May Foodie Penpal

It's time to share my package of goodies from my May Foodie Penpal! My box was sent to me

by Toni from runninglovingliving.com

Toni sent me a box filled with snacks ready to eat.  Just like last month, I dug in right away. I have no idea how she stayed under the $15 limit...apparently she's quite the savvy grocery shopper!  Once again, I was horrible about taking pictures, I have this one of the whole stash.

First up was a package of farro.  It is an Italian wheat, which Toni said was great in soups & salads.  She enclosed a recipe as well, so I had an idea of how to use it.  I had never even heard of this before!  I am so excited to give it a try, but unfortunately haven't had time to make anything with it yet.  Conor & I have had a crazy busy schedule lately, so every dinner I made has been quick & simple.

The next item to catch my eye was whole wheat couscous from Trader Joe's.  I love couscous and never knew you could buy a whole wheat version, bonus!  I used this in a saffron couscous recipe that I make all the time.  It went perfectly with some blue cheese & mushroom stuffed burgers I made last week.

One of my favorite items was the Bear Naked Fit vanilla almond crunch granola.  As you all know, I've been a huge oats/granola kick lately, so this was perfect.  I really like the Bear Naked brand, but hadn't tried any of their Fit mixes.  This granola was very light & healthy.  I liked it, but the pregnant woman in me would still prefer a sweeter granola.  :-)

My absolute favorite item was the chocolate cookies from Tate's Bake Shop!  These were to die for!  Crispy little morsels of goodness.  Many of the cookies broke in the shipping process, which was alright by me because this way I had no idea how many cookies I was eating!  Conor & I devoured these in two nights, and I haven't stopped thinking about them since.
Ironically, I received another thing of Nutella To Go this month.  The people of New York must really love their nutella (Toni is from New York as was last month's penpal)!  I ate this treat in about two seconds.  Once again delicious and was just what my sweet tooth needed!

The rest of the box was filled with all sorts of little snacks.  Included were Aurora Natural Cranberry Health Mix, Lara Bars, a Kind bar, and Pop Corners (popped corn chips).   I loved having a bunch of new snacks on hand, because I am always hungry!  Plus they were easy to throw in my gym bag.

My penpal this month was a reader (not a blogger) so there will be no post from her.  Since I had no blog to check out, I had to guess on what I thought she might like.  I decided to send a few goodies that are all found in the Northwest, since she lives in New Mexico.  From Seattle: Tom Douglas rub with love & Snoqualmie Falls Pancake Mix.  From Spokane: Blue Cornbread Mix from Christs's Kitchen.

Here's what she said about my box in an email: "Got your box today! I just bought fresh blueberries and strawberries so tomorrow's breakfast might just be waffle n berries! I LOVE cornbread! I have been waiting to make a Paula Dean BBQ chicken and corn bread recipe so this is perfect ;) oh and my husband is from Spokane! We lived there for a bit when we were first married; small world! The salmon rub I think I'll use on fresh cut sweet potato wedges! The hubby doesn't eat ANY seafood at all but the ingredients in this seem to be just what I'd use on the wedges! Thanks again Laura. (I was secretly hoping you'd send chocolate cherries from Pike Street Market!) haha just kidding ;)"

I love Foodie Penpals, but unfortunately think I might need to take a break for a few months while I wait for Liam to arrive!

Here's some information about Foodie Penpals if anyone is interested:

-On the 5th of every month, you will 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.
If you’re interested in participating for June, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. You will also find contact information on that page for the UK branch of Foodie Penpals if you’re a blogger across the pond.  You must submit your information by June 4th as pairings will be emailed on June 5th!

April Foodie Penpal

It's time to share my first treats from my Foodie Penpal!  My box was sent to me

by Jona from zee lemons.

Jona sent me the most amazing stash of snacks; I was very excited to dig in. She sent some orzo, tea, a nutella snack pack, and homemade granola (with the recipe). Yes, homemade. She’s good like that! Along with my box, Jona sent a very nice card. There is something to be said about receiving a handwritten card, and I just love receiving mail in general!

(I had planned on taking plenty of pictures of all the goodies, but of course failed at that...I need to get better about using my camera more often!)

The orzo was a local item (Jona is from Troy, New York).  It was Bon Vivant Orzo: wild mushroom, saffron, spinach, & cayenne flavored orzo from Flour City Pasta.  I was so excited to try this since I've only ever used a boring, plain orzo.  The flavors were incredible!  I could really taste the cayenne flavoring which added a nice kick.  Orzo is one of my favorite pastas, but I think it's frequently passed over.  Nice to see someone else has an appreciation for it.  I made this as part of the first dinner Conor & I had on our deck!  Hello warmer weather!

The tea was lavender earl grey from The Whistling Kettle.  I love all things lavender; it's as if Jona knew me! :-)  I have been savoring this tea and am already worried about running out!  Jona suggested I try it with steel cut oats if I was feeling adventurous.  Yes, please!  Does she know how many oats I've been consuming on a regular basis lately?!  I can't wait to try the two together here soon.

The nutella snack pack was was a surprising delight.  I know practically everybody loves nutella, but it's never really been my thing.  However, my pregnant hormones were raging and as soon as I saw the snack pack I knew that I needed to eat it immediately.  I just can't control myself sometimes.  I devoured the snack in a few minutes and was left completely satisfied.  Since this little treat, I have been thinking that I need a nutella & banana crepe...good thing the coffee shop just down the street will be able to help me with that.

The granola was probably my favorite item!  I loved that it was homemade and that she gave me the recipe.  I have always wanted to make my own granola, but never took the time to find a recipe I liked.  Well this one was perfect!  I was on a blueberry kick for awhile so this fit right in with my cravings.  Here is the recipe for those of you who are interested:

Dried Blueberry Granola
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup almonds
handful sunflower seeds
3/4 cup dried blueberries
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat wet ingredients on stove.  Mix dry (except blueberries) in a bowl.  Combine & bake 15-20 minutes.  Add blueberries & enjoy!

Sometimes I alter a recipe depending on what's in my pantry, and sometimes I add my own little touch.  I didn't have maple syrup or honey since I'm an agave nectar kind of girl so I just used 1/4 cup of agave as a substitute for both.  I also added 1 tsp of almond extract since I had it on hand, and I think it was an amazing addition!  The whole house smelled wonderful while it was baking!

Overall, I am so happy that I took part in Foodie Penpals, and I plan on doing it again! I definitely lucked out being paired up with Jona. She knows her stuff. Definitely take some time to check out her blog!

Also check out Adriana’s awesome blog at Foodie Be Fit.  I sent her a box this month, so hopefully she liked it!  I actually sent some similar items to what I received (tea & granola).  Too funny!


Here's some information about Foodie Penpals if anyone is interested:

-On the 5th of every month, you will 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.
If you’re interested in participating for May, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. You will also find contact information on that page for the UK branch of Foodie Penpals if you’re a blogger across the pond!
You must submit your information by May 4th as pairings will be emailed on May 5th!

A tree, hot dog stand, presents, & pickles!

In an effort to catch up on this blog, I'm putting all of December into one post.  The month absolutely flew by and seemed like a blur...

As per tradition, Conor & I got our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving.  However, this year there would be not trip to the pub for some cider beforehand.  :'(  Conor thought I was crazy for decorating our house for Christmas even though our movers were arriving on December 20th!  I thought HE was crazy for actually suggesting that I wouldn't be putting up any decorations!  However, I did agree to do no outdoor lights as a compromise.

I got to enjoy our tree and everything else I decorated (which is quite a bit) for a solid three weeks!  Well worth the effort.  The night we put up our tree I got an early Christmas/Congrats-on-being-pregnant gift...a heart rate monitor!  I was very excited to get this so I could continue to work out and not have to worry about my heart rate getting too high.

The first weekend in December, we flew to Spokane for my good friend Andy's wedding.  I have always thought winter weddings were gorgeous, so I was really excited for this one!  I took practically no pictures unfortunately.  I have been terrible about using my camera lately....I need to get better about this before our baby is here!  While being the designated driver isn't my ideal role at a wedding, I still had a wonderful time!  We weren't planning on sharing the news of my pregnancy with friends yet, since I was only 7 weeks along, but after Conor had a few drinks in him the cat was out of the bag!  The highlight of the night was the hot dog stand right outside of the wedding reception!  What a fabulous idea.  Who doesn't love a late night hot dog?!

Back in Arizona, we said goodbye to friends and prepared for our big move.  Although the movers came before Christmas, Conor & I still had to fly back to AZ after the holidays to drive his car and our cats to Seattle.  It was such a busy month, with hardly any time to relax.  However, Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year, and I made sure we enjoyed it!  This year we went the MT to spend Christmas with the Keenans.  It was a short visit, but I had such a great time experiencing all of their traditions with them.  Christmas Eve we went to Church and then had oyster stew with the whole family.  The next morning was stockings & cinnamon rolls followed up later in the day with more presents and a prime rib dinner.  Later into the evening we all had Wii "Just Dance" tournament...and I would just like to say that, yes, I won!!!  Not sure if it was my amazing moves or the fact that I was one of the few people that wasn't a couple glasses of wine deep!  We will never know...



The next morning, we got up super early and were on the road to Spokane was our second half of Christmas!  Unfortunately, my brother Ryan was really sick and missed out on the festivities this year.  It was a fun day filled with brunch (virgin mimosas for the pregnant gals), presents, many competitive games of Foosball & pool, and another delicious prime rib dinner!  This year my mom gave all of us girls (Shalan, Chelsea, & I) and Pandora bracelet with a baby carriage charm for all our little ones on the way!  Such a special gift that I absolutely love.  I have since added to it with a house (when we finally moved in) and a blue glass bead (when we found out Baby K was a boy).  This Christmas was all about baby and next year will be crazy when are the three wee ones crawling around!

New Year's Eve was spent at Spirit Lake.  We went to our favorite bar (of the three choices) The White Horse Saloon.  I was happy because they have the most amazing fried pickles ever!e!!  Seriously, they are the best.  I find myself thinking about those pickles all the time.  While everyone else was enjoying their drinks, I probably housed a whole order of pickles by myself!  Before the bar got too crazy, we headed back to my parents cabin where we played games and watched the ball drop.  I even stayed up til midnight, which at this point in my pregnancy was quite the accomplishment!

Hello 2012!  This is going to be such an exciting year.  Hopefully I will get better about blogging and taking pictures!