I get the #NOM boxes from Veronica Belmont who is half of the duo on The Sword and Laser sci-fi/fantasy book club podcast, has been in the tech industry for years, but enjoys delicious local food that she handpicks for this box!
I have been anxiously awaiting this box, it was delayed about three months so I couldn't wait to see the handmade item that delayed it for that long! This box is shipped USPS, from Southern California to Northern California, it arrived in 3 days.
Believe it or not, this is the first NOM Quarterly I went totally spoiler free on! I don't know why it seemed so many others were getting theirs first before, but I hadn't seen any photos anywhere of this one yet.
The Quarterly info cards are really kind of a letter from the curator, which I think is really unique and fun! Plus Veronica included some recipes using one of the items in this box!
Sosu Srirachup - ($7.50) You can only buy this on their website in a pack of 4, or in local Bay Area grocery stores. I opened this up to try some, and holy cow it is good! It uses all fresh ingredients, and it has quite a kick! I may be buying this by the case, even though I've been adding Sriracha to my ketchup since college at the Tapioca Express at UCSD. It's waaaayyy better than that, and I think this would even be good added to some marinara sauce to make it spicy.
Bandar Monkey Foods Mint Cilantro Chili Sauce - ($4) I didn't want to open this because it doesn't have a very long shelf life once opening and I have no idea when I will use it. But this looks great and is the product Veronica included recipes for. The Steak and Chimichurri recipe looks right up my alley. I checked out their website and they have some other delicious sauces there as well that I may have to try as well.
ClaySavant Food Safe Dipping Bowls Set - ($10) These were the handmade item that made this box take so long! They're very beautiful and I like that you can tell they're handmade because of the differences in shape and color. The only thing I don't like is that they have these 3 little dots protruding from the bottom that are a little scratchy. I may file them off just so they don't scratch anything I place them on. But otherwise they are very beautiful and I favorited their Etsy shop so I can take a look at the other items they have!
Rootcup Planter and 2 Rootcup Originals - ($26 total) These are made from silicon and the planter has a built in drainage system to wick water away from the roots when watering, but still keep it contained. This looks perfect for cactus or succulents. Then the two small ones are meant for clippings that you're trying to grow. This looks perfect, I know from my time living in San Diego that I can totally grow cacti and succulents without killing them (herbs, not so much) but maybe I'll try those again in these and see how they fair! Maybe I'll even get adventurous and try herbs!
Overall, this #NOM07 Veronica Belmont Quarterly box had a total value of $47.50 and I had a $10 credit on my account for this box, so I only paid $40 for this one, which I think is a great value! I absolutely love this box and I don't think I could ever bring myself to cancel it, especially since I discover so many great food products that are available online, and in the Bay Area so when I go visit B we can buy the ones we love. Like that Srirachup, that's totally happening when I finish this jar!
I noticed at the very bottom of the info letter from Veronica, she says that she's going to start including technology items as well as the food in future boxes, which I totally love! I can't wait to try her technology picks, especially since she's been in the technology industry for years and knows her stuff.
I highly recommend any of the Quarterly boxes that strike your fancy, they have great customer service and the products are of high quality. They have all kinds of curators, so you can pick one that looks interesting to you. Some of their most popular boxes come from curators such as:
Do you subscribe to Quarterly? Which curator do you receive boxes from? Let me know in the comments!
For more Quarterly reviews, check out All Quarterly Reviews.
FYI the three little dots are from the firing process and is the hallmark of handmade/hand fired ceramics. When the piece is glazed it is placed on kiln stands when it is in the kiln so the glaze does not fuse it to the bottom of the kiln. It rests on the points so that it can be easily lifted off. The three dots remain and sometimes additional glaze pools around them. The glas is essentially glass so if you are going to file them, use a fine glass file :o)
ReplyDeleteI had the feeling that's what it was! Thanks for the tip!
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