I did a snack exchange thing...

Recently I took part in a snack exchange through a site I participate in regularly. Basically, you respond to someone's post asking for an exchange partner, agree on a dollar amount of food that you are willing to trade (excluding postage) and then exchange boxes of local food. Sure, it might be cheaper to buy the exchange items off Amazon or whatever, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun or mystery.

My exchange partner was from Texas, told me that her birthday was coming up and she wanted foreign snacks to enjoy. She had no preferences or dietary restrictions, but liked gummy things, chocolates and hadn't tried anything from Australia so was happy for me to choose a selection (she wasn't enthusiastic about Vegemite or I'd have popped a small pack in too). We agreed on a budget of $15USD for snacks, which worked out to be just under $19AUD. I think I got a pretty good representation of Australian snacks!

I always like seeing both side of an exchange, so here's what I sent:

• French Fries
• Chicos
• Allens Party Mix
• Twisties - both cheese and chicken variety
• TimTam - gelato messina choc mint and cherry coconut varieties
• BBQ shapes
• Pods - snickers variety (because Americans are all about the horrible Tide Pod challenge at the moment and I thought it would be funny to send actual edible ones)
• Chicken salt - surprisingly, this is a uniquely Australian seasoning and even more surprisingly is ninja vegan! Who knew
• Not pictured - half a container of a Favourites selection that I used to fill the gaps - Cadbury mini cherry ripes, moro, boost, dairy milk, crunchie, turkish delight, flake and dream bar

I wrote a note explaining each item, explained the TimTam Slam and why she should try it and told her I'd love to know what was her favourite item once she got through them all (Pods are the winner at the moment but she hasn't tried everything yet).

Here's what I got back in my box. I hadn't provided any dietary restrictions because I figured if I wouldn't eat something, Mr Fork or the smalls would. The only thing I said was that I would prefer not to get any American chocolate (I think it's not very nice) and when asked I said I was happy to have spicy snacks! Every single thing she sent was totally new to me and if I'm honest, I don't even know what half of it is!

Lots of it is spicy and some of it I think are Spanish or Mexican sweets so the ingredients lists aren't in English at all.

   

The bright lollipops on the right are watermelon flavoured and then coated with spicy coating (I think they're amazingly delicious). The colourful chain of lollies underneath are spicy tamarind coated things which are delightfully spicy and sour at the same time.

Interestingly, the twizzlers (root beer and cherry flavoured) are both ninja vegan and SO GOOD! I haven't had a gummy sweet in a long time and these were good (I wasn't sure initially but I quite like the root beer flavour). The Laffy Taffy (watermelon and guava flavour) is also a ninja vegan product and I found it a chewy, fluffy sort of starburst type thing. It was good.

My smalls liked the milky (real milk!) lollypops, and there were also some soft caramels which Mr Fork tells me were amazing (but very milky... he thinks maybe goat milk). Mr Fork also claimed the spicy Fiesta mix and warhead worms as soon as he saw them. 

It was a super fun thing to do - I had fun picking snacks and then the anticipation of trying something surprising and new-to-me was half of the excitement, and then it was like opening a box to get a glimpse of someone else's favourite snack culture.

I'd definitely do it again in the future, and Mr Fork is already putting in requests for exchange locations to keep an eye out for. I certainly have some places in mind I'd like to try snacks from... I've even seen some posts pop up where people are looking for vegan or healthy snack exchange partners too which seems fun.

So I'm interested to know, if you could choose a location to exchange snacks with, where would you pick? And what would you send in an exchange that was representative of your location or your favourites?

What's in my kitchen, July 2016

I skipped last month's in my kitchen round up. I nearly didn't make this month's either. We have been the house of sick here. With children in daycare, winter does tend to mean that we are all constantly teetering on the edge of illness, but I overbalanced off that edge and fell right into a chest infection. Probably the kids had it too, but they were much peppier than I was. I'm putting it down to the resilience of youth. It really couldn't have come at a worse time either (not that there is ever a good time to be ill). I work in a stream of technology related to payroll and the systems behind them, and the month leading up to the end of financial year is always busy. None the less, I'm on the mend and the work deadlines have eased so the end of financial year celebrations can now begin as well as a few other work milestones that were met simultaneously.

Although there is no central host for this month, here are some highlights from my July kitchen:

In my kitchen is...

Pei Pa Koa. I generally hate using cough syrups, but when it gets to the stage that I'm keeping myself and everyone else awake with my constant hacking, I resort to Pei Pa Koa, which is a herbal syrup that I obtain from my local asian grocer. By all reports it was originally developed by a physician back in the Qing Dynasty. It is taken orally, I usually just use a tablespoon and take it straight, although for my children I mix it into water and have them drink it.

It does contain honey so it is not vegan, but it works and I feel comforted using something that I have used over the years whenever I have been ill. There is something to be said for habits and traditions, which I'm sure contribute as much to a cure as real medicine does as well.

In my kitchen is...

In keeping with my chest infection, I found myself cross, thirsty, hot (perhaps a little fevered) and heaty. Yes, that was deliberate; I do mean hot and heaty as two separate symptoms. Instead of rushing to the doctor at the signs of illness, there are many, I suppose one would call them 'old Chinese wives tales' that can help cure what ails you. Traditional Chinese wisdom uses food as medicine, and the notion of cooling and heatiness relates to a balance of yin and yang within the body. In the Chinese context, barley water is good for cooling internal 'fire'  and calming a sore throat and other heat related issues. Apparently, the English used to serve barley water to the sick and infirm, so perhaps there is something to it all. Regardless, I wanted some, and so I cooked up a batch.

I didn't have the proper Chinese barley on hand, so mine was made with plain old pearl barley and not sweetened at all, although I did doctor the servings depending on my mood. Some were plain. Some were served with Pei Pa Koa mixed in. Some had some lemon and a splash of rum included too (perhaps not very traditional that last one!). I am not a rum drinker, but Mr Fork is and he nearly went into hysterics when he saw which of his precious rums I had chosen to use in my barley toddy (apparently it was a very good one). I have never seen the point of straining all the good barley bits, so I leave mine in when serving.

Pictured in a glorious glass bottle that has it's own little neoprene cover. I was gifted a set of these BBBYO (Beautiful Beaches, BYO) bottles by a dear friend of mine. They are wonderful - I use them for hot and cold drinks and find them one of the nicest reusable bottles I have ever used.

In my kitchen is...

The most amazing rocky road. Made by the Noosa Chocolate Factory in Noosa, Queensland, their rocky road comes in white, milk and dark chocolate varieties. Amazingly, and oddly not well advertised, their dark chocolate version is completely vegan! That's right, ninja vegan rocky road!! So good, it has me walking from one end to the other end of the city regularly to stock up. I've told them that they're missing a prime opportunity to cater to vegan chocoholics by shouting that from the rooftops, but they said that, although the machinery is cleaned in between batches, they do use the same machines for the milk versions as well, so can't 100% guarantee that there aren't trace ingredients.

It's my guilty pleasure. Guilty because, if I eat without restriction, I can quite easily polish off an entire bag in one sitting. Look at it though! I have no idea how they make such delicious marshmallow and jelly without the gelatine, but they've done a spectacular job of it. Many of their dark chocolate items are also vegan, but this one is my favourite.

In my kitchen is...

A gift from my work colleague who, knowing what a chocolate fiend I am, brought me a dark chocolate frog when she was up visiting from Melbourne recently. As she works very closely with me, I suspect that she is also feeling all kinds of relief that it is the end of financial year too. Perhaps a package of celebratory rocky road may need to find it's way to her desk soon.

I love that I have colleagues who love and appreciate me as much as I do them. I have been slowly nibbling away at this dark chocolate (vegan!) frog when I have a hot drink after dinner at night times. Mr Fork and my children all shun dark chocolate, so these treats are pretty much all mine (which means they last for ages and don't just disappear when my back is turned)...

In my kitchen is...

Lovely thick and hearty dahl, made from split peas. I've been making lots of legume meals lately. They're easy to make in bulk, freeze well for the nights I don't feel like cooking, and are so soothing and warm now that winter has settled in and the weather is most decidedly chilly. This particular version included tomato, coriander seeds that I'd dried from the garden, some mustard seeds and a whole bunch of lovely spices which made the house smell gorgeously fragrant. Served over some rice, it was a warming meal and perfect for soothing a sore throat.

There is no official link up for the In My Kitchen this month, so I'm just going to throw it out there to all... what's going on in your kitchen this month?

What's in my kitchen, November 2015

Wow, it's November. The year is just that much closer to being over soon. Christmas is coming, the weather is heating up and it's starting to feel very much like Summer! If things continue the way they are, it's going to be a very hot, stormy season I think. Which will probably do fabulous things for the garden, but probably won't be as appealing for human (and animal) comfort levels. Already it's getting to be difficult to sleep - although possibly I could write this off to the fact that Jimmy likes to sleep curled up close to my head, with one of his fat little hands touching my face. If I dare to move away, he wakes, so I've had to get used to sleeping next to a warm babe for now.

October was a busy month, with my mother's group in full on baby birthday season, so weekends were busy attending parties (and throwing our own). This is the part of the year where we get busy with celebrations and parties as the lead up to Christmas gets earlier and earlier... in fact, my work Christmas party falls in the middle of November this year! Crazy, but at least it's a great season for fresh foods, gorgeous stone fruits and lots of festivities and catching up with people.

In my kitchen is...

Nuttelex made with coconut oil. I saw this while grocery shopping and had to get it. I'm a sucker for trying things that are a little bit different from the items I usually have at home. I was impressed with the absence of palm oil and the fact that a donation would be made to the Orangutan Foundation. It is smaller than my regular spread, and not really much of a change in flavour. Further research also suggests that it is just rebranded Sunburst spread (no advertising that fact anywhere on the package though!), so I probably won't purchase it again unless it was on sale.

 

In my kitchen is...

 

Another birthday cake. This time, it was for Jimmy, who turned one. I have a one year old! Gosh, it doesn't feel like a whole year, but to be fair, I have been in a bit of a sleep deprived fog. I kept it very simple for his cake. A plain chocolate cake (not vegan as it had our eggs and some milk in) and a chocolate 'butter'cream icing made with nuttelex (I forgot to buy proper butter but it still worked out). As the party was on Halloween weekend, I kept decorations simple with some coloured fondant cutouts on top and around the sides.

Easy to make, and I'm told, delicious. It certainly looked lovely, moist and cake-y inside.

In my kitchen is...
 

Ninja Vegan jelly from Aldi. Ninja Vegan is the term I use when something is sneakily vegan. I'm always super chuffed when that something is a food I would usually expect to contain animal bits.

I haven't had jelly in years due to gelatine, but when I was looking for something for Jimmy to snack on that I could easily pack into a bag for his carers when I don't have time to make my own jelly. I found these. They come in three flavours (there is also a strawberry version) and they are all thoughtfully labelled suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Yay!

In my kitchen is...

Fairy bread! I haven't had fairy bread in so long, but with it being Jimmy's first birthday party and our guests ranging from the not-even-at-solids stage through to the young at heart, I figured you couldn't go wrong with sprinkles on bread. It was store bought white bread at Mr Fork's insistence, as he said my sourdough was too gourmet for fairy bread. I was happy to indulge him, but I did use nuttelex instead so that the dairy allergy attendees could also indulge. It was a party hit, although I was criticised for being too stingy with the sprinkles.

 

In my kitchen is...
 

Halloween cupcakes. Well, if I'm going to be honest, there isn't anything really specifically Halloween-ish about these, except for the fact that they're in pumpkin cases with a little pumpkin toothpick in them. In fact, they're the recipe for my coconut bread baked in cupcake form. Quite a few of my friends have food intolerances, so these cater for the soy, dairy and egg free people.

 

In my kitchen is...
 

Lollypop spiders. A quirky little addition to the goodie bags at Jimmy's party. So easy and fun to make with Ellie as well. Take a lollypop, bend pipecleaners around to look like spider legs and then hot glue on some googly eyes. They turned out really well and were a bit of a hit. Also included in the bags was a box of Peppa Pig sultanas (I'd hoped the merchandise would encourage them to eat it!), a bottle of bubble mix, a chocolate pumpkin and a Halloween themed chocolate coin.

In my kitchen is...

 

Tomatoes from a friend's garden. Her plants got a pest infestation and had to go, but she harvested what she could first, and was kind enough to share some with me. Let me tell you, there is nothing like home grown tomatoes. Just look at the gorgeous colours on them (my favourite is that little one at the front that is almost a bit pink). Yes, they taste as good as they look too!

I am linking this post in with Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial's monthly In My Kitchen event. Go have a peek through other kitchens around the globe!

What's in your kitchen this month?

Three things Thursday

I do love a short week. Of course, it could be argued that as I don't 'work' per se, public holidays don't mean the same thing. This is true, but a public holiday is still an extra day that Mr Fork has at home with us, and that's always fun!

1. Mr Fork and I had thought about going on a mini break somewhere over the Australia Day long weekend, but we left it a bit late to book, so that's an activity for another time now. Instead, we spent some time at home, some time out and about and even indulged in the well known Australian tradition of running through the sprinkler in the backyard. Jimmy is still too little to enjoy such things, so he alternately ate and slept in the wrap, but Ellie had a ball. Hooray for water!

2. I made some time to tend to the garden, so I have lots of things growing now. I've tidied and weeded, and in one of the garden beds there are snow peas, lettuce, coriander and parsley all newly planted. I can't wait for them to be harvestable size!

3. There is a turn of phrase out there known as 'ninja vegan' where something is unexpectedly vegan that you wouldn't expect to be. For example, Aldi has fruit and jelly cups that contain no gelatine and are actually vegan. Ninja vegan for the win! Another ninja vegan item is the churros from San Churro, as is their dark chocolate dipping sauce. We went there over the long weekend as it was hot, and they had air conditioning (and I like churros).

Mr Fork and I get the plate for two with one milk and one dark dipping pot and it's a match made in heaven. There aren't a lot of meals we agree to share but this is one (yes, churros are a meal!).

Ellie was won over by the children's churros, which came with dipping chocolate and sprinkles!

How is your week going?