Traditional German foods with our CouchSurfing host

Dinners with our CouchSurfing host, Michael, in the Rhineland region of Germany were some of the most memorable meals of our entire European Adventure. He prepared for our visit by picking up a wide variety of traditional German sausages and cured meats, European cheeses, crusty breads, pickled herring salads and pickles. There was even German beer on tap in his kitchen. I can honestly say I liked EVERYTHING - even the pickled fish. But my favorite was the liverwurst! Nothing says yum like spreadable pig liver. MMmmm...

For breakfast there was a giant leek quiche. Perfectly cooked. Delicious. 

Certainly not the most heart healthy meals but absolutely worth it. When it Rome, right? 

Prost!

Healthy dinner at a Slovenian hostel

By the time Sabrina, Oliver and I had reached Slovenia we were desperate for vegetables. The week before had been spent traveling through Germany - a country teeming with sausages and sauerkrauts. Knowing that our hostel in the  Alps was equipped with a kitchen we made plans to cook ourselves a healthy dinner. The result was a delicious salad topped with toasted chick peas, apple slices and cucumber. A side of roasted fennel and red peppers rounded out the meal's savory side. I don't think any of us could remember a time when we'd been SO HAPPY to have a salad.

Read more about the Slovenian hostel in the Alps on our other blog, Boudreauxs Big Adventure. 

Octopus Giardiniera in Naples

In Naples, on our last day in Italy, we stumbled into an unexpectedly gourmet restaurant. The entire menu was hand written in Italian and we didn't understand most of it. Starving, I pointed to something affordable with an ingredient I recognized (giardiniera) and ordered it. Turns out the word on the menu BEFORE giardiniera is Italian for octopus! I'd unknowingly ordered fresh octopus on a bed of pickled cauliflower, carrots and broccoli! Fortunately I love sushi. But I still can't believe I'd blanked on what to expect for giardiniera: it's a standard component for all my Bloody Marys!