The last day of the month is very quickly becoming my favorite day of the month. Well, maybe only second to the day I actually receive my Foodie Penpal package. Plus there’s the day I get my assignment… It’s a tough call. For those of you just tuning in, Foodie Penpals is the brainchild of Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean. Every month you send a box of food to an assigned penpal and receive a box in return. How this concept only started a little over a year ago is insanity to me. I mean seriously, who wouldn’t want to send and receive awesome foodie goodies every month?

This month I received the MOST AMAZING PACKAGE EVER from Andra over at Counting the Freckles. I know I say this almost every month, but seriously the best package ever! I don’t even have words… Andra lives in South Florida and when she learned I was into local food, she did me proud!

First a box of tasty locally produced Ginny Bakes Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies. How did Andra know they were my favorite? I must have eaten half a box before I even realized they were gluten free. OMG if all gluten free tastes this good, I might need to convert. They were crunchy and chocolatey. Just pure heaven.

Coffee (because I can NEVER have too much coffee) and banana bread from her local market followed. I loved having a slice of banana bread with tea every morning. Yes, I was kind enough to share with my husband, but my only regret was then I got half as much to enjoy.

Then there was citrus. Normal citrus, like Florida tangerines. They were tasty and I was super excited to get fresh food in my package. But the main event? THIS:

Yes, I was a little taken aback at first. I thought she was sending me a critter! A Buddha Hand! Great…what the heck is that? Andra was kind enough to send a website address for reference with my package and I did some research of my own. Well, this is a magical little critter (sorry, it still looks like a creature to me…). It’s citrus and has a lemony flavor but smells faintly of roses. It’s absolutely intoxicating. The strangest part is the fruit doesn’t have a pulp, like normal lemons or citrus. Just rind and white flesh. And you can eat ALL OF IT. It tastes just like a lemon minus the harsh bitter flavor. Just break off a finger and have a bite! Oh I had big plans for this little guy. Buddha Hand Vodka anyone?

I tossed it together with some oil and spices to make a lovely vinaigrette too. I was all ready to make cupcakes but I ran out! Luckily I just found out the Park Slop Food Coop just happens to have it. It’s from California. Not so local, but I just might have to break my locavorism to get my hands on some more.

THANK YOU ANDRA! And thank you Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean for organizing as always. Click here if you’re interested in becoming a FOODIE PENPAL yourself! The program will start up again in January, with a brief December hiatus where Lindsay will instead bring us

Instead of swapping foodie treats this month, Lindsay is setting up a fund where we can collectively donate to a charity to aide victims of Hurricane Sandy through NY Cares. I LOVE IT! Rather than spending the $15-25 you’d usually spend on your foodie penpal, give it to a family really in need. It’s open to current, past and new foodie penpals–really ANYONE can help! Click to learn more.

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• September Foodie Penpals (brooklynlocavore.wordpress.com)
• October Foodie Penpals! (brooklynlocavore.wordpress.com)