Holiday Swap Recap

Festive swap decor (thanks Patricia!)

For me the December food swap was truly like the kick-off to the holidays. And it delivered some serious good times and cheer! Plus with everyone's delightfully decorated and presented goodies, it was even more than usual like taking home a storeful of presents.

Held once again at the lovely Patricia's Foodscaping space, we had both a great turnout and excellent diversity of foods.

The potluck tables quickly separated themselves into the sweet and savory categories, with lots of holiday cookies, breads and candies on the former and everything from lasagna to kale chips to fresh salsa and bean spread on the latter.

Talkin' swap

The swap tables filled up with a mouth-watering array too, which everyone ogled and sampled while sipping wine and chatting.

Here's the complete list:

Vanilla extract, pie dough, simple syrups, LOTS of yummy spiced nuts and mulling/toddy spices, lavender facial scrub, Christmas matzo, pulled pork, fresh salsa, marinara pasta sauce, vareniki (Ukranian dumplings), roasted red peppers, mini lentil pies and mini pumpkin pies, assorted preserves, cordials and mustards, fresh sushi, gingerbread bundt cakes, beef jerky, dried persimmons, spicy candied ginger, togarashi, salty sweet granola, flavored salts, Earth food nuggets, arugula pesto, pickled green tomatoes and pickled ginger, Meyer lemons, herbs and greens from the garden, and whew, ...did I miss anything?

Vanilla extract & lavender facial scrub by Cathy

Preserves & pickled green tomatoes by Robin

Pie dough, spiced walnuts & ginger simple syrup by Christina

Arugula pesto by Stephanie

Spiced nuts & red hot toddy spices by Jaemin

Fresh marinara sauce, salsa and pulled pork by Herb

Mulling spices by Jaemin

Spiced nuts by Shannon

Gingerbread bundts by Seri

Cordials & lemoncello by Kari

Sushi by Toshi

Earth Food Nuggets by Jessica

Vareniki (Ukranian dumplings) by Olga

Roasted red peppers by Jim

Pickled ginger by me

Host Patricia with garden fresh produce & pies

While some of the fresh stuff got devoured immediately (meaning as early as later that evening), I've also still been enjoying lots of stuff into the new year. For example the remnant roasted red pepper oil, garlic and spices became a great salad dressing base the other evening, I've been using a dash of the ginger simple syrup in bubbly water to wean myself off the holiday cocktail over indulgences, and may I recommend the candied ginger in oatmeal, cooked with raisins, and topped with a small pat of butter and some maple syrup? I'd love to hear some of the creations you've all made, so please comment below or share recipes etc. with everyone on Facebook.

I have even turned some of the swap goods into my own preserved items, like Meyer lemon curd, dried lemon verbena tea and tarragon pickled eggs {stay tuned for those write-ups soon}, so the food swap really is the gift that keeps on giving.

The next swap will be held in mid to late February, we'll announce the date the week of January 23rd, so stay tuned.

Swap on!