Unexpected Food Gifts

[liuzhou]

I have just received this bag of milk powder from Xinjiang, China's troubled westernmost province. I know no one there.

 

I have no idea who sent it to me. It was definitely addressed to me and my cellphone number was on the delivery note. That is not publicly available information. Mystery.

 

[BeeZee]

I was talking to my Admin yesterday about Thanksgiving snacks and she mentioned a fig spread and crackers that she liked from Wegmans...found these on my desk this morning.

I'll probably save this for when my step daughter comes to visit in December, since she loves brie baked with preserves, she'll like these with cheese.

 

[liuzhou]

This was unexpected, but when It turned up I knew immediately who had sent it. About a week ago, I had a conversation with a friend who is from and still lives in Yunnan province in the south of China, bordering Burma/Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Tibet as well as Guangxi where I am. It is largely a rural area with many ethnic minority peoples.

 

Anyway, said friend (delightfully her given name is 莹莹 pronounced "YIng Ying"), and I were chatting about foreigners' perceptions of China and, in passing, I mentioned that most foreigners think China doesn't do dairy - especially cheese. She found this hilarious. Yunnan is famous for its cheeses, as are Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang regions in the north and west of the country. Yunnan specialises in goat's milk cheeses.

 

This evening, this unexpectedly arrived on my doorstep.

 

 

I haven't tried it yet. Maybe after dinner. I will report back.

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[BeeZee]

Unexpected gift for food…Dad has been making cheese boards for fun, so he brought one for Thanksgiving.

 

[liuzhou]

Yesterday evening, I was in the local convenience store and saw that the couple who own it had hung up their spicy, home made sausages to dry, as people do every winter. I took the picture below and the man of the shop lifted them down and gave me half of them!

 

 

[Anna N]

Can I assume that you will need to hang them and dry them at home? How long does that take?

[liuzhou]

6 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Can I assume that you will need to hang them and dry them at home? How long does that take?

 

4-5 days

[blue_dolphin]

This could be a food funny but it was also an unexpected gift so I'll share it here. 

A 12 oz can of Bob Ross Positive Energy Drink 

Just the thing to enjoy whilst watching Bob paint 🤣

 

[rotuts]

maybe it will speed things up !

Edited December 4, 2021 by rotuts (log)

[ElsieD]

25 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

This could be a food funny but it was also an unexpected gift so I'll share it here. 

A 12 oz can of Bob Ross Positive Energy Drink 

Just the thing to enjoy whilst watching Bob paint 🤣

 

 

Strange coincidence.  Every year I buy John the annual Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.  Just yesterday, I was reading that book and it contained an article on how he got started.  It was the first time I had heard of him and here he is again!

[liuzhou]

I have no idea what's going on. Situation normal.

 

Today, I went to the local supermarket to pick up some minor essentials and the woman at the checkout threw a bunch of greenery* into my basket, saying "It's a gift!", except she said "送给你" which is the Chinese, of course.

 

I thanked her and asked politely why. She just smiled enigmatically.

 

* Bitter Hemp

Edited December 5, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[Anna N]

[ElsieD]

17 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 

That's a beauty!

[Anna N]

 

there might have been more chocolate dipped ginger.

[BeeZee]

This takes the prize for 2nd strangest Holiday office food gift, ever. First prize was the crate of potatoes from an Idaho-based vendor.

 

[heidih]

52 minutes ago, BeeZee said:

This takes the prize for 2nd strangest Holiday office food gift, ever. First prize was the crate of potatoes from an Idaho-based vendor.

 

Not exactly a Covid conscious gift considering the brand's behavior

[liamsaunt]

The holiday food gifts are starting to arrive.  I was not expecting either of these so thought I would post them here.  A tin of candies from my sisters colleague.  I think she bakes for every human she knows exists 😀  There are buckeyes, peppermint bark, fudge and some kind of toffee and chocolate covered cracker in here.  I'm definitely going to sample a piece of the peppermint bark when I get a candy craving.  My niece will probably eat the rest haha

 

 

 

A box of treats from a bakery that recently opened in town, a gift from the guy who comes in to clean my house.  Definitely unexpected, and very nice of him.  I ate an arm off the gingerbread man yesterday and it was very tasty.  My niece ate the blueberry scone this morning and said that it was tender and not too sweet.  I'll have to stop by this place after the holidays and see what else they make.

 

 

I also got a gift box in today's mail containing four pounds (!!!!) of mixed nuts, 2 pounds of chocolate covered fruit, and 2 pounds of dried fruit.  That will definitely get redistributed among various family households, as we could never eat it all before it goes bad.  

[heidih]

My next door neighbor yearly brings over a big can of Hubs peanuts. They are my favorite peanut after fresh roasted by me. I'd told his wife I was not baking this year and she thanked me as her health issues make it a serious temptation she has to fight. So who shows up in the pouring rain yesterday - Bob with the peanuts!. I ate way too many last night.

Edited December 24, 2021 by heidih (log)

[liuzhou]

This morning a German woman who lives here gave me these two boxes of cake and cookies she had baked. Big surprise. I hardly know her.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 25, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

11 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

This morning a German woman who lives here gave me these two boxes of cake and cookies she had baked. Big surprise. I hardly know her.

 

 

 

 

 

You should fix that.

 

[KennethT]

This came in a little while ago from the south of France

 

 

I'm excited to try this olive oil, but i have no idea what to do with the salt/herb de provence grinder.  Many years ago I used herbs de provence a lot, but I've been out of the habit.

[Steve R.]

If you wind up liking the olive oil, its available in the U.S.  Although you can find it on Amazon (approx. $35), "yummy bazaar" (which I've never used) has it for around $18: https://yummybazaar.com/products/nyons-cold-pressed-extra-virgin-olive-oil-a-o-c-by-nyonsolive-8-45-oz.  When we rented an apt. in Vaison la Romaine several years ago, we drove up to Nyons a couple of times for their town market.  Their local olives and olive oils were pretty damn good.  Enjoy!

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, KennethT said:

i have no idea what to do with the salt/herb de provence grinder.

 

Great for roasting chicken, be it whole or a sheet pan type of roast, with potatoes and other veg.

 

I bought us a gift of new harvest olive oil (olio nuovo) - from California Olive Ranch. It's very good, and they were running some sort of sale at the time.

[KennethT]

6 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

Great for roasting chicken, be it whole or a sheet pan type of roast, with potatoes and other veg.

 

I bought us a gift of new harvest olive oil (olio nuovo) - from California Olive Ranch. It's very good, and they were running some sort of sale at the time.

My wife brings in COR oo from Fresh Direct all the time.  I don't think she's ever tried the new harvest though - and I don't know if FD carries it.

[weinoo]

15 minutes ago, KennethT said:

My wife brings in COR oo from Fresh Direct all the time.  I don't think she's ever tried the new harvest though - and I don't know if FD carries it.

 

It's good stuff. I knew FD carried one or two of their oils, but they have many more varieties to choose from on their website; some 100% CA stuff, others sourced from various places.