Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This month I am inviting the Wine Pairing Weekend group to join me in pairing veggies from their CSA boxes or local farmers' markets! I know that organic fruits and veggies are available in virtually every grocery store in town. So, what's the appeal of a CSA box? Let's review...right around the same time the Slow Food movement began to coalesce, the popularity of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) began to rise. CSAs are a popular way for us, as consumers, to buy locally-grown, organic, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics and benefits...the farmers receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm's cash flow and have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow. We get weekly deliveries of fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits; we get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking; and we usually get to visit the farm at least once a season so the kids see that food is grown in the ground a

Today the Sunday Funday group is sharing raspberry cake recipes. Thanks to Stacy of  Food Lust People Love , Sue of  Palatable Pastime , Rebekah of  Making Miracles , and Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  for coordinating this low-stress group. This week, I am hosting and suggested we share recipes to celebrate National Raspberry Cake Day which is tomorrow, Sunday, July 31st. Because most of the country is in a heat wave, I told the bloggers to be creative...they didn't even have to turn on the oven! Here's the list of recipes... Eggless Berry Tiramisu by Sneha's Recipe Healthy Raspberry Frozen Yogurt (Only 3 Ingredients!) by Amy's Cooking Adventures Raspberry Coffee Cake by A Day in the Life on the Farm Raspberry Lemon Pound Cake by Mayuri’s Jikoni Raspberry Roll Cake by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Raspberry Roll Cake When we went to the farmers' market this week, I had hoped to find either black raspberries or golden raspberries. There were no

Hearing 'SPAM' might make you think of high-sodium military rations or something you don't want to see in your email in-box. But in Hawaii, it’s a popular ingredient that people use in comfort food. SPAM and veggie stir fry, SPAM omelette, SPAM skewers, SPAM fried rice, or SPAM sandwiches. You name it. Our first stop after landing on Oahu was the Musubi & Bento IYASUME. It ended up being the only place we ate in Waikiki for the entire week...though we did stop there more than once for portable deliciousness that fit into our backpacks!   And I have made them twice already since we have been home. Ingredients  makes 8 pieces 1 teaspoon oil 1 can SPAM or other luncheon meat , sliced into 8 pieces 1/4 cup water 2 teaspoons soy sauce 2 Tablespoons organic granulated sugar 4 cups cooked sushi or seasoned rice (one of my recipes  here )  3 sheets roasted seaweed nori, cut into strips the width of the SPAM slices Procedure Heat a skillet over medium heat. Pour in the oil and s

Though bread pudding's roots reach back to Europe as a way to use stale bread, it is its place as a beloved dessert in New Orleans that had me pick it for the dessert at my July demo & tasting at The Quail & Olive this week...and I used fresh bread! Instead of the traditional bourbon sauce, I used the caramel and dark chocolate drizzles by Monin that Anni has in the pantry section of her store. Ingredients makes 12 individual puddings 6 cups bread (I used a soft white), torn into 1-inch pieces 1/3 cup organic dark brown sugar 1/3 cup maple syrup (from Runamok Maple ) 1 cup buttermilk 1 cup heavy cream 4 eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (from The Casa Market ) 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (from Diaspora Co. ) 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (from  Diaspora Co. ) 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated (from  Diaspora Co. ) 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom Also needed: muffin baking dish, parchment paper or muffin cups; sauces for drizzling Procedure P

  This is a recipe usually made with collard greens and bacon. I gave it a Quail & Olive twist by using their new capocollo from Vermont Salumi   and, instead of collard greens, I used a mixture of Tuscan kale, baby kale, and spinach. Ingredients serves 8 12 cups greens (I used 6 cups Tuscan kale, torn into bits; 4 cups baby kale, 2 cups spinach) 1 Tablespoon olive oil (I used Vegan Bacon) ½ cup finely diced onions 1 Tablespoon garlic, peeled and pressed ½ teaspoon Black Magic seasoning (from Spiceology) or other Cajun seasoning 1 to 2 cups chicken broth 3 ounces capocolllo, diced 1 Tablespoon vinegar (I used Fire Cider) salt and pepper to taste filé powder, also known as gumbo filé, optional Also needed: Smoked Olive oil for serving In a large, heavy bottom pot, heat olive oil. Add onions and sauté until softened and translucent. Stir in garlic and seasoning. Cook until fragrant, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the capocollo, then pour in 1 cup of broth. B

This month the Movies and Munchies group is watching  Encanto , hosted by Amy of   Amy's Cooking Adventures . You can read her invitation  here . And thought I finished this recipe early in the month, I forgot to post it before we went on vacation and here I am on the last day of the month. Ugh. Sorry, Amy. On the Screen Encanto takes place in the mountains of Columbia where the Madrigal family lives in an enchanted house. Each of the Madrigal children and grandchildren have been blessed with a special, magical gift...except Mirabel: Mirabel's mother, Julietta, heals with her cooking, especially her arepas con queso ; Mirabel's sister Luisa can lift an astounding amount of weight (think donkeys!); and her other sister Isabela creates beautiful flowers everywhere she goes. Tia Pepa controls the weather with her emotions and cousin Dolores has super hearing. While Abuela Alma doesn't have any magical powers herself, it was her miracle that saved her and her triplets - Jul

These cheese balls are easy to make and were the starter course that we served at the July demo & tasting at The Quail & Olive in Carmel Valley this week. I am always inspired by their carefully curated pantry items; this recipe includes the Kwame's Mom's House Spice from Spiceology , Zab's Hot Sauce , marcona almonds from Matiz Foods , maple syrup from Runamok Maple , Dijon mustard, and their house Butter Olive Oil . The only things I didn't get at The Quail & Olive - cream cheese and butter - I had in my fridge. You can make everything ahead of time and just re-heat the topping enough to spoon it over the top of the balls. Serve with crackers and you have a tasty, Creole-inspired appetizer. Ingredients makes 8 Balls 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 2 teaspoons Kwame's Mom's House Spice (from Spiceology) 1 teaspoon hot sauce (from Zab's) Topping 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter 1/4 cup Butter Olive Oil (from The Quail & Olive) 1/4 cup dark brown

I'll be honest: the difference between Cajun and Creole has been a mystery to me for years. So, I decided to use this event as a jumping off point. Let's, first, look at who the groups are. Cajuns were French Acadians expelled from what is now Nova Scotia in the 1700s for their Catholic beliefs. Many settled in Acadiana. Isolated by swamps, bayous and prairies, the Cajuns lived off the land and their cuisine is rustic and hearty. On the other hand, Creoles were originally from Europe and settled in New Orleans. Primarily from wealthy French and Spanish families, Creoles brought their own chefs from Madrid, Paris, and other European capitals. These chefs adapted classic cooking techniques to incorporate unfamiliar ingredients such as crawfish and snapper. Then you add in the culinary influence of the enslaved Africans who also served in these households, the influence of the surrounding Choctaw Indians, and even more European immigrants from Ireland and Germany; and a diverse cu

This month the World Wine Travel group is exploring the White Wines of New South Wales Australia. This region includes: the Hunter Valley, New England (Australia), Hastings River, Mudgee, Orange, Cowra, Southern Highlands, Shoalhaven Coast, Hilltops, Canberra District, Gundagai, Tumbarumba (what a great name), Riverina, and Perricoota. Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles  is hosting and you can read her invitation . She opened this up to other Australian regions, urging, "since this is our last trip to Mainland Australia, feel free to dive outside the region if you need to!" If you are reading this early enough, feel free to jump into our live Twitter chat on Saturday, July 23rd at 8am Pacific. Follow the hashtag #WorldWineTravel and be sure to add that to anything you tweet so we can see it. Here's the line-up of the articles... Jeff with Food Wine Click is sharing " Why Does WSET Love Hunter Valley Semillon? " Wendy with A Day in the Life on the Farm shar

This is the July #TheCakeSliceBakers event. Since this is only my second event this year, I'll recap what we are all about... 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 . This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake