Key points of the program:

-On the 5th of the month, you  receive your penpal pairing via email. You contact  your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You  have to mail your box of goodies by the 15th of the month. On the last day of the month, you post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are  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!

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers.
- Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK residents.  

This is my first month being part of the Foodie Pen Pal Program.

On the 5th of April my journey began.

I received the name and email address of the person that I would send a goody box of food items to. I emailed her and got the basics of what types of foods she likes , eats most often and things she would like to try. We emailed back and forth and  chatted about foods in our local areas and my pen pals experience in the program.

My pen pal was from Dover , Delaware. She talked about enjoying spicy items and had an interest in sauces. My Foodie Pen Pal is a reader  (which means she does not have a food blog). 

Ok , so enough about my  duties as a the Foodie Pen Pal sender , I was also going to get a box of goodies from a different  Foodie Pen Pal .I received an email from Erin the Person who was going to be sending me a goody box. We emailed back and forth and she gathered information on my likes and dislikes. My Foodie Pen Pal Erin lives across the country from my home in Coastal North Carolina and I was very excited about chatting with her.

She has a  food blog that  has many amazing looking recipes. http://divatasticgladiator.com/

I was like a kid on Christmas when I received my box of goodies in the mail. Erin had listened when I said I loved anything spicy , she sent me a jar of roasted pickled jalapenos. They were wonderful , I have used them on tacos, in scrambled eggs and in Jalapeno corn bread

(sorry the picture was not so great, they were hard to see in the jar)

Other treats in my box were Homemade Vanilla Extract and Spearmint Tincture (That one was new to me, but smelled amazing and was great in hot tea)

 Last but far from least were a little bit of heaven. Fluffy , lite amazingly good......, no Great Homemade Bourbon Vanilla Marshmallows. Each square of goodness melted in my mouth , and no you can't eat just one. I am going to have to learn to make Marshmallows, these are nothing like the things that come in big plastic bags. 

I was very pleased with my first experience with Foodie Pen Pals and can not wait until May 5th for my next match up. I will soon have two more foodie friends from some where across the country.

Usually I would not post about the items I sent my Foodie Pen Pal but since she does not have a blog and didn't ask to post on my page I will post.

I meant to take pictures of the items I sent my pen pal but I was so excited about getting my goody box in the mail that I forgot to get pictures.

I will list what I sent to Delaware and links to the products .

 I sent :

 A loaf of Jalapeno Cheddar Bread from the Great Harvest Bread 

Company (only baked on Friday and sold out by the end of the day)

A box of  chocolate , lemon and key lime Macarons from one of my favorite places the Shuga Shak 

http://www.shugashak.com/

A bottle of Cranberry Pear Vinegar from Taste the Olivehttp://www.tastetheolive.com/

Cranberry Pear White Balsamic Vinegar 375ml
It is clean, crisp and tart and boasts a lovely deep rose blush.  It has an amazingly fruity, complex bouquet that shines in a multitude of culinary applications. Use to dressfruit salad, with gelatin for a gorgeous fruit aspic, in dressings, marinades, a glaze for poultry or in a mixed drink.

A bottle of Carolina BBQ sauce : This eastern NC BBQ sauce is made from a hundred-year-old family recipe consisting primarily of vinegar and plenty of hot pepper, making it the choice of Carolina barbecue purists who like their pulled pork SPICY.BBQ Sauce is made in eastern NC according to a traditional vinegar recipe (no tomatoes), for a thin & tangy sauce that's best enjoyed with pulled pork BBQ and also as a marinade for chicken.

and some mini chocolate bars by Chuao