Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I finally got around to this book in my 'to read' stack: The Milk Lady of Bangalore: An Unexpected Adventure by Shoba Narayan.* Actually, this was my second time reading it. The first time I read it, earlier in the year, I didn't realize it was a true story. Going through it again - with that lens - I found it much more enjoyable. Though the first time through, I did like it as well. In The Milk Lady of Bangalore , Narayan immerses us in the culture, customs, myths, religion, sights, sounds, smells, and flavors of her homeland. Narayan was born in India, immigrated to the United States as a child, and returns to Bangalore with her husband and two daughters so they can be closer to grandparents and experience their heritage first-hand. This is a charming read about the clashes and resolution of ancient and modern traditions. For instance, the book opens with Narayan moving into her new apartment in Bangalore. She gets a cow to walk through their house. "My uncles

Today we are continuing the Kitchen Matrix Project, after Mark Bittman's  Kitchen Matrix  cookbook...and wrapping up our second month of posting. You can read about it:  here . I'm very excited about the dishes and the bloggers who are joining me. This month, Wendy at  A Day in the Life in the Farm  picked the recipes. I can't wait to follow along with her choices. This week, She picked 'Condiments + 7 Ways' for the group which means we could make ketchup, chimichurri, teriyaki sauce, sweet and hot pepper relish, corn and tomato relish, barbecue sauce, and mayonnaise...along with any variations or adaptations that we needed or wanted. The Other Condiments An InLinkz Link-up Homemade Mayonnaise I opted to make a homemade mayonnaise this week because I don't really like store-bought mayo, but I do like it when I make it. I need to do this more often. Also, I like making homemade ketchup when I have a ton of fresh tomatoes; and chimich

Another Sunday. Another hike. Another book.  The Keeper of Lost Things  by Ruth Hogan* was the book du jour as we nestled in on a ridge overlooking the Salinas Valley. Let me admit this: I bought this book for the cover. Seriously. I did. Then, I noticed that it had received many, many accolades and I was excited about digging in. But, in the end, I think the best thing about this book is that gorgeous cover. If you are looking for a fluffy, rambling novel, you might enjoy this. I am not against reading about ghostly shenanigans and failed romances; I can certainly keep dual plot lines straight in my head. But the seemingly unconnected flip-flopping between the Laura plot and the Eunice plot grew tiresome quickly. I felt that all of the characters were one-dimensional and caricatures of people who might have been interesting. I loved the idea of this book: a man collects lost objects, stores them in his house, and pens short stories about the object's signifi

So, this season I was determined to have the robotics team eat well during both the build season and the competitions. I started a meal train and different families signed up for different weeks. For the season kick-off, I brought lasagna. Apparently, it's been the talk of the team for weeks. One day at breakfast, this happened... R: You know the kids at robotics were talking about your lasagna. C: What about it? R: They were wondering when you were on the schedule to bring food again...and J1 asked if you could bring lasagna. J2 said, "It doesn't matter what she brings, it'll be good. I've had her corned beef and cabbage, too. Besides, it's rude to make requests like that." R: No, her friends make requests all the time. It's not rude. It's how you get what you want from my mom. You just ask. Too true. Well, apparently, they took the advice to heart and when I stopped in to see if they needed anything (you know, I was thinkin

This afternoon we have D's history day team here working on their display. I didn't have any sweet treats, so I decided to bake them some cookies. I had no butter and no (regular) eggs. But I made due with olive oil and duck eggs. I don't think they could tell...or cared. They devoured a dozen cookies in 5 minutes flat! Ingredients  makes approximately 30 cookies 2 ½ C flour ½ t salt 1 t baking soda ¼ C olive oil 1 t vanilla extract or vanilla paste ¾ C organic granulated sugar ¾ C organic brown sugar 2 eggs, 3 if small (I used 2 large duck eggs) 1 to 2 T milk (I used almond milk) 2 C semisweet chocolate chunks   Procedure Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside. Combine sugars, vanilla, and olive oil together in a large mixing bowl. Beat in the eggs one a time. Gradually beat in the flour mixture, then add in 1 T milk to make t

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of  Donkey & Goat Winery .*   All opinions are my own. This was a recipe I tested to go with Donkey & Goat's Grenache Blanc Skins. While, in the end, I opted to post my  Petrale Sole, Fennel, and Potato Gratin  for their Spring wine release, it was simply because this recipe can be seen as complicated and requiring a special pot - a paella pan. You can accomplish the same thing with any large skillet. But I agreed with Jared that this crossed the line from inspiring to intimidating. That is definitely not where I wanted to go for the project. But I did want to share it regardless because it was a fabulous dish with the wine! This is not a traditional paella, at least not the way I was taught...with chicken and seafood. But it's what I had and I wanted to pair the wine with a seafood dish. Ingredients  serves 8 1/2 pound fresh shrimp, peeled (peels and heads reserved) 1 pound clams (scrubbed and dr

For the February edition of  Food'N'Flix ,  Evelyne at  CulturEatz  hosts as we watch  Guess Who's Coming to Dinner*.  Here's  her invitation . On the Screen I had never heard of the movie before this month, so it was definitely a treat to discover it. But I mentioned it to my sister-in-law who said, "Great movie!" And, when I came home from work yesterday, my mom was there with D. They were watching it. She commented, "I saw this when I was 17...I definitely got more out of it today." Released in 1967, the film stars Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, and Katharine Hepburn and addresses interracial marriage as Joanna Drayton surprises her parents (Tracy and Hepburn) by bringing home her new fiancé, John Prentice (Poitier). Add to the surprise that, not only is he African-American, he is considerably older than she, he is a widow, and they only met ten days before. But, sometimes, when you meet 'the one', you just know, right? One of