Foodie Love from Pennsylvania

This is late, I know. I have been quite busy juggling work, family time, and a little bit of travel. But, oh, how I do ge so excited when the doorbell rings and a package stuffed with goodies awaits me.  What can I say? I love surprises

This box came from Shelley in Pennsylvania.  The barbecue chips were tasty, and so were the coffee cakes.
There were some Hershey bars and Reese's, which had to wait until after lent, but didn't last very long after.  I have yet to try the funnel cake mix, but I have always wanted to make one.  :)

Shoo fly pie! I had only ever heard of this in books. It was delicious!

I made this pasta with mushrooms and some nutty tofu balls.  It didn't last long. 

Foodie Love from Savannah

Agh! I'm late again...

February's box came from Bridget in Savannah, Georgia

 here's the lovely note she included in my box. :)

 oh man.  It's like she KNOWS me.  Spicy kale chips did not last very long, and they were the kind of spicy that creeps up on you.   Pure green protein...I used to subsist on this back in my running days. Oh and the cutest little honey bear I've ever seen.

I can never really say it enough. I love tea.

 Oh. My. Gosh. No one's every sent me a honeycomb.  I just need to wait for a few more of my fellow sugar fiends to come over so we can devour this together.

 Mmm. Chocolate.  Enough said.

Foodie Love from Walla Walla

I am ashamed. This post is ridiculously late, but life in the past couple of months has proven more hectic than I expected.  Nonetheless, here it is: 

November's box came from Megan from Walla Walla, Washington.  You can find her lovely blog here. Megan asked me if I had any preferences. I told her that aside from being vegetarian, I love surprises. 

And surprised I was.  It never occurred to me that you could pack produce!   

Three kinds of Washington apples and an onion!  Pictures of these are lost on a chip somewhere in my house...which I will hopefully find later and post.  

The sweet onion went great with the turkey-less roast that I got from Trader Joe’s. 

And my first Thanksgiving turkey in years.  Best turkey I've ever had. ;)

Any time chocolate and popcorn get put together, I'm there.

 Walla Walla Sweet Onion Mustard. It's amazing on the caprese sandwiches I've been making.

 My uncle kept asking me if I had already taken pictures of these biscotti so that he could eat them.

 My family and I marveled over the crust on this bread.  It tasted so good with the spaghetti we had for dinner one night. :)  And the croutons were perfect on top of salad and dipped in a roasted garlic and butternut squash soup we devoured.

She also included some information about Walla Walla that makes me want to go up there and visit. :)

Thank you Megan! Every bit of it was delicious! 

Foodie Love from Boston

This month, my Foodie Penpal came from Boston.  Her name is Tegan, and she sent a package with some things that make me think that we'd get along pretty well in real life.  

Her letter mentioned that she wished she could send me something from a local farmer's market that she worked at over the summer, which sounds heavenly especially because I've worked one around here.

The package included these cute little bottles of infused olive oil and vinegar.  I totally dig stuff that's homemade, and the fact that I can toss it in a salad is just an added bonus.  

Then, I almost jumped up and down when I saw it.  Taza Mexican Dark Chocolate...with CINNAMON.  People look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them that I love cinnamon and chocolate together.  So delicious that I was tempted to just eat it all right then and there.  

Goat's milk caramels. I opened them before I even thought to take a picture.  Amazing!  

And last but not least...this adorable bottle of maple syrup.  I haven't tried it yet.  I'm sure it'll go great with my waffles.   

Foodie Love from Utah

When my first Foodie Penpal box arrived at the house, I had to share it with my mother, who also loves surprises and receiving things in the mail.

"Food penpals? Does such a thing exist?" my mom asked.
"Yes," I said, and proceeded to tell her about Lindsey's blog and the great program she set up.
Intrigued, we both opened the box as quickly as we could.  She quickly became a fan.
I was more than thrilled to find out that my first box was filled with a whole bunch of homemade sweetness!

My box was sent by Jenny, who lives in Utah and authors the blog Royal Little Lambs.

Here's the note Jenny included in my box:

I am not sure I can express how excited I get when people make me things.  Really.  In my opinion, a jar of homemade jam beats a bouquet of flowers.  Did I mention that I also love jars?  And this box came with six of them!  Jenny cans her own stuff. How cool is that?

My box included:

• Blackberry jam
• Pickles
• Apple sauce
• Apple Butter
• A jar of raw honey
• Raspberry jam

After this picture I had to pause to make myself a sandwich with the blackberry jam.  It was heavenly.

I asked Jenny if there was anything in particular that Utah is famous for, and she sent me some Slide Ridge Raw Honey.  I haven't opened it yet, but I know it'll go fast the second I do!

Thank you again Jenny! You are awesome!