I cant believe its ELLEN
(Compumom) who is my swap partner. OMG we almost had the, first ever, double swap, in person delivery. When my biz partner and I were in LA last month we had dinner with a group of CFers that was to include Ellen but at the last minute she was unable to come. I was really looking forward to meeting her but never thought she might be my swap partner. Of course my thoughts then were on delivering my things to Gina at the dinner.
Last night after dinner I did a final check of the front deck, after letting the plumber, and the roto-rooter guy in and out all morning and early afternoon when the deck was empty, I found two boxes on the deck. My mouth fell open when I saw the return address.
Here are the wrapped contents of the boxes.
And the unwrapped gifts.
There is also a lovely letter from Ellen describing her selections and easing my mind about the fact that the gifts initially seemed to indicate that she was numerically challenged when counting to three.
First there is a wonderful Greek cookbook that is just the sort of book I love contemporary recipes that capture the essence of the tradition and dont take days to prepare. Ive already spent about two hours looking at the book and deciding what to try first. I dont have a Greek cookbook so this is doubly perfect. Watch for my posts and pictures on the swap cookbook thread.
Then the handmade jelly and chutney are a perfect pair for me. I love hot and sweet together and have made the time honored hot pepper jelly in the past, but I have never had pepper jelly with Habaneros. And yes it is Annies Habanero Gold recipe. The second jar from Ellen is Persimmon Chutney, canned by Jessica. I remember reading about that earlier and thinking how wonderful it would be. Thank you Jessy for helping Ellen out here!
The wine is from Chateau St. Jean in the Sonoma valley a lovely Pinot Noir. Ive had several wines from that vineyard in the past and they are very, very good. Max and I will both consider that a treat. Lucky Ellen was at the vineyard in August.
Then there is an amazing bottle of Amantillado (Sherry) Vinegar from Spain that has been aged 58 years. Wow, I will need a very special way to try this. This was tucked into the box by Jessy and Gina. Thank you both so much for this.
And last a bottle of Miso Caesar that is a fave of Ellens and a package of note cards and a brochure from a Japanese garden in the San Fernando valley. I havent even heard of this six and half acre garden but it will be on my list of neat things to visit on a trip to LA next year. These two dont count as part of the swap because Ellen had intended to bring them as a surcie to our dinner in LA.
Jessy and Gina, thank you so much for the vinegar it is really special. And thank you again Jessy for helping Ellen out with the Persimmon chutney. Im very thankful for Canny Camp!
Ellen , I love it all and Max and I both will enjoy the wine and the gourmet treats. The only thing that would have made this more perfect would have been to meet for dinner; Im just so sorry that couldnt happen well fix that next year.
Lee
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chancesmom
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