January Foodie Pen Pals Reveal

And it's that time again! Time for ...

It's been a few months' hiatus, but thankfully, the return engagement of free food in the mail went yummily well.

This month, I was paired up with Andrea, a fellow academic administrator who lives in Pennsylvania. She knows the joys of endless committee meetings AND she like ska music! It's like looking in the mirror!

I sent her some sumac rub, local NYC chocolate bars (one with quinoa and the other with chardonnay), Polish candies (chocolate prunes!) and some other local treats.(And once again, I forgot to take a photo before it was boxed. Mea culpa!)

And what did Andrea send me? A localized extravaganza:

There's a nice blend from Nicholas Coffee, Sea Salt Vanilla Caramels from Valos Chocolates, tapenade and hot pepper tomato paste from Delallo and Ciciarelli Bros. Italian dressing.

Andrea said she uses the dressing as a marinade. I'm not usually a big dressing guy, but this one was very simple with no sugars or odd gum extracts. It made a great topping for arugula and mandarin segments. With enough left for future marinades.

The coffee made it to my office coffee maker and it was quite lovely. The tapenade makes for a nice toast topping at breakfast (yeah, I'm a savory morning guy) and the spicy paste is earmarked for an upcoming sauce.

And the caramels?

Drooooollll

So thank you, Andrea for the great package! It's what Foodie Pen Pals should be all about!

If you're interested in joining the great food exchange, check out the site.