Dec 2
Foodie Penpals – November 2013
posted by: Babette in Babette's Ffest on Dec 2nd, 2013 | |

I was so delighted with my first Foodie Pen Pal experience in October that I decided to do it again in November. I was matched with Kate from England whose brother used to live in Swansea and enjoyed visiting Swansea market, so I sent a parcel containing Welsh cakes, laver bread and other Welsh goodies.

Vanessa from Greece was given my name; she put a lot of thought and love into my parcel! What a joy!

Greek Foodie Penpal Parcel

Greek Foodie Penpal Parcel

The crowning jewel of the package is the Kalamata olives which are my favourite olives and the pride of Greece.

There is one item that I have never tasted in the package, stamnagathi, a type of wild chicory which grows in difficult to reach areas of the mountains in Crete. The stamnagathi was baked in some bread sticks.

I also learned something new with this package. I have heard of mastic chewing gum but what I did not know is that mastic is the resin from the mastic tree, which is indigenous to Chios in Greece. Also included are candies that have mastic.

Finally in the package are things that I am familiar with but am very excited to try the Greek varieties of them: tomato paste from Kyknos, green sage which can be used as a tea or as a herb for cooking, halva, and a dark chocolate wafer (Vanessa’s favourite from her childhood).

Foodie Penpals will be taking a break in December and will start up again in the New Year. If you live in the UK or Europe, you can read more about how it works here. If you live in the Americas you can read more about it here.

I will participate again in January and will be searching my farmer’s market for locally made non perishable food items that are light to post. According to the guidelines, the cost of the parcel should not exceed £10 excluding postage. You may adjust how much you spend on your parcel to reflect the higher cost of postage if sending to a foreign country. If you have any ideas for a foodie parcel, please do leave a suggestion!

One Response to “Foodie Penpals – November 2013”

  1. What a lovely parcel, and how cool that you could send some old favourites from Wales! Vanessa sure sent you some classic Greek treats, what a delight.

Leave a Reply