Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #BrunchWeek. I received product samples  from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #Brunchweek recipes. All opinions are mine alone. Here we are at a kick-off to an amazing week of recipes to inspire your brunch menus from appetizers to libations. You can go to this post to read more about the sponsors, the prizes, and to enter the giveaway! Many, many thanks to Terri of  Love and Confections  for coordinating, wrangling, managing, and inspiring all of us! Looking back through my blog, I realized that this is my fifth year participating in this glorious, mad celebration of all things brunch! In 2013, I focused on cooking with flowers, sharing, among others, a Shrimp-Grapefruit Orchid Stirfry   and  Kiwi and Rose Cream Trifle . In 2014, my recipes included  Muscat Jelly-Glazed Lamb Lollipops  and Cracked Crab-Artichoke Benedict . In 2015,  I went a little wild with breakfast foods...

Weekends in a French Kitchen (click to read about the project:  here ) launched last week.  And if you're game, I'm including affiliate links to the cookbooks at the bottom of the post. Special thanks to the project organizers: Alice of  A Mama, Baby and Sharpei in the Kitchen , Christy of  Confessions of a Culinary Diva , Tammy of  Telling Stories from Chez Nous , and Emily of  Blue Bungalow . What a fun, fun project they have designed. Join us. This week's selection from Daniel Boulud and Dorie Greenspan's cookbook -  Café Boulud Cookbook  - is Chilled Spring Pea Soup. You'll find this recipe on page 112 of the  Café Boulud Cookbook ...we will not be posting the actual recipes on our blogs. My Thoughts... I used more herbs and skipped the cream and bacon on top. It was a warm summer evening and I carted the soup out to the backyard. The Precise Kitchen Elf was loving it! Look at this glee. We will definitely be making this ag...

One of  March 2015 challenges  for the  Jamie Oliver Food Revolution  Ambassadors ( I'm the Monterey #FRD2015 rep! ) is to... Go Meatless. Meat Free Week in the United Kingdom is March 23-29, 2015. While I knew that I didn't want to go meat free for the entire week - we are traveling that week and have friends staying with us - I planned to, at least, do some Meatless Mondays during the month of March.  We have very few allergies in our family and I try really hard not to voice the words "we don't eat ____________." That includes meat. I prefer to clarify my restrictions; "we don't eat chicken that's been treated with hormones and antibiotics" or "we don't eat cattle from feed lots." But we can all stand to reduce our meat intake.  Back when I was a vegetarian, for more than half a decade, I had a chart on my refrigerator about what foods to combine to make complete proteins: grains + legumes or greens + seeds, for e...

Now that my  July SRC reveal for Chit Chat Chomp  has been posted, I decided to post the recipes I made, separately, so they're searchable - because they were all delicious! Enjoy. Fennel, Ricotta, and Pea Salad Inspired by Chit Chat Chomp  - I skipped the mint and subbed in some arugula from my CSA box. I can't believe I've never thought of this combination. It was simultaneously rich - creamy - and light. Perfect for these hot summer evenings. 1 C fresh green peas 1/3 C extra virgin olive oil salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper 1 large bulb fennel 1 C chopped arugula leaves 4 T lemon juice 1-1/2 C fresh ricotta Blanch peas in boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain and drizzle with a little of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cut the fennel in half, reserve green tops and slice bulb as finely as you can. Place fennel, peas, arugula,and fennel sprigs in a large bowl. Whisk lemon juice and remaining olive oil in a small bow...