Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Do you like hot dogs? Hot dogs are normally relegated to my bonfire or camping menus as in - I'll buy them when I need something quick and portable, but I don't normally buy them for eating at home. And when I do get them, I'm pretty picky about what I buy. I make sure they are 100% grass-fed beef with no fillers. I have also been on the no-nitrate/nitrite train for quite awhile. Recently a friend told me that there are nitrates/nitrites found in sea salt and celery powder. Okay. Then, I started noticing a shift in labeling. Product packaging now read: no nitrates or nitrites added except for those naturally occurring in sea salt and celery powder. Maybe it's always read that way. But I just started noticing it. Thankfully, there are several options between Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and reputable local butchers. As always - just read the labels.  What do you look for when you purchase meat?

Have you ever heard of anyone being allergic to garbanzo beans?! I haven't. But that's the only conclusion I can come to from this... Okay, this photo - of D crying - is an old photo, but his face looked exactly the same as this last night after he ate two fresh garbanzo beans . Just two. Poor baby. But that's my body's reaction to fava, sadly. Tummy ache. Cramping. Gassy. Ugh. I know he's had cooked garbanzo beans before...and hummus with no problems. But we'll steer clear of fresh  garbanzos for him. That's fine. More for the rest of us.

The last time I was at Whole Foods, I saw some fresh garbanzo beans. Intrigued, I picked some up when Riley and I were there again today. From what I read, they are similar to edamame. But instead of steaming them, I decided to do a quick saute for a mid-afternoon snack. Delicious! I am now a fan! Ingredients fresh garbanzo beans olive oil fleur de sel  Procedure Rinse and dry your garbanzo beans. Leave them in their husks. Heat olive oil in a large, flat-bottom pan. Add the beans, cooking on a medium heat and agitating them every couple of minutes. After 5 to 7 minutes, the husks will be nicely toasted. Drain the beans on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Serve them on a platter, sprinkled with some fleur de sel .

The Precise Kitchen Elf's second project from  The Hungry Scientist Handbook: Electric Birthday Cakes,Edible Origami, and Other DIY Projects for Techies, Tinkerers, and Foodies  by Patrick Buckley and Lily Binns: Edible Origami! There is no real recipe. But here's the process... Fold wonton wrappers into whatever origami shapes you want. We did frogs, cranes, airplanes, and snails.   Lay your origami on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray the pieces with cooking oil. We used olive oil. Bake until crisped and browned. The thinner pieces were done in 12-15 minutes. The thicker folded pieces took an additional 5 minutes. Keep a close eye so that they do not burn. Sprinkle with salt. Eat and enjoy!!

The Precise Kitchen Elf is on a mission - to cook from his  The Hungry Scientist Handbook: Electric Birthday Cakes,Edible Origami, and Other DIY Projects for Techies, Tinkerers, and Foodies  by Patrick Buckley and Lily Binns - and he's whipping up some mad scientist kitchen fun this afternoon. First up: Fizzy Lemonade. He adapted the recipe because he wanted to use agave syrup. Ingredients  makes 4 servings juice from 1 organic lemon 2 C cold water 1/3 C blue agave nectar 4 1" pieces of dry ice pre-chilled glasses Procedure Measure out all of your ingredients. Pour the lemon juice, water, and blue agave nectar into a jar. Gently shake the jar to mix the nectar into the juice and water. Now for the fun part... Pour the lemonade into pre-chilled glasses. Wearing gloves and using tongs, cut 1" pieces of dry ice from the chunk. Carefully drop the dry ice into the lemonade  Sit back and watch the magic! Enjoy the fizz...

We gave this cookbook to the Precise Kitchen Elf for Christmas.  The Hungry Scientist Handbook: Electric Birthday Cakes,Edible Origami, and Other DIY Projects for Techies, Tinkerers, and Foodies by Patrick Buckley and Lily Binns. Today, he wanted to start playing. So, we did. Stay tuned for some hungry scientist capers...this book even got my cooking-averse husband across the threshold of the kitchen.

Ingredients  For the Crust 1-1/2 C flour (I used more of the complimentary  Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour I had received from the sponsors of this year's #BrunchWeek) 1/2 C Bob's Red Mill Hazelnut Meal Flour* 1/2 C softened butter 1/2 C organic, coconut sugar 1/4 C olive oil 1 T cold water 2 pinches of fleur de sel *another complimentary product I received with which I am now completely enamored For the Filling 4 organic Meyer lemons 1/2 C organic powdered sugar 2 T honey (I used a local pine honey) 8 T butter 8 large egg yolks dark chocolate Procedure For the Filling Juice the lemons. Combine the juice, powdered sugar, honey and butter. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile beat the yolks. Add 1/3 of the boiling liquid to the beaten yolks then add the mixture back into the boiling liquid. Continue beating over medium heat until it thickens. Be careful not to let the curd boil or it will scramble. Pour the curd into a bowl and press plas...

I've candied lemons many, many times...but I've never candied them in honey. I decided to give it a shot for a honey-themed baby shower. Easy! Ingredients 1 C water 1/2 C organic coconut sugar 4 T honey (I used a local pine honey) 6 organic Meyer lemons, thinly sliced Procedure Place the water, honey, and coconut sugar in a pan and bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar is completely dissolved. Lay the slices in the syrup so that they are all flat and all submerged. Simmer until the rind is softened and translucent in places. Approximately 5-7 minutes. Remove from the syrup with a slotted spoon and set aside. You'll see these on an appetizer for the Meant to BEE baby shower brunch . Delish.

I love creating themed menus! So, when a friend and I decided to co-host a baby shower for one of our other friends, we tossed around a couple of ideas. The mamma-to-be liked the honey theme! Done. Here's the menu. Recipe posts in progress. Bruschetta with Lemon, Basil, Honey & Marscarpone Roasted Eggplant Dip with Feta and Honey Honey-Yogurt Parfaits with Granola and Fresh Mint Greens with Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette Honey-Glazed Chicken and Pork Lemon-Honey Tart with Salted Shortbread Crust Honey Truffles Honey-Herb Soda Honey Lemonade

After a full day of adventuring, our 10-year-old informed us that we had to have a cake for our anniversary. Jake just looked at me and shrugged. So, I looked at what I had brought with us to the cabin in the snow and made this dessert. Thanks to Bob's Red Mill for the Whole Wheat Pastry Flour; they sent me a complimentary bag for participating in an upcoming brunch event - #BrunchWeek! I loved it and will definitely be using it more often. Taskmaster Dyn was pleased. Fourteen years. Happy anniversary, my Love. Ingredients 2 C organic coconut sugar 1¾ C Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour ¾ C unsweetened cocoa powder 1 ½ t baking soda 1 ½ t baking powder 1 t fleur de sel 2 eggs 1 C organic milk ½ C olive oil 2 T red wine 1 C boiling water 1 C chocolate chunks Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking dish with parchment paper and butter. I used two 8” round pans. In a large mixing bowl, stir together coconut sugar, whole wheat p...

When Pia and I were planning a honey-themed baby shower for one of our best friends, Pia agreed to do the drinks and a salad. I love that I can send her links and it just magically appears at the party. Thanks, P! Here's the recipe she used: Not Without Salt 's Honey Herb Soda . And here's what it looked like...beautiful. Cheers!

Honey Ganache makes approximately 5 dozen truffles Ingredients 3-1/4 C 72% cacao chocolate, chopped 2 C organic heavy cream 3 T butter, softened 2 T honey (I used a local avocado honey) Procedure 1. Place chopped chocolate and honey in a large mixing bowl.  In a medium saucepan, bring cream to a boil.  Pour boiling cream over the chocolate.  Let sit for three minutes, then whisk until smooth.  Stir in butter. 2. Refrigerate until firm - at least two hours. I left mine overnight. Procedure Line a cookie sheet or tray with parchment paper or foil. With a tablespoon or tablespoon scoop, scoop chilled ganache from your bowl and place on the lined tray. Refrigerate for a minimum of 15 minutes. (I let them chill for about 30 minutes.) For chocolate-dipped truffles...how to temper chocolate... Place half of your chipped chocolate (I didn't measure, but you can just repeat the process if you run out of chocolate)...

I love eggplant and wanted to make an eggplant-honey dip for a honey-themed baby shower I was co-hosting. I started with my recipe for Melitzanosalata   and went from there.  2 large eggplants juice from 1 Meyer lemon 1/4 C diced onions 2 diced shallots 1/4 C olive oil + splash for sauteeing 2 T honey (I used a local pine honey) 1 T minced cilantro 1 T minced basil 1/2 C crumbled feta, divided into 1/4 C portions freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper Preheat the oven to 350 F. Slice eggplant in half, sprinkling with salt and pepper and drizzling with olive oil to coat the entire cut surface. Place them in a roasting pan, cut side down, cover with foil, and bake for 60-70 minutes. Let cool until they can be handled. Scoop out all the insides into large mixing bowl. In a large, flat-bottom pan, add onions and shallots. Saute in a splash of olive oil until translucent. Add the onion mixture, herbs, lemon juice 1 T honey, and 1/4 C feta to the eggplan...

Jake and I celebrated our 14th anniversary while we were out of town this week. D insisted that we have a cake...it's not a party without cake, right?! So, after a hike out to Royal Gorge, building a snowman family, and an epic snowball fight, I whipped this up... Ingredients 3 C organic powdered sugar ¾ C unsweetened cocoa powder 1 stick butter, softened ¼ to ½ C organic milk splash of red wine Procedure Sift together sugar and cocoa. Set aside. Cream together the butter and splash of wine. Add in 1 C of the sugar-cocoa mixture, then 1 T of milk. Mix and repeat until all of the sugar-cocoa has been added. If the frosting is too thick, thin it out with more milk. I ended up using about ½ C milk. Frost cooled cake immediately. Let set for about 20 minutes before serving.

When I was looking for a dessert from Sao Tome and Principe, I found a recipe for banana mousse and decided to garnish it with chocolate from Sao Tome – Alegio Chocolate . This recipe is so easy and so tasty. We liked it so much that we made it twice in two days while we were in the mountains. Ingredients 2 C organic heavy whipping cream ¼ C organic coconut sugar 2 ripe bananas Splash of pure vanilla extract Procedure In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas  and sugar together until you get an even puree. Stir in a splash of vanilla. In a large mixing bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.  Fold the banana mixture into the whipped cream. Spoon the mousse into serving glasses. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. To serve, garnish with shavings of chocolate.  On night two, D and R made the mousse; they wanted to garnish with banana slices as the shaved chocolate.