Culinary Adventures with Camilla

   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. When I was looking at the different oils and vinegars at The Quail & Olive*, I picked their Elderberry Balsamic Vinegar for two reasons. First, it incorporated elderberries from a local friend and favorite: Katie Reneker of Carmel Berry Company . And when Katie saw the recipe, she commented, " Hooray for reducing food waste! The vinegar is made with the mash after we juice our berries. Such a win to have two uses before they are composted!" Love that. Second, I pictured it in a cranberry sauce on my Thanksgiving table. Well, with the coronavirus pandemic still not under control, I won't be having any guests at my table this year. 2020 has been a huge let-down in so many ways. So. Many. But I still wanted this sauce on my plate.  This is quick; it'...

Remember when I announced that I had become a contributing writer to  My Disorganized Life ? Well, my January post is live over there.  Click to read the recipe at  My Disorganized Life ! Chamomile-Vanilla Bean Popovers

As the holidays approach, the boys' teachers have arranged class-wide celebrations. Both boys' classes are doing Secret Santa gift exchanges. I love that while they were given an upper budget for the gifts, the focus is on MAKING the presents themselves. D decided that he wanted to make a wreath with his recipient's favorite candy. He had a friend ask another friend to ask the person for his favorite candy. Reese's Cups! Ingredients wire wreath form candy hot glue twine or ribbon gift tag Procedure Arrange your candy on the wreath form. Adhere the candy with hot glue. Make sure the candy is firmly attached. Finish it with a bow! Because we weren't sure of the toxicity of the glue - or if it would permeate the candy wrapper, he included a bag of candy separately that his buddy can eat!

Remember when I announced that I had recently become a contributing writer to My Disorganized Life ? Well, my December post is live over there. And it's just in time to inspire you for any holiday soirees to which you need to bring something elegant - but simple. I've got you covered. Click to read the recipe at  My Disorganized Life ! Chanterelle Puff Pastry

Earlier this week I made Black Sesame-Studded Tahini Cookies and I loved them. They were just the right amount of sweet and savory - all wrapped together in one cookie. So, I decided to adapt them to be gluten-free for a party tonight. I have two gluten-free guests coming. I'm not completely adept at gluten-free cookies, so these might need a little bit of tweaking to fix the texture issue (they crumbled really, really easily). But they are tasty. Ingredients  makes just under 3 dozen cookies 1 C gluten-free flour (I used a King Arthur pre-blended gluten-free flour) 1 C organic brown rice flour 1 C raw pecan pieces (feel free to substitute for any kinds of nuts) ½ C organic powdered sugar 2/3 C tahini (sesame paste) ½ t rosewater ½ C butter, cold and cubed 1 t salt (I used some vanilla salt) 3 T black sesame seeds 3 T organic granulated sugar Procedure Preheat oven to 350° F. Place flours, nuts, powdered sugar, and butter in ...

This week the #SundaySupper crew is sharing lightened up holiday dishes. This is a great, tasty substitute for coleslaw. And it's easy, too! I used red cabbage which has a slightly tougher texture but slightly sweeter flavor than its green counterpart. Ingredients 1 red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced 1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced 1 tart apple, cored and thinly sliced 1 C pitted dates, chopped 1 t ground cinnamon 1/4 t ground cloves 14 t ground cardamom 1 t black cumin seed 1 t caraway seed 3 T white balsamic vinegar 1 C water splash of olive oil freshly ground salt, to taste freshly ground pepper, to taste red pepper flakes, to taste Procedure In a large flat-bottom pot, add all of the ingredients - except the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes - to the pot. Stir to mix thoroughly. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the cabbage is tender, approxim...