Culinary Adventures with Camilla

  As we are wrapping our final #WinePW event for 2020, I'm posting the theme for the January 2021 assignment: Saké & Other Pairings for Asian Foods. I wanted to kick off the 2021 #WinePW line-up with something a little bit different, but really flexible, too. Not Only Saké  I've long been interested in learning about saké (a fermented rice wine). So, if you would like to taste and pair saké with foods, great. Or if you want to share your favorite (grape) wine that you pair with Asian cuisine, that's wonderful, too. And you have just over a month to prepare, so breathe easy. Details for participation Are you ready to jump in and participate in the Saké & Other Pairings for Asian Foods #WinePW event? Here are the details… Send an email (or post in our Facebook event) to tell me you're in:  Include your blog url, Twitter handle, link to your Pinterest profile, and any other social media detail. If you know your blog post title now, include that...but you can sen...

After reading - and loving - The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (my thoughts here ) - a couple of years ago, when I saw that Lisa See was releasing a new book this year, I ordered it. The Island of Sea Women: A Novel .* And I'm so glad I did. I was coming off of a really disappointing read; this was quite the opposite. I devoured this book in just two days. And I am definitely going to read it again before I lend it to anyone! It is that stunning. If I had to pick a favorite genre, historical fiction is it. This is the story of two friends' lives erected on the framework of the historical matriarchal society where the women in Korea work as haenyeo divers. These women free-dive and harvest the ocean's treasures including abalone, urchin, and octopus. You see how their bodies have adapted to withstand the cold and the hardship when they are medically studied and tracked. The men stay home and watch the children. However, despite the matrifocal structure of the dive...

Remember that we kicked off Fish Friday Foodies this year. It's a group of seafood-loving bloggers, coordinated by Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm . We share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month.  This month, Caroline of  Caroline's Cooking is  hosting. Here was her challenge to the group: " Lots of fish and seafood pair perfectly with a bit of spice, whether it's kicking hot or mildly aromatic. Bring your favorite dish with a bit of spice to this month's event!" I decided to marinate ahi in a spicy marinade, sear it, then reduce the marinade for a spicy topping. Delish. Remember: since you're eating it (mostly) raw, you need to purchase sashimi grade ahi and you should eat it the same day you buy it. Ingredients serves 2 as an entree and 4 as an appetizer 1 lb sashimi grade ahi tuna 1/4 C organic tamari 1 T sesame oil 1/4 C canola oil, divided in half 1 fresh jalapeno, thinly sliced on the bias 1 clove garl...

Remember that we kicked off Fish Friday Foodies this year. It's a group of seafood-loving bloggers, coordinated by Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm . We share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month.  This month, I am  hosting. Here was my challenge to the group: " I invite you to get adventurous and cook a whole fish - tip to tail - or other seafood in its initial form, e.g., whole urchins or whole shellfish with heads and tails attached." The Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf and I have  cleaned and cooked whole sea urchin . I've cooked whole fish before. Multiple times. Here's a Whole Roasted Bream with a Ginger-Tamarind Sauce  and  Citrus-Roasted Vermillion Snapper . My  Adobong Pusit (squid adobo) uses whole squid; I've marinated and grilled baby octopus . I love this photo of R because it encapsulates my entire philosophy of feeding my kids: eat adventurously! But, before this month, I myself have never cooked a wh...

When my blogging friend Aly of Cooking in Stilettos   and Aloha Flavor  suggested a blogging event called the Harvest #BloggerLuau, I was in. Immediately. I love all the flavors of the islands.  The event didn't come together for a variety of reasons, but I decided to share the recipe I had prepared anyway. It's too good not to share it. Well, if you don't mind tentacles! I had always thought that pokē  was a raw salad served as an appetizer in Hawaiian cuisine. Turns out that pokē is the Hawaiian word that means "to section" or "to slice or cut". So, it's about how it's cut. I found lots of recipes for tako (octopus) pokē . but none with squid. I decided to give it a try. Ika means squid. Click for how to clean squid . Ingredients 2 pounds squid, cleaned 1 C onion, diced 1" knob of fresh ginger, minced 1 T olive oil 1/2 C sake 1 T sesame oil 1 t roasted sesame seeds 1/2 C soy sauce or tamari hot sauce to tas...

We are huge fans of eggplant. Huge. We make eggplant dip   and   ratatouille  all the time. I've done an entire dinner out of eggplant, including a dessert -  Melanzane al Cioccolato . Yes, that does mean Eggplant and Chocolate. Really. It's delicious.  So, it's not a stretch to see eggplant on our dinner table. But I was ecstatic to hear this assessment from the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf: "Mommy, this is the best eggplant you've ever made." Really, it's the best? What makes it the best? "It's fleshy and melts in your mouth. And it has its own little boat bowl."  I know that I've made eggplant boats before - such as Bademjan Shekam-por or Boats with Avocado Cream -  but I'll take it. This really was delicious. Caramelized Miso-Topped Eggplant Ingredients serves 6 3 large eggplants sesame oil for brushing 2 T sake 1 T miso paste 2 T rice vinegar 1 t sesame oil 1 T honey 1 t soy sauce or gluten-fr...

When D and I went to taste his first urchin on Friday, I picked up this beautiful bottle of Yuzu Junmai Sake for myself and Jake. It's brewed by the Homare Brewery in the Fukushima Prefecture. Its shape was what caught my eye initially. Then I noticed that it was infused with yuzu and I was sold. I have to say, I loved it. I love sake and I love yuzu; I just wasn't sure how well they would go together. Turns out, they are a luscious combination. The aroma is alluring and the taste is both sweet and sour. It's delicious. Kampai !!

Just in case you've never made a pound cake, don't be shocked - it uses a pound of butter, a pound of flour, and a pound of sugar. Yikes! Once you get over your surprise, get baking because this is truly delightful. I added in a little matcha green tea powder and subbed some yuzu sake for the usual vanilla to create this delicious pound cake. Ingredients 1 pound (3 1/4 C) white whole wheat flour 1 pound (4 sticks) softened butter, plus more for pans 1 pound (2 C) organic granulated sugar 4 t matcha green tea powder 1 T yuzu sake (you can use vanilla extract here, or any other liqueur you desire) 9 large, room-temperature eggs  Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 4 mini loaf pans.  Cream butter and sugar with a mixer on high until pale and fluffy, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and stir in the yuzu sake. Beat eggs and add to the butter-sugar mixture. Fold in the flour in 3 ad...

One of my best friends out-bid me at an auction for an Ocean Sushi Deli  Sake and Sushi Tasting Experience by Shiho Fukushima. I was bummed. I've known Shiho for years, frequent her restaurant, marvel at her culinary passion, follow her freelance pieces in the Monterey County Weekly , and really wanted to take part in the tasting. Little did I know that Jenn just out-bid me for the fun of it...she planned to include us in the fun. I hoped that was the case, but I didn't want to be presumptuous; she has plenty of friends who would be thrilled to partake. But I have to admit, I was more than a little excited when she told us the date and time. Phew. Simply, sake is a Japanese alcoholic beverage made with fermented rice. But sake can be divided into categories by how it was brewed. The first one we tried was Rei by Sho Chiku Bai, Takara Sake's main brand. Rei is a Junmai Ginjo Nama /Ginjo Draft. Junmai means "pure rice" and is a sake composed of only r...

Roasted pork tenderloin is my go-to dinner on a busy school night. I can season the pork, stick it in the oven, and leave it to roast while I help the boys with their homework. Tonight I rubbed the tenderloin with 2 T minced garlic and splashed it with some sake and soy sauce. Then I popped it, covered with foil, into a 350 degree oven and roasted it for approximately an hour. I let it rest for five minutes before slicing it and serving it with a sprinkling of black sesame seeds. So moist and so flavorful...and relatively painless to make.