Military Wives' Cookbook

Military Spouse Appreciation Day is around the corner--May 8th. I'll be busy with Field Day at my school, but I'm sure Gunner is planning some amazing celebration to thank me for standing by his side for the last 14 1/2 years, 4 year long deployments, and being the mother of our three children. (cough, cough)

Okay, so realistically, I am not one for surprises and I don't like big deals made of most things.

Since marrying Gunner, I have become a huge fan of anything military related in my reading. I devour books filled with military history. I am intrigued by different time periods such as WWII and the Vietnam Era. While at a yard sale I stumbled upon a 4th Infantry Division yearbook. The yearbook was printed while the 4th ID was in Germany, and chronicled the occupation of Germany. I got it for a steal at a buck, and couldn't believe my find. I've studied the pictures of the men and women and wondered what it was like for them to be in Germany during that time.

I was sent a copy of The Military Wives' Cookbook by Carolyn Quick Tillery to review about a month ago. From the first email I received about this book, I was chomping at the bit to receive it in my mailbox.

When I received my copy, I was hooked, because it was stories about women like me--military spouses. Of course it is a cookbook, so I'll get to that part, but the book starts out with an introduction covering military spouses that served from the American Revolution to the Global War on Terrorism today.

The recipes--

Presented in menu format style, each set of recipes is accompanied by a story that relates to it and is evocative of the period...When combined in a recipe and remembrance book, the recipes, narratives, and photographs provide a unique story in American history: her story!

The cookbook is divided into multiple sections: Teas and Coffees; Buffets, Brunches, and Lunches; A Taste of home: Dinner Family Style; Alfresco Dining; Over There: An International Affair; Home for the Holidays and Other Celebrations.

Within each section are numerous recipes and stories about the military spouses, excerpts from letters home and pictures of military spouses from long ago. Of course I had to try out a couple of the recipes, so we made the "homemade walnut brownies" and they were excellent! The recipes are all easy to follow and it looks like most of them can be made with ingredients that I keep on hand.

I've already got another few recipes on the agenda over the next two weeks once we make it to the commissary. Even if you don't like to cook, there are tons of stories and pictures in here as well.

And if you try the Black Forest Cake under the Valentine's Dinner for Lovers menu, let me know how it tastes, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.