Fairy Healthy Life

August Foodie Pen Pals & a recipe

I was so blessed to have such an amazing pen pal for August. I know she truly took her time and put together a great package. Thank you again Marcia. I enjoyed (and am still enjoying it all)! You’re the best!

A big Thank You goes to Lindsay for putting this amazing program together. Check out her blog to see what everyone else was sent. If you would like to participate, the info is at the bottom of this post.

The first thing I opened up was the granola. Marcia picked it up from her local farmer’s market, which I love. There is nothing better than local food finds. I love that they explain on their website that you don’t have to eat everything “fat-free”! Granola is going to have good fats in it. You just can’t eat the whole bag in one sitting. But let me tell you, it sure was hard to put down.

The “hot mess” was so good. It had puffs, peanuts, seeds and raisins and was spicy! So good!

The chocolate nibs were from a local attorney turned chocolatier. So cool. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with them. I would like to incorporate them into a recipe somehow.

I really enjoyed the salsa with the hummus chips. They made some for good snacking this past weekend. So was the edamame.

Marcia doesn’t have a blog herself, but she included a card for her daughter Emilie’s blog: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme and Emilie’s boyfriend’s CD. I have to say, I really loved it; a great voice and great music. Thank you for sending it Marcia. I listen to it while I blog.

I was really surprised to see the garlic. I used it the day I received the box. I cut the bottom, sprayed it with olive oil and put it on the grill. I love garlic this way. It brings out a different, smoother flavor.

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I sent a foodie pen pal package to Laura. She doesn’t have a blog but sent me a very sweet e-mail:

“Hey Farrah!

Your package came in the mail a few days ago, and oh my! Everything is wonderful! I’m hooked on the Sweet Potato Chips, and I can’t wait to figure out what to make with the quinoa past. Can I just say though, that the almond bars are my favorite thing in there? If you wouldn’t mind sharing your recipe, I’d make those all the time!

Thank you for all your lovely food, my tummy is really happy.

Love, Laura”

I was ecstatic that Laura loved everything! I would have included the recipe with her package but I came up with it right on the spot and I had no idea it would be such a great hit! So I promised Laura I would include it here.

A few notes first. To make the fig paste, I combined 1/2 cup dried figs and 1/4 cup water in a food processor until mixed together. I change the temperature to 300* F. because I thought they were a little to crispy in the end.

Almond Butter Bars

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Serves	12-16
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	25 minutes
Total time	40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Coconut oil or butter
• 1/4 cup sucanat
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons fig paste
• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg, seperated
• 1 tablespoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup whloe wheat flour
• 1/4 cup bread flour
• 1 tablespoon chopped almonds
• 1 tablespoon shredded coconut

Directions

Step 1	Pre-heat oven to 300* F. In large mixing bowl, beat oil, sugars, egg yolk, almond extract and cinnamon until creamy.
Step 2	Add salt, fig paste, almond butter.
Step 3	On low, slowly add flours until mixed well.
Step 4	Mix in coconut.
Step 5	Pour in Prepared 9" x 13" greased pan. Brush with egg white. Top with sliced almonds. Bake for 25 minutes or until edges are barely turning brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Slice and enjoy.

If you’d like to be a foodie pen pal, a few things have changed. Here are the details:

-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 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!

*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!

Related posts:

June Foodie Pen Pals May Foodie Pen Pals Reveal february foodie pen pals July Foodie Pen Pals Part 2 April Foodie pen pals