Culinary Adventures with Camilla

While I don't find using cuttlefish ink that bizarre, the boys decided we should cook with cuttlefish ink for my Bizarre Foods SEM because "other kids might not have ever tried it." Okay. That makes sense. Ingredients  makes 2 to 3 servings 1 C flour (I used a blend with semolina, bread flour, and all-purpose flour) 1 egg water, as needed 2 t cuttlefish ink Procedure Spoon the pasta flour blend into a large mixing bowl and make a hollow in the center, like a volcano. Spoon the cuttlefish ink into the crater of the flour volcano. Use a fork to begin incorporating the flour. Making a whisking motion with your fork, starting in the middle and blending in the flour from the bottom moving upwards. If your dough is too wet, add a small amount of flour; if your dough is too dry and crumbly, add water 1 t at a time. Turn the dough onto a lightly dusted board and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is elastic and smooth. Roll out as thinl...

Last week I came across a jar of black tahini* at a local store and scooped it up immediately. Then I set about trying to decide what to make. After doing some reading I came across a coconut cake from Goa (India) that uses black tahini. I knew that I wanted to give it a go. This is mildly adapted because I wanted to skip the rosewater and add some citrus flavor instead. Also, I cut down on the amount of sugar used. I sent a slice to school with my husband to give to a friend and got a phone call within an hour: "What am I eating? It's delicious." This is a dense, moist cake that was the perfect grab-and-go breakfast along with some fresh fruit, yogurt, and tea. I'll definitely be making it again soon. Ingredients 1/2 C butter, softened + more for greasing the pan 1 C organic raw turbinado sugar 1 T black tahini* 4 large eggs 1 t pure vanilla extract 1 T  yuzu liqueur 1 T orange blossom water 3 C semolina 1 C shredded coconut  1 t baking pow...

Elizabeth, of  The Lawyer's Cookbook ,  is hosting this month's  Food'N'Flix  event. We watched, or rewatched as the case may be,  Lady and the Tramp.  Click to see  Elizabeth's invitation . This post contains an affiliate link for the DVD at the bottom.  On the Screen... Four words: this is a classic. I had no idea that this movie was originally made in 1955. "It's almost as old as Nonna," noted my little one. True! She's a classic, too. If you haven't seen this, here's the gist - it's a love story where Lady, a pampered cocker spaniel, meets and falls for Tramp, a roguish mutt from the wrong side of the tracks. There are, as with all good love stories, complications. But, in the end, Lady's humans - Dear and Darling - invite Tramp to stay. That's all I'll say. If you haven't seen it, do! On the Plate... How could I not make pasta? I mean, it's even on the cover of the DVD, right?? So, I had one o...

D recently discovered Cake Boss on netflix. Needless to say, the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf has been bugging me to make a cake all weekend. At least he prefaced it with this: "I want to make a cake that tastes good...not like the ones that they make in Carlo's Bakery, Mom." Ahhh, sweet boy. I think he was appalled when he saw them cover styrofoam in fondant just to make something look right. He, first, went through Perfect Cakes by Nick Maglieri, then he pulled the  Booze Cakes  cookbook I reviewed off the shelf and picked a recipe. I promised to help him make it kid-friendly. Candied Lemon 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 C water 1 C thinly sliced organic lemons Place the water and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar is completely dissolved. Lay the slices in the syrup so that they are all flat and all submerged. Simmer until the rind is softened and translucent in places. Approximately 5-7 minutes. Remove from the syrup with a slotte...

For my friend's Mediterranean-themed birthday dinner, I decided to put the kids to work to make pasta. We had... ...and... Each kid made a dough ball... 1 C semolina flour 1 egg water as needed Then they ran the dough through the machine: 3 times on setting 1, 1 time each on settings 2-6, and through the cutter. We served Team Linguine's creations with a fresh marinara sauce while Team Fettucine's pasta was tossed in an alfredo.

After our pasta-making adventure at Cucina Bambini during Fall Break last year, the boys asked for - and got! - a pasta machine. Then, for Christmas, they wanted a ravioli pan; and, one of my best friends got it for them. So, we took the ravioliera out of the box yesterday and attempted to make ravioli last night. I write "attempted" on purpose. We couldn't get the ravioli out of the tray. Ugh. Riley called our pasta "Frankenoli" because they were patched up with other bits of pasta dough, misshapen, and not pretty. So we made and ate a few Frankenoli. And Dylan whipped up a batch of fettucine to fill the plates. Delicious! Egg Pasta Recipe from Cucina Bambini 1 C semolina flour 1 egg water, as needed Place flour in the center of a mat, making a well in the center. Crack and egg into the well. Gently whisk the egg to blend the yolk and the whites. Begin sprinkling flour from the walls of the well into the egg while whisking. Work ...

If you read my original post , you'll remember that Riley harisseh (semolina cakes) fell apart when we tried to unmold them. It turns out we just needed to be a little bit more patient. When I tried to unmold them for breakfast this morning, they popped right out of the baking pan. Note to self: make these ahead of time, let them cool completely, and serve them cold. Yes, this does mean that I served my kids semolina cakes with rosewater syrup for breakfast today.

There seems to be as many recipes for Algerian couscous as there are Algerian cooks. I took bits and pieces from several recipes, adapting to what vegetables I had and the time I had. Since I didn't have time to roast the cauliflower, I opted to sear and caramelize it. Delicious! Wash and chop the cauliflower into large bite-sized pieces. Melt butter in a large flat-bottom pan. Sprinkle in ground cumin, freshly ground sea salt and flower pepper. Add the cauliflower and cook till seared and nicely caramelized. Meanwhile cook the couscous. Bring 2 C water, a splash of olive oil, and a pinch of saffron threads to a boil. Add 2 C whole wheat couscous. Cover with a lid and remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Gently stir in cauliflower, diced tomatoes, and sliced almonds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss with olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Serve hot.