A Taste of Greece - Foodie Penpals January 2012

I asked my Penpal, Ioanna to send me the items that meant Home/Greece to her, and was blown away by what I recieved.

I love Foodie Penpals.  

And boy, oh boy have I got plans for these...

The mastic Ioanna says can be used in baking (puddings, deserts etc) which I'm really looking forward to, but I really can't wait to properly try the Saffron out - I have a few savoury and sweet (!) recipes bookmarked, including Saffron Fruit Loaf. I'm very lucky that Ioanna included this in my Foodie Parcel, and I can't wait to explore it with the true attention it deserves... I feel a blog post in my near future...

Freshly picked Mountain Tea - apparently is enormously popular in Greece, and used most often in winter when levels of physical activity decrease and colds, aches, and pains increase. It is said to have a positive effect on almost anything that ails but, most notably, it is used for colds, respiratory problems, digestion, the immune system, mild anxiety, and as an anti-oxidant. It is also used as an anti-inflammatory and to reduce fever. We have been enjoying it in the morning and it's a very very nice herbal tea.

These Pasteli are so very good, a beguiling mix of Honey, Sesame and Crunch. They didn't last very long, about 5 minutes!

The photo of these lovely Olives I took before we opened them - I had to as hubby and I are huge Olive fans, so I knew they wouldn't last very long, and I was right! We had them with friends, serving them with Feta and Pita Bread. Heavenly. It almost felt like a Grecian summer, even though there was still snow on the outside pavements.

These have a really interesting texture, kind of like a cross between a Mintie Sweet and and an antacid tablet, but are really good for you - see the pic below;

Thank you Ioanna, such a lovely pacakge, it was just so lovely! I sent my parcel to Milou a lovely blogger from The Netherlands.

So, the downlow: Foodie Penpals was created by Lindsay at theleangreenbean in September 2011, and administered in the UK by Carol Anne from thisisrocksalt every month, you are assigned a person to send a thoughtful foodie parcel to and a different person will send one to you. It's a lovely way to try things you've never tried before, match up with some awesome bloggers (and readers too!) and it's so nice to receive something in the post that's not a bill. Join in today!