Another Queens Swap under our belts, and we couldn't be prouder. Our fourth swap, which was held last week at Sweet Afton Bar was best yet in terms of attendance, and the items swapped were high in quality. What I loved most about the swap though was meeting new people who came from all over the place, not only Astoria/LIC and Sunnyside but also Long Island and New Jersey. So yeah...we had a pretty diverse crowd that kept us honest and always striving for more. Here's a spotlight of the awesome things we exchanged last week:
AJ's dehydrated lemons and preserved lemons
Meg's water kefir soda pop and almond shortbread
Kimberly's homemade granola bars (almond joy and "the Linsanity special")
Lauren's homemade rosewater marshmallows, chocolate truffles
Amy's kale chips, spicy pickles, and chocolate chip cookies
Tom's homemade hot cereal and homemade sauerkraut
Bella's mojito cupcakes
Carmen's fresh eggrolls and red velvet cookies
Caitlin's kimchi, blueberry jam, apricot jam
Lisa's sweet and hot red pepper jam and pistachio pesto
Liz's coconut bread
My bacon sea salt
Everything looked amazing, and the swap went on for quite some time, as people really took time and care in scoping out the goods, placing bids and then negotiating. Even though I brought just 6 items, I was careful in my selections and was really happy with everything I got, including:
AJ's dehydrated lemons, which I already used while entertaining last week. I served them as a decorative touch, with Spanish cheeses, crackers, Caitlin's blueberry jam and dried cranberries. It looked gorgeous on the serving tray, and I got compliments on it. Thanks AJ!
Amy's spicy dill pickles were also partially eaten and the juice helped make a sour pickle martini (more on that soon).
Tom's hot cereal, which I had for breakfast the other day, was delicious, mixed with dried cranberries, which plumped up beautifully in the hot, savory porridge.
Lisa's pistachio pesto that has been used on nearly everything in our household from pizza bagels, crackers, hummus sandwiches and I can't wait to see what else...
Lauren's chocolate truffles, which we've already gobbled up were made of bitter chocolate, so they were naturally fabulously rich and delectable.
Carmen's homemade eggrolls were the real thing - crunchy on the outside but deliciously savory on the inside, stuffed with shrimp and veggies.
I'd like to thank my fabulous fellow co-organizers, Meg and AJ for another great event and for Sweet Afton for graciously hosting us. Until next time in April...and I hope I've inspired you to sign up. Check out our site for more info about Queens Swap and how to get involved.
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Heading up a blog with a humorously provocative name, Handjobs for the Home, you'll find yourself drawn to AJ's creations, which include anything and everything from DIY microwave popcorn to bbq rubs, classic strawberry jam, red onion relish and much more. I absolutely love his user friendly tips and the charming way he presents all his goodies - very Martha meets Colin Cowie!
I'm proud to say that I know this talented man personally, as we recently forged a friendship at the last Queens Swap I worked on with Meg and Charlene. AJ totally brought it with his impressive canned goods such as the black onion relish, which I've used on practically anything that's edible and has a flat surface. I recently saw him at Tuesday's launch party and he generously graced me with another one of his creations, Strawberry Lemon Preserves.
Strawberry Lemon Preserves - As you can see from the above pictures, this delectable spread was packaged in AJ's signature charming-as-can-be style. I couldn't wait to dig in, tempted to eat them with a spoon right out of the jar, but I waited. Only a little bit.
Using the spread on a dark, fluffly whole wheat bagel, it totally came to life. The tart flavor of the strawberry and the zingy essence of the lemon raised these preserves to another level. They tasted uncannily (pun intended) fresh and summery. Each bite was a pleasure, as the chunky strawberries tingled your tastebuds in all the right places. A pretty awesome handjob (or rather tastejob) indeed!
You can learn how to make this fantastic delicacy, as AJ uncovers his recipe for Strawberry Lemon Preserves.
