Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This month for our Lit Happens book club, Amy of  Amy's Cooking Adventures  picked The Rosie Project  by Graeme Simsion.* In this topsy turvey world, we all voted for something light and breezy. This fit the bill. Though that is not a cook-from-the-book kinda group; I always find some kind of inspiration to create an edible of some kind! But first, the book... On the Page The Rosie Project  by Graeme Simsion feels as if you're reading a screen play of any romantic comedy that features a protagonist who falls on the autistic spectrum. Don Tillman, who has Asperger's Syndrome or is a high-functioning autistic, is a renowned albeit socially inept professor of genetics with an almost painfully predictable schedule. After someone mentions that he would make a good husband, he launches "The Wife Project" with his rigidly trademark rationality and a questionnaire designed to find him the perfect partner. "A questionnaire! Such an obvious solution....

In February I saw a post from one of my favorite bloggers - Wendy at  A Day in the Life on the Farm  - and I realized that they've been having a muffin party for years without me. LOL. I emailed the host, Stacy of  Food Lust People Love  and got the scoop: "...last Monday of the month and no themes. We've been baking together since August 2015! Only one rule, you must use the muffin method (folding wet ingredients with dry - no creaming butter and sugar, etc.) to bake muffins." Oh, my goodness...is  that  the muffin rule? That makes total sense. But I had no idea.  In my house we've always said that if it's 'naked' as in frosting-free, it's a muffin; if there's frosting, then it's a cupcake. Turns out there's more to it than that. In any case, I jumped in. This is my second month participating with the #MuffinMonday bloggers. Here's the line-up for this reveal... Celebratory Gluten-Free Strawberry Muffins fr...

I'm part of an online Secret Sourdough Society in which we share recipes, ask questions about the sourdough process, and just generally inspire each other. Someone posted a photo of her sourdough cinnamon rolls and her process. Others linked up the recipes they have used. I almost ran into the kitchen to bake my own. I used Chelsea's proportions for the dough, then just sort of improvised the rest since I've made lots of cinnamon rolls in my life. The biggest changes: I added other spices to the mix and skipped the cream cheese frosting, drizzling the entire pan with a Meyer lemon glaze instead. And, truth be told, I rarely eat the sweets that I bake. I just don't have a sweet tooth. So, I don't know how these tasted, but six were devoured in less than 10 minutes of hitting the table and they rationed the others for the following day's breakfasts and snacks. I'd say that it was a hit. Adjust the spices for what you have in your cabinet or use all cinn...

This time around,  Deb of  Kahakai Kitchen   is the host for our bi-monthly book group  Cook the Books . For our April-May 2020 pick, s he selected  Hippie Food: How Back-to-the-Landers, Longhairs, and Revolutionaries Changed the Way We Eat by Jonathan Kauffman *; you can r ead her invitation  here . And you still have a month to jump in if you care to join us. I just decided to time my post to say 'Happy 50th Birthday, Earth Day!' On the Page Kauffman's book explains how Americans evolved from a country where canned foods, casseroles, and processed meats were de rigueur to a place where you can buy organic produce and tofu inside almost every grocery store. He also follows the advent of the food cooperative that began in the mid-nineteenth century and blossomed into buying clubs who urged its members to "eat to conspire." "...the concept of collective buying, directly from suppliers, appealed to a generation that had been organizing an...

After our Sunday trek up the sand dunes in Marina, D and I stopped at the farmers' market. He picked up nearly a dozen organic pink grapefruit. Little did I know that he had a plan. A little while later, he sent me a link to a recipe for grapefruit curd ice cream. I interpreted that as: "Mom, can you make sure that we have all of these ingredients? I am going to make this." Turns out I was mostly right. I did steer him away from that recipe and told him to just swap out freshly squeezed grapefruit juice for the lemon juice in my lemon curd recipe . He did, but it wasn't pink enough for his liking, so he added several drops of a red plant-based food dye. "Mom," he noted, "this is a lot different than a chemical dye. I have to use a lot more...and it's still not really as bright as I want. But it'll have to do." To use this in making Grapefruit Ice Cream (that recipe will be coming soon!), this needs be done ahead of time and...

So, after dialing in a process and recipe, didn't change a thing for loaves 9 and 10. But for Loaf 11, I decided to try to spritz the ball just before placing it in the oven. Again, I left the loaf to cool on the table with a note... And, again, they followed directions. I got this photo with the text: "11, 8, 10. Gold, silver, bronze." So, best ever. Nice. And this photo with the comment: "Crackly, crunchy on the outside. Moist and chewy on the inside." Fantastic. Now we're getting somewhere in this sourdough journey.   Ingredients makes one boule 100 g starter (recently fed) 350 g warm water + 25 g more +  more for spritzing 450 g all-purpose flour 50 g whole wheat flour 10 g salt rice flour for dusting Also needed: digital kitchen scale, banneton proofing basket or mixing bowl lined with a tea towel, Dutch oven, spray bottle Procedure In a large mixing bowl, combine 100 g starter with 350 grams of warm ...

So, after seven - yes, count them, seven! - sourdough bricks, I made two critical changes. I had been trying to change only one variable at a time to isolate any issues. However, over half a dozen failed breads called for drastic measures. So, my two changes resulted in Loaf Lucky No. 8! First,  I migrated to weight measurements  versus volume measurements. Second, I started following the Tartine Bakery process of folding instead of kneading. Success! Many thanks to my friend Pia for lending me a copy of her Tartine Bread  by Chad Robertson. You can see the recipe here (on Tartine's website) and below is my very slightly adapted version. But, four loaves of consistently risen and beautiful breads, has me very, very happy. Ingredients Note that their original recipe makes two loaves; mine is for one boule only 100 g starter (recently fed) 350 g warm water + 25 g more 450 g all-purpose flour 50 g whole wheat flour 10 g salt rice flour for dusting Also...

Here we are with the April edition of the Cake Slice Bakers. For 2020, we are baking from  The New Way to Cake: Simple Recipes with Exceptional Flavor  by Benjamina Ebuehi.* In this group, we are given a selection of three cake recipes. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our  Facebook ,  Instagram , and  Pinterest   pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details. The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called  The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends...