Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I have long been a fan of George Mahood's writing. Last year I read three of his books and did recipe posts for each one. You can click on the title to go to that original post -   Not Tonight, Josephine: A Road Trip Through Small-Town America ; Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain ; and Travels with Rachel: In Search of South America . So, when I saw  Every Day Is a Holiday  by George Mahood* I ordered it immediately. On the Page I am not sure if it was the subject matter - Mahood details the first six months of a year as he attempts to celebrate off-the-wall holidays each and every day - or what...but this is my least favorite Mahood book. Sorry, George.  It was an interesting premise that grew a little tedious. As an example of holidays, we're talking about No Housework Day, National Beer Day, Caramel Popcorn Day, Nutella Day, etc. He writes, "Fruitcake Toss Day is a strange day. The idea is that you can finally get rid of that fruitcak...

Didn't get around to posting this yesterday. We ate it, but I wasn't able to blog it until today. Sorry! For its namesake national food holiday, kale is getting a massage. I have seen "massaged" kale salads on menus before and thought: What the heck! Why would I do that? But I did some reading today, in honor of National Kale Day, and decided to give it a try - or rather set my Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf on it. Raw kale is tough, so you need break down the fibers somehow. In the past I have blanched it, softening it before using it in a recipe. Apparently, massaging it accomplishes the same thing. Okey dokey. I've never massaged produce before. D, can you help Mommy with dinner? "Sure, what can I do?" Can you please massage the kale in that bowl? "What?" Massage the kale, please. "Did it have a hard day?" Yes. "Okay." He's so agreeable. I love it! And he did a great job, too. 1 bunch kale (Thank...

Okay, I know, I know... I said that I didn't like national food holidays .  Well, I lied. I found one that I will celebrate! Today - October 2nd - is National Kale Day...or at least that what's Team Kale is trying for. I'm all for it. Here are a few of our favorite, kale-centric eats...remember, I am not the kind of mom who hides veggies. They are front and center in our dishes and my boys love 'em! Kale-Onion Potato Galette Quick and Easy Dino Kale Kale-Garlic Turkey Meatballs I'll post a new kale recipe tonight. What do you think? Are you jumping on the kale band-wagon? How are you going to cook it tonight?! Comment below or share a recipe.

For National Licorice Day, I decided to make a licorice-y seafood stew with the licorice cousins : fresh fennel, fennel seeds, anise seeds. Whether you call it  cioppino ,  ciupin ,  cacciucco,  or  buridda,  I think this is a quintessential Italian seafood stew. It's made with whatever seafood is readily available; the flavor combinations are all very Italian. And just as every, and I do mean every, Italian dish is made differently by each Italian cook, here's my version... Ingredients 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced 2 C fresh tomato sauce 6-7 C vegetable stock (or fish stock) 1 C dry white wine 3 bay leaves 1/2 t anise seeds 1 t fennel seeds pinch of saffron scallops cod, cut into chunks clams splash of Liquore Strega , saffron liqueur (or use any licorice-flavored liqueur) fresh oregano (I had a fragrant bunch from my WE Cooperative CSA!) freshly ground sea salt freshly ground pepper fenn...

How did it escape me that today, March 14th (3.14), was designated as National Pi Day in 2009?!? Three years ago. I've missed three years of a homophone culinary adventure. Celebrating Pi Day with pie sounds right up my alley. So, tonight, we're whipping up pies, pies, and more pies for dinner and dessert. Well, maybe not that many pies, but we did make two! Dylan and I made a savory pie... Pizza Pie click the name for the original post And we made a sweet pie... Chocolate Silk Pie click the name for the original post 

When I first texted my husband about pie for Pi Day, he responded, simply,"Chocolate Silk." He claims I've made it before. I don't recall. And I don't see it on my blog, so it must have been pre-2010. I did a quick internet search for "chocolate silk pie recipe" and came up a list of recipes that claimed silky richness, decadence, and the ultimate chocolate experience. But, the one that caught my eye was the one that started with: "Ready for a Chocolate Orgasm?" Click here for Donna Diegel's French Silk Pie recipe I used as a jumping off point. I added some spices, added more chocolate, skipped the vanilla, and beat the egg whites for a more fluffy texture. I've seen recipes for Better-Than-Sex Chocolate Cake and now this; I wouldn't go that far, but it is a good pie. 1 baked pie crust 3/4 C butter, softened 1 C organic granulated sugar 1-1/2 C chipped dark chocolate dash of ground cinnamon dash of smoked paprika 2 larg...

For our savory pie of the evening, I found inspiration with this pizza pie recipe that appeared on npr's website last week in the article, " Celebrating the Pies of March ." With a plea for non-whole wheat crust and the looming deadline of finishing homework and a school night bedtime, I bit the bullet and bought a pre-made crust. I know, I know...I'm slipping. It happens. 2 9-inch pie crusts (make your own or use a store-bought refrigerated variety) mushrooms, sliced ham, sliced olives, sliced mozzarella cheese, shredded organic marinara sauce Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rub a 9-inch pie pan with a layer of olive oil and place rolled-out dough in pan, pricking the bottom with a fork. Layer the crust with all of your favorite pizza toppings. In Dylan's case, he used shredded mozzarella, organic marinara sauce, sliced ham, sliced olives, and sliced mushrooms. Layer upon layer until the crust is full. Place the second rolled-out cr...

You can read my tirade about national food holidays by clicking here . I will repeat my sentiment if you don't feel like reading multiple paragraphs about it; in summary: only in America would we designate an entire day to celebrating food - and I use that term loosely. "National Gumdrop Day" was yesterday. "National Sticky Bun Day" is next Tuesday. Argh. No, we do not celebrate those days in my house. But I will get behind a celebration of whole foods. So, when "National Almond Day" popped up on my radar, for today, I thought to myself, " that I can acknowledge." Here are a few ways you can add almonds to your table... Moroccan-Spiced Almonds make a great snack. Add almonds to meatballs instead of breadcrumbs as I did in my version of Albóndigas. Turn ground almonds into an exotic, impressive dessert: Frangipane-Fig Tart . And one more...a delicious, albeit time-consuming, appetizer: Triple Mushroom Pâté. What's your favorite w...

National Food Holidays. I would love to have been in the room when some of these "holidays" were decided. I read somewhere that today is National Lobster Day. Only in America. Seriously. That little factoid sent me on a search...and after typing in "national food holidays" and clicking SEARCH this is what I found: an entire year's worth of days dedicated to celebrating food. And not good food. Here's the lineup for January. January January 2 National Buffet Day January 2 National Cream Puff Day January 3 National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day January 4 National Spaghetti Day January 5 National Whipped Cream Day January 6 National Shortbread Day January 7 National Tempura Day January 8 National English Toffee Day January 9 National Apricot Day January 10 National Bittersweet Chocolate Day January 12 National Marzipan Day January 13 National Peach Melba Day January 14 National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day January 15 National Strawberry Ice Cream ...