All posts tagged coffee

May Foodie Penpals

Every month I participate in Foodie Penpals, I feel like it just gets better and better. And this month was no exception. While I had done a good job at keeping my upcoming move under wraps, I had to wonder if I let something slip when I got this month’s box from Lizzie, of The Weekday Vegan. Filled with treats that are either perfect snacks for the long drive from Boston back to the midwest, or are perfect to share with my family once I get back.

More coffee!

My friends in Boston think I drink a lot of coffee — and I do — but they may be in shock at how much coffee we go through when I visit my family. Whether it’s a farm thing, or a Norwegian thing, I don’t know — but there is coffee brewing from early in the morning until late at night every day. So to have my very own stash of good coffee — from one of Lizzie’s favorite places in Charlottesville? A great thing to have on hand to kick off the next seven months.

Crunchy and chocolatey goodness — a perfect snack for a long drive

I have been on a wicked granola and nut crunch bender lately. Whether I’m snacking on it straight, or mixing it with some of my almond milk — not a day goes by that I’m not enjoying it in some way. And since I had procrastinated on everything else for my trip, making a fresh batch of my homemade granola was not going to happen. So I was ecstatic when I pulled out a big bag of Back to Nature Chocolate Delight Granola — a perfect snack for the long drive.

More treats!

Next up were more treats that I’m looking forward to taking with me on the road — including a bag of Pretzel Crisps and a chocolate bar. A perfect combo to satisfy both my salty and sweet tooth (tooths? teeth?) on the drive. The last thing I pulled out was a spicy “super-condiment” that is local to Lizzie.

Once upon a time, I couldn’t stand anything spicier than the mild salsa you can buy at any supermarket or gas station. But now, I am enjoying the heat more and more — I’m definitely looking forward to trying this out as a marinade when I get grilling privileges at my dad’s house. Although, that could take a while — so I may end up using it as a dip instead. Either way, I’m looking forward to giving it a try.

Thanks again, Lizzie for all the great treats! You really did a great job — and totally saved me from some horrendous rest stop vending choices along my drive!

The Foodie Penpals fun doesn’t just stop at what I got in my box of treats — I had just as much fun putting together the box I sent off to Lindsay of The Lean Green Bean, blogger extraordinaire and founder of #FoodiePenpals. Want to see what I sent her? Check out her reveal post!

I hope Lindsay enjoyed everything I sent as much as I enjoyed everything I got from Lizzie!

Want to see some of the other treats I’ve scored?

Want to join in the fun next month?
Lindsay of The Lean Green Bean organizes Foodie Penpals, so in her word’s here’s what it’s 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 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!

    ***If you’re in the UK, please contact Carol Anne from This Is Rock Salt at rocksalt@thisisrocksalt.com to get involved!

If you’re interested in participating for June, please send an email to Lindsay at theleangreenbean@gmail.com and include the following information:

Your full name
Your email address
Your blog name/address
Your twitter handle (if applicable)
WHETHER YOU ARE A US RESIDENT OR CANADIAN RESIDENT. – this is SUPER important so she can get you on the right list!

** Lindsay will need to hear from you by June 4th as pairings will be emailed on June 5th! *

8 Comments
by Lena on May 31, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in In the Kitchen
Tagged , , , , , ,

Posted by Lena on May 31, 2012

https://lenaonthebeach.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/may-foodie-penpals/

April Foodie Penpals

Score!

If you haven’t figured it out yet — Foodie Penpals is one of my favorite things to participate in each month. This month I was treated to a box from a fellow East Coaster and blog reader, Michelle. Michelle — who unfortunately doesn’t have a blog, yet… — put my box together with a theme in mind. Her theme was “Jump, Jive, and Wail” — and she nailed it.

It's here, it's here!

The first item on her list was a package of locally roasted coffee that she assured me would make me “jump” with all of “its caffeinated goodness”. It didn’t take long for me to pull out my grinder and a pitcher to make up a batch of cold-brew coffee. Michelle wasn’t lying. It was delicious!

COFFEE!!!

Next up were 2 snack bars that she promised would make me “jive” thanks to their super healthy, yummy, organic ingredients. As much as I am trying to stay away from processed foods, one look at the ingredients list and I felt okay about throwing one of these in my purse to avoid a poor snack decision when I’m on the run.

Mmmm, chocolate!

Ooooh! Spicy!

The last two items she packed for me were a can of wasabi-coated peanuts and a package of roasted seaweed snacks — that were sure to make me “wail” thanks to a kick of “spicy deliciousness”. I’ve never had either of these snacks before, so I was really excited to try something new. And just as Michelle promised, they were both delicious.

Yum!

Thank you, Michelle for all the treats and the really thoughtful note. Everything was so yummy! Can’t wait until you get your own blog started (hint, hint)!

And as much fun as I always have opening up and trying everything in my box of treats, I had just as much fun putting together the box that I sent out to Hannah. I really hope she enjoyed her package as much as I enjoyed my treats from Michelle!

Want to see the other goodies I’ve gotten?

Want to join in the fun next month?
Lindsay of The Lean Green Bean organizes Foodie Penpals, so in her word’s here’s what it’s 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 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!

    ***If you’re in the UK, please contact Carol Anne from This Is Rock Salt at rocksalt@thisisrocksalt.com to get involved!

If you’re interested in participating for May, please send an email to Lindsay at theleangreenbean@gmail.com and include the following information:

Your full name
Your email address
Your blog name/address
Your twitter handle (if applicable)
WHETHER YOU ARE A US RESIDENT OR CANADIAN RESIDENT. – this is SUPER important so she can get you on the right list!

** Lindsay will need to hear from you by May 4th as pairings will be emailed on May 5th! **

4 Comments
by Lena on May 1, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in In the Kitchen
Tagged , , , ,

Posted by Lena on May 1, 2012

https://lenaonthebeach.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/april-foodie-penpals/