I didn’t mention it earlier, but late last month I signed up to participate in an Austin to Boston Food Swap. An Austin food blogger and Boston food blogger are paired up and send each other some hometown favorites. I was lucky enough to be paired up with Janis Tester. I mean, I write about food, but she’s a legit food blogger. Just look at her site and tell me she isn’t awesome! Although she may deny it, she’s something of a local celebrity [citation needed]. We were limited to $30 and should capture the spirit of our city in food (and cater to the preferences of the recipient).

Searching for things that scream Austin was a lot of fun! It was tough though to stay within the $30 budget and still capture everything I wanted. A few cuts had to be made, but my final care package seemed to represent me and what I love about Austin pretty well. Here’s a snapshot of what Janis is getting:

Seeing as how my claim to food blogging is through trailers, I had to go with the Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook. I know Tiffany

(the author) and even got the book personalized and signed to Janis. It’s got lots of great recipes from the top food trailers around town, so hopefully she’ll be able to enjoy some great trailer food even if she can’t get down to Austin any time soon.

Next up was the Diablo Sauce from Torchy’s Tacos. It’s self-described as “Tastes like Heaven. Burns like Hell”. What’s not to love! Well, hopefully Janis likes spicy. If not, well at least the bottle looks nice.

Overall Janis tended to lean away from overly sweet, specifically calling out chocolate as a dislike. I wanted to introduce her to the wonderful world of Confituras. The Austin-made jellies, jams, and preserves are outrageous and I’m hoping the apple & rosemary jam finds a place in Janis’ holiday festivities.

Last up was a special treat from nationally renowned Salt & Time. Specifically some Sopressata Salume, described as a faux pepperoni. It’s not true pepperoni because it isn’t fermented, but it’s still all flavor all the time. I was very excited when I came across this to put into Janis’ gift package.

In other news, I received my Boston bundle when I got back from the Post Office shipping my box off to Janis. Inside was a great mix of Boston-y goodness! I received some locally ground whole wheat flour, which will go to good use likely in some banana bread. Also there were chocolate covered Cape Cod cranberries reminiscent of Raisinets only better. We have a can of Boston Baked Beans, which to be honest I’m not sure what I’ll do with! I’m excited to try them and broaden my horizons. The real deal Nantucket Clam Chowder soup mix is probably most intriguing. Basically just add water and clams and cook, ready in 40 minutes. Sounds great! Last up is one that I was secretly hoping for: honest-to-goodness maple syrup. Yes!

<

p style=”text-align: left;”>I’m very happy I participated in the #atxbos food

blogger swap. I got to (virtually) meet a fellow food blogger and experience a little culture outside the Austin bubble. Thanks, Janis, for making this so much fun!