MPLS Swappers: The Food

After my post about my first time participating in the MPLS Swappers event, I said I would be back to show you the food I came home with. Here it is!

First up, I traded for a dozen fresh eggs from backyard chickens. These make me so happy!

Next, homemade rhubarb sauce from rhubarb picked in the garden the day before the event.

Yum!

Homemade sauerkraut with caraway seeds. I love sauerkraut so much, so I was really excited to get this.

And ginger syrup, packaged beautifully in a cool glass bottle. (This is the only one that I haven't used yet).

I traded the four jars of jam that I had brought for the four things above. But at the last minute, right as we were all packing up, another swapper asked if I would be willing to trade the sample jar of raspberry jam that I had brought with me for these pretzel sticks she had made.

I was more than happy to make the trade! These dipped pretzels were so good - milk chocolate on half of them, and the other half had white chocolate with dried cranberries and mango - a really delicious combo! These did not last around the house too long, I can tell you that.

Also as I was leaving, one of the hostesses asked if I would like to take a bag of seasoned popcorn along with me. She had made them for us to snack on during the swap, and there was some leftover. It was really good!

The following day, breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs on toast:

And rhubarb sauce on bread:

This sauce is so good, that some of it I just ate straight up with a spoon.

Another recent breakfast - french toast with rhubarb sauce:

And dinner the night after the swap? Grilled brats with homemade sauerkraut, plus some of the last of the dilly beans and salsa that I canned last summer. Oh, and Schell's Dark - a Minnesota beer (and hands-down my all time favorite beer from anywhere).

These meals have made me so happy. I have loved getting to eat all these delicious homemade treats, and have loved tasting the bounty from others' gardens and talents. Thank you to all of you who swapped with me. I am so looking forward to the June swap!

{this moment} - excitement!

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

- Soulemama

{this moment} - a kindergarten recess gift

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

- SouleMama

MPLS Swappers

Not too long ago, I came across a fantastic blog - The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking. I love the way that Kate writes, and what she writes about. And I was pleased to discover that she just had her book (of the same name) published!

As I was reading about her book tour, I saw that she was coming to the Twin Cities on May 14th and 15th. One of the events was a book signing at Barnes and Noble, but the other was something I didn't recognize - MPLS Swappers. I followed the link, and was excited by what I saw. This is so my thing!

I'll try to explain it briefly, but really you should just follow the link. :) Basically, a bunch of people who love making good food get together and swap what they've made. You need to make, bake, grow, or can it yourself, but other than that it's anything goes in terms of what food you bring.

You set your items out, everyone has a chance to look everything over, and you write your name down on 'bidding sheets' next to anything you would be interested in trading for.

Turns out that Kate, who wrote The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking, started this whole swapping movement when she lived in New York, and it quickly spread across the country (cause it's such a brilliant idea!). This past Saturday was only the second time the MPLS Swappers have held a swap. It was such a fantastic experience!

The location is really cool, I met a lot of nice people who share my interest in good, homemade food, and I came home with some dee-licious goodies.

I took some of my raspberry jam to swap (made with raspberries from my garden, and canned last fall):

Here it is set up on one of the tables (with some bread and an open jar to taste):

There was a really wide variety of things that people brought.

And a lot of cute packaging!

There were also snacks to munch on and tea to drink (in milk glass! Be still my heart).

I brought my copy of Kate's book with me:

And she signed it for me:

Even though my book was already signed, I went to Kate's book signing on Sunday because she was also having a discussion about the book. I'm so glad that I went, because Kate gave a really nice talk about her book and some of the different things she covers in it. It was also fun to see her again - she's so sweet and welcoming, and just really fun to talk to (hi, Kate!!).

I would definitely recommend checking out her book!

So I want to show you what I got in my swap, but this post is long enough for now. Back soon with photos of my goodies!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Following along with SouleMama this week.