Tag Archives: Foodie Penpal

January 2014 Foodie Penpal reveal

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With all the Christmas festivities behind us, I was so delighted to get the note from our Foodie Penpal fearless leader (and I DO mean she’s fearless!) reminding us that it was time to dust off our shopping skills and get cracking on the January Foodie penpal packages.  For those who aren’t familiar, please check it out.  It’s good stuff.

My penpal carer this month was Kate, and she did not disappoint.

Kate's card

Kate’s card

Kate sent me a great package that started with this card, which included this recipe for mini banana, pecan and cacao loaves.

The recipe

The recipe

 

Not only did she send the recipe, but she sent most of the ingredients as well.

 

Everything I need to make mini-loaves

Everything I need to make mini-loaves

 

And she sent the mini-loaves cases as well.

Mini loaf cases

Mini loaf cases

 

So there really is no excuse (unless, like me, you’ve eaten all the bananas).  But, unlike money, bananas DO grow on trees, so I know where I can get more.  I think this weekend will be the perfect time to try these babies out.

Kate also sent me coffee to have with the mini-loaves.  There really is no excuse now.  I love the name of Grumpy Mule for coffee.  It sums up so many mornings until that first cup hits home.

Coffee

Coffee

 

I mentioned to Kate that we like to do a bit of walking on the weekends, and she kindly threw in a couple of bars to tuck away into pockets to help get us up that last hill.  These were delicious.  They, unfortunately, didn’t make it past the first weekend.  And they were just what we needed.  Good choice, Kate.

Energy bars

Energy bars

Then I discovered a jar of Umami paste, which I can’t wait to try.  I’ve heard so many things about it, and now there’s no excuse not to get cracking with it. I will admit now that I had to google it, and I’ve got a couple of recipes I’m going to try it out in. However, if any of you have any suggestions, please feel free to drop me a line.  I’d be so happy to hear from you with your thoughts.

Unami paste

Unami paste

But here’s something that needs no extra flavour.  Kate sent me a chili kit for making a marvellous pot of chili – just right for this time of year.  I only need to add the ‘carne’ and let it simmer away.  Is there a better smell than this in your kitchen when you’ve been outside in the rainy cold?  I don’t think so.

 

Chili kit

Chili kit

 

And to take a break from having to make my own, Kate sent me this bag of popcorn, which I have to say barely hit the sides.  It was exceptionally good, and I shall be looking to get more of this for the next social gathering here.  But she had me a goats cheese.  I’d spread goats cheese on a rock and happily munch on that all day.  Fortunately, I didn’t have to.

 

Black Pepper Popcorn

Black Pepper Popcorn

 

And finally, I came to another something I’ve not seen before.  These chips are delicious, and perfect for dipping into hummus or cheese – anything really.  The beetroot flavour is very subtle and doesn’t hit your palate immediately.  The horseradish just warms it up a bit.  Absolutely a winner.  And also, the picture at the bottom of the box reminds me of Almira Gulch from The Wizard of Oz.  I’ll never be able to watch that movie again without picturing her bicycling down the road with Toto in her basket and a giant beetroot on her head!

 

Beetroot and Horseradish shards

Beetroot and Horseradish shards

 

So- thank you, Kate – I loved everything about this package.  It was so well put together, and I am grateful for the time you spent on selecting everything.  You did a great job!

September Foodie Penpal

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What a fantastic month September was. Hard to believe it’s almost over and we’re nearing the time where I start to panic to ensure all my holiday shopping has been done.  But it was a bumper month for my Foodie Penpal activity.  If you are interested in joining this group (and it’s really big fun), get in touch with Carol Anne – she’ll sort you out!

My foodie package came from Greece this month.  Lovely Evangelia sent me a huge package of goodies. And it arrived here about a week after the spreadsheet was sent out, so I think she must have gone out right away and selected everything so it would get here in time.  So thoughtful . . . .

The whole package

The whole package

I got the most delicious crackers – they are rich and buttery, and no matter if I pile lots of good things on them, or just eat them plain, they are fantastic.  I especially like the packaging where the writing is all in Greek (of course) with the occasional English word stuck in there.

Basil and Tomato Crackers

Basil and Tomato Crackers

Although I didn’t mention it to Evangelia, one of my favourite flavours is cinnamon, so you can imagine my delighted surprise when I found she had included this round tub of little cinnamon candies.  They are small, but they pack a fabulous punch.

Cinnamon pastilles

Cinnamon pastilles

I then got to the nougat, which is a household favourite here.  This one, in particular, is really tasty, and I’ve had to hide it so there would be some left for me.

Nougat

Nougat

And she sent chocolate!  But not just any chocolate – the best bitter sweet chocolate ever.  It was so good, so rich, and now so gone!  But it was very good.

Bitter Sweet Chocolate

Bitter Sweet Chocolate

This sesame bar with honey has always been a favourite of mine.  It makes me think I’m eating something healthy!  And that’s always a very good thing.

Sesame Honey bar

Sesame Honey bar

This is a bag of what I can only describe as pretzel-like biscuits covered in cinnamon and sugar. I’ve never tasted anything like them, but I’m wondering now if I can figure out how to make them.  They were SOOOOO good.

Cinnamon Sugar 'pretzel'

Cinnamon Sugar ‘pretzel’

Then, being American, gum is always welcome!  I like that I have real Greek gum.  I like that I can offer it around and people are impressed that I import my gum!  Makes me feel very important!  Ha!  It’s very nice gum!

Chewing gum

Chewing gum

But finally – and probably my favourite part – the Greek Trachanas.  I think I like this the best because Evangelia sent a couple of recipes as well.  I made up one batch already, and it was delicious, and I can’t wait to experiment with the rest.

Trachanas

Trachanas

Thank you so much, Evangelia, for your thoughtful gifts this month.  You do the Foodie Penpal club, and your country, proud!

May Foodie Pen Pal reveal

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Okay okay . . . I know it’s almost mid-June, but it’s never too late to do a reveal, I think. This month, my Foodie Pen Pal was Rachella. Rachella is a fellow American living in London, so we compared a lot of notes – mostly on good Mexican restaurants in London. I might need to test them all.

Thai Tower

Thai Tower

But my parcel was so diverse, and it was a true joy to open up and wade through. I got so many goodies – some familiar and some very foreign, so it was a voyage of discovery. The first thing I got to was this tower of Thai, which gives me Thai oil, Thai seasonings and Thai paste. Boy, does this smell good. I think this won’t last long here. It might make it till tomorrow, but I’m kind of doubting it.

Chiles

Chiles

My next goodie was a can of jalepeno chilis. During my exchange with Rachella, she discovered that I really enjoy hot food, so chilis are always a good bet. I like that these are whole. I can do many more things with these.

Chili rub

Chili rub

Moving on through that theme, I came to this three chili rub. This, I know, will be a big hit in the household (apart from the cat). It smells wonderful, and I can’t wait to try it. It may have to wait until after I do the Thai dinner, but it won’t have to wait long.

Junior Mints

Junior Mints

The next item I grabbed just made me laugh out loud. Who doesn’t like Junior Mints? Although I appreciate the Big Bang Theory link, I think they will always remind me of Seinfeld.

Dried figs

Dried figs

I then grabbed a packet of dried figs, which I’ve never used before, so I am very excited about that. I love fresh figs, and I know I can incorporate these into something very yummy. Time to do some research.

See's candy

See’s candy

I also got a handful of See’s candies, which I believe come from the west coast of America, where Rachella is from. These are the perfect items to keep energy levels up while I’m working. I can’t wait to try these.

Twinings

Twinings

Of course no explanation is needed for Twinings tea. You can’t live in England without becoming a tea addict. And Twinings is definitely one of the better cups of tea you’re going to have. I think, as this is neatly packed in a sealed packet, I’ll put this in my bag so I can have a lovely cuppa on the go sometime.

Nutter Butter

Nutter Butter

Next came a tub (now near empty) of Nutter Butter bites. For those not familiar with Nutter Butters, they are a peanut shaped cookie sandwiched with peanut butter. So these are just the little bite size cookies that you can pop in your mouth without anyone noticing (unless they get close enough to smell your peanut butter breath). These are good with the aforementioned tea.

Chocolate Bears

Chocolate Bears

And finally, I’m not quite sure what to call these or where they actually came from, but they are just the coolest little chocolate cookies. When I looked at the outside, I thought they’d maybe be the equivalent of Animal Crackers, without that little box they used to come in with the little shoe-lace handle. But no – these are actually all little bears that are filled with chocolate. But each one of them is painted with a different personality. So one’s a nurse, one’s happy, etc. I kind of feel bad eating them. Well . . . not THAT bad.

Little Bears

Little Bears

All in all, I think I made out pretty well this month, and I thank Rachella for her efforts. You did a fine job.

Opening Day

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The saying that includes the words “old dog” and “new tricks” keeps popping into my head as I trawl through the pages and pages of ‘simple’ instructions on how to set up a new blog. The only simple thing I can deduce so far is that it’s not simple.

However, I’ve recently joined a social group that works better if you blog. I’ve tweeted my last two months’ interactions, but I really do feel it’s worth making more of an effort. And every journey starts with the first step, right? Maybe I should have titled this website “The First Step”. However I feel that might have invited readers wanting to share their baby’s initial perambulations. And as adorable as I’m sure they would have been, it’s not really the direction I see this going (but I won’t rule it out at this early stage).

So I enlisted the help of one of my most creative friends (LMA) who helped come up with “Lake Michigan Upon Thames”, amongst some other great suggestions (which I’m not revealing in case I need to suddenly close this site down).  This name is fantastic because I grew up on Lake Michigan, but moved to the city that hosts the mighty River Thames.  How clever is she?

And on this site, I intend to post . . . well . . . I’m not all that sure yet. But I thought I’d get it set up, just in case I think of something.

My postings will most likely include, but are not exclusive to: Food (eating and cooking); gardening (these will be short posts); cats (which I fear may take over the blog completely); travel (which will probably highlight my original home town of Chicago and my current home town of London), and various other things that pop into my head.

I also feel I need a challenge of some sort, so I’m going to start looking for a cook book to work through over the next year. Or maybe I’ll take a horticulture course so I can tell the difference between a new seedling and a weed. Or maybe I’ll learn Italian.

But for now, I’ll just stick with how to get this blog started.