Culinary Adventures with Camilla

  At the beginning of each month, I get to pick a book through the Amazon First Reads program. They have different genres available and I usually lean towards the historical fiction. But this month, I picked The Hike by Susi Holliday, a thriller set in the Swiss Alps. The premise sounded intriguing: Four friends go for a hike and only two return. What happened?! from amazon.com Let me preface this post by saying that the book was awful. Sorry to say that, but it was. None of the characters were likeable much less believable. And the ending was truly laughable. The only redeeming quality was it was a mercifully quick read. Also there wasn't a lot of food mentioned, but one mere mention of a dish sent me running to the kitchen.  I'll get to that in a second. A couple of other food passages... "Ginny had done all the shopping, except she’d ordered a load of ridiculous ingredients – truffle butter, some exotic vegetables that no one knew how to cook. And far too much booze. Th...

  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 c...

  Welcome to the October  2021  Improv Cooking Challenge . This group is headed up by Nichole of  Cookaholic Wife . And I haven't been very consistent, but I love the idea of the group, so I will try to be better in the coming months. The idea behind Improv Cooking Challenge: we are assigned two ingredients and are challenged to create a recipe with those two things. This month's items: pork and molasses. Here's what the crew is sharing with those ingredients... Molasses Roasted Pork Tenderloin by A Day in the Life on the Farm Baked Beans and Cottage Ham by Palatable Pastime Pork and Beans by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Pork and Beans I started with dry beans.  Click for a how-to:  here . You can do this the night before and keep in the fridge till you're ready to use them.  If you are using pre-cooked beans, I think I had about 4-5 cups. Also, I like adding espresso or coffee to my baked beans for added flavor. If you don't drink coff...

  Okay, I'm early with this post. Really early. But I am a serial planner, a quick reader, and had a copious amount of free time during this holiday week. P.S. I Love You  by Cecilia Ahern* is going to be our book selection for our Lit Happens online book group in February 2021. Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures is hosting; she is also picking the movie, based on the book, for our Food'N'Flix group. So much fun! While Lit Happens isn't a cook from the book kinda group, I always do find inspiration in what I read and watch.  On the Page I have read this book before...years ago. And, at the time, I remember being wildly impressed that a young, single woman - it was her debut novel - could imbue her characters with such depth and understanding of not just married people but a recently widowed woman. The emotions seemed so vivid and genuine. This time around, I was still captivated enough to read it in one evening. However, I did find Holly annoyingly self-centered. Her...

     This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Quail & Olive . Complimentary product was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. However, all opinions expressed here are my own. When Anni of The Quail & Olive* pointed out her Vegan Bacon Olive Oil , I had to have it. Seriously. My husband is plant-based during the week, so I've been getting really creative on how to add the smokiness of bacon to things such as split pea soup and more. I've landed on using pulverzied lapsang souchong tea and smoked paprika. But this bottle presented a whole new range of possibilities. I did ask what gave it that bacon flavor - if it wasn't a proprietary secret - and she shared that  it is a culinary yeast that tastes like bacon which is, then, mixed in with the olive oil. I had some green beans in the crisper; pair that with the mouth-watering photo that a fellow wine blogger shared on her social media of blistered green beans and I knew...

Wild foxglove in a canyon in Big Sur / photo by Jake Mann This post is doing double-duty! I love being able to kill two birds (that is two assignments) with one stone. Debra of Eliot's Eats is hosting our bi-monthly reading group Cook the Books . You can read her invitation here . And, if you'd like to join the fun, the posts aren't due till the end of September, so you still have time. Then, for our Lit Happens book group, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm picked the same book:  Recipe for a Perfect Wife  by Karma Brown.* That is not a cook-from-the-book kind of group, but I usually am inspired into the kitchen by anything that I read or watch. And I love being able to consolidate posts, especially since I wasn't loving the book anyway. When you have a novel that includes physical abuse, deliberate lies and omissions between spouses, and spousal rape (sorry for that spoiler!), I am frankly surprised that I finished the book at all. But I did. ...

This month, Sue of  Palatable Pastime  told the Baking Bloggers that for October: "Let's pop some batter into a pan and bake up one of Autumn's favorite breakfast treats. All forms of donuts- it just has to be baked rather than the fried type." Here's the #BakingBloggers virtual donut shop... A 'Hole' Lotta Fun with Mini Donuts by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Apple Cider Baked Doughnuts by Cookaholic Wife Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts by The Schizo Chef Baked Chocolate Spice Crumb Cake Donuts by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice Baked Cookies and Cream Doughnuts by Tara's Multicultural Table Baked Donut Recipe Without A Pan by Recipe Pocket Baked Donut Muffins by Sneha's Recipe Baked Glazed Lemon Donuts by Making Miracles Chocolate Donuts with Chocolate Chips by A Day in the Life on the Farm Double Chocolate Baked Donuts by Karen's Kitchen Stories Filled Donuts by Sid's S...

We are of the mindset that everything is better than bacon. LOL. So, when I was brainstorming with the boys about our own little BaconFest, they decided that we should have a bacon biscuit bar. You know: bacon biscuits + bacon gravy, bacon biscuits + bacon jam, and bacon biscuits sliders. I could feel my cholesterol climbing while menu planning! But I also knew that the bar would be a hit with our guests. Ingredients  makes about fifteen 2" square biscuits 1/4 C organic granulated sugar 3 T warm water 2 t (1 envelope) active dry yeast 5 C all-purpose flour 2 t salt 1 t baking soda 1 t baking powder 1 C butter, cold and cubed 2 C whole plain buttermilk (you can use yogurt, instead) 1/2 C butter, cold light oil for greasing the bowl (I used canola) 4  candied bacon strips , coarsely chopped   Procedure In a small mixing bowl, stir together sugar, 3 T warm water, and yeast. Let stand until mixture is bloomed and foamy, approximately 5 minutes....