Culinary Adventures with Camilla

We're wrapping up our year-long journey for #thebookclubcookbookCC. And what a year it has been. You can visit here to see everything we've done. Phew. Or click on the titles to see the recipe round-ups, posted by the hosting blogs. We've (read and) cooked from:  Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri; A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson;  A Lesson Before Dying  by Ernest J. Gaines;  Three Junes   by Julia Glass;  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone  by J.K. Rowling;  Peace Like a River   by Leif Enger;  The Killer Angels  by Michael Shaara;   A Tree Grows in Brooklyn  by Betty Smith;  Girl with a Pearl Earring   by Tracy Chevalier;  Love in the Time of Cholera   by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; and  Chocolat by Joanne Harris. Here's my invitation for the final event:  Corelli's Mandolin .* I invited bloggers to ma...

To celebrate a new school year and to say farewell to Chef Brad (he's leaving to open his own restaurant), Aunt Jenn took us all to La Balena for dinner last night. It's one of our very favorite restaurants and we adore the owners, Anna and Emanuele. As we were leaving Anna gave them hats. They were thrilled though they both did lament, "We can't wear these to school!" It's against their dress codes to have any hats with writing or logos. And, of course, the big one - yes, I do mean my husband - joked, "Where's mine?!?" While Jenn is one of my oldest and dearest friends, nothing makes me love her more than watching her kids eating adventurously. If you follow my posts at all, you already know that I feel it's our duty as parents to create kids who eat real food; I believe that we, as parents, are responsible for making kids picky eaters. If your kid doesn't eat vegetables, it's because you didn't offer them vegetables......

I recently saw some spotted bananas at the farmstand for half price. My first thought: banana bread! This is quick to make and, because of the whole grains and nuts, it feels a little less like cake and more like bread. Ingredients 1/2 C plain yogurt 3 T olive oil 2 eggs 3/4 C organic turbinado sugar 2 T molasses 1 t pure vanilla extract 4 mashed, ripe bananas 1 t baking soda 2 C gluten-free flour (I used a combination of white rice flour, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, and buckwheat flour) 1/4 C sunflower seeds Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking dish with parchment paper and butter the papers. Sert aside. Mix yogurt, olive oil, eggs, sugar, molasses, vanilla, and bananas in a large mixing bowl until well-blended. Gently fold in the flour and baking soda until just moistened. Stir in the sunflower seeds. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake until the top is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, a...

Not all pizza is created equal. And, I'll be honest: I'm a pizza snob. Having lived in Italy for over a year after I graduated from college, I have had a lot of pizza. A lot. Pizza was my go-to snack with the kids for whom I was an  au pair.  And, after my work contract ended and I rented an apartment in Trastevere for my final two months in Italy, there was a rosticceria just around the corner that became a favorite spot to grab dinner when it was too hot to cook in my house which was remarkably often in the middle of the summer.  The (literal) hole-in-the-wall only did takeaway pizza al taglio sold by weight, roasted chicken and potatoes, and supplì . It was fabulous. Additionally, there was an enoteca just next door to it. So, I could grab pizza and wine, sit in the piazza, and read a book or watch people go by. Roman pizza is thin crust and shaped in a rectangle. You buy it by the weight and they fold it in half - like a sandwich - and wrap it in parchm...

If you have been following my blog for even a little bit, you know that I gravitate towards the unexpected...and I really tend to be attracted to odd-ball foods such as black garlic , black tahini (here's my Black Tahini Chocolate Bundt ), and more.  So, when I went to the farmers' market last night and saw these - beautiful, midnight-hued heirloom beans - at Serendipity Farms ' stand, I had to have them. I am not sure exactly what they are. They look similar to the Royal Burgundy Bush Bean (thank you, internet), but they were just identified as heirloom beans.  Whatever they are, they are gorgeous! They are almost black on the outside, but bright green on the inside. Unfortunately, they lost that beautiful coloration when they were blanched. But they were so tasty. With beans as fresh as these, they need little more than a quick blanch, some sea salt, a squeeze of lemon, and a drizzle of olive oil. Not much of a recipe but here's what I did... ...

When we went to the Carmel Honey Company presentation at Earthbound Farm this weekend, they hosted a honey tasting. That's always my favorite part! Beekeeper Jake's mom made some waffles and we tasted them with four different kinds of honey. Clockwise from the top left: meadowfoam, sage, wildflower, and orange blossom. I love how different they look...and taste! We went back multiple times to taste the different honeys. While R declared his favorite is still orange blossom (it's been that was for years no matter how many different kinds I present to him), D and I thought that the meadowfoamn honey was the most unique. I found it muted and sweet with hints of caramelized custard and a hint of burnt sugar. Kinda like a crème brûlée . My favorite! D said it was more like a toasted marshmallow. So we bought a jar and spooned it over vanilla ice cream for dessert. Delish!

Yesterday morning there was another great event at Earthbound Farm: Jake, the 13-year-old beekeeper and owner of Carmel Honey Company , was talking about bees, honey, and beekeeping. Since my Precise Kitchen Elf is interested in having bees here at our new house, I figured it was a great way to keep him interested.  I had met Jake when I interviewed him a couple of years ago. It's wonderful to see how much his business has progressed! He's quite impressive and a font of knowledge about bees. He spoke about the plight of bees, explained the politics of the hive, extolled the benefits of honey, and - the best part - let us taste his honeys. So awesome. After the talk, we wandered through the garden and looked for bees. They were everwhere, but there were tons buzzing around the flowering oregano. I'm not sure I was completely successful. While R was excited about the bees, he was actually more intimidated about beekeeping after hearing Jake...

Every summer when the grill comes out so do the hamburgers and hotdogs! Since July is National Hotdog month Christie of   A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures   invited the Sunday Supper tastemakers to bring their best dogs to the table. And hamburgers just seemed to be a natural pairing with hotdogs, so we're sharing those, too. The Sunday Supper Hamburger and Hot Dog Stand... All American Burgers & Dogs BLT Burgers by That Skinny Chick Can Bake Bourbon BBQ Bacon Burger Sliders by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks Bourbon Onion Bacon Dog by Grumpy's Honeybunch Chicago Style Hot Dog by The Culinary Compass Copycat Guberburgers by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes Idaho Dogs by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Philly Cheesesteak Dog by Palatable Pastime Pimento Cheese Burger by Magnolia Days Southern Seasoned Beef Burger by April Go Lightly The Best Ever Bacon, Egg and Cheese Burger by The Chef Next Door The SmashBurger by Monica’s Table Whiskey Bur...

Probably influenced by his hours at Earthbound Farm for their Afternoon Tea Party and wandering through their Edible Gardens , to celebrate the Nonni's safe return home from their trip, the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf wanted to make them a garden cake. He wanted it to have strawberries and flowers; I happened to have both on hand. Sweet! I suggested a matcha cake . He vetoed that in favor of a regular cake with matcha whipped cream. What can I say? The kid has vision.  I'm not sure Nonno knew what to think of the cake, but he ate it. Note: I baked this as two separate 8" rounds that were fairly flat as I was trying to speed up the baking time. I think next time, I'll bake it as one 8" round and slice it in half. Or bake it for less time. The cake layers were slightly overbaked. Ingredients Cake 1 C organic granulated sugar 6 T butter, room temperature zest from 1 organic lemon 1 C white rice flour* 2 T tapioca flour 6 T potato sta...

Following the Afternoon Tea Party at Earthbound Farm , the boys and I decided to wander through the gardens on the grounds of the farmstand. And while anyone who knows me knows that I have a black thumb, it was inspiring nonetheless. To see what they are growing here locally - successfully - well, it gave me garden-goals. I love this shot of busy bees. I can watch bees all afternoon; they're mesmerizing! I had never seen quinoa growing. This plant was in the Children's Garden, in the 'Q' planter box. D yelled, "Mommy, we can grow quinoa." You can grow quinoa!  But, I would love that. We eat quinoa quite a bit. I need to read up on how it goes from plant to plate. Do I have to dry it? Can I use it straight off the bush? "Mom, look at the wheat!" D hollered when he reached the 'W' planter. "Too bad Dad is gluten-free. We could grow wheat." This odd red flower puzzled me. Without hesitation, R declared,...