My Austin to Boston Food Swap Package

Way back at the beginning of the month I wrote about the package I sent to Jess of forgiving martha for the Austin to Boston Food Swap! Yesterday I received my package in the mail! It was a welcome surprise for a Monday!
As I bounded up the stairs with the package in hand I was filled with giddy anticipation to find out what was inside. I definitely was not disappointed with it's contents, as Jess treated me to a variety of great local goods and some homemade deliciousness...I mean some serious deliciousness!! Here is a look at the great stuff Jess sent:

Coffee!!! My favorite kind of coffee - locally roasted in small batches by people who support their farmers. I can't wait to try the Market Blend from Texas Coffee Traders. While I sip the coffee I'll be able to enjoy some delicious chocolate too as Jess included a package of Kakawa Cocoa Beans. Kakawa beans are whole roasted cocoa beans, layered with white, milk, and dark chocolates then rolled in cocoa powder! This seems like a genius idea and if they're half as good as they look I might be addicted soon! In case if I need a break from the coffee and decide to have a cup of tea I've got a jar of Round Rock Honey to enjoy it with! Round Rock is a local wildflower honey out of Round Rock, TX. From the peek I took at their website they took their honey very seriously and take a tremendous amount of pride in their results. I can't wait to try it! Small batch roasted coffee, delicious cocoa beans, and honey... I'd take that as a great package any day of the week, but it got better!
Moving from locally produced to locally preserved- Jess' package included two jars of canned goodness from Winfield Farm an organic sustainable farm with it's own commercial kitchen in Rock, TX! They use miniature goats to control the weeds and chickens to control the bugs. How cool is that?! Along with their produce they also produce a variety of prepared and canned foods, and as their website says "Everything we make is made in small batches to maintain the highest quality and changes according to what is in season." Miniature goats eating the weeds, chickens keeping down the pest population, and they produce their own edibles and canned goods? This place sounds like it would be right in my wheelhouse!! I know I'll be enjoying the Harvest Moon Pear Jam in the coming days with some of the delicious zucchini bread that I just pulled out of the freezer! Gail and I are also really excited to try the Pickled Jalapenos which will undoubtedly make their way to our plates very soon. I see quesadillas, nachos, or a spicy breakfast hash in our very immediate future!
At this point anyone who enjoys locally produced food items would be delighted with a package like this....and I really was delighted with all the great stuff Jess sent, but believe it or not it actually got better!! How could this have gotten any better??? BAKED GOODS is how!
As if the coffee, chocolate, honey, jam, & honey wasn't already enough the absolute awesomesauce of this package was set in stone with the inclusion of dark chocolate covered red velvet cake balls! Let me just type that phrase out again for you: Dark Chocolate Covered Red Velvet Cake Balls! Doesn't just reading that phrase on your browser have you salivating?? Just look at these things - they're bigger then a golf ball:

These were so tasty that despite all the yummy baked goods and holiday treats we've got in our kitchen, Gail and I had to open these up and try them before dinner... and have another one for dessert!
If you've made it this far I hope you can see how much I enjoyed this package and the entire Austin to Boston Food Swap experience! I owe my appreciation to Jess at forgiving martha for putting together such a thoughtful package and sharing some of the gems of the Austin food scene with me. A massive thanks also goes out to Rachel of Boston Food Bloggers and the folks at the Austin Food Blogger Alliance for organizing, planning, and overseeing the entire swap!
This was a really fun experience and a great way to discover the food culture of Austin while rediscovering some of my favorite local producers here in Boston.  I hope all of the other participants enjoyed the experience as much as I did and I really look forward to participating in swaps like this in the future! Kudos to all involved.