Tidbits from my Pantry and a giveaway

I always love receiving food parcels and food presents especially if the items are unusual and from different countries. This month I have received some really unusual food gifts with very different textures and tastes.

A friend came from Vietnam and brought me a box of Green bean cake. Upon opening there were little gold coloured boxes and when opening them there were little smaller boxes wrapped in gold foil. Inside were immaculately cut 1 cm cubes of Green bean cake. The texture was like  halwa  and powdery. The taste was very unusual almost grainy and decadently sweet.

My next item that I received were some really delicious salted pistachio nuts from Morocco, They were simply delicious and so moreish.

Unlike some cheap pistachios these were very easy to crack open and the flavour was crisp and salty.

I also received some banana chips and some Japanese rice crackers these did not travel across the world but they were given to me by my patient at work, I think they may have come from an oriental supermarket somewhere.

I have always eaten salty banana chips but these were sweet banana chips. They had a subtle sweetness to them and were slightly thicker than the normal salty banana chips I had eaten in the past.

I have never eaten Japanese rice crackers, the packet had a selection of different crackers in all shapes sizes and textures. They had a sesame seed seasoning, they were savory to eat and made  perfect nibbles with a glass of wine.

My last food parcel was from Love Marlenka, they make very unusual Armenian honey cake using traditional old Armenian recipe.All the cakes are free from artificial colours and preservatives.

In the parcel was Marlenka Dortek cake a honey mini cake A delicious layered cake drizzled with honey and chocolate.












Marlenka snack bars made from the moist honey cake with a sweet soft filling in the centre.The cakes are called cocoa mini snack .The filling inside was a most like buttercream but slightly runnier.The cake bars had an outer covering of dark chocolate.

The parcel also had a box of Marlenka honey nuggets with cocoa.These were small balls of cake rolled in cocoa with a soft creamy filled centre.They had a very moist and spongy texture almost like cake balls.

Love Marlenka have been very kind and they have agreed to send one simplyfood reader a parcel of their cakes to sample. They will include:

• A box of Nuggets
• A mini box of Napoleonky
• A honey snack

How To Enter

• Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
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• Please read the rules they form the terms and conditions of this Giveaway
• Giveaway open to UK residents over 18 only.
• Closing date – 3rd July 2015 12.00 am

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