Culinary Adventures with Camilla

When we were planning his family birthday dinner, R requested seared ahi. When I asked if he wanted it as the main dish or an appetizer, he shrugged, "It doesn't matter. Just as long as I get seared ahi." Done. I decided to marinate ahi in a spicy marinade, sear it, then serve it with rice noodle bowls. Delish. Remember: since you're eating it (mostly) raw, you need to purchase sashimi grade ahi and you should eat it the same day you buy it. We use gluten-free tamari since his best friend can't eat gluten. But use whatever you have in your cupboard. Ingredients  serves 4 as an entree and 6 to 8 as an appetizer 2 lb sashimi grade ahi tuna 1/3 C organic tamari or gluten-free soy sauce + more for drizzling 2 T sesame oil + more for drizzling 1/3 C canola oil, divided in half 1 fresh jalapeno, thinly sliced on the bias 2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed 1 pinch red pepper chili flakes 1/3 C sake black sesame seeds for garnish ...

Today is our first May post for our Kitchen Matrix Project, named after Mark Bittman's  Kitchen Matrix  cookbook. You can read about the year-long project:  here . This month, I chose the recipes and went with a Latin theme. So, this week, we're making salsas. Next week, we're working with masa. And so on...you get the idea. For this week, you can read  Bittman's salsa ideas online  if you don't have a copy of the cookbook. The #KitchenMatrixCookingProject Salsa Bar An InLinkz Link-up This recipe definitely isn't one of his, but I haven't made salsa in a long time and this is one of my family's favorites: Roasted Tomatillo Salsa with roasted corn to go with it. So easy. So tasty. But I am looking forward to digging in to all twelve of Bittman's salsas as we move into summer and grilling season. I think I'll start with the pulsed radish and jicama. I can see that going really well with some grilled fish tacos. Roasted T...

So, he did not turn around and ask me to dance, but there was something about this image that reminded me of Dirty Dancing  when Patrick Swayze gets Jennifer Grey to dance on a log! But I'm getting ahead of myself... This month's  Food'N'Flix  event was hosted by Chef Sarah Elizabeth and her blog of the same name .You can read her invitation:  here . She asked us to watch - or rewatch as is probably the case with everyone! -  Dirty Dancing .* On the Screen Let me say that it disturbs me to no end that I now have to clarify: Dirty Dancing , the original one. Why is there a need to remake such a classic movie?!? Okay, it's not a classic in same sense of the  Casablanca  era of films, but it is a classic for anyone who was a teen in the 80s. Why ruin a classic? Back to the point with a brief summary... The Housemans are vacationing in the Catskills. It's 1963. 'Baby', whose real name is Frances, wants to change the world, while her ...

Remember that we kicked off Fish Friday Foodies this year. It's a group of seafood-loving bloggers, coordinated by Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm . We share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month.  This month, Caroline of  Caroline's Cooking is  hosting. Here was her challenge to the group: " Lots of fish and seafood pair perfectly with a bit of spice, whether it's kicking hot or mildly aromatic. Bring your favorite dish with a bit of spice to this month's event!" I decided to marinate ahi in a spicy marinade, sear it, then reduce the marinade for a spicy topping. Delish. Remember: since you're eating it (mostly) raw, you need to purchase sashimi grade ahi and you should eat it the same day you buy it. Ingredients serves 2 as an entree and 4 as an appetizer 1 lb sashimi grade ahi tuna 1/4 C organic tamari 1 T sesame oil 1/4 C canola oil, divided in half 1 fresh jalapeno, thinly sliced on the bias 1 clove garl...

Here we are at May's #thebookclubcookbookCC event. It's hard to believe that we only have two more months in this year-long journey to explore - and cook from -  The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors  by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp.* Judy, Vicki, and their publisher,  Tarcher-Penguin ,  have provided the hosting bloggers with copies of the book plus copies to giveaway each month of the project. Woohoo. Incredibly generous. This month Danielle at  Mostly Food and Crafts  along with Wendy at  A Day in the Life on the Farm  selected  Love in the Time of Cholera  by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.** Click to read  Wendy's invitation . She shared the recipe for Mojitos, but invited us to find inspiration in any of the pages. Believe it or not, I once created an entire dinner party around the Mojito. I made a Cuban feast for one of my best f...

Every once in awhile I do some recipe testing - for friends or for publishers. While I am notorious for improvising in the kitchen, when I test recipes, I have to follow the recipe to the letter. That's the point, right? To make sure that the recipe, as written, can be replicated by the home cook. Well, the recipe that I am testing tomorrow requires yuzu kosho. Since I couldn't find that at Whole Foods, I knew that I had to make it myself. Thank goodness the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf asked for a microplane from Santa last year. Yes, really. Here we go... Ingredients makes approximately 2 cups 1 C lime zest 2 T lemon zest 2 T grapefruit zest 1 t salt (I used a red salt from Hawaii) 2 T freshly squeezed grapefruit juice 2 T freshly squeezed yuzu juice (or bottled) 1 hot pepper, seeded and minced (I used a jalapeno from my friend's garden) 2 t freshly squeezed lime juice 1 demerara sugar cube Procedure Combine all ingredi...

In an effort to make all of my holiday gifts this year, I invited some of my favorite foodie bloggers to share recipes for hand-crafted edibles. Over the course of the twelve weeks, we'll be sharing recipes that you can make at home to give to friends and loved ones. We hope you'll follow along for inspiration. You can find out more information, including the schedule:  here . Thanks to these inspiring gals for these jam and jelly treats: Amy at  Amy's Cooking Adventures  shared Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Jam Sarah of  Fantastical Sharing of Recipes  made Tomato Bacon Jam Nichole, the  Cookaholic Wife , posted her Honey Lemon Apple Jam Lauren at  Sew You Think You Can Cook  cooked up Concord Grape Jelly Terri of  Christmas Tree Lane  created Blueberry Lavender Butter Wendy from  A Day in the Life on the Farm  made Jalapeno Jelly Camilla,  Culinary Adventures with Camilla , shared a spicy jar of Apple Jalapeño...

This recipe came to me in response to  my call for wonderful sidedish recipes   via email - not as a blogpost of her own, just as an emailed recipe from Jenn. So, I am posting it here. Though this is not my recipe, nor have I tested it, I will definitely give this a try before the year is through...maybe even before the week is through! Thanks for submitting it, Jenn. 1-12oz bag cranberries 4 T fresh cilantro 1/3 C fresh lime juice 1/2 t salt 1/4 t pepper 2 jalapeno seeded (sometimes I use 1 Serrano instead) 2 T onion 1/2 C sugar Blanch cranberries until they pop open. Drain immediately. Add all ingredients to blender. Blend until smooth. Serve chilled with cream cheese and crackers (or let me know what other creative serving suggestions you come up with!) I take this to our thanksgiving potluck at work every year and Christmas potlucks too.

Tonight, Dylan, who I have now re-dubbed 'Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf' instead of Kitchen Elf 2, and I were finally able to attend a Community Night at Happy Girl Kitchen . They open up their kitchen, put you to work on whatever they need done (tonight we helped make pickled jalapenos), ply you with kombucha on tap or hot tea, and send you out the door with some delicious eats (think tomato-barley soup and bread with butter and gruyere). The kid has some mad knife skillz now! Here's what Dylan had to say about the experience: "Today I did pickling jalapenos at Happy Girl Kitchen. I learned that what makes jalapenos spicy are actually the seeds, not the pepper. Today I cut jalapenos, stuffed them in a jar, and poured brine over them. I also learned how to cut a different way - instead of moving your hand with the knife, you move the thing that you're cutting. And when you cut, you need to cut small slices so that they fit better in the jar. You should try...