Foodie Penpal Swap – June 2012

I’m sure it is pretty obvious that I love sending stuff through the mail. Once upon a time I relayed that love with sending postcards (on postcrossing), and crafts on swapbot, or zine swaps or penpals from other countries. Now I still have penpals, but we don’t write very often, and I haven’t sent a postcrossing card in years (though perhaps I should change that.) My my love of mail is expressed almost entirely with food swaps (and my stamp collection… no kidding.)

And really, what better way? I love food, I love sharing food, and I love introducing people to things they might not have eaten before. This month I received my Foodie Penpal Swap from Bonnie at Sitting on the Moon.

What was in my package?

• Spicy Mexican Rice from The Mix Company
• Coconut and Cherry Quinoa Granola from Lotus Fine Foods
• A few Maple candies
• Made in Nature – Orchard Select Apples (dehydrated)
• Gourmet du Village Bistro Collection Dips and Seasonings
• Four O’clock Organic Green Tea Sampler
• A recipe for vegan chocolate cupcakes from Pastry Affair
• Ceylon tea.
• A lovely letter.
• Cheese dip

So far I’ve mixed all of the spice packs the Bistro collection with some of the Earth Balance Mindful Mayo that we picked up from a not-so-recent trip to the USA(it’s still not in Canada as far as I can tell), and I’m drinking a giant mug of the Ceylon tea, which reminded me so much of sneaking sips from my parents cups as a child that it got me feeling a bit homesick and nostalgic (or maybe I just really love the tea?).

I did end up getting one not-vegan (cheese dip) thing this swap-o-round, but that was promptly shared with someone else, so c’est la vie. Regardless, I’m looking forward to trying out the recipe she sent me, and eating the other treats.

The Gourmet du Village Bistro Collection packs look like they wouldn’t be vegan, but they are made to be mixed with other stuff. I’ve seen them at the grocery store, and haven’t really ever given them a second glance, but it’s nice to have an option for dips if I don’t want to make the spice blend myself.

I like Foodie Penpals a lot because I get to go outside the circle of vegan that tends to exist on the blogosphere and get introduced to people that I might not have ever seen, or read about. In all of these swaps, I find myself connecting with people more during these food swaps, and once I’m partnered up (or once people join the Vegan Swap), I feel like I end up checking their blogs more often simply because of that connection. It’s nice to feel the foodie love across the country.

Thank you Bonnie, I loved everything and I appreciate the effort you put into finding stuff for me!

You can learn more about Foodie Penpals and sign up over at The Lean Green Bean‘s blog.