Foodie Pen Pal - April 2014 Edition

This month I was originally assigned to one person but did not hear back from them.  So Lindsay reassigned me with Carol.  We've emailed each other back and forth.  In fact we emailed each other last night and today.

One cool tidbit is that we are both teacher and are dealing with the end of the school year behaviors, Common Core, and testing blues.  

To check out what I sent her, check out her blog entry.

Here's what she sent me:

These are good.  I have the remainder of the bag in my purse/bag in case of emergency.  I don't have many of these almonds left.  Yum!  

Yum!  I love yogurt and granola.  Almonds are also one of my favorite nuts.  I had this with my yogurt this morning.

I love Larabars.  In fact, while we were in Disney I ate Apple Pie Larabars for breakfast during half of the week.  So these will be gone soon.

She sent me 2 of these.  I tried one of them tonight for my afternoon snack.  Oh, my goodness.  So delicious!!!!!!!!!  It was just what I needed after a second day of testing and then teaching my sixth graders.

Thank you Carol for great snacks!

For more information about Foodie Pen Pals, visit Lindsay's blog - The Lean Green Bean.

Foodie Pen Pal - March 2014

Hello from Disney!

Last month I did not do the foodie pen pal.  Between illness and gross weather, I would not have been a good foodie pen pal.  

This month I signed up once again and boy am I glad I did.  Emily, my foodie pen pal, sent me an excellent box.  

Emily lives in Maryland.  She sent me some yummy local treats!  That is what I like about the foodie pen pal program.  I love trying local treats from different places.  

Here's what she sent me:

The tulle she used to protect the goodies.  The Wee One loved it.

In fact, here is outside playing with the tulle.

The handwritten note.  I enjoyed learning more about the different foods in the box.  

The back of the note

Yummy local cookies - When she got married, her husband and her gave these out as welcome gifts.  They are light and airy.
Here's a link to Berger Cookies' website.

A closer look at the chocolate part of the cookie

The back of the cookie

This is from a local French bakery.  She could not remember the name of the pastry but it was described as buttery and flaky.  I can't wait to taste it.

Beef Jerky - I'm saving this for when we are down in Disney.  It would be a good treat to have on hand because we are going to have one big meal a day.  The rest of the day is going to be snacks.  I've got some tuna fish so this would be a good change of pace.

Here is another snack that I'm saving for Disney.  No one else is going to want to taste any of it.  

The funny thing is I sent her some paleo "granola" also.  This looks yummy!  I love almonds, cashews, and coconut so this should be good.

I've saved the best for last.  

These chocolate covered espresso beans are the bomb.  In fact Hubby thinks he is going to take this because he loves Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans.  I let him have a couple but might need to hide the rest.  These are mine!  

Here's a link to Zeke's Coffee's website.

For more information about the foodie pen pal program, please visit the Lean Green Bean.

Happy eating, 
Traci

Foodie Pen Pal - January 2014

This month I was paired up with Megan.  Megan writes a blog called St. Louis Dietician.  Check out her blog for health tips.

Ohio was part of the country impacted by the Polar Vortex at the beginning of the month and at the end of the month.  Since the jet stream was further south than it usually was we got snow from Alberta Clippers.  Three days straight we got snow during the day.  Two of those days, I had stressful commutes home because of the road conditions.  I was greeted with the box after that second commute.  I absolutely loved the box so that put a smile on my face after my stressful commute.

I've tried everything in my box.  One of  favorites was the dark chocolate mint bar.  I eat only one block of it at a time so I can savor it.  Another favorite was the peppermint tea.  I love mint teas so this was perfect.  I've been using the Greek Seasoning on air popped popcorn and coconut oil instead of butter.  Yum!  The olive oil granola was quickly eaten for breakfast.  I love the combination of cashews and pistachios.  In fact,  I keep a container of almonds, pistachios, and almonds at work so I can eat some when my stomach growls.

Thank you Megan for a great box.

The note from Megan.  Sorry it's blurry.

Foodie Pen Pal - November 2013

This month I was paired up with Anne from Pennsylvania.  She and I had similar likes in foods so that was a help when buying her goodies.

When I got her box, I was delighted.  There were a lot of yummy treats in the box.  One of the items I am extremely excited about is the Pennsylvania Dutch apple butter.  If I just hadn't opened up a jar of pumpkin butter, I would have opened that jar up right away.  I was born in the Pennsylvania Dutch area so it is nice to have a treat from where I was born.

All the goodies were from her area which was nice because I like to try local foods when I'm visiting other places.

[gallery ids="4478,4489,4488,4487,4486,4485,4484,4483,4482,4481,4480,4477,4476"]

Thanks Anne for a great box.

Foodie Pen Pal - October Edition

This is my one year anniversary of participating in Foodie Pen Pals.  Shania, who lived in New Jersey, sent me my first box.  I remember worrying about her last October because she was in the path of Superstorm Sandy.  Luckily she was fine.  She sent me magnets which is funny because Katie, my partner this month, also sent me magnets.

 

This time I sent to and received from Katie who lives close to Chicago.  For information about what I sent her, please visit her blog.

Here is what she sent me:

[gallery type="rectangular" ids="4394,4395,4396,4397,4398,4399,4400,4401"]

Foodie Pen Pal - September Edition

This month we followed a different format.  Instead of being paired up with two people (one who bought and sent to me and the other I bought for and then sent the box), we were paired with one other person.  We bought and sent to each other.  

This month, I was paired with Jessica who lives in Mississippi.  She had never been to Ohio and I have never been to Mississippi.  I sent her a box of my usual goodies,  One of which is the Triple Treat Granola.  All 3 times that I've sent that granola, the recipient loved it.  

Okay onto what Jessica sent me:

[gallery type="square" ids="4327,4325,4336,4334,4331,4330"]

Thank you Jessica for the great box!

Foodie Pen Pal ~ August Edition

This month I sent my box to Amanda in West Virginia.  Courtney in Pennsylvania sent me my box.  I asked for something that would provide with energy to last me through my long 4 hours of teaching before I get to eat my lunch.  This is what she sent me:

[gallery type="rectangular" ids="4163,4158,4156,4152,4151,4149"]

 

 

When Foodie Pen Pals Meet

During the winter, we made the decision to go to our favorite beach - Folly Beach, South Carolina.  Ideas were thrown around of where we should go on the way there and the way home.  We knew that we did not want to go to Gatlinburg because we have done that twice before so it was time for something new.  I mentioned Charlottesville, VA and Hershey, PA as possible destinations.  Hershey was quickly vetoed because it would take too long to get there and then too long to travel down. So we decided Charlottesville would be our destination. 

When I was a teenager, my mom, sister, and I would travel down to Charlottesville via bus.  We would first go to Washington, D.C. and during our lay-over visit different historical sights.  I'm getting sidetracked fromh my story.

There were 3 things on my agenda for our visit to Charlottesville - Monticello, University of Virginia rotunda, and the pedestrian mall.  About a week before our trip, I emailed Jo.  Jo was my November Foodie Pen Pal.  We had exchanged emails about her motorcycle trip to Ohio and how much she loved Cincinnati style chili.  So I sent her a box with ingredients to make chili. 

The reason I emailed her was because she lives in Charlottesville and as a foodie I needed the 4-1-1 on good places to eat there.  She offered to meet us at the pedestrian mall if we had time so she could give us a local's perspective on great foods to eat.  I warned her about the Wee One and the Imaginative One because I don't know if she wanted to spend a Friday evening with two elementary age children who had been stuck in a car for 7 hours and then walked around Monticello for 3 hours (almost actual times).  They could get a little squirrely.  She was okay with that so we met up.

She helped us find parking and even find Hawaii license plates.  The Wee One loves looking at license plates and yelling out the different states.  His goal was to find Hawaii and Alaska.  In the parking lot we parked in, there were 2 cars with Hawaii license plates.  Supposedly I owe him Legos because he found one of the rare license plates.

It was so much fun talking to her about foodie topics and other random topics such as running, walking to Monticello from her house, and where Dave Matthews had his first gig.  My Hubby even enjoyed talking to her and loved her accent because she is originally from Quebec.  She even showed us the Coke machine (doesn't work) at Chap's ice cream.  The boys loved the place they could draw and write their name in chalk.  They were not so happy about walking around but when you are 8 and 10, parents can make you do boring things.

Here are some pictures:

[gallery type="rectangular" columns="2" ids="3694,3695,3696,3697,3698,3699,3700,3702,3703,3706,3707,3708,3709,3710,3711,3712,3705"]

Foodie pen pals - July edition

I sent my box to Lindsay at Say No To Bacon. She lives in Oklahoma so it was my third time sending there. Maybe it's a sign that I need to visit that great state.

Debbie at Accidentally Delish sent my box all of the way from Arizona. Since I was going on vacation, I asked for food that would be great for traveling. She sent me some granola which is one of my favorite foods. I also got black bean chips. I did not bring those on the trip. I have to be in a mood for any type of chip item and then I eat them until I'm no longer craving chips. I know I'm random. I'm saving them for when I am really craving chips. She also sent me bars. Those are great not only for the trip down but also for when we are walking around town. I stick them in my back pack and away we go. I also got some fruit leathers which are great. The Wee One really loves them so I can give him one if he's complaining about being hungry while we are walking around town.

I will add pictures and links when I have actual wifi. I took the pictures and put them on my computer. However packing for 3 people for a week and a half trip was my priority.

My travel bag

Today we are leaving for our big vacation. We are traveling to Charlottesville, Va for the night. Then we are traveling to Charleston, SC for the week. Then we are on to Atlanta, GA for 2 days and Huntsville, AL for a day before heading home.

I'm notorious for packing way too much food when we travel. I attempted not to have too much. We have the family snacks and then mine.

I'm going to talk about what I packed in my travel bag.






Snacks for me and Hubby (kids won't touch them):
Trail mix (2 types)
Pistachio, cashew, and almond snack mix

Snacks for only me:
Wheat thins (small bags spicy buffalo and sundried tomato and basil)
Snack mix (walking taco flavored)
Homemade granola (breakfasts for the trip)
2 containers of individual creamers (for beach house - only thing I put in coffee)
Dentyne Ice gum (lots - love it)
2 go picnic - salami with cheese (lunches for this week)
2 go picnics - hummus (lunches for this week)
Freeze dried pineapple
Freeze dried mango
2 containers of random bars and peanut butter/almond butter packets - even though I don't particularly like peanut butter)
Instant coffee
Fruit punch (1)

Other stuff:
Books (6)
Notebook
Folders with puzzles and coloring pages for boys
Folder with puzzles for me
Mechanical pencils
My purse
My camera

White chocolate granola

I've mentioned how much I like a local Farmer's Market called Second Street Market. One of the vendors has a delicious granola called Triple Treat Granola. It contains walnuts, cranberries, and melted white chocolate. I sent a container to my May and one to my June foodie pen pals. Both of them loved the granola:).

I've decided to recreate the granola and add another flavor element - coconut. It turned out delicious.

White Chocolate Granola

Adapted from Finding Joy in my Kitchen

Stars of the recipe:

• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil


• 1/4 c. Water


• 3/4 c. Brown sugar


• 5 c. Old fashioned oatmeal


• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon (add more or less depending on your likes or leave it out)


• 1/4 c. Chopped walnuts


• 1 and 1/2 c. White chocolate chips


• 1/4 c. Dried cranberries


• 1/4 c. Dried sweetened coconut

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


2. In a big saucepan, combine water, olive oil, and brown sugar. Let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.


3. In a separate bowl, combine the oatmeal and cinnamon.


4. Slowly add the oatmeal mixture to the saucepan. Stir each time you add some of the oatmeal. Make sure the water, olive oil, and brown sugar is evenly coated on the oatmeal.  Take it off the heat.


5. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet.


6. Place in preheated oven. Bake for 5 minutes.


7. Take out of oven and stir.


8. Add walnuts to the granola. Place back in oven.


9. Bake for 5 more minutes.


10. Take out of oven and sprinkle with a cup of the white chocolate chips.


11. Put back in oven for a minutes.


12. Take out of oven and stir the granola so the melted white chocolate gets all over the granola.


13. Allow to cool and then add the remaining white chocolate chips, cranberries, and coconut.


14. Store in an air tight container.


15. Enjoy over yogurt, froyo, or by itself.

Foodie Pen Pal - June edition

It's that time of the month, foodie pen pal reveal day. I'm usually on top of things by writing my post early and then scheduling it. This month I was not as good. Actually I'm sitting down and writing it on our reveal day. Oh, well! It's been a busy week and I've rarely been home long enough to write anything.

This month I sent to Ilona who lives in New Jersey. This is the second time I've sent to New Jersey. To see what Ohio goodies I sent to her, visit her blog Ilona's Kitchen.

Charmaine sent me my box all of the way from California. Here are the goodies she sent to me:

[gallery ids="3574,3575,3576,3577,3578,3579,3580,3581,3582,3584,3585,3588,3589,3590"]

-On the 5th of every 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 are 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 Penplas is open to US, Canadian & European residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. 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.

If you’re from the US or Canada and are in participating for July, please CLICK HERE (www.theleangreenbean.com/foodie-penpals/) to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by July 4th as pairings will be emailed on July 5th!

*If you're from Europe, please CLICK HERE (www.thisisrocksalt.com/foodie-penpals/) to signup.

Foodie Pen Pals - May edition

This time I sent to Theresa who lives in Oklahoma.  As soon as I heard about the tornadoes, I emailed her to make sure she was safe.  She lives far enough away that she was not in their path.  Praise God!  Check out her blog to see how I spoiled (her words) her.

Hannah was selected to send to me.  She lives close to my favorite zoo and even worked there last year.  I'm just a little jealous.  Actually I'm a lot jealous.  If the zoo wasn't 1 hour and 15 minutes away, it would be a perfect summer job for me.  She worked with the summer camps and I took a teacher workshop there last August.  We might have seen each other there.  

Check out my box of goodies:

[gallery ids="3415,3416,3417,3418,3419,3421,3423,3424,3425,3426,3427,3428,3429"]

Foodie Pen Pals - April

Another month has come and gone. I had fun buying for Kristen and then receiving from Ashley. Kristen lives in Sonoma County, California. My boys and I went out and found some goodies that were from our area to send to her. Check out her blog to see what I got her.

Ashley lives in Indiana. She sent not only to me but also to my boys. The Wee One has declared I need to send a picture of him holding his goodies to my next pen pal because in the last 2 boxes he has gotten something yummy to eat. Whatever boy! Both of the gifts were well received by the boys.

[caption id="attachment_3337" align="aligncenter" width="375"] All of the delicious goodies![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3339" align="aligncenter" width="375"] The Imaginative One's gift - He's going to be going to a Mission to Mars camp this summer so this is perfect.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3341" align="aligncenter" width="375"] The Wee One's gift - One of his favorite treats! Sorry for the poor quality.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3343" align="aligncenter" width="375"] The Wee One holding his gifts. He so wanted me to get done taking the picture so he could eat one of them.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3344" align="aligncenter" width="375"] The Imaginative One checking out his gift. As I was cooking dinner, he was writing in the details so it's ready for his camp.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3345" align="aligncenter" width="375"] The card - It was handmade in her town. I love giraffes so this is perfect. It's hanging up in my classroom so I can smile whenever I see it.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3346" align="aligncenter" width="375"] The note[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3347" align="aligncenter" width="375"] This granola is so delicious! It has cashews in it which is a welcome surprise.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3348" align="aligncenter" width="375"] Yum![/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_3349" align="aligncenter" width="375"] These are good. The Imaginative One and I ate on them.[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_3351" align="aligncenter" width="300"] I haven't dug into this yet. However it looks delicious.[/caption]

Thank you Kristen for a great box! We really enjoyed it.

 
And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals. In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-On the 5th of every 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 are 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 Penplas is open to US, Canadian & European residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. 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.

If you’re from the US or Canada and are in participating for November, please CLICK HERE (www.theleangreenbean.com/foodie-penpals/) to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by May 4th as pairings will be emailed on May 5th!

*If you're from Europe, please CLICK HERE (www.thisisrocksalt.com/foodie-penpals/) to signup.

Foodie Pen Pal - March

This is my fifth time participating in the program. I'm loving how I can try new foods from around the United States.

This time I bought for Nichole who lives in New Jersey and works in Manhattan, a place known for incredible food. Since she doesn't have a blog, she wrote a little blurb for me to post here.

What a great box! I received some wonderful teas which should be very relaxing and refreshing as well as some delicious local coffee. I also received my favorite snack, apples and peanut butter, the peanut butter came in handy dandy travel form. I will certainly be enjoying my chocolate/peanut butter hybrid spread which is absolutely delicious and has been hidden from me for way too long. It's delicious and I plan on putting it on just about everything. Also, kindly and thoughtful enough, included was a magnet and a small history on Ohio.

Caitlin who lives in Washington, D.C. sent me my box. She had it ready for mail pick up before leaving for a trip but it wasn't picked up. So she repackaged everything and sent it overnight. The barbecue sauce did not make it so I used a towel to wipe off the items in the box. Even with those two setbacks I loved my box. Everything was very much appreciated.

The items that did survive the trip.

She was extremely thoughtful and had looked at the blog. She saw that one of the boys (the Wee One) loves fruit snacks so she sent some that all natural with no high fructose corn syrup. He absolutely loved them. His first comment was "They have a dot com." Only my boy!

This pink salt came with a lot of discussion with my family. One reason it's pink is because of the iron content. So Hubby decided he needed to take some and experiment on it to see if it was magnetic or not. Of course the conclusion was that it was not magnetic. The Wee One loves salt so he enjoyed tasting it even though it was pink.

She also sent me an Irish soda bread mix. Since I was sick over St. Paddy's Day, we hadn't had our special Irish dinner yet. We had in on the 23rd instead. I did not want to use all of the mix right away so I decided to make the biscuits instead. We enjoy biscuits more than bread. Caitlin suggested putting either raisins, currents, orange zest, or certain herbs in the dough. I opted for the orange zest. The whole family enjoyed them!

I love granola and cinnamon so this was perfect for me. I've eaten it for breakfast with my vanilla coconut almond milk (a rarity because I don't like milk on my cereal). The walnuts were huge! Yum!

I ate up all of the bag she sent me and found a place an hour and a half away that sold the granola.  The place is near my favorite zoo so we took a side trip there when we went to the zoo last week.  I bought myself some more bags of the granola.

Pistachio cardamon shortbread with the recipe. It is absolutely delicious! I'm enjoying it one piece at a time.

Thank you so much Caitlin for this delicious box of goodies.