Calamari Vary, a.k.a. Karlovy Vary

After our Girls Night In, complete with fondue and movie night, the ladies and I were ready for our trip to Calamari Vary!

I mean, Karlovy Vary.

Some peeps aren't so good with the pronunciation, so this became our inside joke. It's probably not that funny to you, huh? I guess you just had to be there.

As you can see, there was way too much fun to be had!

The idea to visit this town came from the movie, Last Holiday, since it was filmed there. Much of the movie took place at the GrandHotel Pupp, and I was dying to see it! From Hohenfels, the trip is a little over two hours long, easily doable in a day. Here are the things you should know:

1. You MUST purchase a vignette for this trip (at least from the direction we drove in from). This covers the toll tax on certain roads. Many European countries require these, so always check before your trip if it's necessary.

Vignette

The smallest vignette we could purchase was for 10 days. Of course, we didn't need the whole ten days, but that's the way it works. The price was 11,50 Euro. The directions for use are on the back of the vignette, they tell you what information to write on it and where to place the sticker on your car.

2. When you stop for the vignette, I highly suggest using the ATM at the gas station. We stopped at the first gas station right over the border. These nearly always carry the vignettes you need, so it's best to purchase right away rather than search for one later.

Czech koruna

The reason I tell you to use the ATM there is this: we could only find one ATM in Karlovy Vary, and it was nearly a 2km walk! There were lots of places to exchange your money if you had euros on you, but the rates would not have been as good. Many of the places we stopped would only accept the Czech koruna, and they would not take credit cards.

3. Pick your parking deck before you go, and plug that into your GPS. I'm happy we did this, the town can be confusing to drive in. My GPS took us straight to the parking deck. I chose one on Libusina Street, with security cameras and a free WC. The whole day only cost about 11 US dollars. Worth it!



Ok, enough of the practical stuff. Let's get to the fun!

View of the GrandHotel Pupp

The main street in Karlovy Vary

We turned right out of the parking garage and headed down the hill into town. One of the first things we saw was the GrandHotel Pupp! If you've seen the movie, then I'm sure you recognize this. After a mad search for the ATM (don't be like us, people!), we made our way to the Diana Observation tower. There are several of the towers around town, accessible from a funicular (cost was 80 Czech koruna for the roundtrip). Our plan was to see the view and grab lunch at the top.

Diana Observation Tower

The restaurant was good, and not too crowded. You can take an elevator to the top of the tower (free), and there is even a petting zoo behind the restaurant. If you want, you can hike back to town instead of taking the funicular.

Top of Diana Observation Tower

We saved room for dessert after our meal, because we were headed back down the mountain to Cafe Pupp! Mmmmm….. chocolate and cake and yummy goodness…

Dessert at Cafe Pupp

I have to be honest here. We were those crazy tourists taking pictures of everything! We even managed a selfie (taken by our Selfie Queen, Deborah):

I don't care (much) that people stared. The hotel was gorgeous, and the cake was so dang good. We were a little rotten, but who isn't every once in a while?

We did everything I wanted with our day, we even tasted the extra-special, supposedly healthy, funny tasting spring water:

Drinking the mineral water… we have very different reactions, ha! 

You buy special cups (the handle is a straw!), so the minerals don't all settle on the bottom of your glass. The cups are sold from street vendors everywhere, and they weren't expensive. I think the prices converted to about 5 US dollars. You can also just bring an empty bottle of your own if you want.

The drinking fountains are all over town. If you're thirsty, just walk up and grab a sip. Fair warning though… the water is hot from the natural spring, it definitely tastes "different", and because of its so-called healing properties I would consider it a cleanse. As in, don't drink much unless you want to spend your day in the bathroom. Capisce?

We also sampled the local wafer cookies, and totally fell in love.

Someone ate theirs before I got a pic. That someone was not me. Well, not me alone anyway.

The cookies are sold everywhere on the street, individually like above or in boxes. Care to guess how many boxes I came home with?!

To round out our day, we finished with a horse and buggy ride around town. It was a great opportunity to get off our feet for a bit, relax and enjoy.

As seems to be the usual, we were blessed with great weather (thanks to our Magic Sunglasses lady). I'm so lucky to have such great neighbors to hang out with, and I can't wait for our next adventure.

Until next time my friends, happy travels!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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Girls Night In!

Have you ever seen the movie Last Holiday, starring Queen Latifah? If the answer is no, you should probably watch it. Especially if you like fluffy girl movies. Which I do.

Anyway! I thought this was a cute movie. I was watching it one night shortly after we moved to Germany, when I suddenly realized… 

… much of this movie takes place, and was filmed, only a few short hours away from where I'm currently living!! Do you know what this means???

I can go visit there! And I totally did. Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it soon. 

You probably think I'm nuts, but little things like this excite me. I got my friends all stirred up about it too, so they came with me. Before the trip, we decided to have a girls night in with food and wine, and a showing of the movie. 

Fun, yes? 

Meat and veggie platters

Cheese tray from around the world

Chocolate fondue and dippers! 

We piled our plates high, poured ourselves some wine, and snuggled down with fuzzy blankets to watch the show. Much of the movie takes place in Karlovy Vary, a spa town in the Czech Republic. We loved exploring this town, and I'm excited to share all the stories and pics with you! 

In the meantime, I'm passing along my chocolate fondue recipe to you, in case you'd like to host a Girls Night In yourself...

This recipe is super simple. In your electric fondue pot (if you're using a sterno candle, then do this in a double boiler first and transfer to your fondue pot), combine the following: 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, 12 ounces milk chocolate chips, 2 cups heavy cream, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons butter. Warm over low heat until melted and smooth. Then dip your favorite stuff into the chocolate, and enjoy! 

As always peeps, the standard recipe is below. And I've included a list of "dipper" suggestions too. Until next time, happy cooking! I'll be back soon with the details from our trip, so stay tuned.  

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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The Standard Form:

Basic Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients:

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

12 ounces milk chocolate chips

16 ounces (2 cups) heavy cream

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

If you’re using an electric fondue pot, turn the heat on low. Add all ingredients to the pot and stir until melted and smooth. Serve with your favorite dippers.

If you’re not using an electric fondue pot, melt the ingredients together in a double boiler. Once smooth, transfer to your fondue pot and keep warm with a sterno.

Dipper Suggestions: Marshmallows, pound cake, strawberries, bananas, graham crackers, pretzels, salty potato chips, cooked bacon, brownie bites, maraschino cherries, apple slices, pineapple, biscotti, soft caramels, meringue cookies

Pavlova, Darling

When I told my girlfriends I was making 'pavlova' for Ladies Night In, only ONE of them knew what that was.

Do you know what it is?

If you do, come hang with us cool people (me and Caleigh). If you don't, no worries. I'm gonna show you, and then you'll spread the word to the rest of the world...

Pavlova with Strawberry Compote 

What is it, you wonder? Well, according to my Canadian guru, it's "a rainbow in your mouth". That's a direct quote, people.

However, if "rainbow" is a bit too vague for you, here are the nuts and bolts:  Pavlova is a baked meringue, usually filled with fresh cream and fruit.

Or, it's a rainbow in your mouth. That just sounds so much cooler, don't you think?

Warning: This recipe seems complicated, but I promise it's NOT. In fact, pavlova is fairly simple to make. People think it's hard because there are three layers we're working with. However, each layer is pretty simple, and one can be made ahead of time.

These are the layers (from the bottom up):

1. The baked meringue - these whip up, literally, in about 10 minutes, but then they spend an hour in the oven. So, it may appear to take a long time, but you're really only working "hard" for ten minutes.

2. The fresh whipped cream - Again, this takes about 5 minutes to whisk to perfection. You can also skip this step entirely by using fake whipped cream (aka: Cool Whip or ReddiWip), but please, please don't do that. Fresh is worth it, I swear. Try it once, and you'll see the light.

3. The strawberry compote - Only a few steps, this takes 10 minutes to prep. AND, you can make this ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator until you need it.

So, you see, this whole process isn't as complicated as it seems! I'll start by showing you the steps to make strawberry compote and you'll be amazed at how easy this is.

Begin by combining 1/4 cup warm water with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch. Then, in a saucepan, combine the cornstarch mixture with 4 cups of strawberries (hulled and cut in half), 2 teaspoons lemon juice and 1/2 cup sugar. Warm this over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. The strawberries will break down slightly, and a thicker sauce will develop.

This will smell fantastic. When done, remove from heat and let cool. Easy, yes? At this point, you can refrigerate the sauce for up to a week. I like to make mine the day before so it has plenty of cooling time, plus it thickens a bit in the fridge, but the choice is yours.

Onward!

The next item you'll make is the meringue. Also super easy, peeps!

Meringue ingredients 

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper. You likely need two cookie sheets. I did.

In a small bowl, mix together 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch with 1 1/2 cups sugar. Set aside.

For the next step, you need 6 large egg whites at room temperature. This is very important as it helps ensure volume in your meringue. Oddly enough, egg whites separate better when they are cold, so this is what I suggest:

Separate your whites from yolks immediately after removing the eggs from the fridge (save the yolks for another recipe, if you like). Then, allow the whites to sit on your counter for about 30 minutes. This will bring them to the proper temperature.

In a large bowl, whip the whites (on medium speed) with 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, until soft peaks form. Increase your speed to medium-high and slowly add the cornstarch/sugar mixture to the whites. Whip until stiff peaks form, but not so long that the meringue becomes brittle or dry.

Top: Soft peaks
Bottom: Stiff peaks 

Then, gently fold in 1 1/2 teaspoons each of vanilla and fresh lemon juice. Try not to eat this right out of the bowl either, though you'll be tempted!

Spoon individual sized portions onto a cookie sheet, circles about three or four inches in diameter. Use a spoon to leave an indention in the center. Later, we'll fill this hole with yummy goodness. It's that whole "rainbow in the mouth" thing that you've been looking forward to. At this point, your meringues should resemble these:

Meringue prior to oven

Place your meringues in the oven, and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees.

Trust me, people.

Bake the meringues anywhere from 45-60 minutes. Because all ovens, locations, and humidity factors vary, I suggest checking them at around 30 minutes. If the meringue is browning too quickly, reduce your temperature. I find mine are done at about 54 minutes. You will know they're done when the outside is lightly brown and the meringues lift easily from the parchment paper.

Meringue after baking 

Allow to cool slightly, ok? While these are cooling, it's a good opportunity to make your whipped cream.

Now, as I said, you could always use the fake stuff, but why would you? Not when you can quickly and easily make it yourself.

See how simple it is: Whip together 2 cups of heavy cream and 6 tablespoons of sugar until soft peaks form. Don't over whip though, or you'll make butter instead.

And that's it for whipped cream! You can't keep the fresh stuff longer than about 8 hours (refrigerated), so plan on using what you make that day. Not exactly hard though. I'd eat it right out of the bowl, if necessary. Sacrifices must be made.

Now that all your pieces are complete, you only need to put them together...

Start with a baked meringue on the plate. Spoon some whipped cream into the hole. Add fresh fruit (I like blueberries, but you can use anything), and drizzle all over with your strawberry compote. Top with another spoonful of whipped cream, because it's pretty.

Then prepare for your guests to be amazed. I love fancy desserts that aren't really fancy, don't you?

You see, this dessert may have looked complicated (and your guests will certainly think so), but it's actually pretty simple. Who doesn't want to be served a dessert that's a rainbow in your mouth? Nobody I know!

Happy cooking, my friends. As always, the recipe is below. I'll be back soon with more fun desserts!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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The Standard Form:

Pavlova with Strawberry Compote

Ingredients:

Strawberry Compote:

4 cups strawberries, hulled and halved (or quartered if large)

½ cup sugar

¼ cup warm water

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Pavlova:

6 large egg whites (about ¾ cup), room temperature

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 ½ cups sugar

Whipped cream:

2 cups heavy cream

6 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

For the strawberry compote – Combine the water and cornstarch together. Add all ingredients to a saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring frequently, for 5-7 minutes. The strawberries will break down slightly, form a sauce, and thicken. Mixture will become very fragrant. Once thick, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

For the pavlova - Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Prepare a large cookie sheet with parchment paper (may require two cookie sheets).

Blend the sugar and cornstarch together. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form (about 3 minutes). Increase the speed to medium-high, then slowly add the cornstarch/sugar combo to the egg whites. Whip until the mixture is stiff, but not dried out.

Gently fold in the vanilla and lemon juice.

Spoon individual portions onto the parchment paper. The meringues should be circular, about 3 inches in diameter. Be sure to place the meringues several inches apart. Use the back of a spoon to make an indentation in the center of each meringue (this will later be filled with cream and fruit).

Reduce your oven temperature to 250 degrees. Bake the meringues for 45-60 minutes. Check for doneness at 30 minutes, as ovens vary and this is a delicate dessert you do not wish to overbake. If the meringues are browning too quickly, reduce oven temperature to 225 degrees.

The meringues are done when the outside is lightly brown and they lift easily from the parchment paper.

For the whipped cream – Wisk together the heavy cream and sugar until soft peaks form. Do not overwhip or you will make butter instead of whipped cream.

To serve: Place a meringue on plate. Fill the indention with a bit of whipped cream. Top with fresh fruit of your choosing (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi slices, etc), then add a generous drizzle of the strawberry compote. Top with another dollop of whipped cream if desired.

Leftovers: Store the meringue covered, at room temperature. These will only keep for a few days. The whipped cream must be used within a few hours. Do not store the cream, always make fresh and discard any leftovers. Refrigerate the strawberry compote up to a week. 

Fresh Corn and Tomato Bruschetta

I haven't had much time for cooking since The Hubs and I arrived in Germany. Of course, I also had no pots and pans (or anything else for that matter!), so cooking would have posed a few problems anyway.

But I've really missed this daily chore. Which for me is really no chore at all, more like a mad science experiment. And I've especially missed cooking with my friends, or cooking for them (and them cooking for me!).

Remember my deployment battle buddies? Of course you do! We developed Ladies' Night In, a fantastic opportunity to hang out together and test our culinary skills on each other. I really, really miss my ladies. I think they should all move to Germany too! I'd like you to be on my side in this matter.

Earlier this week, when I was especially missing my gal pals, I came across these photos of an experiment gone right. Inspired by my best Canadian pal, and another Ladies' Night In moment, I created this Fresh Corn and Tomato Bruschetta.

I'm completely obsessed. Have been, actually, from the first moment Caleigh (my Canadian pal!) served us something similar at her home. I immediately started on a recreation and elaboration. THIS is the result:

Corn and Tomato Bruschetta

Nom nom nom nom nom.

Let me repeat that. Nom nom nom nom nom. 

You've no idea, seriously. This is a MUST try. Hubs will be forever grateful to Ladies Night In evenings for this delicious treat. After the creation, we actually ate it three more times in the same week!

It's that good, people.

So let's get this party started:

The ingredients

To start, I should warn you: This recipe makes A LOT. But don't worry, you'll eat it all. Or, make this as an appetizer for a party. Huge hit. HUGE.

As usual, my pictures don't quite capture all the ingredients. After creation, I realized I need twice the filling to use up all the spread (you'll see). So, some of the ingredients are actually double what you see here. Plus, ahem... you won't be using basil at all, but cilantro instead.

My bad.

Anyway, let's begin with the spread. Using a ripe avocado, blend it together with 8 ounces of whipped cream cheese (1 container), 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and five cloves of roasted garlic. If you've never roasted garlic before, it's quite simple. This tutorial on WikiHow is easy to follow.

Avocado spread

The picture above is what your spread will look like once blended. For now, set this mixture aside in your refrigerator while you finish the rest.

Next, slices two loaves of French (or Italian) bread. I like mine sliced thick, but this is up to you. The thicker the bread, the more topping it will comfortably hold. I'm a glutton for this stuff.

Toast the bread using your preferred method. I like the bread toasted on only one side, so I usually spray that side with a bit of baking spray, then toss it under the broiler for a few minutes. You can toast yours however you like!

In the meantime, finely chop 2 small red onions (or 1, if you like things less oniony). Sauté in a bit of butter to draw the sweetness out. Set aside to cool.

Lightly sautéed onions 

At the same time (or separately if you've a tendency to get distracted and burn stuff), cook 12 slices of peppered bacon. If you don't have access to peppered bacon, that's ok. Just add a little extra pepper to your final corn mixture to make up for it, kay? Crumble the bacon into small pieces.

Now comes the really fun part.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together your onions and bacon, plus 4 ears worth of sliced-off-the-cob corn kernels. You heard me, just slice it right off the cob and into the bowl. No cooking necessary!

To this, add 1 pint of quartered cherry (or grape) tomatoes. Drizzle in just enough olive oil to coat (about 2 teaspoons, maybe less). Salt and pepper to taste. This doesn't require much! Unless, of course, you are without the peppered portion of the bacon.

Gently stir in some chopped cilantro. I used... a bunch. Maybe two bunches. Probably about a cup.

I like cilantro.

When all is said and done, it should look a little something like this:

Corn mixture

Everything else is a cake walk!

Shmear your bread with a bit of the avocado mixture, and then spoon some corn mixture on top. Bite in. Savor the moment. Thank Caleigh for the inspiration, because your life won't ever be the same after this.

Mmmmmmm......

As always peeps, I've included the recipe at the bottom here. I'll be back in my kitchen soon, testing some new recipes for my favorite people.

That would be you.

Until then, happy cooking!!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

The Standard Form:

Fresh Corn and Tomato Bruschetta

Ingredients:

8 ounces whipped cream cheese

1 ripe avocado

5 cloves roasted garlic

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

4 ears fresh corn, shucked and the kernels cut off

1 pint cherry (or grape) tomatoes, quartered

2 small red onions, diced and sautéed

12 slices peppered bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 teaspoon olive oil (or less)

2 bunches roughly chopped cilantro (about 1 cup)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 loaves French or Italian bread, for serving

Directions:

* Note: This recipe makes A LOT. If desired, cut in half for a smaller serving

In a large mixing bowl, blend the cream cheese with the avocado, roasted garlic, and lemon juice until smooth. Set aside.

Slice your French (or Italian) bread into thick slices. Spray one side with cooking spray (if desired) and brown underneath the broiler.  Keep close watch on your bread, you don’t want it to burn! Alternatively, you can toast in a regular toaster. Set aside to cool.

In another bowl, stir together the fresh corn kernels, tomatoes, sautéed red onion, and peppered bacon. Drizzle in the olive oil, adding just enough to lightly coat. Salt and pepper to taste. Gently stir in the chopped cilantro.

To serve: Spread the bread with the avocado mixture. Top with as much of the corn mixture as desired. Eat (with napkins!)   

Ladies Night In (and Orange Sorbet)...

Some army wife friends and I have started a wonderful new tradition, which hasn't been officially named, but I privately refer to it as Ladies Night In. The title basically gives away the whole concept. We're all ladies (in the sense that we're females, haha!) and instead of going out, we relax together inside.

With food. And wine. And excellent conversation. 

Throw in the occassional dirty joke, and we've got a party! 

To add to the fun, we rotate houses each week, so we all have a chance to host. This means we each enjoy a great meal every week, but only have to cook once a month. Totally win - win. Of course, I agonize for weeks before it's my turn, wondering what I should make for my friends. You recently got a sneak peek at our dinners with Michele's guest post: Roasted Vegetable Couscous. 

This is what I compete with, people! It ain't easy, I gotta measure up, right? 

So far, I've made a lot of soup (like my Creamy Onion, and a new roasted zuchinni soup that I'll tell you about sometime). Oh, and finger foods. I love finger foods. Sadly, dessert has always been my issue. I like eating dessert, but the cooking of it? Not so much. I don't know why, but the whole idea ties me up in knots. What if it's not good? What if it's too sweet? Dear God, what if it's not sweet enough?!

Yeah, it's a real problem. 

On Ladies' Night though, I'm stuck. So, I've been forced to expeiment with my dessert skills. This last time, I was so pleased with the results, I decided they were good enough to share with you!

Nom nom nom nom.... Homemade Orange Sorbet! Served in a fancy, biodegradable orange cup, ha. The serving style definitely elevates this simple dish into something more unique, don't you think? 

I decided to play around with sorbet because: a) It seemed simple enough, and b) My mum bought me an ice cream maker for Christmas, and I really needed to use it before she asked me for the thousandth time, 'Honey did you try the ice cream maker yet?!' 

Yes, yes I did. 

Turn out, sorbet is easy to make and totally delicious. To get started, you need:

1 cup of water. 1/2 cup of sugar. The peel of 1 orange (I used my veggie peeler for this, super easy! Try not to have any of the white pith on the skin as you peel, because it's bitter and yucky. 'Yucky' is the technical term, ha). You also need 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and 2 cups of fresh squeezed orange juice, about 8-15 oranges, depending on size. 

Before you ask, the answer is YES, you MUST use fresh orange juice. 

Ok, so maybe not. I guess you could use the stuff in the carton, but I take no responsibility for your final product if you do so. The beauty of this sorbet is its delicate flavor, and I worry that concentated juice will upset the balance. 

Onward! 

To make your sorbet base, start by adding the water and sugar to a pot on the stove over medium-high heat. At first, the mixture will be cloudy. However, as you bring it to a boil, the sugar will dissolve and once again appear clear (see photos below). When the sugar/water reaches a boil, add your orange peel to the pot and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer for five minutes. 

Remove from heat, strain the orange peel out of your mixture, and let the syrup cool.

Once cooled (this doesn't take very long, maybe 15 minutes), stir the orange and lemon juice into the syrup. Combine well, then place in the refrigerator to chill completely. I've left mine to cool anywhere from 3 hours to 3 days. This sorbet base will keep in the fridge for several days, so it's easy to make in advance then toss into your ice cream maker when you're ready.

From here, simply follow the instructions on your ice cream maker. I allow mine to churn between 15 and 20 minutes. Eat right away or scoop into containers for freezer storage (Note: If you freeze the sorbet after churning, allow the sorbet to soften on your counter for a few minutes before serving. Sorbet freezes hard, and those few minutes will make scooping much easier).

OR, scoop into a fancy orange cup and serve with a sprig of mint leaf! Obviously, I think this is cool. And because I appreciate y'all so much, I'll let you in on my secrets...

To make an orange serving dish:

Slice a thin piece off the top of the orange, run a sharp paring knife around the inner rim, then scoop out the insides with a spoon (Hint: you can juice the pulp for your sorbet, or just eat the yummy wedges of orange). Be careful not to poke a hole in your "cup". If your orange doesn't sit flat, shave a bit off the bottom to level it out, also being careful not to poke a hole in it. Nobody wants melty sorbet leaking onto their fingers, right? 

Then, pop your orange cup into the freezer before adding any sorbet. The hulled out oranges freeze quickly, in about 20 - 30 minutes. If you place them in the freezer just before churning your sorbet, they will be ready for filling when your ice cream maker is done. 

Why do I love these orange cups? Well, they're obviously adorable and snazzy. BUT, they also help keep the sorbet frozen, especially on hot summer days. Cool, huh? 

I knew you'd think so too. 

And that's it... simple, yet delicious. Plus, with the orange cups (and mint leaf), you look fancy and will impress your friends.  

Happy cooking, my friends. If you try out this recipe, feel free to send in your photos and I will post them for everyone. I love hearing from you! 

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

The Standard Form:

Orange Sorbet

Ingredients:

1 cup water

½ cup sugar

Rind of one orange

2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice (about 8-15 oranges, depending on size)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Orange cups, for serving

Mint sprigs, for garnish

Directions:

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then add the orange rind. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

Strain the syrup to remove the rind. Allow to cool.

Once cool, stir the orange and lemon juice into the syrup. Chill in refrigerator at least three hours and up to three days.

Follow directions on your ice cream maker for churning (mine churns 15-20 minutes). Serve immediately in orange cups (directions below), or place in freezer for future use. If freezing, allow sorbet to soften on the counter a few minutes prior to serving. This will make scooping easier.

To make orange cups:

Slice a thin piece off the top of the orange, run a sharp paring knife around the inner rim, then scoop out the insides with a spoon (Hint: you can juice the pulp for your sorbet, or just eat the yummy wedges of orange). Be careful not to poke a hole in your "cup". If your orange doesn't sit flat, shave a bit off the bottom to level it out, also being careful not to poke a hole in it.

Then, pop your orange cup into the freezer before adding any sorbet. The hulled out oranges freeze quickly, in about 20 - 30 minutes. If you place them in the freezer just before churning your sorbet, they will be ready for filling when your ice cream maker is done. 

Garnish sorbet with a mint leaf if desired. 

Guest Post: Roasted Vegetable Couscous

I've been searching for a new guest blogger for a while now, and I finally found a willing participant!

Okaaaaaaaaay.... She may not have been willing at first, but I nagged her into it. Whatever works, people. (Also, if you'd like to guest blog without me nagging you, feel free to email me anytime with your ideas).

So, who is this person, you wonder? Well, she is a new addition to my army family, a fellow spouse. We met late last year as our husbands prepared for a deployment together. I love her approach to life (and the ups and downs of deployment), and I bet you will too.

Several wives in our circle decided to form a weekly dinner group. Each week, one wife will cook a meal and have all of the other wives over to eat, drink, and have fun. The next week is someone else's turn. And so on and so forth.

Hence (love that word!), you prepare dinner only once a month or so, but you enjoy a home-cooked meal every week.

This is totally working out for us. Not only do we enjoy each other's company, but we're all trying new food that we didn't have to cook ourselves. It's a pretty sweet deal.

On Michele's week to cook (our guest blogger), she made us a variation on a pasta salad recipe she discovered. It turned out so good, I snapped a picture with my cell phone before I dug in for seconds:

Later that week, I made the recipe at home, because I couldn't stop thinking about it.

And so did another wife!

Now that you know you can't live without this recipe, here is Michele with her first ever guest post (yay!):

OK, so since my husband left on deployment, I’ve taken the opportunity to make myself useful in the kitchen.  See, around our house, he was the cook.  With him gone, it was either spend a lot of money eating takeout all the time or cook for myself.  

Now, I’m not going to misrepresent myself as a master chef, but I can follow a recipe like a pro!  In fact, scouring the web for recipes is one of my favorite pastimes.  

The hubby is your typical meat and potatoes kind of guy.  

Don’t get me wrong...  The smell of his rib eye steak on the grill always gets my mouth watering.  

However, in an effort to take better care of myself by hitting the gym daily and eating well, I’ve been doing all sorts of research.  I’m leaning more towards vegetarianism and a trend called clean eating.  It focuses on fresh foods and good, lean quality proteins.  

In my travels around the internet I found a recipe for a Roasted Vegetables & Goat Cheese Pasta Salad on the Clean Eating Magazine site.  I liked the idea of a cold pasta salad since our kitchen heats up quickly, but wanted to switch the typical noodles with something else.  

I found the recipe very versatile because I can use any organic vegetables that are in season and make this meal throughout the year.  I modified the recipe to my taste and got to experimenting.  This is how my recipe turned out:

2 cups of uncooked Israeli couscous

1 each of red pepper, yellow pepper, orange pepper, sliced into bite size pieces

1 red onion, sliced into bite size pieces

1 zucchini, sliced into bite size pieces

1 package of cherry tomatoes cut in halves

1 clove of garlic (can be minced or whole)

2 tablespoons (more or less) of extra-virgin olive oil

1 bunch of chopped chives (white & green parts)

½ bunch of fresh parsley

1 bunch of fresh basil

½ cup of white wine vinegar

For serving:

Goat cheese

Feta cheese

Pine nuts, toasted

Pumpkin seeds

Cook the couscous as directed on the package. (Note: There are many different types of couscous , and they will all work for this recipe).

Roast the peppers, red onion, and zucchini in an oven at 350F for about 15 minutes.  I usually put foil on a cookie sheet, spread the veggies out in a single layer and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper if desired.  Keep an eye on the veggies around 10 minutes in as the cooking times do vary based on the type of vegetable.  Roast them to your desired tenderness.  

Photos courtesy of Army Life

In a blender, combine the garlic, chopped chives, parsley, basil, and white wine vinegar.  As this is mixing, slowly add in the olive oil through the top of the blender and enjoy the smell of that earthy, fresh basil.  I didn’t actually measure out 2 tablespoons of oil, I just added until it got to a consistency I liked.  

Combine the couscous, roasted vegetables, raw cherry tomatoes, and vinaigrette in a large bowl.  To serve, top the salad with soft, crumbled goat cheese or tart feta cheese and the toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds and chow down! 

Below are several photos from the various wives who have already tested out this recipe:

Happy cooking, my friends! I hope you enjoyed this guest post by Michele, a fellow spouse and great friend... if you make this recipe, let us know in the comments how yours turned out and what changes you made to suit your tastes.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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