, but here is what I got.

The pistachio crackers are almost like cookies and super addicting. I'm glad they are individually wrapped snack portions in the box or I would have devoured it all by now. I will have to find these soon as my stock is running low. 

  

I haven't had the candy cane cocoa yet but, perfect for the cold days ahead.   

Love spiced ciders and with the cold Wisconsin weather we are having lately (except for 60 degrees on Tuesday), I think this will be lovely to have when it's -25 wind chill tomorrow!

 I have kept the candy bar in tact for now because I know once I open it, it will be gone! I love the sea salt chocolate combo and almonds have grown on me so much lately! Maybe I'll break it up and share it at my friend's Super Bowl party on Sunday. Then we can all get chubby together :) Sharing is caring right?

Speaking of Super Bowl, I plan to make a new dip from my aunt for the party - watch for that party recap and recipe coming soon. If you are looking for other treats to make for the Superbowl, here is an older post with lots of easy recipes. I plan to bring my Packers mug from another former Foodie Penpal and drink from it in honor of Driver's announced retirement from football this weekend. 

So that was my Month 5 box. I'm already signed up for February's and if you want to join, sign up here before Feb. 4.