Fluffy Puffy Marshamallow!

 We are on day 3 at the Fancy Food Show in January.  Really... by day 3 my antacids are in my back pocket,  my eyes are glazing over and we are all trying very hard to make the best use of our time in San Francisco for our last hurrah.  Rounding the end of yet another aisle in the North Hall is a very picturesque booth again, more chocolate. SOOO MUCH CHOCOLATE AT THE SHOW!  I make myself stop and look to see what might be different with this chocolate.  What do I see?  The dreamiest little what looks like meringues.  Beautiful package and all, so picking up the package, what do you know.. they're marshmallows.  The prettiest little marshmallows I've ever seen.  Yes, I've seen homemade marshmallows.  They are usually square cubed looking and also lovely.  These just set themselves apart from the rest. Hand made Tahitian Vanilla Marshmallows.  Sucre' also produces a delicious line of drinking chocolate that we are excited to bring in.  Yes... more chocolate to pair perfectly with these new dreamy little treats 

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! PopCorn!

POPCORN! Hands down the most popular snack at the moment.  We stretched the heck out of this category last year and we could probably add another 4 foot section to it, just for holding power.  Here are 2 more incredible flavors that are new to Sunshine.  

This popcorn is so yummy that we couldn't even wait for it to go into a distributor.  We had it directly shipped to us from Washington State.  Yes, mailed popcorn. lol  Who who knew?

Well... here is the skinny on why?  We love Rogue Creamery Blue Cheese, for one, and secondly this White Truffle Bliss Popcorn is double stacked with white truffle oil as well as white truffle salt!  And let's not forget that either of these pair splendidly with wine.

Nuff Said....  Now Get to Snackin !

Sunshiney New Products

The time has come to really start ordering in the new products, from this year's "Fancy Food Show", onto the end displays.  We don't send 11 people to that show for nothing.

All 11 plus of us, gorged to the hilt with as many different products  as we could sample from 10 am to 5 pm, three day's in a row.  All just for you!  My belly churns thinking about it. lol

As many of you are aware, our store is not that big, so we really have to be selective with what we bring in.  We know it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.  Out with the old and try something new.  We base most of this on sales and customer desires.  Not all, but most.

Many of the old stand by conventional products in our store have not kept up with the times. Some companies have paid attention and cleaned up their ingredients while others seem to be drinking their own Koolaid and haven't tried to keep up with what the customer is demanding.  Better quality foods to feed their families.  So when there is no need for them on our shelf, we don't reorder and then we shuffle and juggle to make room for the new products.
 
You can see an example of this process in our newly re-set Ice Cream and Frozen Food cases. At the risk of sounding self serving - They look great!

It's a whole lot of work, but it is what keeps us excited and thriving.  Always having the next New, Exciting, Innovating thing and holding on to the tried and true until it's all used up and people don't want it anymore. 

Sometimes we've carried a product so long that it starts out as specialty, then it goes main stream and is carried in every store from here to Timbuktu, then it slows down again and all the bigger box stores quit carrying it and then.... what do you know?  It's special again!  Ta Da!  Fels Naptha soap becomes a specialty item.  Who knew?

Today I will be purchasing all of the products to go where the Easter Goodies are now.  It's a tough display to beat.  Candy and fun Spring colors and then onto the "Unknown".  I hope I can get a bunch of the new companies to come do demos.  That's a giant help and a lot of fun!

Oh, Those Mischievous Little Leprechauns!

When my kids were little, and being of Irish and Scottish decent , twas the perfect excuse for the Leprechauns to pay a visit to my 3 dear ones in the wee hours of the morn on Saint Patricks’ Day. Causing mischief and fun in their rooms while they slept, and turning everything they could to shades of green  It was a day my children came to look forward to each year!  A family tradition that got its simple start from a small bottle of green food coloring.

    As my children slept the leprechauns would appear and work their Irish Magic, rummaging their rooms, stacking their books from floor to ceiling, inverting their posters and turning everything they could to shades of green.

    A little green goes along long way!  Green milk, green cream cheese, green butter, green eggs and ham, ( that’s another story) to name a few. As the years went by the leprechauns became more clever in their magical pranks.  A few green drops left over night to dry in the bottom of a mixing bowl filled my daughters minds with delight as I would take plain old pancake mix dumped into the “pre- greened” mixing bowl. All looked normal until with their help of dumping water into the mix, it would turn green before their very eyes.  But by far, their most favorite memory of Saint Patrick’s day when they where little was what they called “ The magic of the bathroom water” You see, a few drops of green food coloring in the toilet tank will change the water in the bowl a nice shade of green for the next few flushes. And don’t forget the bathroom sink.  You know those small tablets you get in egg coloring kits? They are just the right size to fit on the backside of the aerator in the faucet.  Turning on the water releases a magical flow of green water there too!  

St. Patrick's Day, although not a legal holiday anywhere in the United States, is nonetheless widely recognized and celebrated throughout the country. It is primarily observed as a celebration of Irish and Irish American culture; celebrations include prominent displays of the color green, feasting on corned beef and cabbage, copious consumption of alcohol, religious observances, and numerous parades. But don’t forget the bottle of green food coloring, a little goes along way!

May the leprechauns be near you, 
To spread luck along your way. 
And may all the Irish angels, 
Smile upon you St. Patrick's Day.
Beannachtam na Femle Padraig  "Happy St. Patrick's Day!"

Easter Bunny Magic!

Time to fill that Easter Basket!

You  may be thinking, wow... a little early for Easter isn't it?   Well, crazy as it may be, we had to start thinking about which Easter Bunny surprises we were going to order for the store back in December. 

And this is why

IT'S SPECIALTY! Specialty defined,  it's not easy to get.  Small producers simply can't supply the masses.  They have to get orders ahead of time to ensure that they order enough ingredients to supply their markets with the finished product.  In this case, it may be a 3 pound chocolate bunny.  That's a lot of chocolate folks!  It may be Rosebud Farms Mint Jelly which is undeniably one of our most coveted addition to your Easter Lamb. We  order multiple cases early to ensure we get at least half of what we need.  They truly are tiny artisan producers that have perfected their craft. 

So, if you see something that catches your eye on display here at Sunshine, you better grab it fast.  We aren't able to get more until next year. 

Really, it's only 3 weeks away.