PENNEY FARMS - Food has been a part of Amber Junker's life for as long as she can remember. 

She said she's always had the best of the best, from tasting her Uncle Mike’s mouthwatering chicken marinade to savoring her mother’s southern sausage gravy.

And now, she’s ready to share recipes like these with others. Recently, Junker released her debut cookbook, "Penney Farms Princess: For the Love of Food," which highlights her creative spirit and offers a multitude of old and new recipes for other foodies.

“The recipes in the cookbook are really simple, really easy, really delicious food,” she said. “It’s the food that I love cooking with family and friends. It’s the food I love.” 

Her grandmother’s famous red velvet cake, also featured in the book, is one of her favorites. With its vibrant red color and decadent cream cheese icing, it is a classic Southern dessert, and Junker said she makes it for her family every year. 

Her idea for the venture began in 2020 when she started her very own food blog. Dubbed the "Penney Farms Princess," she amassed over two thousand followers, taking them on a journey of discovery and providing a source of comfort.

“Just as a way to pay it forward with free recipes and restaurant reviews,” she said. “Like, this is the stuff I like. You might like it, too. And, as a way to help local business owners…it’s just been really fun.” 

Junker said her experience with her father-in-law prompted her to take her blogging to the next level. She said he would text her at least three times a week, asking her to send the same recipes over and over.

“After he kept asking, I was like, you know what, for one year of Christmas, I’m going to make him a cookbook,” she said. 

She began making ‘For the Love of Food’ on a flight to Montana. But, with a career in marketing, she said she couldn’t do it halfway. She needed to go all out.

“I made it a little bigger than a cookbook for Pappy should have been,” Junker said. “And then, I made a couple of copies and gave them out as Christmas gifts that year. But, it was so well received. I was so excited by the way everybody reacted to it” 

At that moment, Junker knew she had something special. For the next two years, she worked on her cookbook, wanting to share her love of food and connect with more people.

That connection with others fuels her. Growing up in Penney Farms, Junker said she struggled with fitting in. A small-town farm girl with a luxurious spirit, she was prone to feeling like an outcast.

“I didn’t really fit in with the farm crowd because I was too prissy. But then, as I grew up, I moved out to Ponte Vedra, Mandarin and all these different areas and I was trying to find who I was. And, at the same time, I didn’t fit in because I was too country,” Junker said. 

She said that’s one of the reasons she has such a passion for food. It can bring people together, no matter who they are.

“We can talk about food that our parents made, our grandparents made, food we like to eat with our friends,” she said. “What brings us comfort, what drink you like to pair with it. I think everybody loves something about that. It just has those big emotions and big memories.” 

She said she’s incredibly thankful for the love, encouragement and support she has gotten from her husband and friends along the way. Her cookbook is currently on Amazon, and Junker said she is excited to witness what it brings.

“I just hope they feel the love and the joy that I put into it,” she said. “I overcame a lot of trauma. But then, I also have a lot of blessings. I hope that this is a way for me to pay that forward.”