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.   I learned something new today and thought I'd pass along my culinary enlightenment. I wanted to play with these co-pressed olive oils from  The Quail & Olive * to make some citrusy Easter cookies for this weekend and started to do some reading about the products.  I had always thought that these oils were infused. Nope . These are co-pressed which means that - at the time of milling - the grower take the olives and whatever is being used for flavoring and mills it at the same time! These aren't infused and don't use an essence; they use the real fruits. Wow. So, I decided to use the Lemon Olive Oil , Lime Olive Oil , and Blood Orange Olive Oil . The Blood Orange is the newest line-up from the Sciabica family in Modesto. Fresh blood ora...

     This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of  St. Supéry . Complimentary wine was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. However, all opinions expressed here are my own.   After working with  St. Supéry Estate Vineyards and Winery * for #MerlotMe last autumn, when I shared Lebanese Lubyi, Turkish Bazlama, and 2016 St. Supéry Rutherford Merlot , I was invited to join them for a series of collaborative posts throughout 2021. What fun! Their #InJoy series started last week, but I was late to the party.  For March and April, the theme is 'My Wine, My Garden' with Estate Horticulturist Brianne Hoover. Last week, they tasted the 2016 Dollarhide Elevation with Spring Vegetables and Lamb Loin. This week, we chatted with Hoover;  Emma Swain, CEO;  Michael Garcia,  Viticulture Manager;  Brooke Shenk, Winemaker; and  Tod Kawachi, Estate Chef. And we sipped the  2019 St. Supéry Dollarhide Es...

Earlier this week a friend asked if I wanted to go pick white nectarines at her property while she was out of town. I never turn down the chance to harvest homegrown, organic fruits or vegetables. Never. So, I left work with a basket and headed to her house. I followed the directions on her text until I found myself standing beneath a white nectarine tree with drooping branches laden with ripe fruit. What a deliciously sweet smell of summertime! When my basket was full, I headed home and the first thing I wanted to make was jam. Ingredients makes 5 jars 9 to 10 cups white nectarines, rinsed and sliced into wedges* 1 cup organic granulated sugar (this is pretty tart, adjust sugar, as needed) 3/4 cup liquid (you can use water, wine, whatever you want - I used water, but have used leftover Prosecco for a great flavor) peel from 2 organic limes juice from 2 organic limes  Also needed: five jars, lids and rims *Note: my jam was a little bit bitter which...

Welcome to the August 2020  Improv Cooking Challenge . This group is headed up by Nichole of  Cookaholic Wife . And I haven't been very consistent, but I love the idea of the group, so I will try to be better in the coming months. The idea behind Improv Cooking Challenge: we are assigned two ingredients and are challenged to create a recipe with those two things. This month's items: cherry and lime. Here's what the crew is sharing with those ingredients... Vodka Cherry Limeade by Making Miracles Filipino Crema de Fruta by Pandemonium Noshery Makrut Lime-Kissed Clafoutis by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Cherry Lime Bourbon Smash by Cookaholic Wife Cherry Lime Rickey by A Day in the Life on the Farm Lemon Cherry Muffin By Sneha's Recipe Makrut Limes First a little about my lime, a Markut lime. It's not your 'run of the mill' lime...and it looks like a little green brain, doeesn't it?  I do have to wax nostalgic about...

This is a sponsored post written by me in conjunction with the May #WinePW skin-fermented event. Wine samples  or wines  at an industry discount  were provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. This was a pairing I created for the skin-fermented wine event for May's Wine Pairing Weekend with a wine from Two Shepherds Winery.* You can read the tasting notes in my post: Diving into the Skin Fermented Wine Pool of Two Shepherds Winery. Once it goes live, on Friday, May 9th, I'll link to it. But here is the recipe for this simple dish with lots of seasonal flavors.  Please note that I am using the term ' pesto ' here, literally, not as in the basil, garlic, cheese deliciousness that you might be thinking.  The name derives from the Italian verb pestare which means to pound or to crush, referring to the original way of preparing it - with a mortar and pestle. The ingredients in a traditional pesto are ground with a circular m...

We love baking holiday cookies. It's been a family affair since the boys were old enough to wield a rolling pin. And we probably bake at least a dozen different kinds of cookies each year. When I heard that today was National Cookie Day, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and share some delicious cookie treats. Tonight I'll be experimenting with a Pink Peppercorn Shortbread. So, if that intrigues you, stay tuned. Makrut-Kissed Cookies When I was trying to decide on a cookie to share for National Cookie, I decided to go waaaayyy off the deep end and find inspiration in one of our family favorite savory dishes: Pad Thai. Pad Thai has all these great flavors - peanuts, ginger, coconut, lime and basil. So, I wrapped all those flavors into a cookie. Sort of. I took some liberties, trading peanut for almonds. And I added in my current culinary obsession: Makrut limes. Click to read  more about Makrut limes . It's that brain-looking lime in the photo. Ingred...

I love the idea behind the Crazy Ingredient Challenge, but I'll be honest: I haven't been very good at participating. In the Crazy Ingredient Challenge, we are assigned two ingredients to cook and create.  Lori of  Lori's Culinary Creations   and Kelly of  Passion Kneaded   are our fearless leaders. And, unfortunately, due to lack of participation, they are calling it quits for now. Adieu, Crazy Ingredient Challenge. Sorry to see you go, but I completely understand. So, for this final month... July's Crazy In gredient Challenge = capers and lime Capers are something I always have on hand. They add a nice pop of saltiness to salsas and salads. And I will never forget renting a house on the island of Ustica. When we left, after a week, Antonio, the owner, gave me a jar of home-cured capers to take with me. I may or may not have slapped a commercial label on them and brought them back to California with me. Maybe that happened...I'm not really saying. ...