June Foodie Penpal

This month's Penpals came around so quickly it felt like!

I had so much fun shopping for my Penpal Deirdre and found a few fun ingredients that I had never heard of before. Have you ever used mace before?? Apparently it comes from the same evergreen tree that nutmeg comes from, and has a similar warm and nutty flavour, but hopefully Deirdre will let me know how they differ. I found some BBQ sea salt, which I thought would be awesome simply seasoned on a good steak. I find that porcini mushrooms are a little difficult to come by in London, so when I found some, I got some for us and some for Deirdre too. There were a few other goodies too, including some decadent sounding chocolate and tea too. 

This month I was lucky enough to have Lisa as my penpal. Lisa lives in Northern Ireland with her hubby and is definitely a foodie. I had so much fun going through my immense pile of goodies this month!! 

1. Tiger gourmet sea salt & vinegar Potato Chips. These are gluten free, dairy free and free from artificial colours and preservatives. They look truly gourmet, I can't wait to dunk them into a decadent salsa soon!

2. Twinings Peppermint & Nettle tea. I love herbal teas and as I can't have caffeine, this is a perfect tea for me to enjoy. The peppermint helps with tummy troubles too, so it is a calming and settling tea for me to have after eating. 

3. I'm so interested in the little pouch of "recipe inspirations kit".. There is paprika, garlic granules, sage, rosemary, thyme and oregano. What a great idea! As soon as I saw this I thought that I now have travel herbs!! We usually book a self contained holiday abode so that we can do our own cooking when we are on vacation as we enjoy cooking so much. This would be perfect to take with us so that we can season meals without buying and wasting a whole jar of spices. 

4. Sugar Sheets. Edible zebra print stickers! How cool is that!!! I got some animal print cupcake liners last month, I'm thinking my penpals are conspiring for me to hose a safari party soon!! I think these are just so cute and can't wait to give them a go. 

5. There were a few little gluten free chocolate bits, which unfortunately I won't be able to eat, but Mr M is pretty excited that he's got some treats in my parcel this month!! I just tossed the 9Bar in his workout bag for a post-gym-energy snack as he's walking to work in the morning. He's a happy man. 

6. My favourite two items are actually non-food items this month. The heart muffin molds and novelty baking tins are just so adorable, and i'm always loving new baking items. How adorable will it be to make little quiches and pasta bakes for Baby M and freeze them in love hearts. And the baking tin is just the perfect one person pie dish. 

Thank you so much to Lisa for such a fun and varied box of goodies this month. It felt like I was delving into Mary Poppins' carpet bag, it seemed like a never-ending box of treats. 

If you're interested in joining the Foodie Penpals, the European set-up is organised through Rock Salt, follow the link to find out more and to sign up. The set-up in the USA is through The Lean Green Bean. It really is so much fun so if you enjoy trying new foods and meeting more people in the blogging community, get involved!!