Timing! & Seasons Eatings

There's timing... and then there's timing!

This morning we woke up to see a white world. Snow! Fresh, crackling perfect-snowman-snow! It's first schoolday after the holidays. Bad timing. No time for play today, shuttled the kids to school by car. "They" say temperatures are going to drop immensely tonight. If all this is going to freeze up I expect a shiny dangerous mess by tomorrow morning. We'll see.

Someone with very good timing is Chris (Melecotte), she send me a wonderful package for the Seasons Eatings exchange, an annual December exchange organised and hosted by fellow Babe Katie at Thyme for cooking. You can find the recap here This is how Katie explained Season's Eatings: it is a 'secret' spicy/foodie gift exchange to celebrate the Holiday Season. You send, and receive, a small gift of a local herb, spice, or other food that is unique or characteristic of the sender.

Chris send such great gifts and managed to bribe our post guy to deliver it Christmas Eve! Isn't that cunning? So many goodies!! Not only the wonderful herb mix and the recipe for it, but also a great mixed salt by Paula Deen, a vidalia onion pesto, reindoor noses, magic towels cleverly disguised as peppermints (the kids loved those!), a dough scraper with all kinds of equivalents metric/imperial (jumping with joy when I saw that! LOVE it!!). The bruise soother, equally handy to be used as headache soother was my buddy in the holiday aftermath. Oh and not in the pic... Joe-Joe's, peppermint filled cookies. Wonder why they are not in the picture.... Gosh I have no idea! *licks crumbs from lips and tries to look guilty*. Thank you Chris!

I send my choice of spices and a little extra to the USA, as I told the girl at our little post office. I payed postage and while I walked out I overheard both girls discuss where Lyons was situated... one of them said: No, it doesn't need the green sticker it's within ".." That's when the doors closed and I went my merry way home. Only to realise the next day that they were probably thinking the same as I did. Lyons is France is Europe. Only this Lyons is New York is United States. As I stated on the envelope. In big bold letters. I hope everything went as it should. I'm afraid not. No news yet. If someone in Lyons France is playing with my package, please let me know then I'll try and send one again.

What did I do with Chris' present? I made wonderful roast potatoes using the mixed salt, and on Christmas day we had a great savory wreath for lunch, filled with pork roast, the herbs from the mix, cheese and onions. Above is a picture from the dough in the making. Never got to be photographed, I kept delivering slices from the kitchen and the wreath disappeared in no time at all. Very good!

Katie, thanks for organising last year's Season's Eatings!