Foodie Penpals - September

Regular readers of this blog will know that September was not the best of months for me: I started a new job, moved house and separated from my husband all in the space of thirty days.

Before all that - back in those heady days when I had a clue what was going on - I signed up to a rather fabulous scheme called Foodie Penpals. You can read about it here but the gist is that you buy some yummy things, pack them in a box and send them to a fellow foodie with a note of explanation.

My box arrived on one of the most horrible days of my life and, deeply mired in self pity as I was, it still managed to raise a smile from me. That's one of the amazing things about blogging. You become a part, albeit a tiny one, of a wider community where the collective spirit is one of support and kindness and joy.

My package came from the very lovely Carys. Look at my loot!



What was especially nice was how thoughtful the items were.

There were some Welsh delicacies - including some extremely gorgeous Welsh cakes (best described as flattish, lightly spiced scones - how have I managed to miss these for the past thirty years??) Oh, and toffee waffles that you perch on a cup of tea until they go all gooey and delectable. I definitely must go for tea in Wales.

There were also some slightly offbeat offerings - I told Carys via email that I would try anything once and she definitely took me up on it! But, let me tell you my friends, if you have never tried cheddar and toffee popcorn then you are seriously missing out. It is one of the most moreish snacks I've come across in a long time. I've found it here and will definitely be purchasing some more very soon. Roasted chickpeas proved almost as addictive - and being as healthy as they are tasty make a perfect snack for a WWer trying to claw her way back onto the wagon.

I still haven't got around to trying the green tea noodles and Japanese seasoning but see a seared tuna steak dish in my very near future to sample these.

So thank you to Carys, to Carole Ann who organises the scheme and, in fact, thank you to all you bloggers who have made this little corner of the web such a lovely place to be. Roll on October!