Culinary Adventures with Camilla

And to cap off the copycat birthday lunch, I wanted to make Brian's favorite candy bar. Heck, it's my husband's favorite candy bar, too. When we were packing bags to go to the hospital to have Riley, I had CDs with babbling brooks, my yoga ball, three copies of my birth plan, and more. Jake had the phone list of people he was supposed to call as soon as we had the baby and five Snickers bars. No joke. Let me say these were met with ooooos, awwwwws, and immense gratitude on the part of the birthday boy, but what a pain! I was up past midnight and up again before six to finish these. Smelling like chocolate before six in the morning is not my idea of a good time. But hearing Brian exclaim, "you made your own Snickers!" over and over again made it worth it. Line a pan with parchment paper. After you make each layer, place it in the pan and stick it in the freezer to chill. Layer One: Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Butterscotch 1 C dark chocolate ...

At a local organic farm some woman handed Brian a weed and declared, "you know if you tuck this in your bra strap, you don't have to wear deodorant." He was appalled. Do I look like I'm wearing a bra?!?" "No, I mean - here! - maybe you can hang it behind your ear." Do I stink?!? "No...it's just good for you." So, he graciously took the weed, enclosed it in a baggie and [I quote] "brought it to his resident weed expert." That would be me. Lemon verbena. When I searched for recipes, I was drawn to lemon verbena cake. But the resulting cake was too eggy. It was dense, though the lemon verbena flavor was nice. Ugh. I was out of the weed. So, I had Brian go back to the farm, hunt down the woman, apologize, and beg for more. He did and promised her a taste. Here we go for take two. I am glad I attempted this again with some major modifications. Fluffy, light, not too sweet. And the lemon verbena really comes through. The verd...

When friends invited us over for dinner, I offered to bring a salad or dessert. "Dessert," she said. So I set out to make something tasty and fresh. This drew moans of delight. Mission accomplished. Tart crust 2 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 C powdered sugar pinch of salt 3/4 C butter Mix the flour, sugar and salt; rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in 1 teaspoon of water with a fork until the mixture forms a ball. Roll out between two pieces of parchment paper. Press gently into a tart pan. Prick crust with a fork to prevent bubbling. Bake for 20 minutes at 350, or until a light golden brown.   Frangipane 1 C ground almonds 1/4 C organic granulated sugar 1/4 C powdered sugar 2/3 C melted butter 1 large egg Mix everything together to form a paste. Once the tart crust is cooked, spread a layer of frangipane over the bottom. Quarter the figs and arrange them in concentric circles to cover the frangipane. Sprinkle with sugar an...

What to do with some leftover gingersnaps from my Snappy S'mores  from last weekend?!? Pumpkin biscotti, of course! Yes, I am lengthening my pumpkin-cooking season. You've been warned. 1/3 C hazelnut oil 1 C organic granulated sugar 3 eggs 1/4 C unsulphered molasses splash of ginger syrup 1 C pumpkin puree 3 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 C chestnut flour 1 T baking powder 1 1/2 T ground ginger 3/4 T ground cinnamon 1/2 T ground cloves 1/4 t ground nutmeg 1/4 C crumbled gingersnaps Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet. In a large bowl, mix together oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, molasses and ginger syrup. In another bowl, combine flours, baking powder, and spices; mix into egg mixture to form a stiff dough. Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a roll the length of the cookie sheet. Place rolls on cookie sheet, and pat down to flatten the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Press crumbled gingersnaps into the top of the loaves. Bake in preh...

A lone banana had eluded the Mann boys and made it to the mushy stage in the bottom of my fruit bowl. A very rare occurence indeed. Instead of relegating it to the compost pile, I decided to whip up a spiced banana biscotti. 1 3/4 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 C organic granulated sugar 1 t baking powder 1/4 t pink Himalaya salt 1 mashed banana 2 T hazelnut oil 1 T molasses 1/2 t each ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger 1 large egg 1/3 C walnuts, chopped Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease your cookie sheet. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add sugar and salt and stir together. In another bowl combine all the wet ingredients: banana, oil, molasses and egg. Pour dry ingredients into wet ones along with walnuts; stir together. Form one 8-inch log. Put onto cookie sheet and pat down to 1/2 inch thickness. Sprinkle top with organic turbinado sugar and ground nutmeg. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250°F. Remove log from c...

And because I never make anything the same way twice when Riley requested "the same rolls you made for breakfast yesterday", this was my version today.... I loved the addition of the anise seeds. 1 cup warm milk 5 t active dry yeast 6 1/2 T butter, room temperature 2 eggs 1/2 t ground ginger 1/2 t ground nutmeg 1 T anise seeds  1 t ground cinnamon 2 T organic granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 cups all-purpose flour - yes, I refrained from using whole wheat flour, just for today! 1/2 C butter, softened 1/2 C organic granulated sugar 2 T ground cinnamon Pour the warm milk into a mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let bloom for about 3 minutes. Mix in 6 1/2 T of soft butter, eggs, spices, 2 T sugar, salt, and 3 1/2 C of the flour. Use a wooden spoon to mix the dough. If it's very sticky, mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 30 minutes. Cream together the remaining butter and sugar. Stir in the cinnamon. ...

I had some left over roasted sweet potatoes from dinner last night. I decided to make a sweet treat with them. 1/3 C melted butter 1 C organic granulated sugar 3 eggs 1/4 C agave syrup 1 C sweet potato puree 3-1/2 C white whole wheat flour 1 T baking powder 1 1/2 T ground ginger 3/4 T ground cinnamon 1/2 T ground cloves 1/4 t ground nutmeg Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet. In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, sugar, eggs, sweet potato puree, and agave syrup. In another bowl, combine flours, baking powder, and spices; mix into egg mixture to form a stiff dough. Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a roll the length of the cookie sheet. Place rolls on cookie sheet, and pat down to flatten the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Sprinkle the top with a sugar-cinnamon mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325. When cool enough to touch, cut into 1/2 inch t...

After seeing all of the chocolate cookbooks on my table, Jake asked, "so, are you baking anything tonight?" No, hadn't planned on it. But, since you mention it, I can whip something up. Wanting something slightly healthier, I substituted half the butter with plain yogurt. 1/2 C butter, softened 1/2 C plain yogurt 1-1/2 C organic raw sugar 2 eggs 2 t almond extract 3 C white whole wheat flour 1 t baking soda 2 T cold coffee 1/2 t pink Himalaya salt 2 C white chocolate chips dark chocolate chunks Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the almond extract. Stir in flour, baking soda, and white chocolate chips. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans and press a dark chocolate chunk into the top of each cookie. Bake for about 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Serve with a glass of milk.

What's the difference between a muffin and a cupcake?!? They are shaped exactly the same; they are made with the same ingredients. So...here are some of my favorite answers for the difference: "Cupcakes have frostings. Muffins are naked." "If you throw a cupcake against a wall you get a sound like "poof"; if you throw a muffin against a wall you get a sound like "thud." "Muffins are simply ugly cupcakes." "Muffins are to bread what cupcakes are to cakes." Whatever you want to call these, they are delicious - and gluten-free. I started with a recipe on the Gluten-Free Goddess blog by Karina Allrich  and tweaked a bit. 1 C blanched almond flour 1/2 C oat flour 1/2 C chestnut flour 1/2 t baking powder 1/2 t baking soda Pinch of pink Himalaya salt 1 C organic raw sugar 5 medium free-range organic eggs 4 oz. light cream cheese, softened 1/2 C organic plain yogurt 2 T fresh lemon juice Lemon zest from 1 lemon ...

2 C white whole wheat flour 2 t baking powder 1-1/2 t baking soda 1 t ground cardamom 1 t ground ginger 4 eggs 2 C organic raw sugar 1 C unsweetened applesauce 1/2 C olive oil 2 C grated carrots 1 C dried cranberries Preheat oven to 325. Whisk all wet ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Stir in carrots. Fold in dry ingredients until just moistened. Scrape batter into cupcake liners and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely then top with cream cheese frosting and top with chopped pecans. Cream cheese frosting: 16 oz cream cheese, 1/2 C softened butter, 1 T vanilla extract, 4 C powdered sugar.

Baci di Ficchi. Fig kisses. I saw these delicious morsels at the girl + the fig in Sonoma last weekend, but I was stuffed so we didn't order any dessert. I figured: I can do that when we get home. And since they are both somewhat exotic and portable, these baci di ficchi will be a perfect addition to our Mothers' Day hike tomorrow. So easy it's almost laughable to write down a recipe. Figs + melted dark chocolate. That's it. Enjoy.

With a tad of leftover ridiculously easy tart crust , I pressed small balls of dough into mini bundt pans and baked to form small tart crusts.  I spooned in lemon curd and topped it all with some sliced fresh strawberries. Simultaneously sweet and tart, this is a perfect treat with a strong cup of espresso. Lemon Curd 1 C fresh lemon juice 4 t fresh lemon zest 1 cup organic granulated sugar 6 large eggs 12 T butter, cut into cubes Whisk together juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, about 6 minutes. Transfer lemon curd to a bowl and chill, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 1 hour.

Last night I averted my sweet craving with a square of 86% dark chocolate. Tonight, I started with Alton Brown's cocoa brownies recipe and tweaked it, baking a batch of molasses-ancho brownies. I served them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum-o. Jake licked his plate, literally...and served himself seconds. Soft butter, for greasing the pan 4 large eggs 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 C organic brown sugar 1 T unsulphered molasses 1 t ground ancho chili 8 oz melted butter 1-1/4 C unsweetened cocoa 2 t pure vanilla extract 1/2 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 t pink Himalaya salt Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch square pan. In a large mixing bowl add all ingredients, except flour, and mix to combine. Add flour and stir till just  moistened. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square pan and bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick method. When it's done, remove to a rack to cool. Resist the temptation to cut into...

Yes, you read that correctly. Beet. Mousse. I came across a recipe for a beet-cardamom mousse and was instantly smitten.  But I didn't have any cardamom, so I adapted and came up with this gorgeous colorful concoction.  It was part one of my beet dessert trio. 1 pound of peeled beets, boiled and cooking water reserved 1 t gelatin ground cinnamon ground nutmeg ground ginger ground ancho chili powder 1/4 C maple syrup 1 C heavy cream Transfer cooked beets to a blender. Take 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and put in a small saucepan with the gelatin. Bring to a boil and whisk until well combined. This will take about 5 minutes. Transfer with the beets and blend together until creamy and smooth. Add the spices and syrup. Blend a little more. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until mixture has cooled completely ( about 1-2 hours). Whip heavy cream with 1/4 C organic sugar until strong peaks form. With a spatula, incorporate the beet mixture gently into the cream and...

My little seven-year-old is a great graham cracker-pulverizer! CRUST 2-1/2 C finely ground graham crackers 1/2 C yellow cornmeal 2 T raw sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 C (1 stick) butter, melted 1 T hazelnut oil Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Wrap outside of pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil. Crush crackers, cornmeal, sugar and cinnamon together. Add butter and hazelnut oil; blend until moist clumps form. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up sides of pan. Chill crust while preparing filling. FILLING 3 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature 1 C raw sugar 4 large eggs 2 C sour cream 1 T pure vanilla extract COMPOTE 2 C fresh or frozen cherries 2/3 C raw sugar 1/3 C tangerine juice 2 T grated lemon peel 1/2 t ground cinnamon 1/4 t ground nutmeg 4 t vanilla extract Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in sugar. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in sour cre...