Culinary Adventures with Camilla

When my two pounds of organic cacao nibs arrived yesterday, I began to search for unique ways to use them. I stumbled across a recipe for a shallot-beer marmalade , brain-child of former Chez Panisse pastry chef David Lebovitz. And, thus, begins my culinary adventures with cacao. Of course I can't leave well-enough alone and had to do my usual tweaking. He uses prunes which I will happily skip. And I'll add what Dylan calls "those salty little beans." 8 large shallots, peeled and sliced 2 T olive oil big pinch of smoked sea salt a few turns of freshly-cracked black pepper 1/2 C beer (I used a Mission St. Brown Ale) 1/2 C organic granulated sugar 2 T unsulphered molasses 3 T balsamic vinegar 8 calimyrna figs, destemmed and quartered 2 T capers 1 heaping T organic raw cacao nibs In a medium-sized heavy-duty skillet or saucepan, heat the oil and sauté the shallots over moderate heat with a pinch of salt and pepper, stirring frequently, until they’re soft and wil...

Craving something sweet tonight, I really wanted to bake some cookies. But, alas, I had no butter in the house. What's a cookie-craving gal to do...without having to hoof it out to the grocery store? Make olive oil cookies, of course! Baking with olive oil creates cookies that are more cake-like in texture, but with a crisp outside. Just make sure you use a good, flavorful olive oil. 2 1/2 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 t baking powder Pinch pink Himalaya salt 1 C organic granulated sugar 2 eggs 1/2 C olive oil, plus a little for baking stone 1/2 C dry red wine 1 T aniseed Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs with the olive oil and wine. Use a rubber spatula to stir the liquid mix plus aniseeds into the dry one, just until well combined; if the mixture is too stiff, add a little more wine. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a lightly baking stone and back for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool a couple of minutes, then remove...

When I first made this, I was afraid to call it 'kimchi' despite assurances from my Korean friends that there is no such thing as a single kimchi recipe. But after creating two fermented cabbage converts, I'm feeling a little bit more sure of my kimchi-making self. My husband typically steers clear of kimchi , but when I served mine, he had a second helping and a third! And another self-professed cabbage-phobic actually enjoyed it as well. Since I had used purple cabbage in my last batch, the kimchi took on a bright amethyst hue that, according to previously mentioned cabbage-phobic friend, should only belong to an OtterPop. So, I'm making another batch of kimchi , this time with only green cabbage from my High Ground Organics CSA box. 1/2 C Hawaiian red alaea sea salt enough warm water to submerge all the cabbage 1 head of cabbage 1 T minced garlic 1/2 C Korean chili paste 1/2 C white balsamic vinegar 3 T honey In a very large mixing bowl dissolve the sa...