{Swap Sketch} - July 2013

Wow was this a good one!  We had 14 swappers on a beautiful summer evening at OneFlewOverFarm in Mays Landing, NJ.

Connie, our gracious hostess

Connie's offerings - Pickles, Pick-Your-Own Veggie Bags and Olive Sourdough Bread

We also incorporated a potluck for the second time and it was really nice sharing a meal with everyone.

The husbands enjoying Greg's BBQ'd ribs.

There was a good number of newbies and I really enjoyed meeting and getting to know everyone!

 

Here's a rundown of what was there.  Forgive me if I forgot something.

 

• Fresh Basil
• Banana Muffins
• Blackberry Jam
• Yellow Raspberry Jam
• Red Raspberry Jam
• Red Raspberry Plants
• Organic Red Basil
• Organic Peppermint
• Organic Sage, Thyme
• Organic Heirloom Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Organic Cucumber and Squash
• Variety of feathers
• Organic Horse Manure
• Frozen Organic String Beans
• Blueberry Peppercorn Vodka
• Fennel Vodka
• Spice Butternut Squash Vodka
• Fennel Pesto
• Ciabatta Bread
• Apple Pie Filling
• Tomato Basil Sauce
• Sweet Corn Salsa
• Tomato Salsa & Homemade Tortilla Chips
• Morning Glory Muffins
• Rae's Royal Shortbread
• French Macarons
• Buckeye Ice Cream
• Fresh Mint Ice Cream
• Strawberry Vanilla Jam
• Fresh Tomato Soup
• Quinoa and Spinach Patties
• Peach Bread
• Pear Bread
• Pizza Dough
• Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars
• Banana Coconut Muffin Squares
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies
• Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
• Soft Pretzel Sticks
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
• Dill Pickles
• Pick-you-own Veggie Bags
• All Natural Bug Repellent
• Olive Sourdough Bread

Impressive, right?!  I've already begun planning for the next one, which will be on Saturday August 31, back at OneFlewOverFarm from 10am-12pm.  Registration will be posted soon.   Let's do brunch!

{Swap Sketch} - April 2013

It's hard to believe it's been a year since I started this food swapping thing.  We've come a long way as a group, but some goals for me this next season is to try and get the word out a little more.  I think what we're doing is super cool and if only more people knew about us!

Here's what we had at the last swap:

• Mini Cheesecakes
• Pear Bread
• Farm-fresh eggs
• Mascarpone Fruit Dip
• Handmade Greeting Cards
• Pizza Dough
• Strawberry Rhubarb Hungarian Shortbread
• Canned Jersey Tomatoes
• Chocolate Covered Bacon
• Boyfriend Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
• Dilly Beans
• Bread and Butter Zucchini Pickles
• Rooted Strawberry Plants
• Hot and Spicy Zucchini Pickles
• Knitted Scarves

Connie from One Flew Over Farm

Get ready for our next meet in June.  We'll be at Connie's One Flew Over Farm in Mays Landing, NJ.  It's very easy to get to from the AC Expressway.  We'll be outside in her crop field.  There's plenty of animals to see, so bring the kids!

{Swap Sketch} - December 2012

As we all are getting ready for the first swap of 2013, take a minute and pat yourself on the back making the December swap our most spectacular swap yet!

Here's a quick rundown of what goodies showed up:

• Knitted Scarves
• Orange Grapfruit Marmalade
• Coconut Almond Madeleines
• Gingerbread Brownie Cake
• Pumpkin Butter
• Cheesy Quinoa
• Sugared Cranberries
• Herbed Butter
• Marbled Holiday Biscotti
• Chocolate Candy Cane Fudge
• Neapolitan Marshmallows
• Coasters
• Worm Castings
• Jerusalem Artichokes
• Money Plant Seeds
• Hot Buttered Yum Chex Mix
• Romesco Sauce
• Turkey Stock
• Peppermint Oreo Truffles
• Earl Grey Macarons with Biscoff
• Pumpkin Pie Lara Bars
• Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake Pops
• Bacon Whiskey Bark
• Andes Mint Cookies
• Sweet and Spicy Pecans
• Lavender Soap
• Oat-rageous Cookies
• Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pumpkin Raisin Cookies
• Pumpkin Crumb Muffins
• Pecandies
• Herbed Vinegars
• Pumpkin Curry Soup
• Onion Compote 
• Homemade Jersey Salsa

And a HUGE 'thank-you' to the Landis Marketplace for letting us set up shop in the middle of the market.  I know I'm looking forward to going back on February 2nd to do some shopping! 

Register here!

{Swap Sketch} - September 2012

This was our 4th swap.  Twelve swappers gathered on a Friday night at the Bellview Winery.  The winery has been such a perfect place to swap with their smaller-sized tables, wine tastings and a nice outdoor area for kids to explore.

This was also the first swap in which we incorporated crafts.  Although the food swapables were still the main focus, we had some neat crafty items such as wine bottle tiki torches, crocheted apple cozies, homemade modge podge, hair jewels, homemade soap and strands of paper cranes.

The food items included:

• Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Sweet Bread
• Lara Bars (Coconut Cream and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip)
• Maple Pecan Butter
• Irish Soda Bread
• Homemade Breads: Banana Chocolate Chip, Pear, and Blueberry Zucchini 
• Dried Hydrangea
• Candied Pecans and Almonds
• Spinach and Basil Pesto
• Homegrown produce
• Farm-fresh eggs
• Pollinator Garden Plants
• Oil-free salad dressing
• Flax Snax
• Granola

And a really neat idea from April, a first-time swapper, who featured the "Seasons of Swapping".  April brought Low Sugar Strawberry Applesauce (Summer), Homemade Play Dough (Spring), Pumpkin Bread (Fall) and Peppermint Bark (my fav! Winter).

April's "Seasons of Swapping"

We even had mini swappers and a 4-legged visitor!

Please Read:

I know we had a lot of new swappers this past time.  And maybe it's my fault for not doing a better job of explaining how the swap works, BUT I need everyone to abide by the 1-for-1 rule.  This saves everyone a lot of hassle and awkward moments.  Remember this - if you write your name down for an item, it means you are comfortable taking that one item (given it's size and portion) for your one item.  There shouldn't be any signing up for and then negotiating later.  Thank you :)

The next event will be spaced out a little more.  I have a feeling our events were too frequent for some to attend every one.  I'm looking at the first weekend in December.  There's a poll on Facebook to vote for the day/time. Head over there and let me know what works best for you!

{Swap Sketch} - August 2012

We didn't have as many swappers, only 9 this time (maybe due to the mid-week scheduling?), but that didn't stop us from sharing some really great treats.

Here's a run-down of what was featured:

• Jalapeno Cornbread Mini Loaves
• Jalapeno Jelly
• Bags of fresh produce
• Farm-fresh eggs
• Sunday Morning Birdseed Pancake Mix
• Dark Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding
• Jersey Tomato Cake
• Chocolate Cherry Pound Cake
• Raisinette Pecan Cookies
• Souper Veggie Stock
• Fresh NJ Chunky Salsa
• Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
• Rhubarb Boozy
• Homemade Lara Bars (3 varieties)
• Rustic Spice Rubs
• Produce Cleaner
• Vanilla Bean Marshmallows
• Tomato Magnets
• Sun-Dried Tomatoes
• Tomato Basil Flax Snacks
• Fresh Flowers
• Fresh Herbs
• and, tons of fresh produce!

And let's not forget Connie's Watermelon Keg!

Check out the South Jersey Swappers Facebook page for more photos!

Our next event will be Friday September 21st, 7-9PM, at the Bellview Winery (outside and kid-friendly).

{Swap Sketch} - June 2012

First, let me apologize for the tardiness of this post - it's long overdue.  I'm just getting into the swing of normalcy after a rough month.  Anyway, our second swap was 15 participants strong, and was a huge success!

Thank you to the Bellview Winery for volunteering their space and time and wine tastings too!  I had originally hoped we'd be outside amongst the vines, but it was 120 degrees that night. Go figure. Maybe next time... 

I really think each swap is going to be better than the one before it.  Again, I was blown away by the level of professionalism, effort and craft that went into each item.  I'm going to attempt to list what we had, but I know I'm missing some. I actually thought I'd be able to remember everything.  I will do a better job next time and take notes!

Key lime curd, coconut banana bread, pretzel bread, soft pretzels with honey mustard, blueberry pie filling, cherry pie filling, salsa verdi, chocolate cherry sea salt cookies, cardamom slice and bake cookies, farm-fresh eggs, zucchini bread, banana bread, blueberry lemon jam, pina colada jam, mojito marmalade, basil-watermelon liqueur, granola, homegrown zucchini/cucumbers/garlic/fresh herbs/cabbage/pickling cucumbers, peach and peach pepper jam, dried oregano, homegrown mint tea, petite blueberry pies, peach mango jam, edible flowers with mache and radish 'shrooms, organic raw cinnamon flax applesauce, coleslaw, homemade wine, kale chips, coffee body scrub, peach BBQ sauce, homemade Kahlua, lemon poppy seed loaves, strawberry lemonade concentrate, wet walnuts, homemade hot fudge sauce, blueberry sauce, and MUCH MORE!

This girl knows good food :)

Start planning for the next one!

Next Swap!
Where: Bellview Winery
When: August 7th, 7-9PM

Register here -  http://southjerseyfoodswapaugust12.eventbrite.com/

{Swap Sketch} - May 2012

First I want to thank each person who participated in our first swap.  Thank you for your time and lovely homemade treasures - each one was true art and craft.  I also appreciate your understanding and patience as we all figured out the swap thing together.  Didn't I tell you it would work itself out? Haha. Now, we're all pros!

And thank you to The Sweet Life Bakery owners Stephen and Jill and staff for hosting us.  What a perfect and appropriate place for our first swap! 

Thanks for the awesome chalkboard design, Kylee!

Here's a recap of the swap items present:  Almond Pound Cake, Lavender Rosemary Garden Scrub, Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, Canned Jersey Tomatoes, Canned Jersey Peaches, Rhubarb Boozy, Strawberry Honey Butter, Thyme Plants, Strawberry Rhubarb Mint Butter, Olive Oil Pizza Dough, Salted Caramel, Chocolate Macarons With Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ganache, Vanilla Macarons with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream, Red White & Blue Granola, Fresh Herbs, Apricot Orange Biscotti, Lemon Rosemary Biscotti, Fresh Organic Tomato Sauce,  Granola, Farm-Fresh Eggs, Salted Caramel Cookies, and Green Olive Bread!

Marlise and Terry sampling Lauren's Rhubarb Boozy

Swappables

The Sweet Life Bakery owner Jill with Terry's little guys.

Notes for next time:

• I learned that it's probably best to have more than one type of item.  For example, someone with 3 different items may only want to swap once with someone that brought only one item.  Having a variety gives you more leverage.  And options.  
• Also, maybe a week or so before the swap, people should start posting their items on the SJS Facebook page just to get a quick idea as to what else will be at the swap. 
• Another good idea would be to let everyone know exactly how many people will be at the swap so they can plan accordingly. 

Amy making an offer

Jennifer sampling Abi's Olive Oil Pizza Dough

I'll start working on planning the next one.  Everyone else: keep sharing your experience, spreading the word, posting pics, tagging, tweeting, poking, mentioning, and however else you communicate these days :)

A quick funny story: The morning of the swap, Amy and I went to Sparacio's to pick more strawberries.  The next row over I noticed these two adorable old ladies going to town picking.  They had a wagon full of containers full to the brim with berries.  I immediately had a vision of them in aprons, baking pies and canning jam.  I thought for sure they'd share a secret recipe with me if I only asked.  So I did.             

"Wow, that's a lot of berries you have there. What are you going to do with them?" 

She replies, "I sell 'em."


Check out our Facebook Page for the rest of the photos!  See everyone again soon.