I use this blog, in part, to document cherished family recipes. Wanda was my childhood best friend’s mom and the woman who taught me a lot about cooking. Here is one of her best recipes: a carrot cake chockfull of many spices, pineapple, coconut and nuts — and carrots too! I had lost the recipe and her family did not have a copy either. My … Continue reading Wanda’s Carrot Cake
Why would a 66-year-old overweight, half-deaf woman with a bad knee want to travel abroad all by herself, especially when Covid was resurfacing? Because it is now or never. With many upheavals this past year, including losing people I love, and my own personal health scare that reminded me of my mortality, I knew I had to do this sooner than later. No more procrastinating … Continue reading First Solo International Trip
Like many people in my age group, I’ve been a fan of Van Morrison’s music for more than 40-plus years now. Beyond the hits everyone knows (if you’ve ever been to a wedding, you know “Brown Eyed Girl”), I own many of his albums from throughout the decades and have loved most of his music, especially some of the deeper tracks. Seeing him perform in … Continue reading One Bucket List Item Complete: Van Morrison Live
I’m not a vegetarian, but I’m trying really hard to eat less meat. I got on board with Meatless Mondays, and have expanded that to a few other days of the week. The older I get, the more I see that meat upsets my digestive system, so I’m trying to focus on more plant-based meals. But I love me some bacon. And a good cheeseburger … Continue reading A Most Satisfying Vegetarian Sandwich
I made a side dish last night that was rather good, IMO, but also super easy and quite simple. Plain corn can be rather boring. Corn needs additions to make a good side dish, and I think this recipe did that. This is for two servings, so adjust as needed. Ingredients: • 5 oz. corn kernels • 2 oz. fresh baby spinach, rinsed and patted … Continue reading Tuscan Style Corn Sauté
For the holidays, Reggie would make this sour cream fudge, which we all loved. Personally, I’m not a chocoholic (not that I dislike chocolate, but I don’t crave it). So I really appreciated this creamy fudge during the holidays. Another recipe to add from our family/friend archives. I’ve added some of Wanda Webb’s delicious recipes; she was my childhood best friend’s mom, and was an … Continue reading Reggie’s Sour Cream Fudge
I’ve written before about how Wanda Webb was the cooking guru of our childhood. She was my childhood best friend’s mom, and she was an amazing cook. Sadly, my own mom wasn’t great in the kitchen, so I learned more from Wanda during my formative years than anyone else. I’ve had requests for some of her recipes that have been lost even to her own … Continue reading Wanda’s Oatmeal Cookies
We took our first-ever trip to London in October. The city has long been on my bucket list, but for my history/archaeology loving husband, the thing that intrigued him the most was the proximity to Stonehenge. I was also very intrigued to go there, but not to the degree that he was. When searching that famous third-party site of tours, I found one that was … Continue reading The Way to See Stonehenge
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During our recent sojourn, we both agreed that Florence, and the local Tuscany region, was our favorite new destination in Italy. We are not “tour” people, but as this was our first venture into this area, we felt an organized tour made sense. It was a good investment. We learned so much from our interesting tour leader, Eleanora, and we loved our driver Angelo, too. … Continue reading Our First View of Tuscany
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While in Venice, we decided to take a short trip to the island of Burano. We had considered both Murano and Burano, but decided only one destination was in the cards for us, and Burano it was. And we’re glad we chose that. It’s a charming little village about an hour (with stops) from the Grand Canal in Venice. As a “sometimes jewelry maker”, I … Continue reading Burano, Italy
Sharon A. Penny 