I am taking my first step in a new direction for my blog. When I first began this blog, my vision was different than it is now. I was more interested in format than content or maybe vice versa. In the beginning, I would publish once a week and work on the content during the week. In the end, this did not work for me. So, it is time for… Read More »Taking my First Step
Hello again, My name is Merry Sunshine. When I started this blog, we were just coming out of the pandemic. So began our life of the “the new normal”. My new normal has been a great change but not in the way most people would think. My lifestyle before and after, has remained much the same. The major difference between my life before and after is where I live. When… Read More »The New Beginning
Spices are a daily part of my life. It is one of the constant items that are in my kitchen. They are essential. As a home cook and a bit of a control freak (only a little), I make my own spices. Buying spices at the store is fine, but I have found with making my own spices I can cater to my own likes and dislikes. The major benefit… Read More »Spice is My Life
This recipe is for a good friend and a new dad. I first tried this recipe for my daughter to have healthy snacks to take to work. It took a couple of tries to find the ones we enjoyed, but it was well worth it. Please note that chickpea is also a garbanzo bean, just a different name.
Recently, on a trip to a local food giveaway, I ended up with about 10lbs of red radishes. Mind you, I love radishes, but that was too many for my daughter and me to eat before they spoiled. So we decided to pickle them.
This recipe is for a small batch of jam. I love using this recipe because I never know when I might find or get ripe fruit. Even though I am a home cook, I don’t usually keep Pectin in my pantry, and with this recipe, I don’t have to. I also like the ability to regulate how much sugar you put into a batch.
This recipe is good for using ripe peaches. You can decide how much sugar you want to use. For me, I don’t use a lot of sugar. I use just enough to make sure it is a jam consistency and I feel like the peaches should speak for themselves. Peaches are naturally sweet enough. I also like to add different spices to enhance the peachy flavor. You can add a little, more, or none at all. The flavors of the jam are between you and the jam.
In my world, food banks are part of my pay it forward program. There have been many, and still are, times when food banks have saved my life. At this time in my life, with things being so uncertain, I have to go to food banks to supplement my food budget. My budget is squeezing so hard right now that it has laryngitis from squealing. But such is life sometimes, and thankful there are places like food banks to help people in need. Now what to do with the stuff.
When I was in my mid-twenties, I learned a valuable lesson on making assumptions. Never assume anything, as it will make an ass of you and me (ass/u/me). In this next story, a man and I exchanged information but forgot that we had completely different preconceived notions. I can laugh about this now. But at the time, it could have taken an unfortunate turn. It taught me that if I am talking to someone, I need to engage in that conversation.
I love beef stew and use this recipe when I need to stretch my food budget. It is also a good way to use food that has been donated and needs to be used before it goes bad. This stew gives you that warm-down home feeling. This recipe also makes great leftovers and freezes well.