Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I have one of those hammered spice tins with everything you need to make delicious, beautiful curries. And I enjoy playing with different combinations of flavors. But for a mid-week dinner, sometimes I cheat and use a pre-blended curry powder. No need to measure tiny amounts of ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger, mustard, black pepper, cinnamon, and cardamom. This is curry in a hurry. Also, because Jake is plant-based during the week, this is a curry made with tofu and vegetables instead of chicken or another meat. Ingredients 1 package extra firm tofu, cut into bite-sized cubes 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 2 Tablespoon-sized chunks 1 large onion, peeled and diced (approximately 1-1/2 cups) 1 T grated ginger (you can omit, if you don't have any, but we love the fresh ginger in this) 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup potatoes, scrubbed and cubed 1 cup sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 cups carrots, chopped 1 cup celery, chopped 1 cup bell peppers, diced (I used a red ...

When I was getting ready to leave my friends' house yesterday, I noticed all the prickly pears on their cacti. "Do you have plans for all those?" I queried, pointing at all the tunas on the paddles, as I am always looking to cook with things from my friends' yards! Plans for what? Mike asked. "All those prickly pears," I answered. Oh, no, I just let those fall on the ground. Why? Do you want some? "Yes!!!!!" He grabbed tongs, a long, knife, and a paper bag. I followed him out.  "I heard that I can burn the spines off with a torch. Is that what I should do?" [insert much laughter] Where did you hear that? "I read it somewhere," I answered sheepishly. It sounded like a good idea...all except for the fact that I have yet to locate my culinary torch since we moved. No, you don't need to do that. He cautioned me against touching the prickly pears at all and showed me how to get to ...

Hi and welcome to day 5 of #PumpkinWeek hosted by Terri of  Love and Confections . We are celebrating our love of the season with a whole week of pumpkin goodies, leading up to National Pumpkin Day. 17 Food Bloggers have come together to share over 65 recipes with you. In addition to homemade pumpkin puree, pie, and cookies, we are also sharing savory pumpkin dishes like hummus, chili and pumpkin corn chowder. Come back every day for #PumpkinWeek recipes. You can also find these great recipes and more on  Love and Confections' #PumpkinWeek Pinterest Board ! For this fifth day of #PumpkinWeek, I have a funny story. Last year, my then 9-year-old had a pet pumpkin. He had gotten it at a market at the beginning of the month and it slept on his pillow and watched him do his homework. One day I jokingly threatened to cook his pumpkin. I  was  joking, but D was not amused. So, needless to say...when I served this dish, the first thing he did was run to his ro...