Foodie Penpal June Reveal

Another project I found whilst browsing Pinterest was Foodie Penpals. What stated as a small project in America organized by Lindsay at theleangreenbean  in September 2011 has now turned into something much bigger. Carol Anne from thisisrocksalt bravely took on the challenge of bringing the scheme over the pond so we could take part too. The basic premise of Foodie Penpals is that every month, you are assigned one person to send a thoughtful foodie parcel to and a different person will send to you.

So this was the first month that I've taken part and I couldn't wait to get started but as I had just missed this month's deadline Carol Anne paired me with a Penpal called Emma to do a direct swap with. Emma and I exchanged a few emails to suss out each others likes and dislikes and with a spend limit of £10 we had until the 20th of June to post our parcels.

So here's what I received......................................

Cheese and Jalapeno Popcorn.

She must have read my mind as we have a real thing for popcorn at the minute. When I have family visit from Canada I always ask the to bring me a brand of popcorn called Smartfood. It's popcorn with a powdered white cheese coating (it tastes better than it sounds). I love the stuff so I'm hoping this stuff tasted similar with a bit of a kick.

Pink Himalayan Salt

I had never heard of this before so did a quick google to find out more about it. Apparently it contains the full spectrum of 84 minerals and trace elements. It is an unrefined, unprocessed "raw" salt that's hand-mined from salt caves that were formed 250 million years ago as ocean salt settled in pockets around the earth. It is suppose to give a more complex flavour to dishes and as it has a strong taste you need use less of it.

Clipper Indian Chai Tea

I'd told Emma I loved drinking chai tea so I was really please to see some included in my box. I haven't tried this brand so I'm looking forward to trying it.

Organic Mango Slices

I'm love my snacks and these were delicious. A perfect mid afternoon snack.

Silverspoon Icing and Paper Cases

Emma also send me a cupcake recipe so I'm going to give it a go and decorate them using these. I'll blog about my results when I get round to it.

My favorite part of the parcel had to be Emma's letter. It contained some fabulous recipes including cupcakes and pumpkin soup but the ones I'm most looking forward to try are the barley recipes, both sweet and savory. I love pearl barley but just tend to throw it into stews and soups so it was nice to see it being used in a different way. Emma's recipes are cooked in the slow cooker which appeals to me and I'm looking forward to trying the "Breakfast Barley" recipe and using the nutmeg and mini grater that Emma also included.

I was provided a with a really thoughtful box and my greatest thanks go to Emma for sending it to me. Hopefully you will be able to see the box I sent Emma here

I really had fun both putting Emma's box together and receiving hers, so I'll definitely be taking part again next month. If you are in the UK and interested in taking part you can find out more about the project here and if you are reading this from America or Canada then have a look here