Foodie Pen Pals: July Edition

"What's a foodie pen pal?" I hear you ask. It's a straightforward concept really. Every month you are assigned a foodie that you must send a package of tasty and delicious morsels to. This foodie could have their own food blog, or they might just enjoy reading other people's blogs whilst enjoying food themselves. On the 5th of the month you are sent a database containing all of the foodie penpal matches for that month. You are told the name of your recipient, their email and links to their blog and/or twitter account. Seeing the entire database, you can also look into who will be sending you a box this month. Once you've sent off the box you've painstakingly created, you can sit back and wait for your own to arrive. The idea is then to blog about your experience and the box that you received.

I was more than excited to discover this venture and within half an hour of uncovering the idea, I had joined and was anxiously awaiting my first match. My box this month is from Paula who writes All About the Bake (definitely check out her blog for some incredibly tasty looking treats and recipes!). We had a really lovely chat prior to the box creation and I discovered she used to live in my neighborhood back in the day. I love the family feel to her blog, as if I needed anything else to make me broody... But the pictures of her kids baking and enjoying life are no less than adorable. Her blog being entirely bake based meant that I was apprehensive to see whether Paula would share one of her creations with me.

I walked into the office, rather wearily, on Monday morning to discover an exciting parcel on my desk. I have to say that Paula's handwriting is absolutely gorgeous! It was the perfect Monday morning antidote and I was bouncing around with excitement for a good while. Here is my box for July:

Paula included a beautiful hand written letter explaining what she had included and why. Everything felt really personal, which I loved because it's always interesting and exciting to share your passions with others. 

The first thing I noticed was these bad boys. I am a huge Reece's Cups fan, although I don't like peanut butter without chocolate to accompany it. I'd seen Reese's Pieces before but had never tried them (I was always too distracted by the cups). Even though it was 9.10am, I am ashamed to say that I ripped these straight open and devoured each and every last one. They are like M&Ms but filled with peanut butter. I am in love. I am now inspired to make chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes and cover them with Reese's Pieces! It was a good start.

The next thing that I indulged in was a cup of Charbew Strawberry and Cream tea. I am a big herbal tea fan and who doesn't love strawberries and cream?! These smelt incredible and I even reused my first teabag twice because I didn't want to waste a single drop of it's delicate flavour. They even donate 25p to Breakthrough Breast Cancer, a cause which is close to my own heart. 

This little jar intrigued me. I was lucky that Paula had taken time to explain what it was because otherwise I would have been completely stumped. Soffritto paste is used as base for sauce, soups and stews and is a broken down mixture of carrots, onions and celery. It originated from Tuscany, Italy. It is not to be confused with the spanish 'Sofrito', a paste made from garlic, onion and tomatoes. Paula told me that she uses Soffritto as a base for risotto. Risotto is something I have yet to conquer, but last night I did and I will post the recipe in due course!

These little bastards (please excuse my French), have been distracting me from work all week. They are extremely moreish and addictive. Yesterday I went home with a dress covered in salt and nut residue. Generally I'm not a huge nut fan, but these are a revelation. I cannot stop eating them. They are comparable to popcorn kernels with a roasted, salty flavouring. The office has smelt of popcorn since Monday because of my new addiction. Mpphsff nurff srfffrrm (sorry, can't speak, eating more corn nuts).

Another item in my box was a Schwartz Grill Mates Mojito Lime Marinade mix. I, like any other modern girly girl, love my cocktails. Mojitos being one of the most summery, and summer is something we have definitely been lacking as of late. Unsure what use to put this to, I think I will wait until the next barbecue we have and create some chunky chicken kebabs with peppers and onions, maybe with a touch of fresh lime and chilli for a kick. 

Ah, the pièce de résistance of my box. The homemade Rosemary Loaf Cake. I am a big fan of fresh herbs and love our herb garden at home, as does Paula - well, not our herb garden... that would be a bit strange, I mean her own of course. With this cake, I was the most popular person in the office. I shared it with anyone I could think of, to spread the joy and tastyness throughout Barnes! It was incredibly light and floral for a loaf  cake, which meant I could eat lots of it without feeling too guilty for piling in the stodge. The sugar covered crust was so pleasurable to eat, that I pinched many of the crunchy parts before anyone could get a slice. I felt honoured that she had gone to so much effort - to make me a whole cake! If anything, you could really see the passion and love that had gone into it.

Finally, another personal touch from Paula, was the huge broad beans from her garden in Lancashire. My dream is to have a little cottage in the country (à la River Cottage) with a huge vegetable patch and orchards... and horses... and baby lambs... and lots of homemade pies. We used to grow runner beans when I was much younger, and so these really transported me back to happy childhood summers of picking them straight from the plant and crunching. That lunch, I used them to make myself a delicious lunch. So I shall leave you with a recipe:

Broad Bean, Beetroot, Pea and Ricotta Ciabatta

This was such a quick, simple and flavousome lunch and was a great way to feel indulgent whilst eating fresh veg at the same time.

Ingredients:

 -2 Slices of Ciabatta (toasted ideally)

- 1 Cooked Beetroot, diced

- A Handful of Broad Beans

- 2 Tbsp Fresh or Tinned Peas

- 1 Tbsp Ricotta

- 1 Clove of Garlic, finely chopped or crushed

- 1 Tsp Oregano

- A Squeeze of Lemon Juice

- Drizzle of Olive Oil

Directions:

• Toast your ciabatta if you can as it will help support the topping. I couldn't when making mine but it was still lovely to eat. Make sure it is cooled before moving on.
• In a small bowl, mix the ricotta with the oregano, lemon juice, garlic and seasoning.
• Spread the mixture evenly across your ciabatta.
• Sprinkle your broad beans, peas and beetroot across your slices.
• Season with some black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
• Enjoy!

You Know You're A Foodie When...

On pondering my love of food (something I spend most of my time doing), I considered what is it that makes me a foodie. Here are some of the reasons I came up with...

You get excited about novelty kitchen equipment.

Like this tiny grater. What would you use this for? I personally loved this little guy with abundance because it made me feel like a normal sized person.

You're idea of a low hassle lunch includes poaching and making a hollandaise sauce.

This was my lunch a couple of days ago. I fancied something quick and easy yet tasty and noticed a box of duck eggs had appeared in our kitchen. I cheekily pinched one, poached it and served it on a slice of sourdough toast, wilted spinach and covered in a buttery, homemade hollandaise. To be honest, I felt a little pretentious eating this... but I think that actually made it taste a little better.

You spend half an hour making a sandwich for your packed lunch.

I found the recipe for this one through Pinterest and it comes from 'Full Belly Sisters'. Grilled Gouda, Spinach and Avocado. Luckily we have a microwave at work to make the cheese extra melty. To top it off, you consequently spend the entirety of your morning at work thinking about said sandwich and how good it's going to be. 

The amount of spices you own replicates your supermarket spice section.

We have an entire shelf for our spices at home and this really isn't enough space. A spice rack would be out of the question - we need to construct a wall of spices. Should I order them alphabetically, by taste or heat or by origin?

You've found yourself sitting in front of food channels at 3am.

Food Network and Good Food are two of my best friends. I am always happy to settle down in front of the TV and put on a food show, whether it be Masterchef, Cupcake Wars or a celeb chef show. But sometimes I find myself drifting in to a daze and next thing I know, it's 3am. This was a regular occurance in our houseshare last year, but that was more acceptable as we'd often go out drinking until 3 and then switch on.

You've started planning your dream holiday around restaurants and food.

Rob and I have started planning our dream holiday where we would stay at the Snoqualmie Falls and then travel down the West Coast of the US. Taking inspiration from shows such as Man v. Food, our stops are purely planned around what we will be eating. I also find excitement in trying special local delicacies, no matter how weird and wonderful they might be.

A large proportion of your birthday presents are food and recipe books.

This year, I tripled my number of recipe and food books. Alongside this, I received kitchen and baking equipment. Enough said.

You bore your friends and family with your food knowledge.

Every time I find out something new about food, I feel the need to share it with my loved ones. This is purely because I find it completely fascinating. Unfortunately they don't tend to feel the same way.