Foodie Penpals

A while ago one of my friends sent me a message to tell me about Foodie Penpals - she knows how much I enjoy receiving random things through my letterbox and thought that I would love the idea, she was so right!

Foodie Penpals started in America on the Lean Green Bean blog and UK bloggers have been involved for a while now, co-ordinated by Carol Anne - a foodie blogger from Glasgow, her blog is This is Rock Salt.

Every month Carol Anne pairs you up with another penpal and you send that person a foodie parcel, and in return you receive a parcel of goodies from another person on the list.  I was really excited to get my first email at the beginning of September and had great fun choosing some interesting things to post off.

I received my first parcel just before I went away to Paxos, my sender was Callie who lives in Broadstairs in Kent.   It was really exciting to open up the box and see what Callie had chosen for me, it felt a little like Christmas and my Birthday rolled into one.
Callie had themed her foodie delights on Kent and enclosed a lovely letter that told me all about the contents, I was really impressed that she had included some home-made treats too.

So, what did I get??   

2 bags of Kent Crisps - made by Quex Park - these were delicious, crisps are one of my greatest pleasure

A 'gypsy tart' - made at Callie's sister-in-law's factory.  I've never come across one of these before, it was good, but a little on the sweet side, the pastry was fantastic though.

Some Earl Grey and Chai tea-bags - I love a cuppa, these were very welcome.

Breakfast Toppers - I've not tried this yet but now the weather is cooler, I'm going to sprinkle it onto my porridge when I go to work on Monday - fruity and nutty - yum!

A sachet of Brownie flavour Hot Chocolate drink - another great way to warm myself up - maybe I'll add some mini marshmallows when I try this one!

Hand made by Callie:

Cheese Straws and Sesame Seed Sticks - they were a bit crushed by the time they arrived, but they were gorgeous - so light and crumbly.

Apple Drop Cakes - made with Kent Bramley Apples - moist and sweet, very moreish!

A pot of strawberry jam and some plums preserved in booze - both of these smell fab and I intend to try them out this week

And finally, a Bramley Apple - this was made into apple sauce and served with pork chops!

Thanks so much Callie - everything was perfect!!

I sent my foodie parcel to Heather who lives in the Netherlands - if you'd like to see what she thought of her parcels, check out her post about it on her blog Cloggie Central.

My first Foodie Penpal experience was a great success - I'm really looking forward to next month now.

If you'd like to get involved with Foodie Penpals, you can check out the details here