Blogging By Mail is Here!

My package for the Blogging By Mail event came on Thursday night.  This unique event was created by Nic at Baking Sheet and what a fantastic idea it was.  We're constantly sharing experiences, pictures and ideas but this is a great way to do it hands-on, up-close-and-personal, etc, etc. 

I was more excited than a little kid at Christmas.  Seriously, possibly sadly, I was.  On the to my door from the mailbox I was shaking and sniffing in a mad attempt to guess the contents.  Just the week before I was surprised by a similar package from Nic herself.  She had sent all the participants a thank you note along with a few treats to sweeten the deal.  Wow!  What a great hostess and what great white chocolate blondies.   

When I spotted the second package in my mailbox I think I actually squeaked.  I didn't even shut the door as I went for the scissors and began cutting away.   The package contained a neatly wrapped stack of ginger, cranberry and walnut chocolate bark and a bundle of homemade granola.  Totally ignoring the voice inside my head telling me not to spoil my appetite before dinner I tucked into my goodies.  Realizing that I still needed to take pictures, and I'm thankful that this thought occurred to me in time, I put it away until later, but not too much later. 

My package came from Suzie in New York and I personally want to thank her for participating in this exchange.  Hopefully I'll be able to beg and plead to get the recipes out of her.  Her recommendations for the granola were yogurt and she mentioned it had to be full fat (well of course!)   :o)  and fruit compote.  The granola is almost gone though and I've only eaten it on ice cream.  That might seem weird, but don't knock it.

Thanks to Nic, Suzie and Sam at Becks & Bosh who got my package last week.

Comments

[sam]

No, no no, - you shouldn't be thanking me - I should be thanking YOU , again and again. The coffee crisp didn't last much longer than the post declaring I was saving it for another day, the cookies, especially those choccy ones, were NOT shared with any other living soul and I ate them all. I still have my maple lolly to look forward to licking....

[Suzie]

You can absolutely have the recipes! I am glad you enjoyed everything! Thanks for posting and for the pics!

[Liz]

Sam,
So do you have Coffee Crisp in the States? Or did I totally miss the boat on that one? I am familiar with all the treats that I can to look forward to when I cross the border, but I'm not sure how it is from the other side. Except Smarties and I don't like those... I'm glad you liked the cookies. I'm not much for sharing myself, so I made myself another batch on the weekend. :o)

Suzie,
Please do send the recipes, or post them in the comments! I can't wait to begin consuming unhealthy amounts of granola.

[Templar]

I got my packages too.. This was wicked fun! I cant wait for the next one.

[Suzie]

Granola

3 Cups Organic Oats
1 Cup Raw Almonds or Raw Hazelnuts or a Mix of Both

75ml Maple Syrup or Honey or a Mix of Both
75ml Canola Oil or any other flavorless Oil

1/3 Cup Unsweetened Organic Coconut

1 Cup raisins / dried cherries or any combination of dried fruit of your choice

Heat the Oven to 250.

Toast the coconut and set aside.

Stir the oats and nuts together.

Whisk the liquid ingredients together and then pour over the dry ingredients and stir until the dry is coated with the wet.

Spread out on two baking sheets (don’t bother w/parchment – it’s better without) and bake in the oven for about 2-3 hours, turning every 15mins or so. (it’s kind of boring having to baby-sit the oven and it’s contents for this long but it’s well worth it)

After everything is crunchy and well toasted to a nice golden brown turn off the oven and leave everything to dry. I often leave the baking sheets in the oven over night and then transfer everything to a container and store in the fridge the next morning. Stored in the fridge it’ll keep at least 2-3 weeks – if it lasts that long and mine never does ;)

O yes, add in the toasted coconut and dried fruit and mix together prior to placing in a container.

Do let me know how it turns out ;)

The recipe for the chocolate bark was from a Food+Wine mag - I'll have to dig it out of my clippings book - it'll follow :)

[Liz]

Templar,
I have to agree with you this was a great idea. I need to sign up for the second round right away here.

Suzie,
Thanks sooo much for the recipe. I haven't been doing much in the kitchen for the last few weeks, but this will certainly be on the list when I get back in the swing.

[Liz]

Looking at Nic's Blogging By Mail post I see that I missed the round up. I'm sorry Suzie! I thought I'd sent a note to Nic, I guess I missed that part. I hope you'll forgive me that your treats got missed. I promise I'll do a better job next time!

[Suzie]

not at all!!! It's enough that there's a picture of what I sent you, posted to your blog!! that put a smile on my face! it's been a few weeks since i made the granola too - it's been so hot here lately that i can't bear to turn my oven on....

[Liz]

I wish I could say the same for the weather here but it's been nothing but wet and cold. At least I can mess around in the kitchen!