Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This weekend, we did a tea tasting in Berkeley. And for each pot of tea ordered, we got to try two cookies. I opted for a mung bean apricot thumbprint cookie and a tahini cookie. I was immediately inspired to create a version of my own! Ingredients 1 cup flour ½ cup rolled oats  ⅓ cup organic powdered sugar ⅓ cup tahini (sesame paste) 1 egg ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract or paste ¼ cup olive oil ½ teaspoon salt (I used some vanilla salt) 1 Tablespoon black sesame seeds 1 Tablespoon white sesame seeds 1½ Tablespoon organic granulated sugar Also needed: scoop, baking sheets, parchment paper   Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place flour, oats, powdered sugar, tahini, egg, vanilla, and olive oil in a bowl. With a pastry cutter, blend the dough until pea-sized chunks form. Press the dough into a ball.   Mix the sesame seeds and sugar together in a shallow bowl.   Form dough into 1-inch balls - I used a cookie scoop - and roll them in the sesame see...

For the holidays my mom received pounds and pounds of raw peanuts from her friend who has a peanut farm in Virginia. I considered making peanut butter, but after I roasted them, my family was just eating them by the handful. I was lucky enough to hide away a few cups and used some to top my favorite cookie: peanut butter cookies! Ingredients  makes approximately 20 cookies Roasted Peanuts 5 to 6 cups raw, shelled peanuts Also needed: baking sheet, mixing bowl, cooling rack that the peanuts don't fall through Peanut Butter Cookies 1 stick (1/2 C) butter, softened 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter 3/4 cup organic granulated sugar 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1-1/2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda coarse sugar for garnishing oven roasted peanuts for garnishing Procedure Roasted Peanuts Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.  Spread shelled peanuts on prepared baking sheet and p...

This month, January 2020, I am hosting  Food'N'Flix , the movie-watching, food-making group rallied by Heather of  All Roads Lead to the Kitchen . So for the first month of the new year, I chose  Always Be My Maybe . The movie is available on Netflix only, I believe. So, I hope everyone can access it. Or crash a friend's house who has Netflix over the next few weeks. The movie's worth it! Just to whet your appetite, this is the story of childhood sweethearts who haven't spoken in over fifteen years. The woman is now a renowned chef and has returned home - to San Francisco -  to open a new restaurant. Her "LA restaurant is non-denominational, modern Vietnamese fusion." You hear her on the phone explaining, "The San Francisco one is gonna be a step up from that. It's trans-denominational. Yes! Yes! Transgressive, transforming, transcendent." Always Be My Maybe  is a sweet, laugh out-loud romantic gambol that's co-written by Al...

This post is written in conjunction with #FallFlavors. Sponsor companies contributed prize packages for the raffle giveaway. All opinions are mine alone. Here we are at Day Two of #FallFlavors where we celebrate all things associated with Fall such as squash, apples, pecans, sweaters, football; you get the idea!  Ellen from Family Around the Table and Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures have gathered two dozen bloggers who have over one hundred recipes they’re sharing this week in celebration of cool weather and sweatshirts.  We hope you find many must make recipes so get your pinning, tweeting, and sharing fingers ready! Tuesday's Recipes Breakfast Maple Coffee Glazed Baked Donuts by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures Savory Baby Greens Salad with Pomegranate, Blue Cheese, And Pecans by Karen's Kitchen Stories Instant Pot Pork Riblets with Sauerkraut by Palatable Pastime Pecan Chicken and Grape Salad by Cindy's Recipes and Writings Turkey...

I'll admit: I picked up Chronicles of a Radical Hag (with Recipes): A Novel by Lorna Landvik* at the library for the cover...and the title. I mean, how could a book with that title be anything but hilarious. Well... On the Page The first time I picked it up, I got about 25 pages into it before I put it down. The second time I tried, I got further and was mildly interested in the characters. Then I just plodded along, regretting each turn of the page after about pages 200. The book is formulaic, the plot meandering, and it's far too long. I will say that I loved the idea of the book. The so-called radical hag is an octogenarian who wrote a column in a local newspaper. She suffers a stroke early on. And the rest of the book tells her story as the current publisher - the granddaughter of the publisher who hired Haze - reprints the hag's old columns along with selected reader responses to the columns. That sounds like an intriguing literary strategy, right? Wel...

I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of  the #BacktoSchoolTreats week recipes. All opinions are mine alone. Summer is winding down, and here we are at day two of #BacktoSchoolTreats hosted by Terri from  Love and Confections  and Christie from  A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures . All week-long 30 bloggers will be sharing 100+ fantastic recipes for both parents and kids, with breakfasts, snacks, desserts, and drinks to get you back in the school routine. Thank you sponsors for providing the prize packages. Don't forget to enter the giveaway! You can click on my kick-off post to read about all the prizes: 'Ah! Sunflower' Cupcakes . Or scroll all the way to the bottom. Here are all the recipes for Day Two of #BacktoSchoolTreats... Back to School Snacks Chocolate Covered Honeycomb Candy from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks Funfetti Rice Krispies Treats from Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats Mochi Donuts with Salted Caramel Glaze ...

Last summer, when R and I were brainstorming about the dessert course for his Mediterranean fundraising dinner, I mentioned cantucci because I knew they were something I could do ahead of time...and easily. We discussed different combinations and he remembered when I made a chocolate-olive version before. "That's unique and interesting, Mom. Can you make that again?" Sure thing!  Somehow I neglected to post a recipe. I remedy that today as the From Our Dinner Table group posts about all things chocolate. Chocolate Recipes Baked Chocolate Donuts by That Recipe Chocolate Fudge Raspberry Bars by A Day in the Life on the Farm Chocolate Oreo Bars by Family Around the Table Chocolate Walnut Caramels by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks Espresso Mocha Macaron with Salted Dark Chocolate Filling by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures Kalamon-Chocolate Cantucci by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Low-Sugar Double Chocolate Muffins by Blogghetti Mini Chocolate Sandw...