Culinary Adventures with Camilla

  We make a lot of homemade bread. Sweet breads. Savory breads. You name it, I've probably tried it. Sourdough boules are always made in pairs and often cooling on my countertop. On the savory side of the bread world, we have made naan , bolillos , hamburger buns , and more. But, until this weekend, I have never made pita pockets. Since our local Greek fest was canceled, again this year, due to COVID concerns, we decided to have our own festival. And R came home early from his day trip to Santa Cruz to help me make pita and kourabiedes for the dinner. I read and researched before deciding on this process. Also, I cooked the pita on a hot skillet on the stovetop, but many recipes suggested baking on a hot stone in the oven. I will have to try that another time. But it was so rewarding to see these puff up on the skillet in front of my eyes! I doubled this recipe, but still made them in separate bowls Ingredients makes 8 pita 1 cup warm water 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast 1 teaspo...

On the first day of summer, I wrote about this multi-day, multi-blogger celebration of all guacamole:  #GuacSquad12 . We've timed this guacamole celebration to coincide with the  release of the Guac-Lock™ by Casabella . At the beginning of the month, I shared the amazing giveaway we have with items from our generous sponsors: enter  here ! You can win a Guac-Lock™ of your own. Click for my review of the Guac-Lock™. Today, I'm wrapping up the #GuacSquad12 event with a recipe that makes me want to pull out the ouzo and yell 'Opa!' Ingredients  Guacamole 2 ripe avocados* (thank you,  Melissa's Produce ) 1/2 t oregano paste or 1 T fresh oregano* (thank you,  Gourmet Garden ) 1/2 t cilantro paste or 1 T fresh cilantro* (thank you,  Gourmet Garden ) 1-1/2 t chunky garlic paste or 1-1/2 T fresh garlic* (thank you,  Gourmet Garden ) 1 t ground cumin juice from 1 organic lemon 1 t olive oil salt and pepper to taste 1/4 C...

This is fast, portable dish that's perfect for a picnic on the beach. Everything is made ahead of time and simply assembled on-site. Meatballs 1 pound ground meat (I used a combination of ground turkey and ground beef) 1 egg 1/4 C ground almonds 1 T crushed garlic 1/2 t ground cumin 1/4 t ground coriander dash of paprika 2 T dukkah* freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper Mix all of the ingredients together well. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil. Form tablespoon-sized meatballs - or larger if you like - and place them on your baking sheet. They will shrink, so you can place them fairly close together. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Yogurt Sauce 1 C Greek, whole milk yogurt 1/2 t crushed garlic 1 T dukkah* 2 T fresh herbs (use whatever you have on-hand, I used cilantro) 1 T fresh lemon juice Mix everything together in a bowl. Chill until ready to serve. * Dukkah  is an Egyptian spice that you can whip up easily and it keeps for a l...

A couple of years ago, I taught an Egyptology class for 1-3rd graders. Tut-Mania, I think I called it. We made ink out of  blackberries and wrote hieroglyphics; we made clay amulets and wrapped them up in mini-mummies; and at the end of the six-week period, we had a Nile Festival, giving thanks to the river for flooding and feasting in Egyptian-style. So, I'm passing on cooking Egyptian for this adventure. Here's what I served way back when... Aish Baladi (whole wheat pita breads) Baid Mil'on (colored eggs) Wara' El Aghnib (stuffed vine leaves) Tabaa Fakha Tazip (fresh fruit plate) Tabaa M'kassarat (mixed nut plate) Cocktail bil Goofa, Manga  (juices - guava, mango) Assir Limoon (Egyptian lemonade) Assir Limoon Recipe (adapted from here ) 6 C water 2 unpeeled, quartered lemons 5 T organic, granulated sugar 1 T Orange Blossom Water (Mazahar)* Place water and lemons in a pot and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over mediu...