{FSC Swappers} Swap Fever

Editor’s Note: Last month’s swap recap by Swapper Jess started an exciting trend. Food Swap recaps by the swappers themselves! What a hit! Homerun! Goal! Score! This month is no exception with Swapper Leah’s take on food swaps. She is a long-time Albany Swapper who is gonna walk you through her progression of “Swap Fever” (tee hee hee! love it!). Thanks Leah! -Christina

{Leah w/ Christina’s Home-Grown Ginger Root & Becky’s Pumpkin Spice Syrup}

About Me

I am the mother of 4 (Sophia 7, Abby 5 and twin boys Simon and Charlie 3) I work very hard to provide my children and husband with healthy, delicious meals whenever possible. We enjoy cooking as a family and I believe the kitchen is the heart of my home. It is where we eat our meals, talk about our days and spend time really listening to each other without the distractions of the world. I am also on the board of the Delmar Farmers Market, where I spend my Saturday mornings meeting the farmers/vendors that grow and raise much of the food my family eats.

{Albany Swappers, October 2011}

My Swap Fever

After attending my third swap this past month I can say I officially have the fever and itch associated with swap addiction. Let me walk you through the initial steps of my addiction.

Step 1-signing up for my first swap.

This was a bit of an intimidating step for me. I love to cook for friends and family and I fancy myself a great cook. But for some reason the thought of preparing something for strangers to taste and, in a sense, judge was a whole new thing for me. I scoured the web looking at images and reading blogs of other swaps and my intimidation grew. There were so many amazing foods, but I realized packaging also seemed to be a huge component. Honestly, I stressed until the day of the swap. Finally, I arrived at the swap happy with what I had made, I walked into to the room of smiling strangers with my bag of cute little ball jars adorned with pretty little tags and I had my first symptom of Swap Fever. As I looked around the room I got a little dizzy with excitement. After the first hour of tasting and talking and enjoying the amazing things in the room, the swap giddiness kicked in and I was hooked. I walked out not only with a bag of amazing items, but a feeling of satisfaction and that itch of swap addiction had begun!

{Ready to Swap, Albany’s October Swap at our new location Sage-Femme Midwifery’s Le Maison}

Step 2- excitement for my second swap.

So after your first swap you realize there is no reason to be intimidated. This whole swap thing is about like-minded food people that want to share what they enjoy with others. I think a lot of my intimidation came from the feeling that I had to impress others with the amazing things I made. But in reality I just had to bring something I make and enjoy myself- it’s that simple. So for the next couple of weeks everything I made for my family I thought about how it could be packaged for the swap. After a large glass of my homemade sangria I realized, I make a hell of a good sangria and I always enjoy myself when drinking it so bam-perfect swap item. Swap #2 was another huge success, now with some familiar faces and I was no longer intimidated, I just went and had a great time, again leaving with a big bag of goodness and full blown Swap Fever!

Step 3- I am completely hooked and now change my schedule according to swap dates so I can get my next fix.

On Sunday I attended my 3^rd swap. This time my stress was not caused by the swap itself, but the fact that I am remodeling my kitchen and was unable cook something. I refused to cancel and give up my ticket. I had looked forward to this since the last one and didn’t want to wait another month for the next. I had to figure out something that didn’t involve cooking. I thought about my large collection of loose teas and dried herbs and combined them into my own tea blends, put them into a pretty little package and off I went to enjoy the swap! My full addiction was realized when I intentionally planned my daughters’ birthday party the day before the swap so I didn’t have to miss out. I am not afraid to admit my addiction, actually I seem to be talking about it to anyone that will listen, I am trying to recruit others and I just bought some ball jars that were on sale…now what to fill them with for my next swap. If you are considering attending a swap I strongly encourage you to do it, just beware the fever is contagious!

TICKETS!

Come and grab your FREE TICKETS!

Saratoga Springs: Wednesday, November 9th, 7:30-9:30, Common Thread Saratoga, 55 Beekman Street.
RSVP ON EVENTBRITE.

Albany: Sunday, November 13th, 4-6pm, Sage-Femme Midwifery’s La Maison, 258 Hackett Blvd.
RSVP ON EVENTBRITE

SAVE THE DATE: Due to the holiday-craziness, December’s food swaps are on Sunday the 4th (ALBANY) and Wednesday the 9th (Saratoga Springs)

——————————–>Coming up next month: {swap recap} by Saratoga Swapper Corrie<—————————————-