Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Last week I blazed through Sex, Murder & Killer Cupcakes  by Allison Janda* in an evening. I liked the title, loved the cover, and it was a welcome distraction from my almost nightly Zoom meetings for various organizations with which I volunteer. Zoom fatigue is real! On the Page image from amazon.com This book was okay. Just okay. Nothing earth-shattering or wow-inspiring. Even though it entertained me for a couple of hours, there really wasn't much going on in this story. The main character, Marian, owns and operates a food porn publication - Think naked guys holding food in front of their private bits. Yes, really. - and moonlights as a crime scene photographer with the local police department. Though that seems like an interesting combination of career choices rife with possibilities for character development and conflict, this book is mainly about her obsession with two guys, attempts on her life, and her wild and unsubstantiated conclusions about who murder...

I think the busier my life gets, the more I lose myself in books during every spare, unscheduled moment. I juggle multiple books all year long; it just gets worse during summer vacation. This is one that I took on my son's birthday camping trip a couple of years ago. And while the kids were at the archery range, I sat by the fire and read the afternoon away. I, apparently, never hit 'publish' on this post. Fixing that now... On the Page... Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites  by Kate Christensen* is an atypical food memoir. It doesn't chronicle a trip around the world in pursuit of the perfect plate of something; it's not about a year-long cooking project, with a well-defined start, middle, and end. It's, as its subtitle, a story of her life informed by her relationship with food. First, there are the soft-boiled egg and pieces of buttered toast strips she’s eating in Berkeley when she witnesses her father brutally beating her mo...

On our way into town, we spotted a gathering of food trucks in Tumalo. And, we decided that when we didn't want to cook lunch, we'd head over there. Today was the day. Turns out, it's called The Bite . Today there were four trucks there, but only three were open. We perused all the menus and ended up ordering from Heidi's Grilled Cheesery and The Rogue Chef. We found a table under the twinkle lights inside and I couldn't resist getting a pint of Blood Orange Cider from Elemental Hard Cider in Washington. I have never seen any brews from them before. But, if this cider was any indication, I definitely want to get my hands on more. Cheers! Jake and I ordered from Heidi's. I got the special: Stella Blue. Jake had the Cheesus Crust on gluten-free bread that was sharp cheddar, cream cheese, bacon, and jalapenos on gluten-free bread. He also tried the French onion soup. Yum! Also, from Heidi's, D tried their soup of the day, their Sunsh...

When I saw #PeterBsWingsContest - a cooking contest to create a chicken wings sauce using one of  Peter B's   brews - announced on  Peter B's Facebook page , I   was inspired. I created a sauce showcasing a stout then I submitted my  Sumpin' Stout Doubled Down Chicken Wings  to the contest...and waited. Yesterday, the chef at Peter B's recreated all the entries - or maybe just the finalists' entries, I'm not sure - and six different recipes were judged by the Beer Geeks, the Grub Hunter, and Peter B's brewmaster Kevin Clark AKA Chris, Merideth, Mike, and Kevin. I was oddly nervous that a professional chef was making one of  my  recipes. Here's the crew, judging the dishes during  Pub Talk  last night. Here's their blogpost announcing the winner . Woohoo. The Judges, photo via the Peter B's Brewpub facebook page Here's what the wings looked like, coming out of Peter B's kitchen... The Wings, photo via the Peter...

I have been a fan of   Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales  ever since they were one of the featured breweries in a documentary we watched about beer several years ago. Their flavor combinations are outrageous. and this one - Namaste - is no exception. The gesture Namaste -  hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest, with a small bow - means "I bow to the divine in you."It conveys an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another; it's a show of mutual respect and admiration. The brewers write: "it's a great single word summary of the inspiration behind this brew." Namaste Tasting Notes Made with dried orange slices, fresh-chopped lemongrass and a tad of coriander, this Belgian-style white beer has strong honey aromas and finishes with a hint of yeast and saffron. Food Pairing Recommendations Spicy food such as a Indian or Thai. We enjoyed it with some Mexican after a very bad day. It de...

Welcome to the  Foodie Extravaganza !  v. October 2014 = a Pretzel Par-tay We are a group of bloggers who love to blog about food!  Each month we will decide on an all-famous National Monthly Food Holiday in which we will base our recipes around. This month the ingredient is  pretzels  with an optional ingredient of  caramel .  Yes, October is National Pretzel Month along with a whole array of other delightful things!! Get excited!! We hope you all enjoy our delicious pretzel treats this month and come back to see what we bring for you next month.  If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page  Foodie Extravaganza .  We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our  Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board ! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out  HERE . Here's what the whole gang made... Apple Cinnamon...

Having won the #peterbsbrewsandbitescontest with my Legend of Laguna IPA-braised Carnitas over Polenta Cakes , I received 2 tickets to the 2014 Monterey Beer Garden, a night at Portola Hotel & Spa, and a growlette from Peter B's Brewpub. And thanks to a tag-team effort by my parents and the Novaks, we were kid-free for the beer garden portion of the day. Ulla offered to keep the boys all night, but I knew that I would not be forgiven for staying at a hotel without them...when it's not a birthday or anniversary celebration. But we thoroughly enjoyed our kid-free date to drink beer! We've been to a couple of other beer festivals and I have to say that this was the nicest one we've attended. The two main reasons: (1) it features truly local (at least Bay Area-local) breweries and (2) the crowd is comprised of actual beer enthusiasts. While people can drink as much beer as they desire within those four hours, I think attendees were there to really enjoy th...