Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Here we are at April's #thebookclubcookbookCC event. It's hard to believe that we only have three more months in this year-long journey to explore - and cook from -  The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors  by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp.* Judy, Vicki, and their publisher,  Tarcher-Penguin ,  have provided the hosting bloggers with copies of the book plus copies to giveaway each month of the project. Woohoo. Incredibly generous. This month Sarah at  Things I Make (for Dinner)  has selected  Girl With a Pearl Earring  by Tracy Chevalier.** Click to read  Sarah's invitation . She shared the recipe for Griet's Vegetable Soup, but invited us to find inspiration in any of the pages. On the Page... While the boys were playing around the lake during our week in Tahoe earlier in the month, I stayed by the fire and finished this book in one sitting. Loved it. photo by R

This sponsored post is written by me on behalf of   Real Good Fish . All opinions are my own.  When I was faced with developing a recipe with Real Good Fish 's Carmel Canyon Smoked Black Cod (it's a Good Food Awards 2016 Winner ), I wanted it to be the star of the dish. Or, at least, I wanted it to be recognizable. I didn't want to mash it into a dip or shape it into a croquette. Finally, inspired by the protein-rich  Salade Niçoise - very, very loosely inspired in that I completely skipped the signature olives - I decided to grill some baby potatoes, char some green onions from our CSA box, and bring it all together with an anchovy-kissed lemon vinaigrette. Then I'd just chunk the smoked cod and place the pieces on top. My family is spoiled. Yes, I can admit that. They get home-cooked, multiple course meals almost every evening. And while they usually say thank you, it's very rare that they gush about how great a dish is. Remember: they're s

Because I was testing a recipe for Edible Monterey Bay this weekend that required pickled radishes, I decided to make some quick pickled radishes with coriander seeds. The coriander mirrored the flavor profile of the dish I was testing. And I will happily munch on these till the jar is gone. These radishes are "quick pickled" because they are ready to eat within twenty-four hours. Really quick! You can, of course, let them pickle for longer; their flavor will just get better. Ingredients radishes, trimmed, quartered, and enough to fit in your jar 3/4 C apple cider vinegar 3/4 C water 3 T organic sugar 1 T salt (I used some large-grained flake salt) 1 t black peppercorns 1 t coriander seeds 3 to 4 bay leaves Procedure Place your radishes in a sterilized mason jar, packing them in tightly. Place all of the other ingredients together in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Pour the liquid over the top of the radishe

This sponsored post is written by me on behalf of  Delicacies . All opinions are my own.  Besides my boys, food and jewelry are two things about which I am most passionate. So, when the opportunity to review a piece from Delicacies  arose, I didn't hesitate for a second. With Mothers' Day right around the corner, this jewelry line might be just the solution for any foodie moms on your list. Food and jewelry intersecting? Yes, please. Behind the Scenes... Andrew Zimmern - yes, that Andrew Zimmern - is at the helm of the project as Chief Culinary Officer. You know I'm a fan of his show "Bizarre Foods" and his Exceptionally Weird, Wild, and Wonderful Foods  book inspired a six-week cooking class that I just started for 6th through 8th graders: my Bizarre Foods SEM . The Line... Zimmern has teamed up with Nicolle Nelson, Chief Designer of  Delicacies . They say that the pieces are designed by people for people who love food. Yes, that's me! Th

This week the Sunday Supper crew is sharing regional specialties. Thanks to Sue from  A Palatable Pastime  for the great theme! I love seeing recipes from my favorite bloggers all around the country...and the globe. Oh, before I forget - I'm on the central coast of California. So, I'm spoiled with fresh produce, great seafood, and terrific wine. All the Regional Specialties... Appetizers : Crispy Salmon Bites with Homemade Tartar Sauce by Pine Needles In My Salad Loaded Tex-Mex Chile con Queso by The Weekend Gourmet New England Style Stuffed Clams by Caroline’s Cooking Beverages: Brandy Old Fashioned by Curious Cuisiniere Wine Pairing Recommendations For #SundaySupper Regional Specialties by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog Breakfast: Breakfast Empanada Casserole by Simply Healthy Family Salads: Pittsburgh Steak Salad by Seduction in the Kitchen Homemade Ranch Dressing by My Imperfect Kitchen Tupelo Honey Key Lime Vinaigrette by Family Around the Table

Remember, I'm teaching a Bizarre Foods SEM this term? Today, we traveled by tabletop to the Philippines. Don't worry, I didn't make the kids eat balut. Considering I won't even eat balut...I figured that wouldn't be very fair. But we did talk about balut . For our make-project today, I decided that eating seaweed was bizarre enough for some of the kids. Besides this dish has special significance to me. My grandmother, my dad's mom, used to make the most amazing seaweed salad. I remember when I went to Oahu with her as a child, we would drive to Ewa Beach and pick seaweed. She would clean it and make a fresh seaweed salad with it.  Today, I made it with my own kids and ten other students. Reactions were varied. One student said that the seaweed didn't taste like anything, that it just had a funny texture. Another student declared, "I really hate kale."  One student said he didn't want to try it. I insisted. Just one bite.

For the past few years, I've only taught SEM - Schoolwide Enrichment Model - once a year. I used to teach every term and I've taught everything from Italian to ocean conservation. Most recently, I've focused on cooking classes. But wrangling a dozen kids for six weeks at ninety minutes per class on a Friday afternoon is less than relaxing, especially when there are knives and hot stoves involved. The only good thing: all the kids want to be there. They chose the class. However, it's still a lot of work. Hats off to all you teachers. Seriously. I am in bewildered awe. Jenn and I just taught 'The Science of Cooking with a Food Writer & an Engineer' last term; I thought I would be done teaching for the year. But, when I realized that this was the last time I would be able to have both D and R in class together, I had the boys help me pick a topic. Inspired by Andrew Zimmern's "Bizarre Foods", we're going to traverse the globe looking at bi

One of my best friends was in the hospital last weekend. Thankfully, she's on the mend and home now. I offered to send a meal over one evening this week so she would have one less thing to worry about. So, I cooked a big pot of soup and have my fingers crossed that it's cooler today and soup will be appropriate and appreciated. Ingredients 1 T butter 1 T olive oil 1 C diced onions 1 C chopped carrots 1 C chopped celery 1 T minced garlic 1 t minced ginger 1 t minced turmeric 12 to 16 ounces pork loin, thinly sliced into strips 6 to 7 C chicken stock 1-1/2 C green or brown lentils 1/4 C fresh tomato sauce freshly ground salt, as needed freshly ground pepper, as needed freshly squeezed lemon juice, for serving dried red pepper chili flakes, for serving Procedure Melt butter in olive oil. Add onions, carrots, celery, garlic, ginger, and turmeric. Cook until the onions are softened and translucent. Add the pork and brown until coo

I very rarely eat meat twice in a day. But even though we had  Bò Nướng Hành Hương (Vietnamese Beef-Onion Roll) for lunch, Sundays are a great day for me to do a slow-cooked stew for dinner. So we had beef twice yesterday. There were no complaints from the boys and the littlest one even asked for a second helping. Beef  rendang  is of Indonesian origin, from the Minangkabau ethnic group of Indonesia and is often served at ceremonial occasions and to special guests. But beware, beef  rendang  is not your everyday beef dish that you can whip up in a jiffy; it takes a good four hours of cooking, not including all the chopping and prep. Plus, I think that letting it sit overnight actually helped develop the flavors. No beef  rendang  is made exactly the same, so I didn't feel too badly about taking some culinary liberties with the dish. I added in potatoes and cauliflower with this version Ingredients 1 pound boneless beef, cubed 2 T butter 2 T olive oil 2 C di

Remember that we kicked off Fish Friday Foodies this year. It's a group of seafood-loving bloggers, coordinated by Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm . We share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month.  This month, I am  hosting. Here was my challenge to the group: " I invite you to get adventurous and cook a whole fish - tip to tail - or other seafood in its initial form, e.g., whole urchins or whole shellfish with heads and tails attached." The Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf and I have  cleaned and cooked whole sea urchin . I've cooked whole fish before. Multiple times. Here's a Whole Roasted Bream with a Ginger-Tamarind Sauce  and  Citrus-Roasted Vermillion Snapper . My  Adobong Pusit (squid adobo) uses whole squid; I've marinated and grilled baby octopus . I love this photo of R because it encapsulates my entire philosophy of feeding my kids: eat adventurously! But, before this month, I myself have never cooked a whole big