Culinary Adventures with Camilla

  Ahead of National Dumpling Day - September 26th - Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories is hosting the #FoodieExtravaganza group to share dumpling recipes. 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 ! As I said, we are honoring National Dumpling Day this month. Here's the dumpling line-up... Easy Chicken Soup with Drop Dumplings from A Day in the Life on the Farm Gogi Mandu (Korean Meat Dumplings) from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Kothey Momo With Tomato Dipping Sauce from Sneha's Recipe Pork Potstickers from Palatable Pastime Tiroler ...

Here we are at the first event of 2021 for our Soup Saturday Swappers group. Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  started this event and, every month, I get a new array of soup recipes to put in my to-try pile. To kick of the 2021 series of Soup Saturday Swappers, Karen of  Karen's Kitchen Stories  asked us to share recipes for our favorite childhood soup. Here's the line-up of recipes from the #SoupSwappers... Alphabet Soup  from Karen's Kitchen Stories Chicken Soup with Danish Flour Dumplings from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking Clean the Refrigerator Soup AKA Garbage Soup from A Day in the Life on the Farm Mom's Quick Alphabet Soup from Sneha's Recipe Potato and Spinach Soup from Magical Ingredients Ramen Afternoons: From Powdered Broth to Simmered Trotters from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Rotisserie Chicken Alphabet Soup from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice Tomato Clam Chowder from Making Miracles Vegeta...

I have long been a fan of Lidia Bastianich since I stumbled across her cooking show on PBS when we lived in Oklahoma in the early 2000s. So, when a friend lent me a copy of  My American Dream: A Life of Love, Family, and Food by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich* , I was thrilled to dig in. On the Page I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, reading it late into the evenings after the boys went to sleep and early in the morning before I had to get up and make breakfasts and lunches for the family. I had not idea that she was one of the ethnic Italians who was stuck behind the iron curtain in Yugoslavia. Or that she and her family escaped and lived in a refugee camp for two years before the United States began accepting refugee applications. Eventually, they immigrated to New York before settling in New Jersey. Hers is truly the American dream; from coming to America not speaking the language to helming a veritable restaurant empire, Lidia illustrates the values of family, hard ...

I don't really remember how this book ended up on my to-read pile. It's not a book club pick; I don't remember a friend recommending it. In any case, after pulling weeds in my yard, I sat down with Natalie Tan's Book of Luck & Fortune by Roselle Lim.* Then I stayed in bed the following morning to finish it. It was the perfect weekend read. On the Page If you believe in the existence of ghosts and their ability to appear to certain people...and if you believe in the magical, healing powers of food, you will enjoy this book. I do. And I did! Set in San Francisco's Chinatown, Natalie Tan has been estranged from her mother for seven years when a neighbor calls with the news that her mother has died. But she already knew from a premonition. With a heavy heart, Natalie heads back to San Francisco. The reader follows Natalie through her recognition that she wants to reopen the restaurant that her grandmother ran, to reinvigorate the neighborhood bus...

So, this season I was determined to have the robotics team eat well during both the build season and the competitions. I started a meal train and different families signed up for different weeks. For the season kick-off, I brought lasagna. Apparently, it's been the talk of the team for weeks. One day at breakfast, this happened... R: You know the kids at robotics were talking about your lasagna. C: What about it? R: They were wondering when you were on the schedule to bring food again...and J1 asked if you could bring lasagna. J2 said, "It doesn't matter what she brings, it'll be good. I've had her corned beef and cabbage, too. Besides, it's rude to make requests like that." R: No, her friends make requests all the time. It's not rude. It's how you get what you want from my mom. You just ask. Too true. Well, apparently, they took the advice to heart and when I stopped in to see if they needed anything (you know, I was thinkin...

Several weeks ago, a friend emailed to ask if I knew where she could buy lumpia. Her son had tried it at a class party before Winter Break and really liked it. I offered to teach him. Then I realized that I hadn't actually made lumpia since I rolled them with my Grandma Eva...and she died when I was fifteen. Still, she and I had made thousands together, so I figured it was just a matter of reminding myself. My boys and I did a test run. And all went well. So, last week, Susanna brought her boys over and I gave them lumpia lessons! They did a great job! Everything was delicious and well-rolled. Ingredients makes 2 to 3 dozen 1 pound ground pork 1 C diced onions 1 C diced celery 1 C diced carrots 1 C chopped green beans 1 T olive oil lumpia wrappers (I found ours frozen at a local Filipino market - they told me to get the round ones), defrosted and separated water oil for cooking (I used a corn oil) Procedure In a large skillet, heat...