There are some days being a military family is just plain hard.

And really, we haven’t dealt with the hardest of experiences as my husband hasn’t deployed in his 7 years active duty. But comparing experiences and hardships doesn’t help anybody.

Not having been “in theater” is something my husband thinks about quite often. There’s a pull in him to serve and protect, and yet I know he’s thankful not to have missed out on any of our children’s milestones to date. But there’s an almost guilt he feels when someone, seeing him in uniform, thanks him for his service.

This past year, my Facebook world has been teeming with families separated due to deployments. And I, too, feel that pull. The guilt when I complain that life might be just a little too hard, that my husband has to travel 3-4 days a month. But it’s not fair to me to belittle my experiences either. Everyone is dealing with something and that something, no matter how “small or insignificant” it may seem to an outsider doesn’t mean it’s not the world to the person in the moment.

The hardest part that just about every military family can relate to is being far from family and friends.

We just had a fabulous week with my in-laws who came all the way out to California from Alabama to spend their vacation time. My husband even took the week off to make it an incredible “stay-cation.” We went to Disneyland for the first time, checked out the Aquarium of the Pacific, and went to an LA Galaxy game. Of course Tilly brought some crafts to do with the boys and we set up a garden! Our front step is now the home to some beautiful orange and blue flowers, and my balcony is a pot garden with strawberries, tomatoes, and herbs. Here’s to hoping I don’t kill everything!

With every move we have to say goodbye to friends we made at that duty station. Those goodbyes are hardest when the friends we’ve made are civilians who aren’t moving somewhere new, too.

I think there’s an understand among military friends that, yep, we’re moving again, but the military is small, we’ll see each other again.

Today’s post is about one of those friends. I’ve talked, countless times, about Tara of Tara’s Multicultural Table. I’ve known Tara for almost 8 years. Our husbands attended ROTC together and we were stationed in the FL panhandle together. We’re godparents to each others children and constantly keep in touch even though we moved to OH and they moved to DC in 2014. Then we came to CA and they should hopefully be joining us next year. Trust me, these next 12 months are going to be a combination of excitement and fear my hopes coming down crashing.

The recipe I’m sharing today is one that Tara made when we were visiting two years ago over Memorial weekend. It was so intriguing, I just had to make it myself. The burnt honey flavor is strong and a great compliment to a baked apple dish. I suggest using a sweet honey, and one that you like.

Burnt Honey Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C honey
• 2 C heavy cream
• 1 C whole milk
• 9 egg yolks
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1 C cold crème fraiche
• 1 tsp Kosher salt

Steps:

1. Heat honey in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the foam that forms reduces and the honey becomes amber in color, about 5-7 minutes.
2. In another saucepan, heat the heavy cream and milk over medium heat until warmed through; do not boil. Slowly add the cream to the darkened honey 1/2 C at a time, whisking continuously. When it comes back to a simmer, remove from the heat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Pour the honey mixture into the eggs 1/4 C at a time, whisking continuously. When the egg mixture is warmed through and thin, slowly pour it back into the saucepan, still whisking continuously. Heat the ice cream base over medium-low heat, stirring often, until it coats the back of a wooden spoon.
4. Pour the ice cream base through a mesh strainer into a large bowl. Stir in the crème fraiche and salt. Place the bowl into an ice bath, being careful not to let any ice water into the ice cream. When the mixture reaches room temperature, cover, and refrigerate a minimum of 2 hours.
5. Pour chilled ice cream base into an ice cream  maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

*This recipe is adapted from Tara at http://tarasmulticulturaltable.com/mourad-new-moroccan-cookbook-review-and-burnt-honey-ice-cream/*