Foodie Penpal

This post on this blog will be in English. The reason for this is that Mariska has joined the international program of Foodie Penpals from Rock Salt (http://thisisrocksalt.com/foodie-penpals/). This program is a way for food bloggers and readers to get to know each other via food related parcels. At the beginning of the month you will be matched to someone where you receive a parcel from and you’re also sending a parcel to another person.

This month I was receiving a parcel from Hayley Reid and she lives in Irvine (Scotland) and sending a parcel to Tracy Knatt.

After receiving my matches I got in touch by them via mail. I asked Tracy about her wishes for the parcel and she didn’t gave me a difficult job to shop a lovely parcel for her, because she said that the only things she really didn’t like were marzipan and mushrooms. On the list she had seen that I’m from the Netherlands and she has been one time in Amsterdam where she ate Dutch apple pie and she hinted me that she would like to have a recipe for that because it was one of the nicest things she has ever eaten. Also hinted me that she would love to receive a parcel with typically Dutch food. So, I went shopping for Tracy and I bought her:  mix voor appeltaart, kruidnoten, stroopwafels, worstenbroodjes, erwtensoep, drop en Dutch tea blend. In the enclosed letter I explained her all the goodies and I also wrote the recipe for the Pie in English.
Tracy has already eaten the Apple Pie and you can read about it more on her blog: http://knattster.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/foodie-penpals-september-2013/

Ofcourse I also received a mail from Hayley about my wishes and I let her know that I would like to receive her favourite recipe and maybe some preservable ingredients of that recipe. Also told her that I prefered a mix of healthy food and some treats (you know me, always frightened of getting fat so didn’t want to receive only candy and cookies). 

And this is what I received from Hayley!
- Dried mushrooms - Shiitake paté
- Multigrain crackers
- Bags with raspberry porridge
- Dried fruit (apricot, pineapple and mango. The bag with the mango isn’t one this picture because I couldn’t help myself from eating eat before we took the picture J )
- Several bags of tea (raspberry vanilla, earl grey, blackberry elderflower and peppermint)

A parcel with only healthy ingredients, lucky me! She put a handwritten letter at it and added her favourite recipe, which is risotto with mushrooms. Didn’t have the chance to make it yet, but sure are going to make it as I also love risotto!

She let me know about the porridge that it is the best breakfast on cold mornings, but couldn’t wait for a cold morning. So, the Saturday after receiving my parcel me and Jurre were both eating one bag of the porridge. It was yummy!! It’s like oatmeal and the ones we have read this blog earlier know that we love oatmeal. Too bad we don’t have this stuff in the Netherlands otherwise I would have a new addiction for breakfast! I had this porridge with the raspberry vanilla tea I also got from her and that perfectly matched!

Meanwhile, we ate also some of the multigrain crackers with the shiitake pate. And we are in love with the multigrain crackers. They are very tastefull, you can almost eat them as cookies! Also had the other bags of dried fruit (always a lovely treat) and drunk the tea (especially loved the peppermint!). Thanks again Hayley for this great parcel! I enjoyed the whole!