It’s my second month being a part of the Foodie Penpal program and this round has been just as much fun as the first! Unlike the penpal I had as a child in school, every month on The Lean Greenbean Foodie penpal program, we are each assigned a new person to send a food package to and this month, Cari from San Antonia got ME!
As I explained last month when I revealed my June Foodie Penpal package, if you keep kosher and you’re wondering how you could be a penpal too, just note that everyone is welcome to give their penpal all dietary restrictions, allergies, likes and dislikes. So I just told my penpal, Cari, that I keep kosher and I gave her a few likes and dislikes (olives and capers). Other than that, she was free to buy me whatever she wanted and boy did she have fun! That moment when the package arrived at the door, I felt like a kid at camp getting a care package! What kind of food was inside? Did Cari find delicious and unique kosher foods? Would I be inspired by the food inside of that shipping box???
And check out the food inside! Now I KNOW Cari reads Kitchen Tested because she was totally inspired by some of my previous blog posts.
Are you as curious and impressed as I am??? Cari really did have a good time with this package. Let’s start with the Real Beanz Vanilla Nut Iced Coffee! I used Real Beanz ice coffee to make chocolate cappuccino ice cream not too long ago so this coffee was a nice surprise for me. And I didn’t even tell Cari that I prefer decaffeinated coffee! It’s like she can see inside my mind.
Oh, those delicious Mediterranean Herb flavored Cracker Crisps! Cari mentioned in her letter that she noted how much I loved the falafel chips from my previous penpal and she almost bought me the same ones…but I’m glad she went with something a little different. Variety is the spice of life, right?!?
I could eat those cracker crisps right out of the bag or I could dip them in canned hummus that was also in the package. I was a little skeptical of hummus in a can instead of the usual refrigerated hummus but I was pleasantly surprised by the authentic Israeli flavor and texture. In fact, my husband and I dipped our challah in the hummus all Shabbat long! We also chowed down on the mushroom and herb quinoa all weekend. Since the package of quinoa made a few cups worth, I used the leftover in my favorite turkey meatloaf recipe from The Perfect Pantry. I practically make a version of this recipe every week!
Is there a better way to end a meal than with a sweet cup of tea?!? I think I’m becoming a tea collector and I’m so happy to add this pomegranate and rooibos flavored red tea to my pantry. YUM is all I can really say!
What else can I say but thank you to Cari for doing such a wonderful job with her fun foodie selections for me! I am so appreciative of your effort in finding me some delicious and unique kosher foods without any capers and olives in sight!
If you want to participate in the Foodie Penpal program, here is the info direct from Lindsay:
-On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
– Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!
Sign up HERE!
***If you’re in the UK, please contact Carol Anne from This Is Rock Salt at rocksalt@thisisrocksalt.com to get involved!
