Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I must have read something or searched for something that put  Strange Weather in Tokyo: A Novel by Hiromi Kawakami*, translated by Allison Markin Powell,  in my suggestion list from Amazon. And since I'm always up for reading a book by a new-to-me author, I ordered it! Yes, I'm a sucker for books. I had no idea what to expect and read the book over the course of just two days. On the Page After reading - and thoroughly enjoying - this book, I am still unsure into which genre I would place it. It's a love story, certainly, but it's also a poignant tale about loneliness. I also don't really understand the title.  At the center of the story is Tsukiko, a woman in her late thirties, who works in an office and lives alone. One evening, she runs into a former teacher who she calls Sensei, "teacher." His age is never mentioned, but I pieced together that he's at least three decades older than she is. Through the course of the novel, their relationship grows...

  It's time for Fish Friday Foodies' April 2021  event. W e are a group of seafood-loving bloggers, rallied by Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm , to   share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month.  And this month, Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories is hosting. She asked the bloggers to share  a fish recipe from any country or region of Africa! Here's the April 2021 line-up from the #FishFridayFoodies. I cannot wait to try these recipes... African Tin Mackerel & Bell Peppers Stew from Sneha's Recipe Caldo de Peixe (Cape Verdean Fish Stew) from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Camaroonian Fish Stew from Making Miracles Madagascar Coconut Shrimp Curry (Coco Crevettes) from Palatable Pastime Moroccan Shrimp Tagine with Ginger and Fennel from Karen's Kitchen Stories Caldo de Peixe Cape Verdean Fish Stew For being such a large continent, my research didn't turn up a whole lot of seafood recipes. I mean, there are plent...

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. Do you do 'Taco Tuesday' in your household? Ours is not every week, but we do love our tacos. I enjoy repurposing leftovers into tacos such as my Duck-os (Leftover Duck + Tacos) . And in recent weeks Spiced Smashed Potato Tacos with Homemade Purple Corn Tortillas have made a showing because Jake eats plant-based during the week. But when I had some fresh local black cod this week, I decided to make some fresh fish tacos. And I always have homemade kimchi in my fridge, so I went with an Asian-spiced fish. I used the  Winter Ambrosia vinegar  from The Quail & Olive* which has become my go-to for a tart, but bright vinegar; plus it balances the saltiness of soy sauce nicely. Ingredients  serves 4 with leftovers Fish 1 to 2 pounds fish, deboned and...

It's time for Fish Friday Foodies' November event.  In any case, we are a group of seafood-loving bloggers, rallied by Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm , to   share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month. This month, Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories is hosting as we share stir-fries . She wrote, "The theme for November is Stir-Fry. Create a stir-fry featuring seafood of any kind. If you don't have a wok, a good skillet will also work just fine." Before I get to my recipe. Here's the rest of the #FishFridayFoodies' stir-fry menu... An InLinkz Link-up Ingredients 1 pound black cod, with skin still attached, cut into 1/4 lb portions 6 baby leeks or 3 large leeks 2 T cooking oil 1 T chili bean paste 1 t sweet bean paste 1 T fermented black beans, rinsed and drained 2 t soy sauce, divided 1 t organic granulated sugar noodles, cooked according to package direction 2 t sesame oil black sesame s...

A friend sent me a link to this Seafood Month Challenge levied by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Read about the challenge  here . I'm always up for a cooking challenge! What luck that my CSF (community-supported fishery)  Real Good Fish  share this week was freshly caught black cod also called sablefish. This black cod was caught by fisherman Daniel Deyerle on the FV Sea Harvest II with a Bottom Set Long Line off of Moss Landing. Black cod caught this way is a 'best choice' according to  Seafood Watch . I decided to poach the black cod in a lemon-tahini sauce and serve it atop squid ink pasta. The peanut gallery wanted cheese, cheese, and more cheese on top. So I pulled out a wedge of Grana Padano and they went to town. Luckily I had a glut of lemons that the boys had just picked from my parents' tree for a Lemon Meringue Tart I made for a friend's dad last weekend. I served this slightly tart pasta with grilled zucchini and poured a Greco ...

I love the Fantastical Food Fight coordinated by Sarah of  Fantastical Sharing of Recipes . For more information about the event, click  here . This month, she chose the theme: bananas! She wrote, " The 21st of September is the International Banana Festival (which takes place in Fulton, KY and South Fulton, TN). Your recipe must contain bananas. It can be sweet, savory, or anything in between." Because my inspiration can be a little out there, I emailed her to ask if she considered a plantain a banana...and if she would allow banana flour and/or banana leaves. She agreed to all of that. In the end, I opted to create my recipe with plantains and banana leaves. My adventure with the banana flour will come later. The boys were really disappointed that I wasn't going to make a Banana Cream Pie , but I reminded them that it had to be a  new-to-the-blog recipe. I did promise to make them a pie soon though. An InLinkz Link-up Ingredients makes 4 to 6 s...

This is a sponsored post written by me in conjunction with the April #Winophiles event. Wine samples were provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. On the third Saturday of each month, The French Winophiles convene and share posts about a particular grape or region. Today we are focusing on the Picpoul varietal. And despite my lack of expertise on the grape, I am hosting. You can read my invitation post: here . I'm always up for learning something new and seeing what delicious pairings this group creates. If you're reading this soon enough, hop on the Twitter chat on Saturday, April 21st at 8am Pacific time. Search for the hashtag #Winophiles to follow along or peruse the tweets later. Picpoul Picpoul is a white grape varietal that's been cultivated in the Languedoc region of France for centuries. It is rarely grown outside of France, however I was able to locate a vintner not too far from me, here on California's central coast....