Thursday was Foodie Penpals reveal day for February 2013, but I was so busy that I didn't get a chance to post about my parcel. The busy-ness actually began the month before, when I had to skip Foodie Penpals because I was out of the country for several weeks and wouldn't have a chance to mail or receive any packages. Nobody had any parcels in December, since we all decided to skip the frantic holiday season. In other words, this is my first parcel since November, and it had been so long that I'd almost forgotten how magical it is to come home one day and discover a mysterious box waiting on my doorstep.
This month's parcel was from Rachel, who informed me that she is relatively new to the Foodie Penpals program. Despite her lack of experience with FP parcels, she put a very nice one together for me.
Having picked up on my interest in spices and spicy food, she enclosed a tandoori rub for salmon and some chilli pepper puree--the latter of which might finally help me cook a chilli-pepper-containing meal without rubbing pepper oil in my eyes; I have my fingers crossed.
Another spicy product was a bag of Thai chilli snack mix, which Rachel thought would be both tasty and convenient for eating on the go. I noticed a small hole in the bag of snacks (from an unfortunate incident in our kitchen--not from Rachel's packing!) and, of course, had to reach through it in order to have a quick taste. Well, it wasn't long before the entire bag was gone; the photo below actually features empty packaging! I'm hoping I'll be able to find some more around here. Harder to replace will be the Lancashire crisps that were made near Rachel's home. I managed to wait at least a week before eating these--as part of a packed lunch during a field trip, to be exact.
Rachel also sent a box of Yogi Tea's "Women's Tea" blend. The funny thing about this was that I had considered buying the same thing for my own foodie penpal a couple weeks earlier; however, my shopping bag was already so full that I just didn't think I had the space. I've never tried it myself and am looking forward to seeing what it tastes like. I really love Yogi teas--to the extent that I recently earned a free mug for having bought so many boxes of their brews! Lately I have been trying to drink more herbal tea and less black tea, in the interests of weaning myself off the ridiculous amount of caffeine I consume each day; I think this will be a good addition to my selection of flavors. Rachel also included a sleeve of currant Shrewsbury biscuits to accompany my warm beverages.
All of the package's components were explained in a lovely handwritten note with a Valentine's Day-themed pink border, and Rachel even enclosed a little heart in acknowledgment of the holiday. Thanks to Rachel for her very thoughtful (and successful!) parcel.
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Updates on previous packages: I've recently been making an effort to work my way through some of the previous FP food items that have started piling up over the past few months. A couple of weeks ago, I managed to drop and break an entire jar of ground nutmeg, but luckily I was able to use the whole nutmegs that Kylie sent in October. Kylie also mailed some cardamom pods, which I recently used to make chai latte from scratch. Last week I stir-fried chicken and vegetables using the Dutch nasi goreng mix mailed by Kim back in August. My husband and I really enjoyed it--both the first time around and as leftovers. My other Dutch penpal, Marjolein, mailed some rooibos strawberries-and-cream tea, which I have been enjoying tremendously over the last couple of weeks. The only drawback is that I can't seem to find anywhere in the UK that sells a similar product...so I guess I'll have to visit Holland sometime in the near future!
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