Culinary Adventures with Camilla

When a farmer friend of mine at Serendipity Farms posted that she had a glut of blueberries - along with a special locals' price - I was thrilled. I had her set aside five pounds and sent my mom to the market with a wad of cash. When the boys saw the bag, they demanded that I make dessert. "Mamma, make a blueberry pie! We want pie! We want pie!!" they hollered in unison.  Will cobbler suffice? "Yes! We just want something sweet...not savory," declared the Sugar Pigs. Ingredients makes one 9"x13" cobbler 6 to 7 C fresh blueberries 1 C sweet white rice flour 1 C gluten-free flour blend 1/2 C chestnut flour 2 t baking soda 1-1/2 C butter, softened 2 C organic granulated sugar + 4 T for sprinkling 1 t pure vanilla extract 1 t pure lemon extract 2 C Greek yogurt 1/4 C whole milk 1 T olive oil Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours and baking soda. In another ...

Tonight, to go along with our tabletop travel to Swaziland, S made a Malva Pudding while I made the caramel sauce. Ah. Mazing.  Malva pudding is a sweet pudding that contains apricot jam and has a spongy caramelized texture. A cream sauce - or a caramel sauce - is poured over it while it is still hot; we went for the caramel. Ingredients Pudding 3/4 C organic granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1 T apricot jam  ½ C flour (we used whole wheat pastry flour) 1 t baking soda 1/2 t salt (we used a vanilla salt) 1/3 C whole milk 1 t apple cider vinegar 1T butter, melted + some for greasing pan Sauce 7 T butter 1/3 C organic granulated sugar 1 C organic heavy cream 1 t pure vanilla extract Procedure Pudding Line a baking dish with parchment paper and butter generously. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar and eggs. Beat until thick and lemon-colored.  Mix in the apricot jam and beat again. ...

With our boys out of town, I have been extremely lazy in the meal-planning department this week. Yesterday we had leftover polenta topped with a poached egg for breakfast, leftover lasagna for lunch, and a date night for dinner. Today I decided to make an effort and bake coffee cake for breakfast. Truth be told, this is super easy - one bowl, one pot, and about an hour. Enjoy! Ingredients  makes 3 mini loaf pans 2 C flour (I used a mixture of bread flour and white whole wheat flour. Use what you have.) 1 t baking powder 1 t baking soda 1-1/2 C butter, at room temperature 3/4 C organic granulated sugar + 3 T more for topping 4 medium (or 3 large) eggs 1 C whole milk ricotta cheese 1 t ground cinnamon Procedure Grease loaf pans and set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream the butter and 3/4 C sugar together until lightened and fluffy. Add in the eggs and ricotta. Fold in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda until just combined and moiste...

For Darth Gaber's birthday cake I needed a lot of cake. I just bake the layers; Jake's the cake architect. We started with these Devil's Food layers. This recipe made two 9"x13" rectangles + 1 bundt cake; you can easily halve or third the proportions as needed. Ingredients makes two 9"x13" rectangles + 1 bundt cake 9 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate 4 C flour (I used a white whole wheat flour) 2 t baking soda 18 T butter (2 sticks + 2 T), cubed 2-1/4 C boiling water 4 C organic granulated sugar 9 T organic sour cream 9 T buttermilk 6 large eggs 1 t organic hazelnut extract 1 t organic chocolate extract Procedure Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare your baking pans by lining them with parchment paper. Set aside. Place the chocolate and the butter in a large saucepan. Heat until the butter and chocolate are melted and smooth. In a large mixing bowl, place the flour, baking soda, granulated sugar, sour cream, buttermilk, ...

One of my best friends - who is about to have a baby, as in any minute now - posted a recipe for me:  Smitten Kitchen's Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Bars . Her note - "these made me think of you minus the strawberry." Despite most people pairing rhubarb with strawberry, I prefer my rhubarb plain. I jokingly told her that she needed to say, "Cam, Nicholas is craving these!" Then I'd whip up a batch for her. When I was at Whole Foods yesterday, there were five lonely stalks of rhubarb. They called my name. It was a sign. For the record, no, produce doesn't really talk to me...I'm not that crazy. But I scooped up all of the rhubarb and made these for Jenn and her unborn baby. And because I can't follow a recipe to save my life, these are inspired by Smitten Kitchen's recipe...with lots of adaptations. Can't wait to see if he's a rhubarb lover in a couple of years. Ingredients 2 C rolled oats 1 C flour (I used a white whole ...

After a full day of adventuring, our 10-year-old informed us that we had to have a cake for our anniversary. Jake just looked at me and shrugged. So, I looked at what I had brought with us to the cabin in the snow and made this dessert. Thanks to Bob's Red Mill for the Whole Wheat Pastry Flour; they sent me a complimentary bag for participating in an upcoming brunch event - #BrunchWeek! I loved it and will definitely be using it more often. Taskmaster Dyn was pleased. Fourteen years. Happy anniversary, my Love. Ingredients 2 C organic coconut sugar 1¾ C Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour ¾ C unsweetened cocoa powder 1 ½ t baking soda 1 ½ t baking powder 1 t fleur de sel 2 eggs 1 C organic milk ½ C olive oil 2 T red wine 1 C boiling water 1 C chocolate chunks Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking dish with parchment paper and butter. I used two 8” round pans. In a large mixing bowl, stir together coconut sugar, whole wheat p...