Foodie Penpals - April 2013

Foodie Penpal reveal day is here again!   This month I sent my parcel to Kieran in Brighton, it was a Lincolnshire themed parcel.  I spent a lovely morning at our local farm shop Uncle Henry's choosing some delectable Lincolnshire goodies to send.  The parcel included some Plum Bread and Poacher Cheese, along with some Scrubbys vegetable crisps and an assortment of spices.  Kieran has been in touch and was very pleased with his parcel.

My parcel came from Anna who blogs at The Campervan Diaries Foodie Extra.  Anna is from Mansfield which is not too far away from here.  She and her family were due to attend a Campervan event very near to my home so last weekend my wonderful parcel was delivered by hand.  How nice to actually meet a Foodie Penpal in the flesh.

What an amazing parcel!  This certainly was one of the nicest and most considerate parcels that I've received since joining Foodie Penpals.

Anna is an amazing lady, she has a young son, she volunteers at an organic vegetable project, she grows fruit and veg in her own garden, she forages for ingredients and she creates some amazing food.

I opened up my parcel to find an assortment of lovingly made goodies along with a selection of cheeses that Anna had bought whilst holidaying in Wales the week before.  Every one of the cheeses are delicious, and how lovely to try some new flavours.  There was a Welsh Brie (this was my favourite), Welsh Chedder, Welsh Hard Goat's Cheese (I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one, goat's cheese is not usually my cheese of choice, but this one is lovely) and a Welsh Blue.   To go with the cheeses Anna had included a selection of her home-made biscuits; cheesy biscuits, digestive biscuits and oatcakes.   They are all delicious, but the cheesy biscuits are addictive - they are flaky and light with a real kick of heat, incredibly moreish!  The oatcakes go so well with the Welsh Blue and I must admit that I've been eating the digestives on their own, accompanied by a cup of tea!

Also in the parcel was a couple of jars of Anna's home-made preserves - a chutney and a rhurbarb and vanilla jam.  The jam is just to my taste, not too sweet and the vanilla adds a special touch.

I was really delighted to receive such a thoughtful parcel, Anna has put a lot of work into making April's Foodie Penpal parcel extra special.

Thanks Anna xx

If you'd like to join the Foodie Penpal programme, check out the joining instructions here.

Foodie Penpals - February 2013 Reveal Day

My Foodie Penpal parcel is one of the most anticipated items to come through the letter box every month.  I get really excited wondering what delights will be inside the box this month.   I get equally excited when I'm shopping for items to send to my penpal.  This month, I sent a box of goodies to Alex who lives in Portugal and blogs at Trending Recipes - if you'd like to see what I sent to Portugal, check out the blog post here.

My sender this month was Vicki who lives in Somerset.  Vicki emailed me a couple of weeks ago to see if there was anything I particularly liked or disliked, she obviously took on board my reply, as everything inside of her parcel was just perfect.

So, what did I get this month?

A bottle of Cider, anyone who knows me well will know that my tipple of choice is cider.  I'm not a big drinker but I do love a glass of Cider, and Somerset Cider is amongst the best.  This is a bottle of Reveller from Orchard Pig.  The bottle design is really retro and quirky.

Chedder Cheese.  Oh how I love cheese, one of my biggest guilty pleasures.  Vicki sent a block of mature Chedder made by Greens of Glastonbury which are based near to where Vicki lives.

And to go with the chedder .....  a jar of home-made green tomato chutney, made by Vicki herself, and to serve with those?   A box of Bath Water Biscuits made by the Fine Cheese Company.  This really is my perfect snack - usually a late night indulgence.  I'm really looking forward to sampling these.

Vicki also included a sweet treat, and one that I've not come across before.  A 9 Bar, Vicki says that she loves these.  It's a wholefood seed bar with a chocolate flavour covering.  I think this will be perfect for my morning coffee break when I'm working.

And finally, another item that is home-made by Vicki and that I've not come across before.  It's a traditional middle eastern dip called DUKKAH, Vicki made it by toasting cumin, coriander, sesame seeds and hazelnuts.  It can be used as a seasoning or to dip bread in after dipping in oil first.  It smells divine, I've just put it into a jar and am going to buy some speciality bread tomorrow and give it a try.

Thanks so much to Vicki for such a well thought out parcel, full of some great products.  I'm really going to enjoy these.   If you'd like to join the Foodie Penpal programme, check out the joining instructions here.