Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of author Laura Kumin and publisher Pegasus books. I received a complimentary copy for the purpose of review, through The Book Club Cookbook's Galley Match program,  but all opinions are honest and they are my own.  No additional compensation for this post was provided; this page may contain affiliate links. All Stirred Up: Suffrage Cookbooks, Food, and the Battle for Women's Right to Vote by Laura Kumin* is set for release on August 4th. But my Lit Happens group was offered the opportunity to read advanced electronic copies early through the Galley Match with The Book Club Cookbook. On the Page I never pass up the chance to read a book that includes history and food. In this case, Laura Kumin offers us a delicious new book with a fresh look at the history of the women's suffrage movement. And the amount of knowledge Kumin has about the subject is evident. This was a fun one for this history-loving foodi...

It's the first Monday of the month which means one thing:  Secret Recipe Club  reveal for Group A. This month I was assigned to Claire K Creations , a blog written by, yes, Claire, who is a Brisbane-based blogger. She was a self-admitted picky eater until 2010 when she took a trip to Europe when she "discovered the world of food." Now she grows it, cooks it, serves it, eats it, and photographs it. I perused her blog for hours. What a tough choice to pick a single recipe! Which one of these would you have picked? She has a recipe for Hummingbird Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing , Avocado Loaf Cakes , Citrus Salt , Thai Larb Moo , and Beetroot Hummus . Okay...here's what I made... Chocolate-Kalamata Cantucci adapted from Claire K Creations / Chocolate Olive Biscotti I started with her recipe and made some adaptations: I added ground almonds, skipped the pinenuts, and added dried cranberries and espresso powder. Thanks, Claire, for the impetus to add ...

Some of our good friends just had their first baby. Hooray! So, for one of my meal-train offerings, I decided to bring them some baby back ribs. They can heat them up on their schedule and slather them with as much, or as little, of the sauce as they want. Here's what he posted after the dinner. I guess they liked them. Double hooray! photo courtesy Kevin B. 1 rack of pork baby back ribs Dry Rub: 1 C organic coconut sugar  3 T  pimentón  (smoked Spanish paprika) 1 t ground cumin 1/2 t paprika 1/2 t instant espresso powder dash of ground coriander dash of ground cardamom freshly ground sea salt freshly ground pepper Pumpkin Barbeque Sauce   (click for recipe) Procedure: The night before, or first thing in the morning, prepare the rub. Combine all ingredients, and mix thoroughly until well blended. Remove the ribs from their packaging.  Rinse and pat them dry. With your hands, pat the rub onto both sides of the ribs, g...

Inspired by a delicious hot chocolate drink at a local coffee shop, I decided to create a rich chocolate cookie with some salt and some heat - in the form of ground Aleppo pepper. Even though these won tonight's cookie testing round (versus Rosewater Cardamom Crisps ), I will be changing the recipe based on the boys' suggestions. So, this version can be posted; the actual recipe that I send to my recipients for  the 2013 Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap  (#FBCookieSwap) must be kept secret until reveal day. Makes 4 dozen cookies 4 C semisweet chocolate chips/morsels, divided in half 2-2/3 C white whole wheat flour 1 t baking soda 1 C butter 1 C organic coconut sugar 1/2 C organic granulated sugar 3 large eggs 1-1/2 C white chocolate chips 2 t ground paprika 1 t ground Aleppo pepper 1 t instant espresso powder freshly ground sea salt for garnish Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt 2 C chocolate in a small, heavy-duty saucepan over low heat. Stir until smooth ...