Foodie Penpals: July

Last month I started participating in the Foodie Penpal program hosted by Lindsay at Lean Green Bean.  I had a lot of fun picking items to send to my penpal this month and had my fingers crossed that my package would show up before we left town for our big road trip. (By the way, I’m in NYC until after Eid for BlogHer and some vacationing with the family).  The good news is that my package did arrive!  I snapped a few pictures with my phone before we headed out the door.

My penpal was Shri of Tiffin Carrier Antic and honestly I was crossing my fingers and toes that she would send me a tiffin and lots of Indian goodies. I loved reading the letter she sent along, detailing where in India she is from and background on all the items.  There’s something to be said for a written note.  My finger crossing must have worked because I got all kinds of great things!  Shri lives in Virginia and I made a special request for Utz’s Crab chips, a favorite of ours from our time spent in the area.  She sent me a big bag!

I have always wanted a tiffin but have never actually just gone and purchased one.  I was soo thrilled when I saw one in this package. Also included was a tikka masala mix (it was really good!), matta rice and raw-broken Matta rice, jaggery, basmathi flower, ghee, spicy madras murrukku (gluten-free!  Haven’t tried them yet but they look like a type of cracker/chip), and of course my chips. I really couldn’t have been more happy with all of these lovely items. She also passed along a Ramadan greeting that really made me smile!

Thank you Shri!!!

And now it’s time for some details about Foodie Penpals.  In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-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. 
-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 August, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

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

*If you’re from somewhere besides the US, Canada or Europe and want to participate, send me an email and I’ll see if we get enough interest this month!