September brought me a ‘newbie’ penpal.  My name was given to Jana in Germany, and I pretty much gave her free rein to send what she wanted to.  She jumped straight on it, and within a week, she emailed to say her parcel was on its way, which really put me to shame as I only had to send mine to Birmingham, and I still hadn’t been shopping.

A few days later, this HUGE box appeared on my doorstep.

Huge Box

I put a small, 10 ml bottle of essential oils on the box so you’d get perspective.  This is definitely the largest parcel I’ve received yet! I suspect Jana had to take out a second mortgage just to post it here.

You will also get bonus points for guessing the shadow puppet on the box above.

The start of the reveal!

It was absolutely stuffed full of things – I couldn’t wait to get everything unwrapped.

Contents unwrapped

So this is a snapshot of what I got. What a fabulous array.

Clearly the bottle is what I reached for first.  I love getting bottles.

Dry white wine

Before going any deeper into the box, this bottle went straight to the fridge where, like good pastry, it rested until consumed not long after.  It was delicious and was the perfect accompaniment to the next item that caught my eye.

Chili and Lime Nut

These peanuts were fantastic. You got the subtle hint of citrus first, and then a hit of heat.   They were extremely more-ish, and we couldn’t stop eating them until they were gone.  Good choice, Jana!

Next I pulled out this container of Muesli.

Honey and Coconut Muesli

The brilliant thing about this is it’s a single serving, and it leaves room for you to add your favourite yogurt.  I added my favourite greek yogurt, and the bottom of the container came much too soon.   Just a touch of sweetness from the honey and coconut, but not that you actually tasted either.  It was delicious.

Then, something else caught my eye.  Something homemade.

Homemade pear pineapple jam

I think there is something very special in sending something homemade.  It shows a lot of class and thoughtfulness.  It suggests that someone thought enough about you to actually make something for you.  I tried this first as a marinade for a couple of pork chops.  I just rubbed a bit on both sides, and melted a bit in the juices for a lovely  sauce.  It was delicious.  Jana – this was such an inspired item to send.  I really liked it.

And it didn’t take much persuading to get this bag of chocolates out.

Mini chocolates

Such a variety of types of chocolates here filled with things like nougat, marzipan, hazel nuts, etc.  There’s something here for every chocolate lover.  And each one is a nice bite-size, so you can try them all without feeling guilty.

And what do you have with chocolates?

Apple Fig Tea

Well, TEA, of course!  I drink a lot of tea, but have never tasted apple and fig before.  It is delightfully refreshing, and it makes the kitchen smell absolutely divine.  This really goes with everything.

And this jar came out next.

Vanilla Tomato

This is really interesting.  It’s a vanilla tomato chutney, and we’ve had it with cheese and biscuits.  It was a surprisingly good combination, and something we’ve never tried before.  This is definitely worth investigating, if you have the chance.

This was followed by a grinder.

Lemon Pepper

This is a brilliant season tool for so many things.  It’s fresh ground pepper, but it has the addition of lemon zest as well.  It really gives things added zing.  I started using this sparingly, but now it’s the first thing I reach for. It seasons everything from eggs to steaks.  I love the freshness of freshly ground anything.  Another good choice.

And finally, spaetzle.  I just discovered a recipe for meatballs in a cream sauce, and I think this will go beautifully on top of these egg noodles.

Spaetzle

A bit of boiling salt water and the contents of this bag, and I’ve got a great meal.  I can’t wait to try these.

So – as you can see, this was truly a fabulous parcel from Jana in Germany.  I have tasted so many unusual things, got some homemade things, and was able to have a drink at the same time.  Well done, Jana.  You’ve made your first venture into the Foodie penpal club a memorable one.  I hope your parcel was as good as the one you sent me.