January Foodie Penpals!

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Kelly

For the last couple of months, I’ve seen talk of a foodie penpals program across a few of the blogs that I read (like Sarah and Laura) I went back and for about whether this was something that I wanted to be a part of. I was concerned that I wouldn’t like any of the food that my penpal sent me, or my penpal wouldn’t like any of the food that they were sent. (After all, I am the pickiest person I know!) After talking with a few other friends that had done this exchange in the past, I decided to go for it. I only commited for one month, after that I could quit if I wanted to. This blog is about trying new things after all, so what better way than to do it with other food bloggers! So, I got my match at the beginning of the month, bought some things and sent them. Then I waited for my package to come.

Good news – I’m glad I went for it! I had fun picking out my gifts, and the gifts that I got aren’t something I’d probably every try on my own. Win! Plus everyone that I’ve “met” involved with this program has been super nice, and it’s always fun to find new blogs.

I sent my foodie package to Jennifer of Food For Todd – who is super cute! Head over to her blog today to see what I sent her!

The package that I got was from Miranda who is the sweet lady behind Living One Bite at A Time.

She told me that the package she was sending me would be things that Rhode Island was known for. Since I’d never been to Rhode Island, I had no idea what to expect. The surprise of not knowing what you are getting is a lot of the fun of this program, I think.

Here is what I got:

This is Autocrat coffee syrup. Miranda says that this is a beverage staple in Rhode Island! I’ve never seen or heard of this before, so it was fun to open the package and see something completely new to me! She said that you mix it with milk, kind of like people do with Hershey’s syrup. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ll definitely let you all know when I do!

The other thing she sent me was this celery salt. She said that celery salt is used a lot in Rhode Island, they put it on pretty much everything! One thing that she said she loves celery salt in is Succotash, so she included a recipe for Succotash for me to try! I’ve heard of succotash before, but really never had any idea what was in it. Now I have a new recipe to try, thanks Miranda!

The verdict? Foodie penpals was fun! I think I’ll do it again next month 🙂 Really, who doesn’t like getting mail from an actual person with fun things in it – not just another piece of garbage that goes straight in the recycle bin!?!

Are you interested in joining Foodie penpals next month? Here are some details you’d like to know:

-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.

If you want to sign up for the February swap, or have any other questions about Foodie Penpals, just email Lindsay (the fantastic organizer) at [email protected]

Lindsay needs to hear from you by February 4th as pairings will be emailed on February 5th!