Culinary Adventures with Camilla

It's time for Group B's April 2016 for the  Secret Recipe Club . This month I was assigned to  Cheese Curd in Paradise   which is written by Ashley....but I am also cooking Ashley's assignment as she just had her new baby boy and wasn't able to complete a dish. Congratulations on the new baby, Ashley!! So, for this month's reveal, I am also posting a recipe for Renee at Renee's Kitchen Adventures . Double the fun. I actually can't believe that I've never cooked from Renee's blog because she's contributed recipes to several round-ups I've done in the past. She even posted a Skinny Vanilla Bean Cheesecake when I was celebrating my 15th wedding anniversary with cheesecakes. Renee is a stay-at-home mom to three kids, is married to a wonderful guy (for over 20 years), and lives in NE Ohio. And I just adore her food philosophy. She writes: "I believe food that is good for you, should also taste good...it should stimulate your...

It's time for Group B's March 2016 for the  Secret Recipe Club . This month I was assigned to  The Hobo Kitchen   which is written by Ellie. Ellie was born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas and lived there until she was 16.  She moved to the United States in the late 90s and has been here ever since.  As the name of her blog suggests, she happily resides in Hoboken, NJ. When she first started blogging in 2008, she blogged at The Bitchin' Kitchin', but rebranded and The Hobo Kitchen was born. You can follow her on social media: on Facebook   and on  Twitter . When I started to delve into her recipe index, I was tickled to see three categories of cupcakes. Three. Seriously. Boozy, Savory, and Sweet. That's a girl after my own foodie heart. I looked at her Bahamian recipes;  Peas 'n' Rice , Sweet Potato Mallow , and Fire Engine   all called my name. But, we love Indian flavors in our household, so her Indian-Style Meatballs won ...

The  Secret Recipe Club  has a fun, themed - fifth Monday - event that blurs the lines between the groups. You can be assigned to any other participating blogger in groups A through D. Our theme this month: Leprechaun & Bunnies. We've been tasked to focus on foods for St. Patrick's Day (corned beef hash, anything green, etc.) and Easter (carrot cake, spring dishes, etc.) since March has both holidays this year! I was assigned to  Making Miracles , a blog written by Rebekah. Now, even though we've never met in real life, I feel as if Rebekah and I are good friends. We've been in the same cooking circles for awhile and she has taken part in every multi-blogger event I've coordinated in the past two years. So, I was excited to be assigned to dig deeper into her creations. Initially I leaned towards the "bunnies" part of this assignment, considering our St. Patrick's Day dinner is remarkably the same every year. Corned Beef. Cabbage. And Iris...

I'm on Orphan-detail today for the  Secret Recipe Club  - for someone in Group D - and I am  so  excited about having been introduced to Nicola of  Lemon and Cheese . What a lovely blog! One of the reasons I always volunteer to help out an SRC orphan is to meet new foodie bloggers. And Nicola is definitely one to follow. She's a London-based librarian and you can almost tell that from her recipe index. It's organized by ingredient and cross-referenced by categories, both broad and specific.  She shares that she tends to " stick to simple cookery, with lovely fresh ingredients as well as a few helpful freezer items!"  She's a prolific cook, so it was hard to decide. For instance, she has nearly twenty gratin recipes and thirty sausage recipes!  I was immediately drawn to her Merguez, Egg, and Yoghurt as a hearty brunch or even dinner. Her Guatemalan Green Chicken Stew looked quick and delicious. I was eyeing her Hake Bobotie because ...

It's time for Group B's first reveal of 2016 for the  Secret Recipe Club . Happy New Year! This month I was assigned to  Amy's Cooking Adventures   which is written by - yes, you guessed it! - Amy. Amy and I travel in similar cooking circles, so I'm surprised that I've never made anything from her blog. Till now. So, a little bit about the lady behind the food. She loves to cook and bake. In fact, she runs a second blog dedicated to her sweets. Check out Amy's Confectionery Adventures ! If you are a Star Wars fan, you must check out her Chewbacca Cupcakes  and her R2-D2 Cake . We share a love of that little astromech droid! Here's my purse. I definitely need that cake in my life. Amy has a Master’s degree in Elementary Education and Reading, but gave it all up to stay home with her children. She has three children - two sons on Earth (AKA Dude and Spud) and one angel baby in Heaven. She writes that in her spare time she loves to read, scr...

It's time for Group B's December 2015  Secret Recipe Club   reveal. I can't believe that another year has flown by. This month I was assigned to  Well Dined   which is written by Sarah. Sarah's blog started when she and her husband, Jasper, began to record their thoughts on places at which they ate. So, it all began with restaurant reviews. After working at Williams Sonoma (lucky gal!) as a demonstrator, she started posting recipes in addition to the review. And I am so glad she did! She has a ton of recipes. A ton. And I love that she organized them by seasonal produce. Well, she has things indexed and cross-indexed, so you can find recipes how ever you want to search. Me? I search by season. Given that we're in throes of late Fall, I gravitated towards things such as Sweet Potato Gratin that she served for Christmas a couple of years ago; Salt Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese ; and Apple Galette with Salted Bourbon Caramel . Her Miso Tahini Soup ...

It's time for Group B's November 2015  Secret Recipe Club   reveal. This month I was assigned to  Morsels of Life   which is written by CJ. Her cooking philosophy is pretty simple and straightforward. She reports: "I like using everyday materials and easy to prepare (aka lazy aka efficient) methods. Maybe it’s the engineer in me, but I’m a fan of efficiency." She admits that she doesn't use exact measurements when cooking, but she lists them as a way to get an idea of how much she used.  And this sentiment, I really like - "Generally, if you like something, use more; if you dislike something, use less, substitute something else, or just eliminate it altogether. You’ll probably be fine." She has some great How-Tos posted on her blog, including  how to cut a mango , how to chiffonade , and how to cut a pineapple . I am a sucker for any kind of slaw, so I was tickled to see that CJ has an entire series on cole slaw, including basic cole sla...

It's time for Group Cs  Secret Recipe Club   October reveal. I know, I know...I'm in Group B. But this month I get to post a bonus recipe from  It's Yummy to My Tummy , who was left out of Group C's reveal earlier today. I enjoy getting to meet new-to-me bloggers. So, I was happy to hop over to Group C for the day. Heather is the culinary force behind  It's Yummy to My Tummy .  She shares that her little blog helps to organize her thoughts and experiments as she uses baking and cooking to de-stress. She writes, "As my little girl and boy says, 'mommy, it's yummy to my tummy.'" That's sweet. My little critics now say things such as, "Mom, I think this would be better with lime instead of lemon." Or "It's not quite right. Good effort, though." Case in point: my Not-There-Yet-Samosas . Looking through Heather's blog, there were many yummy to my tummy recipes that I hope to try soon. How about her Swe...

It's time for Group B's October 2015  Secret Recipe Club   reveal. This month I was assigned to  A Spoonful of Thyme   which is written by Kathy. Back in May of 2014, I explored her blog and made Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs . Kathy became part of a gourmet group which really challenged her cooking and enhanced her understanding of food and skill in the kitchen.  It has been 33 years and they are still meeting! That's astounding. About the name of her blog, she writes: I truly believe that there is always "thyme" to cook and sit down as a family for the evening meal. Cooking is a wonderful way to bring family and friends together to enjoy food and each other. With a good recipe and "a spoonful of thyme" wonderful things can happen! I considered her Watermelon with Sweet Balsamic Syrup , her German Cucumber Salad , her Scallops Provençal , and her Lemon Drop Martini . But since it's pumpkin time, I opted to make her Jeweled Pumpkin Ric...

The Secret Recipe Club has started a new - fifth Monday - event that blurs the lines between the groups. You can be assigned to any other participating blogger in groups A through D. Naturally, I jumped right in. Our theme this month: Tailgate Eats. I was assigned to Burnt Apple , a blog written by Traci. This is a totally new-to-me blog. Woohoo. I chuckled aloud at her story about why 'burnt' is part of her blog name. She shares: "Twelve years ago, my husband threw one of my muffin creations at the wall of our apartment and made it go right through the wall. ...I couldn’t cook to save my life. I hated cooking and we ate out at least three days a week." I love that she is an admitted master recipe manipulator, making recipes healthier and still great-tasting. That is an art! I feel I should admit that I don't tailgate. I'm not a big sports fan. But I can always get behind any gathering that involves food. So, I imagined what I would want to eat h...

It's time for Group B's July 2015  Secret Recipe Club   reveal. This month I was assigned to  Fit Mama Real Food   which is written by Heather. She's wife to Jacob, mom to Hunter and Zoe, real food lover, crazy crafter, and group fitness instructor. And she has some really delicious looking recipes. I am definitely going to try her Crusty No Knead Dutch Oven Bread   (I am all about no-knead breads!), Chicken Kebab Salad , Pomegranate and Almond Butter Deep Dark Chocolate Brownie . But, for this month's SRC reveal, I decided to make Heather's  Creamy Millet Porridge . Serendipitously, I had just ordered some grains from Bob's Red Mill when I found Heather's recipe. And millet was in my order! Given that I've never cooked with millet - and really no idea what I wanted to do with it when I placed the order at  Bob's Red Mill  - this was the perfect introduction to it! In case you're unfamiliar, millet is an ancient grain that has...