Arriving at Koro Sun

As I said before... we made it to Fiji!... and, well, we made it home, too. It's been a little over 12 weeks since John and I looked at each other as we flew over Madison on our return flight. "Can you believe we're almost home?" John asked me.  The truth is, Fiji felt like a dream from the moment we checked into our "day hotel" for our 10 hour layover in Nadi, Fiji, where we stayed in our tiny hotel room watching The British Office and CNN coverage of the just happened Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Adjusting to being home was much more difficult than I imagined, and it took at least that long to mentally sort out the trip. Upon our return, I felt completely unmotivated and uninspired. For the sake of telling everyone else about our experience, I suppose I should back up and not start with our conclusion.

So, thanks for being patient with us as we unwind, digest, sort through photos, get back into the swing of things...

Here's our story, little by little. 

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We arrived at our destination!: Koro Sun Resort, Savusavu, Fiji


After a two hour cab ride from La Basa to Koro Sun Resort in Savusavu, we were ready to get to our villa and relax. We arrived to a group of the staff at Koro Sun singing a welcome song. Before we could even get out of the car, people were taking our bags. "Oh you must be Nicole and this must be Lauren!" I heard someone say as they handed me a coconut to drink and placed a frangipani necklace around my neck.

We turned the corner to find more of the staff sitting on the bare floor in front of chairs, waiting to rinse our feet in cold water and then massage sugar and coconut oil up our calves and feet. It felt amazing, special, and unexpected. This is exactly how every guest arrives at this resort.

One of the staff guys, Romanu, went with us up to our villa to show us around. The villa was on a hill above the resort, providing the seclusion and privacy of a home with the connection and amenities of a resort. It was the best of both worlds.

The view from every room in the villa was gorgeous. We were giddy with excitement to get to stay there for 20 days. The first few days we experienced a few hiccups that maybe I'll talk about later, but the staff at the resort was always ready to help and very accommodating.

LE was ready for Fiji!

Tuna Salad with Dill

Tonight's dinner came together in the way it does so rarely.  The fridge really needed to get cleaned out, but I didn't particularly care to send everything on its way to the compost bin. I couldn't stomach eating the rest of the cottage cheese as a snack again. Do you ever do that-- get something that you really enjoy for the first couple of times, and then it just sits there until you toss it? Even though John and I both like cottage cheese (LE, not so much), we didn't finish it off.

Back to tonight...

I needed to make dinner, and I was determined to figure out how to use up what was in our fridge.  For whatever the reason, tuna salad with dill sounded good. We have dill growing outside and tuna in our pantry. Considering I rarely eat tuna salad and have never included dill before, I consulted my usual food sites to search and then headed to google to see what the top results are. Sure, I could throw together a tuna salad, but I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing some incredibly smart ingredient that pairs perfectly with tuna and dill.

The very first recipe I clicked on had exactly what I was looking for. It's as if the ingredients were taken from the inventory of my fridge.

The fridge had half a lemon, 1/3 cup of cottage cheese, the bottom of the Dijon jar, a big spoonful of capers, a stalk of celery, a little more than a quarter of a purple onion, half a pita, and an accidental purchase of 2 heads of lettuce.

The recipe called for exactly those quantities (except the lettuce; that would be insane). Don't you just love it when the stars align? Ok, I don't really believe in that, but it was certainly serendipitous.

I never had heard of cottage cheese in tuna salad, but I thought I'd give it a try. As it turns out, it's just a healthier substitute for mayo and boiled eggs.

I'm not going to pretend that this is something that it's not. It's not something you'd make for company. This tuna salad is great for eating alone or with your family. If you're looking for something healthy, quick, and simple-- this is for you!

Tuna Salad with Dill
Adapted slightly from Simply Recipes

Ingredients
2 cans of tuna, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
1/3 cup of cottage cheese
2 tablespoons of mayo
1/4 purple onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 tablespoon of capers
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon of fresh dill, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
freshly ground pepper, to taste (I added about 3/4 teaspoon)

Combine all items in a bowl and serve on top of lettuce, in a pita, on toast... I think everyone knows how to eat tuna salad. ;)

Enjoy!

Garden Progress (3)

Of course, everything is growing! We planted a few new things this week: radishes, spinach, more lettuce. We got to enjoy some of that lettuce, and it's doing great! 

Every time I walked out to the box, I was surprised by the growth of the bell peppers. They went from the size of a marble last week to the size of a pingpong ball (ish) this week. Amazing! The lettuce is also huge, and we've even gotten to enjoy some of its harvest. The work is starting to pay off!

In our front yard, our irises and peonies are blooming. In fact, the peonies are on their way out. 

LE's Baptism

The end of winter was busy for us-- especially February when LE was baptized the weekend before we went to Fiji for 3 weeks. I got really behind on everything, and when we returned, it was time to focus on the fundraiser for Young Life.

My parents live in Texas and don't get to come up to Wisconsin much. We were thankful to have a little bit of time with them on Saturday morning on the weekend of LE's baptism. 

Poor LE was sick with a cough, sniffles, and a fever the whole weekend, but she hardly fussed except at night. You can see how tired she is in her eyes.

John's parents got to have some one on one time with her that day, too.

Photo by LE's Granny

In the hustle of getting our home ready for someone else to live there and ourselves ready to be away for 3 weeks, we didn't think to stop and get some real photos of LE's baptism... or her in her dress... or her on her day. Thankfully, our parents thought to snap a couple of photos from their seats with a point and shoot.

This is my favorite one that we got from them. It shows LE in the middle of her baptism, with her parents and godparents surrounding her.

Photo by LE's Nanny

Prior to the baptism, I took a quick snapshot of the homemade toffee, store-bought Valentine's Day hearts (this was in mid-February, afterall), her baptism invitation, and the sweet yellow roses.

We thought to capture our friends (her godmother Ashley with her husband, Dustin)

After we returned from Fiji, I took her dress out of her closet to take a few photos of it. I am bummed we didn't get LE in it up close, but it fit really well. Her Nanny did a great job sewing it and picking out the fabric. 

Isn't it beautiful and have the perfect subtle pattern in the fabric? 

Thanks to everyone who shared in LE's special day with us, including our friends who we didn't get a photo of. We're really blessed.

Coconut Ice Cream

Coconut is one of those things that most people either love or hate.  I definitely fall on the LOVE side of this debate. I could eat coconut every day for the rest of my life and be happy. Hmm, let's make that coconut, chocolate, and ice cream. 

When my parents gave us a Cuisinart ice cream maker as one of their Christmas presents to us last year, I was excited to start making my own ice cream like we did growing up, but I wanted to try to figure out how to not get that weird film you get on your tongue when you eat homemade ice cream. 

The recipe that I debuted in the maker came out delicious, creamy, sweet, and without a film. In fact, I {ahem} at the whole 1 1/2 quarts just about by myself in 7 days. Yes, that is an outrageous amount of ice cream, but... but... it has lower fat, calories, and sugar than most store bought and homemade ice cream recipes I've seen. 


Plus, the ingredients for this are so inexpensive and the recipe is so, so simple. Three cans + coconut. No stove-top cooking. Easy peasy.

If you like coconut and ice cream, I recommend that you make this soon. Don't skip the toasted coconut on top; it's what makes this whole thing come together. The original recipe calls for toasted coconut in the ice cream; however, if you want ice cream that is smooth and not chunky, opt for untoasted in the ice cream with toasted coconut ready to get sprinkled generously on top.

Coconut Ice Cream

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Makes 1 1/2 quarts (I'll let you decide how many servings that is. They say 10.)

Ingredients

• 1 can (13.5 oz) Coconut Milk (recommended brands: Thai Kitchen or A Taste of Thai)
• 1 can (12 oz) Evaporated Milk 
• 1 can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1/2 cup (large handful) of shredded sweetened coconut 

For best results, make sure the ice cream maker freezer bowl has been frozen on an even surface for at least 24 hours. Take out the freezer bowl just before pouring in the contents. The least amount of time at room temperature, the better.


Whisk all of the wet ingredients in a medium bowl to combine. If you have time, refrigerate the bowl for 30 minutes to chill the ingredients. Stir again, and with the ice cream maker turned on, pour all except for 1/2 cup into the freezer bowl. Churn for 5-10 minutes and then add a big handful of coconut. Churn for another 10 minutes or until the ice cream is soft serve consistency. Pour and scrape contents into a freezer safe 1 1/2 quart container with lid. Or, use a large container with wax paper placed directly on top of the ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming. Freeze for 3 hours, or until your desired consistency. 


Alternatively, pour mixture into a shallow pan and freeze, stirring frequently, until frozen. (I have not tried this method, but the original recipe suggests it.) Transfer to a 1 1/2 quart freezer safe container with lid.


When ready to serve, let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 5 or so minutes to make it easier to scoop. 


Top with chopped up semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional) and toasted coconut (not optional).


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This is what happens if you pour all of the ingredients into the ice cream maker. I haven't confirmed that 1/2 cup is a sufficient amount to remove in advance, so take a look at it every few minutes and scoop out from the top any that looks like it will overflow.