Foodie Penpal

A month ago I was perusing blogs and I came across a blog post about Foodie Penpals.  I signed up on a whim, not really thinking about the fact that I had a week long trip to Seattle planned, followed by a short trip to Wilmington, NC the week after.  Oops, maybe not the best month to be doing this!  Anyway, I rallied and made it work, shopping, baking and prepping my stuff for my penpal and shipping it before leaving for Seattle.

Meanwhile, my foodie penpal (you are not paired with the same person you make your box for), Melissa, was crafting an excellent package for me, which I received when I got back from my trips.

Melissa's box to me included a Florida orange she picked herself, Just Pure Food Spicy Jalapeno Tomato chips, a chocolate crepe snack, a Lulu's Maca Love raw chocolate bar, homemade trail mix, and challah rolls she baked herself.

I wasted no time taking a bite out of one of the homemade challah rolls.  Melissa wrote in her note that she actually used to have a challah bakery called Challapalooza!  So cool!  The roll tasted delicious!

After taking a bite of my roll, I put the rest of it and the other one in the freezer for later.  When I think of challah, I think of FRENCH TOAST, so that's what I ended up doing with the rolls a few days later- making a batch of stuffed french toast.

I basically just mixed some softened cream cheese with some blueberries and cut up strawberries, smeared the mixture between two slices of challah roll, then dipped both sides in the egg batter (egg, milk, almond extract, a little sugar) and cooked it in a greased skillet til golden.  It came out great!

The other item I got into quickly was the chocolate bar.  I actually read recently that maca is a fertility super food, so this is good news for me- I get to eat chocolate AND help my fertility.  Win!

I especially have to rave on the trail mix Melissa made me as my favorite item so far (I haven't tried the chips or crepe yet!), this stuff is AWESOME!

You know how when you eat trail mix you are looking for that perfect balance of textures, tastes, sweet, sour, salty, and tangy?  This is it!!  I have been dragging this around in my purse all week and snacking on it at work, in my car, and pretty much everywhere.  So good!  I might cry when it's all eaten.  I will have to see if I can recreate it myself!

In summation, I enjoyed participating in the Foodie Pen pal program.  I am taking June off, but I'll try and do it again in the future.  It was really fun to create a package and receive a package with fun food stuff in it.  Who doesn't love getting a package in the mail?!  Thank you Melissa for all of you thoughtful and handcrafted treats.  I scored some excellent stuff!