Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This month several of the #FoodNFlix bloggers are migrating over to a new group called #MoviesandMunchies. Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures is leading the charge for our inaugural month. You can read Amy's invitation:  here . She asked us to watch Ocean's Eleven . I can't even begin to imagine how many times my family and I have seen that movie. We debate around the table which of the movies we like best: Oceans Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, or Ocean's Thirteen. I can tell you that we only watched Ocean's Eight  one time and we have never seen the original Ocean's Eleven. We might have to track that one down soon. The one we watched is Steven Soderbergh's remake, a slick heist flick with tons of A-list actors including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and Matt Damon along with Hollywood veterans Andy Garcia, Elliot Gould, and Carl Reiner. Here's a brief summary: Danny Ocean (played by Clooney) decides to rob three Las Vegas casinos with the he...

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. I am not big on eating candy. But if I had to pick one, I'd choose SweetTarts every time. I love the tartness that makes my mouth pucker with a kiss of sweetness at the end.  I feel the same way about salad dressings or any kind of drizzle. This is one that I've been making for years...with whatever vinegar I happen to have in the house. But my recent collaboration with The Quail & Olive* has given me an army of delicious vinegars with which to play.  For this version, I opted for the earthy sweetness of the  Star Anise Vanilla Bean Balsamic  and the crisp tartness of the  Winter Ambrosia vinegar . Also, I change the herbs based on whatever is on my counter at the time. Yesterday, I had dill. During the summer, I add in basil most of the time. I...

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Torani  and may contain affiliate links.  All opinions are mine alone. I received a bottle of a brand-new product from Torani* - one of their puremade syrups. I've long been a fan of Torani and used their syrups in my  Hot Caramel Apple Cider ,  Lavender Panna Cotta ,  Guava Gin Fizz , and more. So, drinks and desserts were my go-to. But I rarely used those syrups in any kind of savories. Then I noticed that a friend had used a syrup in a vinaigrette and I thought to myself: Why not? Sometimes you put honey or maple syrup in a vinaigrette. Done! As I mentioned, this Puremade Syrup from Torani is a brand-new product; it will be available to customers shortly. But I  love  that Torani Puremade Syrups contain: no artificial preservatives; no artificial colors; no artificial flavors; and no GMOs! I whipped up this batch of Puremade Vanilla Bean Vinaigrette and drizzled it on an entree sa...

Whoops! I thought I scheduled this to go live on October 1st...when the #7Days7ColorsChallenge kicked-off! Darn, I messed that up. But you can read more about the challenge:  here . And this, woefully belated, post is brought to you by the color red. Many RED fruits and veggies are loaded with lycopene and anthocyanins that may combat heart disease and decrease the risk and macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people aged 60 and older. Here are some of my favorite recipes using the color red. Of course you can't forget red wine! Basic Tomato Sauce Roasted Tomato Sauce Rose Harissa Watermelon Radish Salad with Beet-Hazelnut Vinaigrette If you know nothing else about vinaigrettes, remember this: the magic ratio of oil to vinegar is 3 to 1. As long as you know that, you won't need to consult a vinaigrette recipe ever again. Just remember three parts oil to one part vinegar and you'll be all right. If you get them backwards ...

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day for #FoodieExtravaganza is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page  Foodie Extravaganza . We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our  Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board ! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out  HERE . Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm   is hosting this month. And she requested that we create dishes with peaches this month. "August is National Peach month and peaches are in an abundance right now so let's share our favorite Peach recipes," she encouraged us. Peaches Galore Halloumi Freekeh Peach Salad by Food Lust People Love Honey Peach Ice Cream by Tara's Multicultural Table Mini Peaches and Cream French Toa...

This afternoon I bought fresh edible flowers from  MEarth . Fresh calendula has always reminded me of a summer sunset on the beach. So, in keeping with that, I made a salad in shades of red, orange, and yellow.   Ingredients 2 to 3 roasted beets, sliced into wedges (this post explains how to roast beets ) 2 to 3 ripe tomatoes, sliced into wedges petals from 2 to 3 calendula blossoms + a full blossom or two for garnish 1/4 C apple cider vinegar 3/4 C olive oil 1 T ginger syrup freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper also needed: mason jar with lid Procedure Place calendula petals in the bottom of the mason jar.  Pour in vinegar, olive oil, and ginger syrup. Tighten the lid on the jar. Shake to emulsify. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  To assemble, place wedges of beets and tomatoes in a serving bowl. Drizzle a generous amount of vinaigrette over the top. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper, if desired. G...

Grilled haloumi with watermelon is one of my favorite summer combinations. If you're never had haloumi, it's a semi-hard, brined cheese from Cyprus. I love doing a quick grill on it. For this easy salad, I used the Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette from  Out of the Weeds * as my dressing on the greens, then topped it with slices of watermelon and grilled haloumi. Ingredients salad greens salad dressing (I used the Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette from  Out of the Weeds *) haloumi cheese, thickly sliced watermelon, sliced fresh parsley for garnish Procedure Grill haloumi on a grill pan on the stove or on an actual grill. You don't need to grill it too long - just enough to warm it and get the grill marks. While the cheese grills, toss greens with dressing and plate individually. Lay slices of watermelon on top of the greens. Top it all with the grilled haloumi. Garnish with fresh parsley. Thanks,  Out of the Weeds *   - just one of our #HotSummerEats...

It's time for my monthly post for Shaheen's 'Eat Your Greens' food blog challenge, at  A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table .  Here's  the invitation . Encouraging people to eat their greens is a passion of mine. We even eat the greens from our carrot bunches! In fact, this salad dressing uses carrot green tops. But, if you don't have any, you can use whatever herbs you have on-hand. Ingredients 1-2 handfuls of greens per person whatever other fun flavors you want to add - I used fresh radishes and fresh fennel 1½ t ground mustard 3 T seasoned rice wine vinegar 5 T  extra virgin olive oil 8 T buttermilk 1 T fresh carrot top greens, washed, dried, and finely chopped freshly ground salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste Procedure Place all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Place all of the dressing ingredients in a mason jar with a lid. Shake to emulsify. Toss to coat. Serve chilled.

I was inspired by the Smitten Kitchen 's recipe: here . In retrospect, I think I'd go with the original orange carrots. My version isn't as colorful; the purple carrots looked muddy and muted.   Ingredients     Roasted Chickpeas   (click name for my version, for this salad, I added ground cumin ) Salad 2 purple carrots, coarsely grated 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and julienned 1/4 C coarsely chopped fresh mint Dressing 2 cloves black garlic, minced juice from 1 organic lemon 2 T well-stirred tahini 1 T tablespoons water, plus more if needed 2 T olive oil freshly ground pepper freshly ground salt Procedure Dressing: Whisk all ingredients - except salt and pepper -  together until smooth. Add more water if the dressing is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste. To Assemble: Place grated carrots and fennel strips in large mixing bowl and toss with mint. Mix in the dressing. Add more salt and pepper, if ...

Inspired by Shocking Delicious's Sweet Basil Deviled Eggs  - Dorothy had submitted them to my April EGGStravaganza round-up earlier in the month, I tweaked and bit and came up with these... Ingredients 8 hard-cooked eggs 3 T Basil-Honey Dressing * 2 T mayonnaise Pinch fleur de sel Grinding of fresh black pepper 1 T  finely chopped fresh basil 1 T finely minced fresh oregano Procedure Peel eggs and slice eggs in half, lengthwise. Remove yolks to a mixing bowl. Add dressing, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. Blend well, using a fork or electric mixer. Fold in the basil and oregano. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Spoon yolk filling into the egg halves. Garnish with a basil leaf or two. *Here's Dorothy's Basil Honey-Dressing recipe  and the link in the ingredients list goes to my dressing.

Inspired by Shocking Delicious's  Basil Honey-Dressing recipe , I was so excited to use the honey I just got from our  High Ground Organics  CSA box this week. Thanks for the eucalyptus-wildflower honey from Keith Kimes! Click to read about Keith Kimes's Apiary on High Ground Organics's farm: here . Also, I added in more herbs, even using the carrot top greens, from my CSA. Ingredients 1 roasted spring onion, papery parts removed 1/2 C basil leaves, destemmed 1/2 sprig of fresh, organic oregano leaves, destemmed 1 T fresh chopped mint 1 T fresh chopped carrot greens 1/4 C honey (I used a local eucalyptus-wildflower honey from Keith Kimes) 1/3 C olive oil 1/4 C vinegar (I used a champagne-mimosa vinegar) Procedure Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until dressing is smooth. There will be small green flecks - like herb confetti. Pour into a jar and refrigerate before serving. This keeps for a week, or more, in the refrigerator. You'll ...

  Yes, that's right, yet another cooking project has hit my culinary radar. This one, Cook the Books , is a bimonthly foodie book club "marrying the pleasures of reading and cooking." Okay. I'm in. The assignment for March 2012 was Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . Funny thing - I cooked and served an all-chocolate picnic dinner when two of our best friends played Oompa Loompas in a local theatre production of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." I figured I would share that menu and recipes for this month. I got creative with the chocolate, using it in everything from the soup to the grill. We started with a Roasted Parsnip-White Chocolate Soup . (click the name of the recipe) Next to the soups, I offered Chocolate Crostini ... Toast a slice of bread (I used ciabatta) till it's crisp. Let cool. Then spread a layer of nutella or melted dark chocolate on the crisp. Top with sliced pears and crumbled gorgonzola. M...