Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Today, my Spices of the Souk students and I focused on saffron. You know: the most expensive spice in the world. Saffron Saffron is derived from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus ( crocus sativus ). The stigmas are red, but when soaked in water they render a vivid, golden hue. Beautiful! A couple of years ago, when D and I were watching an episode from the second season of Mind of a Chef, we watched Chef April Bloomfield make lamb biriyani with Chef Stevie Parle. We loved the presentation with the naan on top of the pots. We've been making it that way every since. Beef Biriyani Quick Note: This recipe can NOT be done in a 75 minute class period. So, I did the beef the night before class. In class, we assembled the pots, baked, and enjoyed. This is well worth the efforts, I promise! Also, one of my cooking kiddos is dairy sensitive, so I substituted coconut milk yogurt for regular yogurt. Ingredients Spice Blend 1 t cloves 1 T black cumin 1 T cor...

This post launches us into a 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.* This team of eleven bloggers takes turns selecting a recipe from the cookbook - reading the actual book is welcome, but completely optional - and during that month we cook and post our variations and adaptations. At the end of the month, the hostess posts a round-up of the recipes and gives away a copy of the book! 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. Follow this project on social media with the hashtag #thebookclubcookbookCC. We'll be posting all of our creations to our  Pinterest board . Here's the team, in alphabetical order with links to their homepages. ...

One of the things the boys love about going out to eat: they always get a special drink.  They like horchata when we go to a Mexican restaurant; fresh coconut juice is their beverage of choice at a Thai or Vietnamese place; and at an Indian establishment, Dylan is always excited about his "Indian smoothies."  I tried to tell him that it's called a lassi ; but he is adamant that "'Lassie' is a dog." True enough. These are so easy to make and much better for them than a milk shake!  Plus, the yogurt has a nice, cooling effect on their mouths from the spicy curries we always order. Sweet Lassi 1 C plain yogurt (I usually use a thick, creamy Greek yogurt) ½ C water ½ C ice cubes 3-5 t organic sugar (to taste) pinch of salt Blend all the ingredients at high speed in the blender till frothy.   Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.