Culinary Adventures with Camilla

  Inspired by the CSA box that David of Cooking Chat received last week - in conjunction with the podcast we recorded ahead of the Wine Pairing Weekend event on Saturday, August 13th - I made this dish to highlight his shares of summer squash, fresh corn, and cherry tomatoes. With summer produce, it's so fresh that I try not do too much to it. In this case, I seared thick slices of summer squash - zucchini in my case, from one of my CSA farms - and topped it with a fresh salad made with raw corn kernels, ripe cherry tomatoes, and sea beans which add a beautiful burst of salinity. It took an incredible amount of restraint to not just eat all the cherry tomatoes. I love popping them like candy. Truth be told: a fair amount went straight into my mouth while I made this recipe! Ingredients serves 4 Seared Squash 2 large zucchini or squash sliced into thick coins salt and pepper olive oil Also needed: griddle or skillet Corn Salad 1-1/2 cups fresh corn kernels  1 cup diced cherry...

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...

  This is a sponsored post written by me in conjunction with the September #WinePW organic wines event.  Wine samples were provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links.   This month, Gwendolyn, the Wine Predator , is hosting the Wine Pairing Weekend bloggers as we look at organic wines and pairings. You can read her invitation here. And, if you are reading this early enough, feel free to join us in our Twitter chat. We'll be live on Saturday, September 11th at 8am Pacific. Follow the hashtag #WinePW and be sure to add that to anything you tweet so we can see it. Here's what the writers are sharing... Robin Bell Renken brings Organic Wine – Sustainability and Beyond (Plus Recommendations and Pairings to Crushed Grape Chronicles Camilla Mann suggests Sustainably Sourced Seafood + Organic Wines: Rock Crab Claw Crêpes with Bonterra’s 2020 Chardonnay on Culinary Adventures with Camilla. Wendy Klik is Drinking and Dining Sustainably and Organically on ...

Easter is always a fun celebration with my parents. This year, my menu was inspired by some of my favorite food purveyors: Farmer Jamie at Serendipity Farms , Wayne's Fine Swine , and Chef Ron at Revival Ice Cream .  And I just swapped out the wine paring for the main course because I received my shipment from Hundred Suns Wine and wanted to have them on my Easter table. I have never tried their wines, but it's a boutique operation in Oregon and I went to high school with the wife. Besides, my parents are coming over and they play ukulele with that schoolmate's mom. Small world. Really. And, yes, you are reading that correctly. I am serving rabbit on Easter Sunday. No, I assured my boys, it's not that rabbit! Can't wait till Sunday. I'll link up recipes following that. If you celebrate, what's on your Easter table this year? 

You can read the post I wrote for Edible Monterey Bay 's blog about  Carmel Belle 's Commonwealth Wednesday: here . It hit their website on Tuesday and also went out in their newsletter that same day. So, last night, while Jake juggled the boys and took R to his mandolin lesson, I ducked over to Carmel Belle for their inaugural event featuring Lauren De Vine of Lauren De Vine Beverage . Lauren set up a table with colorful carafes and mason jars filled with vibrant fruits. I was instantly intrigued. Lauren talked for about 30 minutes while we devoured special Small Bites plates that Chef Kyle had created for the event. Here's the roasted summer squash with smoked salmon plate I ordered. It was fresh, seasonal, and the flavors danced on your palate. That brings me to Lauren's presentation. She talked about her journey through music and being a CEO of a start up to this venture, Lauren De Vine Beverage.  She queried: why is beverage-development and ...

Welcome to my first reveal with Group B's  Secret Recipe Club . I've been a part of the club for several years and took on hostess duties last month, but I still cooked with Group A in March. Now, I'm completely moved over to Group B. Hooray!  This month I was assigned to Smells Like Brownies , a blog written by Melissa. I love that she characterizes blogging as a journey...she's continually working to improve her skills as a food stylist, photographer, writer, and chef. Way to keep it real, gal. We all need to continue striving for improvement. Love it. And I really love that she has an entire series of posts about her CSA goodies . I considered her Warm Garlic Scape Vinaigrette , Carrot Chickpea Salad ,  Sweet and Salty Arugula Salad , and more. In the end, I settled on Artichokes and Hollandaise . Unlike Melissa, artichokes are a household staple. Maybe it has something to do with our proximity to California's artichoke capital. I was even honored as a ...

I was having a serious dessert craving last night and realized that I had no butter and no flour. I had my CSA goodies from High Ground Organics and that was about it. Then it hit me. With some lemon, some eggs, some sugar, and some olive oil, you can make a mouth-puckering pudding. And it takes less than 10 minutes. Woohoo. Craving averted. Ingredients 3 whole eggs, room temperature 1/2 C organic coconut sugar (this renders the final pudding a sort of mustard color; for a true yellow, use granulated sugar, I just didn't have any) 1/2 C freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (Thanks, Marsalisi Organic Farms !) 1/2 t pure vanilla extract 1/2 C extra virgin olive oil Procedure Place all ingredients into a double boiler or bowl set over gently simmering water on the stove. Whisk until it thickens into a pudding or custard consistency. We are ours warm with some  High Ground Organics   strawberries on the side!

As we go through the CSA season, I figured I'd spotlight something from the box each week...and I'll provide a recipe for what I did with it. Last week, I shined the spotlight on Celery Root . Today: Mizuna. Meet Mizuna  - Mizuna, also called Japanese mustard, is a leafy green that has spiky leaves and the bitterness of arugula but the heft of watercress. At least that's how I would describe it. It's actually a variety of brassica rapa (Napa cabbage). Like cabbage or arugula, you can easily use it both raw or cooked. I opted to use it raw, in a pesto. Pesto  is a sauce that originated in the Ligurian region of northern Italy.  Pesto genovese,  from Genoa, traditionally consists of crushed garlic, basil, and pine nuts blended with olive oil and  Parmigiano Reggiano  The name derives from the Italian verb  pestare  which means to pound or to crush, referring to the original way of preparing it - with a mortar and pestle. The ingredien...

As we go through the CSA season, I figured I'd spotlight something from the box...and I'll provide a recipe for what I did with it. When Pia picked up our CSA boxes from High Ground Organics   last Thursday, she dropped mine off in the office. "Don't show that to Brian," she warned, gesturing at the celery root. She didn't knowing that her veg-shy husband was tucked away in his office...within earshot. Don't show me what?  he demanded, peeking over the wall. She left and I spun the bag to show the innocuous strawberries and lettuce. "What?" I said. What are you not supposed to show me\? "Nothing," I lied. No! I saw that thing. The brain! What is that? "It's just celery root. Now go back to work, nosy! You won't even recognize it when she cooks it." He shook his head and sat back down. Meet Celery Root - also known as celeriac. It's one of the least photogenic root veggies. E...

  Organic Schmorganic. Organic fruits and veggies are available in virtually every grocery store in town. So when it came time to renew the subscription to my CSA (community supported agriculture) box from  High Ground Organics   in Watsonville, I began to wonder: 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...

Welcome, 2014...I'm back to participating in  Taste and Create . Somehow this fun monthly blog exchange fell off my radar in 2013. But I contacted Min and this month I was assigned to  Seduce Your Tastebuds . It's a gorgeous food blog written by Padmajha Sureshbabu under the pen name PJ. When she started her blog, she was full of doubt, asking herself: "What am I doing?! If I start a blog, will I be able to do justice to it?" Yes, PJ, you are doing a fabulous job and I am happy to have found your blog. There were so many of her recipe that I want to try. They are bookmarked for future dinners. Check out her: Dragonfruit Salad , Coconut Kheer , and Simple Beetroot Pooriyal . But for a quick, mid-week supper, I adapted  Seduce Your Tastebuds 's Simple Cabbage Soup . Thanks to my CSA box from High Ground Organics, I had plenty of ingredients to make this veggie-heavy. And since I didn't  need to hide the cabbage, I only blended about 2/3 of the soup, leavi...

Frittata, in Italy, is usually a Sunday dinner kinda thing  that uses up all the leftovers from the week. So, for Dylan's ' May the Forks Be With You' birthday brunch , I decided to use up some of our High Ground Organics goods for a veggie-heavy frittata. 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced 2 C collard greens, chiffonaded and blanched 6 carrots, sliced into thin coins 2 T fresh herbs, I used a mixture of basil and parsley freshly ground sea salt freshly ground pepper 8 eggs splash of milk 1/2 C crumbled feta Butter your baking dish and layer in your veggies. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with eggs beaten with milk. Sprinkle with freshly ground sea salt and pepper.  Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes. Uncover and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Let cool slightly. Cut into small squares and serve warm or cold. My Millennium Fal-corn Salsa was just my   Roasted Tomato-Corn Salsa .