Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Welcome to the February  Food'N'Flix  event of 2020; our group's founder, Heather of All Roads Lead to the Kitchen , has asked the bloggers to watch   Nina's Heavenly Delights . You can read her invitation:  here . Well, here's a first: I am not going to watch the chosen movie, but I do have a recipe to share. Let me rephrase. It's not that I object to watching the movie. If I could watch the movie, I totally would. But I looked at our local library system to check it out on DVD. No luck. Netflix streaming doesn't have it available. So, no luck there. Even Amazon Prime doesn't have it available for free or for paid streaming. I get: "This title is currently unavailable. Our agreements with the content provider don’t allow purchases of this title at this time." I can purchase the DVD for $30. Ummm...no. I am not going to pay that much for a movie I'm not sure I'll watch more than once. I'm not crazy! So, I hopped on YouT...

Welcome to the  Foodie Extravaganza !  v. June 2016 = a Midsummer Celebration Foodie Extravaganza is where bloggers come together and celebrate food holidays. Did you know there is at least one food assigned to each day of the year to celebrate that food? Laura from  Baking in Pyjamas  is our host this month. Laura invited us to "Create a dessert of your choice which is Midsummer Eve themed. Think any kind of summer fruit or an interpretation of what Midsummer means to you." Posting day is always the first Wednesday of the month. If you are a blogger and you're interested in joining in the fun, visit us at our  Facebook Foodie Extravaganza page . You can also visit our past party submissions on our  Pinterest Foodie Extravaganza board  . The Midsummer Celebration  We hope you will enjoy the recipes we are sharing this month. Blueberry Slab Pie by A Day in the Life on the Farm Carrot Vanilla Custard by Sneha's Recipe Chocola...

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 ...

This round Deb, at Kahakai Kitchen , selected   Baking Cakes in Kigali  by Gaile Parkin for our December-January  Cook the Books  project. While it was a quick read, it definitely didn't earn a place among my favorites. I wanted to like this book. I really did. Angel Tungaraza: is a mother, grandmother, cake architect, and pillar of her community. She keeps secrets. She plans weddings. And she is raising her grandkids as her own after her children's deaths. She is a Tanzanian living in Rwanda. That sounded like the makings of a robust page-turner. However, the book left me wanting more. Lots more. For the character who was waiting on eggshells to see if her boyfriend's other pregnant girlfriend bore a son or daughter - thus determining which woman he would marry - she was just waiting...when she could have been furious, angst-ridden, nervous, jealous, and more. There was plenty of breadth in the cast of characters, but all of them lacked depth. Even Angel, ...

  When I was working on a red, white, and blue menu for Gabe's birthday brunch, I asked the boys what they thought we should make. Without any hesitation, they both shouted, "spaghetti and meatballs!" That wasn't what I had in mind - I was thinking something a little more exotic, perhaps with white cannellini beans, roasted red peppers and blueberries. But their enthusiasm was unsquashable. And it turned out to be a great call on their part; spaghetti and meatballs is one of the birthday boy's favorites. I did add some dried blueberries to the mix to stay with the red, white, and blue theme. 2 pounds of 96-4 organic ground beef 2 eggs 1/2 C dried wild blueberries 1/4 C chestnut flour dash of pink Himalaya salt 3 C tomato puree 1 C organic cherry tomatoes fresh basil Mix the beef, eggs, and dried blueberries together in a bowl, adding enough chestnut flour that the mixture can be formed into ba...

Like the black salt, I've also had a bag of red Alaea salt in my cupboard for ages. Probably from the same friend.   Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt is non-processed and rich in trace minerals, including a small amount of reddish Hawaiian clay (‘Alae) which enriches the salt with iron-oxide. Traditionally Hawaiians use Alaea salt in ceremonies to cleanse, purify and bless tools and canoes, as well, in healing rituals for medicinal purposes. It imparts a unique and pleasant flavor while roasting or grilling meats which makes it a traditional and authentic seasoning for native Hawaiian dishes such as Kalua Pig, Hawaiian Jerky and Poke. I love the color and the flavor and decided to sprinkle it on top of some rich, chestnut-flour brownies for a special treat. Not native. And, definitely, not Hawaiian. But delicious! 4 large eggs 2 C organic granulated sugar 1/2 t ground ginger 1 stick of butter 2 C chipped dark chocolate 2 t pure vanilla e...

The lesson this morning: don't be afraid to improvise. I had a zucchini from my High Ground Organics CSA box and most of the ingredients for my usual zucchini bread, but I had to wing it on some parts. It turned out perfectly risen and delicious nonetheless. Just keep your proportions of wet to dry as constant as you can. 2 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 C chestnut flour 1 C raw turbinado sugar 1 t sea salt 1 T + 1 t baking soda 1 t ground cinnamon 1 t ground nutmeg 1/2 t ground ginger 1/2 t ground cardamom 1 C organic sour cream 2 eggs 3 T olive oil 2 T coconut oil 2 T chia seeds 1 T unsulphered molasses 1-1/2 C grated zucchini Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together all wet ingredients. Mix all dry ingredients. Mix until just moistened. Spoon into a prepared pan. Bake until golden brown - about 45 minutes - and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Since my breakfast rolls were such a hit last weekend, I tweaked a little to use what I had on hand and made these - super nutty breakfast rolls - using some chestnut flour, hazelnut oil, hazelnut-cocoa spread for the filling, and chopped walnuts. 1 cup warm milk 5 t active dry yeast 5 T butter, room temperature 1 T hazelnut oil 2 eggs 1/2 t ground ginger 1/2 t ground nutmeg 1 T anise seeds 1 t ground cinnamon 2 T organic granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 C white whole wheat flour 1 C chestnut flour Nutella, or other hazelnut-cocoa spread chopped walnuts Pour the warm milk into a mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let bloom for about 3 minutes. Mix in soft butter, hazelnut oil, eggs, spices, 2 T sugar, salt, and flours. Use a wooden spoon to mix the dough. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 30 minutes. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it until it's firm, about 3 minutes. Divide the dough in half; roll each half into a rectangle ...

1 T active dry yeast 1 T organic granulated sugar 1 C warm water 1-1/2 C white whole wheat flour 1 C chestnut flour 2 T olive oil 1 t pink Himalaya salt Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza stone dusted with flour. Smear with minced garlic and tomato sauce and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving. Top with sliced fresh mozzarella, fresh cut tomatoes, and rough chopped fresh basil. Sprinkle with pink Himalaya salt and drizzle with olive oil.

Inspired by the delicious offerings at Ramekins Culinary Institute last night at Obe and Andi's wedding, I whipped up some pizzas of my own for dinner tonight. My quick and easy crust has white whole wheat flour, chestnut flour, and oat flour, but use whatever flours you have on hand. Similarly, use whatever toppings you have. Tonight I used salami, pepperoni, ham, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese for the boys' pizzas. 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast 1 T organic granulated sugar 1 C warm water 1 C white whole wheat flour 1 C chestnut flour 1/2 C oat flour 2 T olive oil 1 t pink Himalaya salt Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza stone dusted with flour. Spread with desired topp...