Foodzie, the “Etsy” for artisinal food products, is one of my favorite sites for buying some of the “secret” ingredients I use in my recipes. It’s also a great source for inspiration when I want to add something extra to a dish, but can’t quite put my finger on what that something is. The site offers a wide variety of products – everything from produce to meats to spices and sauces – with detailed descriptions of the products as well as the stories behind the creators themselves. With these tidbits + a local map showing what products are made in your area, Foodzie is like a virtual farmer’s market for fresh, high quality foods.

One can only imagine how delighted I was (think Christmas morning!) when this box arrived a few weeks ago containing a hand-picked selection of samples for me to try including:

• A juicy pear from Frog Hollow Farm
• Garlic Onion Pistachios from Fiddyment Farms
• Grade A Fancy Maple Syrup from Ledgenear Farm
• Treat to Eat Butter Crunch from p.o.p candy
• Balsamic Honey Vinegar from Honey Ridge Farms

The vinegar was my personal favorite. I’m already a fan of Honey Ridge Farms’ products – so they had a slight leg up. But the vinegar transformed what I already thought was an outstanding recipe for pomegranate balsamic vinaigrette. The pear and the pistachios were consumed as a quick lunch en route to a meeting. (The nuts were delicious though I should remember not to eat garlic before a meeting.) I’m saving the candy for a this week’s desperate sugar emergency and the fancy maple syrup for when I make something fancy.

The tasting box is a part of a new program where Foodzie sends you a sampling of products each month with special offers for each product if you like them – which you will! The membership program costs $20 a month, but you can recoup that $20 easily by taking advantage of the specials made available to members. I know – spending money to save money – but having Christmas come once a month is priceless.