During World War II, our soldiers had to endure many hardships. Just one of those trials was a lack of decent food.

In the trenches, they didn’t have the luxury of a full kitchen with a wide array of foods to choose from.

One exception to that was our marines who were onboard ships . . . about to land on the beach on D-Day.

An amazing breakfast was served that day when the men were awakened at 2 am to prepare for what lay ahead. It was a welcome surprise, but one that was met with trepidation by many. Why were they being fed like kings on this day?

Here is how one brave American described what he saw in the book D-Day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan by Harold J. Goldberg: 

For Private First Class Marshall E. Harris of the 2nd Armored Amphibian Battalion, it was one of the best meals ever:  “Lo and behold, here was a great morning meal — sizzling steaks cooked to your liking, fried potatoes, eggs, bacon, ham and fresh milk, toast, butter, and juice of all kinds.”

For so many of our men, that truly was their last meal. It is so humbling to get a glimpse into what life was like on that day.  

It’s something no black-and-white snapshot or grainy film footage could convey.

Thank you to our soldiers who so bravely fought (and are still fighting) for us. You deserve every last morsel of the finest meal. 

To read more excerpts from Goldberg’s book, click here.

Do you have an “outdoor kitchen?” You know, an area in your backyard where’s there’s a built-in grill maybe in some stonework, a refrigerator, some seating, perhaps a sink or a smoker.

Something like this.

I don’t. But I sure wish I did. Being grilling — especially steak — enthusiasts, we dream of an outdoor kitchen where we could hang out and really be one with the outdoors while we cook.

Well, HGTV.com has a guide for creating that outdoor oasis. It’s got ideas, budgets, suggestions, etc. If nothing, I can at least dream of grilling my steaks in style, right?

And I can look at all the purty pictures.

Check out the article here.

And don’t forget to invite me over when yours is built. I like ribeyes. And T-bones.

And bacon-wrapped filets.

Photo courtesy HGTV.com

The weather brightened up just a bit yesterday and I took my kids on a walk around the neighborhood.

It may not be perfectly sunshiny and wonderful yet but we took this tiny break in the dreary weather and we ran with it. Literally.

As we walked, trotted and scooted along I came to a dead stop in front of our friends’ house at the end of the street. It was 6:30 pm and they were . . . grilling!

The aroma was amazing.

My oldest son turned around and said, “Mommy, what are you doing?”

I had my nose in the air. Sniffing.

I motioned for them to come back where I was and when they reached me I said, “Do you smell that?”

“Meat,” they said.

Yes. Meat.

This was our friends’ house. They moved here from New Orleans a couple of years ago. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what they were grilling, but I imagined it to be Cajuny. Something like this with a Cajun seasoning . . .

Oh, yeah. Looks like some other folks have the same thoughts I do. They cannot wait for it to be grilling season. So they force the issue.

We walked down the next street. I was carrying the scooter and plastic ride-on truck by now. Lucky me.

That’s when I smelled another one. Someone else was cooking something really garlicky outdoors. Something like this, perhaps . . .

Oh, man. I’ll bet this scene was repeated all over America wherever it wasn’t 30 below. The calendar says spring is officially here and whether it’s warm or not we’re going to grill, darn it!

We rounded the curve back to our house and ran into our neighbor across the street. You know, the one who doesn’t eat meat. He was mowing his lawn. Mowing, man!

He stopped and waved furiously. “Happy spring!” he called.

We yelled, “Happy spring!” back. It was so very Pleasantville-ish.

I loved it. But I couldn’t help but think, You’d have a better spring if you’d throw a few steaks on the barbie, neighbor.

For all I know he was preparing his dinner with that lawn mower.

As for the rest of us, let the grilling commence!