Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Can this really be the first time I'm posting with this group?? It might be. I love the idea behind the Crazy Ingredient Challenge, hosted by Dawn of Spatulas on Parade ; it's akin to the Improv Cooking Challenge that I joined a couple of months ago. We are assigned two ingredients to cook and create. So, here goes... April's Crazy Ingredient Challenge = cardamom and parsnips I wanted to experiment with some almond flour I need to review and opted to make a Spiced Parsnip Cake with Cardamom-Cashew Butter instead of frosting. And this cake uses no sugar and no butter; it's sweetened with honey and moistened with coconut oil. This was a hit! Ingredients Spiced Parsnip Cake 2 C almond flour (I used Morning Pep * ) 1 t baking soda 1 t ground cardamom 1 C grated parsnip 2 eggs 1/2 C coconut oil, softened 1/2 C local honey 1 t pure vanilla extract Cardamon-Cashew Butter 1 C raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 4 hours 1/4 C local ...

Because we had to be out the door early for a field trip, I wanted to whip up something that we could grab and go, just in case Riley was resistant to getting out of bed. Turns out, he was anything but. He came down the stairs at 5:45am and said, "Mom, let's go." Ummmm. No. So, we had these with some fresh blackberries, fresh mint tea, and still had time to spare. 4 eggs 1/2 C honey 2/3 C olive oil (use a good quality, extra virgin olive oil) 1 t fennel pollen 1 T bee pollen 1-1/2 C white whole wheat flour 1 T baking powder 1/2 t pink Himalaya salt 1-1/2 C fresh rhubarb, sliced chopped cashews organic powdered sugar Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line your muffin tin with paper liners or butter the hollows. Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir until just combined. Don’t overmix, or the cake/muffins will be dry and tough. Spoon batter into liners, top with chopped cashews, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Bake for 45 minutes, or un...

I love that technology allows men to brag about their indiscretions!  So even though Jake is on a 36-hour road trip, eating - shudder! - at McDonald's, I decided we were pressing forward with our cooking around the world adventure without him. Riley was my kitchen elf tonight as we traveled to Burkina Faso by tabletop. I have to admit that I have never heard of Burkina Faso. Turns out it used to be called 'Upper Volta' until 1984 when it was renamed. Burkina Faso means 'land of the upright people.' Okay. I still had to look that one up on the map. It's located in west Africa, surrounded by Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest. After a full day of adventures, from the farmers' market to the beach, I opted for a one-pot dinner: a Burkinabe sweet potato-cashew soup. So delicious! Traditionally this dish is completely pureed, except for the cashews, but I wanted a ...

One of the great things about being part of a community of foodies is that different blogger's posts encourage me to stretch and cook something challenging or new-to-me. Love it! I came across this invitation from Nayna of the  Simply.Food blog: " Inviting Adventurous foodies to cook for flavours of Singapore event." Okay, I'm in! The rules - "Prepare a vegetarian dish with Singaporean flavor and flair. And do it during the month of January." I can do that. Perusing her suggested websites for recipes, my mouth began to water at the combinations of spices and I could just imagine the aroma that would be drifting from my kitchen. Though many different dishes caught my eye - bean curd with crab sauce and coconut pork, for instance - the limitation of making a vegetarian dish drew to me this dessert, a colorful carrot pudding. Scented with cardamom and studded with cashews, it's delicious and so easy! So while my husband and older son were working on...

Rice pudding is always a family favorite. And, to no one's surprise, this Afghani version was the hit of the evening. 2 C brown basmati rice 2 C milk 1/2 C organic granulated sugar 1/2 C dried cherries (the original recipe called for raisins) rose water almonds (the original recipe called for pistachios) Begin to cook the rice in water. As it softens, add milk, allowing the pudding to thicken, stirring constantly. When it has reduced add sugar and cherries. Cook until you have a thick custard approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and flavor to taste with rose water. Sprinkle with nuts; I stirred in sliced almonds and topped the dish with raw cashews. Serve hot or cold.

Every year, for the past five years, we've headed to the not-too-distant wilderness for an annual Halloween camping trip. Sugar-Nazi that I am - notice the witch costume which isn't too far from the truth most days of the year! - this camping trip is a way to ensure that my kids get to enjoy Halloween festivities such as trick-or-treating (just the sites for the families who have joined us) but we aren't bombarded with a bunch of stuff we aren't going to eat. We have a pumpkin carving contest, we potluck, we trick-or-treat, we camp, and we have a blast. We all bring appetizers, whatever we want to toss on the grill, and shared potluck dishes for an evening feast. I won't tip my witch's hat before the trip, but I'm excited about the dishes I've picked as my contributions this year. Last year I brought a pumpkin soup, some pumpkin-shaped cheese balls, and pumpkin-ginger truffles . But my favorite dish was a Pumpkin Pâté. Pumpkin Pâté 2 C pumpkin puree...