Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Today, my first born turns thirteen. Thir-TEEN. A teenager?!? How in the world did that happen? So, to kick of my online blogging event Hot Summer Eats , I am bringing you our family's favorite dessert: cheesecake. So tasty. and it's great for shoving birthday candles into as well. But first, a few photos of the birthday boy. This is the day we became a family of three. Well, maybe it was the next day. That little boy upended our entire lives. In a great way. Back to the real reason for this post: cheesecake! While I gravitate toward creatively flavored cheesecakes - I've made Matcha-Yuzu Cheesecake , Cheesecake with a Chestnut Swirl , Lemon-Saison Cheesecake , and Blood Orange-Saffron Cheesecake - my husband vastly prefers Plain White Cheesecake . My solution: keep it mostly neutral-hued; he doesn't object too much then. So, I added lots of flavor into the crust and kept the filling mostly plain. It was a hit. Crust 3 C crushed cookies (I used...

I'm on Orphan-detail today for the  Secret Recipe Club  - for someone in Group D - and I am thrilled to be cooking from  I am a Honey Bee . What a fun, new-to-me blog. Nicole writes: "I love details and construction. I cook. I bake. I design. I clean. I don’t sleep enough." I'm right there with her. I definitely don't sleep enough. One of the reasons I always volunteer to help out an SRC orphan is to meet new foodie bloggers. This week I was lucky enough to meet Nicole - or Nic as she is called more often than not. She warns, "But call me Nicki and you are going to be ignored." I so get that. I am Camilla or Cam. But Cami is reserved for a select group of people - and only because I can't get them to stop. There are so many recipes I love on this blog. I really love that she did an entire year of pies . Seriously. A new pie every Friday for the entire year of 2014. As soon as I see peaches at our farmers' market, I am baking her Streus...

This is what happens when I am craving something sweet: cookies with whatever I have in the cupboards. This was a hit and I was asked to write down the recipe. Okay. Here goes. The name - Mixie - that's the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf's doing. He called them Mixies. I'll run with it. Ingredients 1 C butter, softened 3/4 C organic dark brown sugar, lightly packed 3/4 C organic granulated sugar 1/2 t baking powder 1/4 t baking soda 1/4 t salt 2 eggs 1 t vanilla paste 1/2 t pure vanilla extract 1 1/3 C flour 1/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder 2 C rolled oats 1 C white chocolate chips 1 C chopped walnuts Procedure In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars together until lightened and fluffy. Add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat mixture until well-combined. Add eggs, vanilla paste, and vanilla extract. Beat well. Fold in flour and cocoa powder until just combined. With a wooden spoon or spatular, stir in the oats, ch...

Surprise!  I knew that the man who purchased my locavore cooking class + wine pairing dinner , at a local auction, was going to surprise his wife on her birthday. I didn't realize that it was a surprise to everyone that they had to cook their own dinner! A few of the guests looked a little stunned when I handed them knives, made them pull tasks out of my wooden bowl, and settled them in to work stations around the kitchen. But they ended up having fun while they cooked...I hope! Here's what they made...recipe posts to come. Thanks, again, to my produce and wine donors. I couldn't have done it with you all. Menu I. Cheese, Local Honey, Nuts, Grapes, and Olives Grilled Artichokes Grilled Squash Bruschetta with Goat Cheese + Chard Pesto Wine Pairing Côtes de Paso by Halter Ranch II. Monkfish en Papillote Spiced Cauliflower-Carrot Salad Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs over Peppercress Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette   Wine Pairing  Pin...

Hot Summer Eats is almost here. I have rallied a talented group of 18 food bloggers who will be posting recipes for an entire week. From June 1st through June 8th, we hope to inspire you for your summer grill dates and cookouts, provide you with ideas for your beach bonfires, and get you planning those ice cream socials and cocktail hours. Not only will you find over a hundred summery recipe posts, but you can enter to win our awesome giveaway, courtesy of some amazingly generous donations from sponsoring companies. See details below. The Sponsors (with links to their homepages, in alphabetical order) BenBella Vegan Caribeque Casabella Gourmet Garden Intensity Academy Not Ketchup Out of the Weeds Pirate Jonny's Quirk Books Spicely Organics T.Lish Voodoo Chef The Prizes BenBella Vegan   will provide one winner with one print copy of each of their Spring 2015 releases:  Love Fed , by Christina Ross (March 2015); PlantPure ...

Today, in honor of Memorial Day, the Foodie Stuntman - DB! -  at Crazy Foodie Stunts is hosting #SundaySupper with a red, white, and blue theme. I only managed two of the three colors. What a fun list of dishes today. Ingredients Pickled Shrimp 1 T peppercorns (I used a mixture of black and green) 2 t coriander seeds 1/2 C vinegar (I used a white vinegar) 1/4 C water 1/2 t fleur de sel 10 cloves of garlic 1/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 T tequila 1 pound large, peeled, deveined shrimp with tails on 4 to 6 serrano chiles, halved lengthwise 8 to 10 kaffir lime leaves Pico de Gallo 1 T vinegar (I used a white vinegar) juice from 1 orange juice from 2 limes 1 small red onion, peeled and diced 2 banana peppers, deseeded and diced 1 hatch chile, deseeded and diced 1 C fresh tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes, but use what you have) 1/4 C organic cilantro leaves, chopped pinch of  fleur de sel freshly ground pepper Procedure Pi...

A few months ago a friend asked if I would be willing to go in on donating a dinner to a local auction. I agreed. All I needed to do was secure the wine donations and come up with a menu and the recipes. Done! I am going to keep the menu a secret for now, but wanted to thank the donors for making this a success. I will be cooking with CSA goodies from High Ground Organics in Watsonville.... And we'll be pairing wines from Scheid Vineyards in Greenfield, Halter Ranch Vineyard in Paso Robles, and Holman Ranch in Carmel Valley. Stay tuned for the menu and recipe posts from the event which is happening tomorrow night. Very excited.

When Pia picked up our CSA boxes from High Ground Organics last week, there was rhubarb in it...and fava greens. I'm allergic to fava beans and didn't think I should risk eating the greens though they were very pretty. Pia must have been thinking the same thing because she handed me my produce and offered: "How about I take your fava greens so you don't die . I'll give you my rhubarb and you can make me a pie?!" Fine. She and Brian were leaving for their anniversary weekend, so I whipped up some portable pies in my heart-shaped springform pans.  Brian said, "Thanks, but what is she going to eat?" He didn't realize there were four pies in that box! I switched it up from my usual rhubarb pie by making a rhubarb compote and folding fresh rhubarb slices into it before spooning it into the pie crust to bake. Delicious! Yuzu-Scented  Pâte Brisée I started with my usual  Pâte Brisée  and added a splash of yuzu liqueur because I thought it wo...

This week, in conjunction with the  Beef Checkoff , the #SundaySupper tastemaking team is sharing recipes that help make every meal count, offering people tasty ways to eat protein-rich foods at every meal. Here are some helpful resources for you: a sheet for  how to stock your protein pantry  and tips on  easy ways to add protein . Additionally, the #SundaySupper team has cooked up six breakfast dishes, seven lunch dishes, and seven dinner dishes to inspire you through the  30 Day Protein Challenge  -  and beyond. The  30 Day Protein Challenge  is a fun, step-by-step way to help you get an optimal amount of protein throughout your day. Significant research shows that some people can lose and/or maintain a healthy weight, support a healthy metabolism, and age more vibrantly when they consume more high-quality protein, within calorie goals. My relationship with beef has a checkered past. For the greater part of a decade - th...

So, when I was debating on a theme for my next blogging event, I decided to wrangle some of my favorite foodie bloggers to create and share recipes to get you in the mood for summer. Think grill dates, cookouts, bonfires, ice cream socials, and more.  What does summer cooking mean to you? WHO Me plus these seventeen fabulous food bloggers, listed alphabetically with links to their homepages... A Day in the Life on the Farm A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures Adventures in All Things Food Amy's Cooking Adventures CafeTerraBlog Cheese Curd In Paradise     Culinary Adventures with Camilla Dancing Veggies Eliot's Eats Famished Fish, Finicky Shark Jane's Adventures in Dinner Making Miracles Mostly Food and Crafts Sew You Think You Can Cook The Pajama Chef The PinterTest Kitchen The Spiffy Cookie Things I Make (for Dinner) WHAT An online event showcasing recipes that are perfect for the summer.  AND  we have a great giveaw...

When I saw #PeterBsWingsContest - a cooking contest to create a chicken wings sauce using one of  Peter B's   brews - announced on  Peter B's Facebook page , I   was inspired. I created a sauce showcasing a stout then I submitted my  Sumpin' Stout Doubled Down Chicken Wings  to the contest...and waited. Yesterday, the chef at Peter B's recreated all the entries - or maybe just the finalists' entries, I'm not sure - and six different recipes were judged by the Beer Geeks, the Grub Hunter, and Peter B's brewmaster Kevin Clark AKA Chris, Merideth, Mike, and Kevin. I was oddly nervous that a professional chef was making one of  my  recipes. Here's the crew, judging the dishes during  Pub Talk  last night. Here's their blogpost announcing the winner . Woohoo. The Judges, photo via the Peter B's Brewpub facebook page Here's what the wings looked like, coming out of Peter B's kitchen... The Wings, photo via the Peter...

Last week we were invited to our friends' house for dinner. When I asked what we could bring, she answered, "Bring dessert!" Sure thing. I debated and decided to bring two desserts. This was the first one I made. Ingredients 2 C cherries, pitted butter for the pan brown sugar for the pan 3/4 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 t baking soda 1 t ground cinnamon 1 t ground nutmeg 1 t ginger 1 egg, beaten 3/4 C organic brown sugar, lightly packed 1/4 C ginger syrup 1/2 C organic sour cream 2 T olive oil powdered sugar for sprinkling Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter your baking dish and spread a thin layer of brown sugar over the bottom. Arrange cherries in a single layer on top of the brown sugar. Blend all other ingredients to form a batter and pour over cherries. Ensure that the batter goes to the edge of the pan; it's alright if the bottoms of the cherries are still showing - the cake batter will rise and you'll invert to...

Since we stayed on the beach longer than I had planned, I didn't have enough time make a dessert to end  Nonna's Seafood Boil , for our Mothers' Day lunch. I picked up some mochi instead. We had four different flavors, seven people, and only two mochi allowed per serving. The boys were determined to let everyone taste each flavor without exceeding the serving allotment.  So, they sliced... ...and they squished. The result: Franken-Mochi. Nonna and I really enjoyed the melding of the flavors. And it's oddly photogenic.