Foodie Pen Pals

This month, we decided to participate in Foodie Penpals. We’ll be alternating months, so I participated this month, and Casey will participate in September.

Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean runs the program, which connects tons of bloggers and readers each month. Here are the details:

-On the 5th of every month, you receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for September, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by September 4th as pairings will be emailed on September 5th!

My pen pal this month was Latracey at Stuck on Purpose. This note accompanied my package:

I live in Ocean Springs, MS (near New Orleans) in the Gulf of Mexico area. The box I sent included sweet & sassy with extra spice when you wanted to include it. I enjoyed sharing bits & pieces of “my” southern comforts with you and I hope you enjoy.

Trust me, it’s enough to share because that’s how we do it in the south.

She wasn’t kidding about “enough to share”!! Check it out…

Breading packets

Seasonings

Rice and Beans

Paula Deen’s Raspberry Jam

Coincidentally, the same day my box arrived, I picked up my CSA share for the week, and it included okra and tomatoes. Perfect pairings for the southern fixins Latracey sent!

I cooked up a package of black beans and rice, and sauteed the okra with a bit of ancho chile powder. Served on top of a bed of greens and topped with cherry tomatoes and avocado, this was a delicious summery rice bowl.