Culinary Adventures with Camilla

After picking up two flats of tomatoes from Jamie at Serendipity Farm in Carmel, earlier this week, I pondered what to make. Initially, I had thought I'd make a basic sugo to use as a pasta sauce base. Then, I realized that I wanted to be a little bit more adventurous. I've made Tomato Jam . And I've made Bacon Jam . But, I've never made a Bacon-Tomato Jam!  I added a little culinary intrigue with black garlic (click to  read about it ), smoked paprika, smoked sea salt, and local bacon odds and ends from Baker's Bacon . A word of warning: this is concentrated stuff. So tasty, but a little bit goes a long, long way. Ingredients 4 pounds tomatoes, diced 1-1/2 C bacon, diced 4 cloves black garlic, thinly sliced* 1 t smoked sea salt* 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper 1/2 C organic dark brown sugar 1 t hot sauce (I used Garlic Goodness from Intensity Academy ) 1 T smoked paprika 3 T vinegar (I used a white balsamic) Proced...

My rhubarb romance is going strong. I created a rhubarb barbeque sauce tonight - to slop on some braised ribs for dinner tomorrow. When Jake tasted the sauce, he asked, "What made you think of that?" Well, I needed a sauce for the ribs and I had rhubarb. Oh, and it's something I've never heard of. It's as simple as that. I started with the watermelon barbeque sauce I had made for Brian's birthday lunch and went from there. 3 stalks fresh rhubarb, washed, dried, and sliced 1 T fresh garlic, minced 1 T fresh ginger, minced 3/4 C honey 2 T unsulphered molasses 1/2 C organic ketchup 1/2 C dry white wine 1/2 C water 1/2 t red pepper flakes freshly ground smoked sea salt and flower pepper Cook the rhubarb and garlic in a splash of olive oil till the rhubarb begins soften. Smash with a potato masher. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until the sauce thickens. Slather on braised ribs and let marinate overnight.

Another one of Jake's ingredient combination requests: shrimp + avocado. That suggestion spawned this brunch dish, a tangy prawn cocktail. 1 t Veri Peri garlic sauce juice and zest from 1 lemon 4 prawns per person 2 T butter mixed baby greens olive oil avocados, sliced pomegranate seeds smoked sea salt In a small saucepan, I sauteed the prawns with the Veri Peri garlic sauce and butter until the shrimps were pink and opaque. Season with smoked sea salt. Place mixed greens in a serving dish, layer with sliced avocado, top with shrimp, and garnish with pomegranate seeds and lemon zest. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice.

2 packages active dry yeast ½ C warm water 1 ¼ cups mashed roasted butternut squash 1 C warm buttermilk 2 eggs , beaten 1⁄3 C olive oil 3 T organic honey 1 t smoked sea salt 4 C brown rice flour 3 C white whole wheat flour butter fennel pollen In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water; let stand 5 minutes. Add squash, buttermilk, eggs, olive oil, honey and salt; mix well. Gradually add the brown rice flour and beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Shape into four mini loaves and place into buttered baking dishes. Cover and let rise until doubled about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until tops are golden. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks. At this point, I rubbed the loaves with butter and sprinkled them with f...

Just as Brian doesn't consider it a meal without meat of some kind, I need a vegetable or a salad to call it good. I elected to make a version of California Pizza Kitchen's Chopped Salad, skipping the salami and turkey, substituting red bell peppers and cucumbers instead. The original salad is made with iceberg and romaine lettuces. I feel about iceberg about the same way I feel about Velveeta. But I did buy some butter lettuce for the same look. Funny story, as I was unloading the shopping basket I hear an indignant little voice beside me: "Mommy, why are you buying iceberg lettuce? You said that it has no nutritional value." Heads turn to stare. Shhh...it's not iceberg lettuce, it's butter lettuce. And it's for Uncle Brian's birthday. "It looks like iceberg. Didn't you say that we should always eat lettuces that are dark green or even red?!" More stares. Yes, darling, but every once in a while it's OK. Just like you eat ice cre...

"No meat, no meal." At least that's what the birthday boy asserts on a daily basis. Fine, Brian. I'll make meat the centerpiece of your birthday lunch. I found a recipe for ribs cooked in Coca-Cola and used the copycat version of the barbeque sauce recipe printed in More of America's Most Wanted Recipes by Ron Douglas as a jumping off point. Watermelon in barbeque sauce, now why didn't I think of that? Delicious. For the ribs...I sliced the racks into pieces that could fit in the bottom of my pans. I browned smashed garlic in a splash of olive oil then quickly seared the ribs to seal in the juices. I poured in the Coca-Cola and beer (I used Blue Moon's Pumpkin Ale because that's what I had in my fridge), brought it to a boil, covered it, and reduced to a simmer. Let that simmer for 2 hours. The meat will be so tender that it's almost falling off the bone. Make the sauce while the ribs are cooking. For the sauce...let's just say that I to...

I started with a copycat version of the recipe printed in More of America's Most Wanted Recipes by Ron Douglas. But I was not about to buy, much less cook with, Velveeta. Yes, I am that snobby. It's not cheese! You would be amazed what you find when you google: 'what cheese can you substitute for Velveeta?' Suggestions included instructions on how to make Velveeta using cheddar cheese and gelatin. Seriously. I vastly preferred one suggestion to blend cheddar cheese and cream cheese. I ended up using cheddar cheese and marscarpone. It was delicious and my food-standards are intact. 6 T butter 4 T white whole wheat flour 1-1/2 C organic milk 3/4 C organic heavy cream 1/2 lb medium cheddar cheese, shredded 1 tub of marscarpone cheese freshly ground smoked sea salt and flower pepper paprika shredded parmesan pasta (I used penette), cooked Make a roux in a medium saucepan with the butter and white whole wheat flour. Whisk in the milk and heavy cream until i...

I remember Brian telling me once that he loved Frito Lay's onion dip with Ruffles, so that definitely had to make it on his birthday menu. Granted, I was confused and thought Lay's chips were Ruffles. But once Pia schooled me in the chip arena, I set to work on the dip. I found a couple of recipes that were touted as "just like you buy at the store" and tweaked them to create my own version. Here goes...   2 T olive oil 2 diced sweet Vidalia onions 2 minced shallots freshly ground smoked sea salt and flower pepper 2 C organic sour cream 1/2 C organic mayonnaise In a saute pan over medium heat add oil, heat and add onions, shallots, and salt. Cook the onions and shallots until they are caramelized, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Mix the rest of the ingredients, and then add the cooled onions. Refrigerate and stir again before serving. Whether or not it actually tastes like the one in a can, I have no idea. But I'll st...

I usually make a potato salad with caramelized leeks and pancetta , but I needed a vegetarian version for this weekend. I had some lacinto kale in my High Ground Organics CSA box, so I decided to add that. Start by caramelizing leek coins and sliced kale... Melt a pat of butter with a splash of olive oil in a large flat-bottomed pan. As the oil heats, sprinkle a small amount of salt over the leeks to help draw out the moisture. Put the prepared leeks into the pan and sauté. Once the leeks have wilted slightly, add the kale and 2 T of ginger syrup (or use honey). Add some water to the bottom of the pan and cover. Reduce the heat to low and allow to steam and cook. Stir the contents periodically. Keep an eye on the leeks and kale. Don't let them scorch, but allow them to reach a golden brown. Remove them from the heat and add to your recipe. Wash, cube, and boil potatoes - I used a mixture of purple, Yukon gold, and new red - till they are fork tender. Once they are cooked...

I made Encarnacion Pinedo's recipe for cucumber salad though I had no idea what malpica is...I'm not sure she even knew what it was! The ingredients sections reads: "an otherwise unidentified salad herb." Not too helpful, so I took some liberties and used a combination of fresh thyme, fresh oregano, and fresh mint. sliced cucumbers sliced tomatoes chopped poblano chili fresh herbs smoked sea salt freshly ground pepper olive oil balsamic vinegar This was a nice, refreshing course between the main dish and the desserts.

While I used some of the beet greens in my Thanksgiving centerpiece, I roasted two bunches of beets for my ensalada de remolacha . One thing I love about Encarnacion Pinedo's cookbook: very few measurements and bare bones descriptions of how to make the dishes. I sliced off the greens and tips, washed the beets, dried them, sprinkled them with smoked sea salt, drizzled them in olive oil, and roasted them - covered with foil - in a 350 degree oven till you can pierce them with a fork. The cooking time depends on how big the beets are. These took about 75 minutes. Once the beets cooled, I peeled them, sliced them into eighths and seasoned them, according to Encarnacion's instructions: sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cumin. Drizzle with olive oil some vinegar. She suggested sliced raw onions; I skipped those.

I had some leftover savory cinnamon quinoa pilaf from dinner last night and found a recipe for quinoa dinner rolls. Sounded like the perfect accompaniment to a steaming bowl of sweet potato soup. And it was! Delicious and pillowy soft.   1 C cooked quinoa (I used a pilaf that had olive oil in it, so I didn't add any other oils) 2 C hot water 3 tsp smoked salt 2 T active dry yeast 1/2 C ginger syrup (or use honey) 4 C white whole wheat flour 2 C dark rye flour butter Place the hot water in a large mixing bowl, sprinkling the yeast on top. Let bloom for five minutes. Add ginger syrup (or honey) and salt. Add the cooked quinoa and flours. Blend until well combined. Knead for 3-5 minutes until it is smooth and soft. Oil the dough and the bowl, cover and let rise in a warm spot for 35-45 minutes. Once it has risen, punch it down again and shape handfuls of dough into balls. Place the balls in a buttered baking dish, cover, and let rise again - for 10-15 minutes. Preheat the ov...

This afternoon I received a three-word text from my husband: "French. Onion. Soup." Yes, that's how it works in my house - they order, I cook. It's my own fault that they believe they live in a restaurant. So, with that suggestion, I headed to the store after work and picked up some onions, beef boullion, and gruyere cheese. Easy, though I would not call this a traditional French onion soup. My version, as always, relies on what I have or don't have. I did not have white wine or thyme, both of which are included in the usual recipe. Instead, I used a combination of spices and added a splash or two or three of a cabernet sauvignon. I also couldn't find my oven-proof ramekins, so I melted the cheese on the bread in the oven and just plunked them into the steaming bowls of soup. onions dill oregano celery seed smoked sea salt butter beef boullion red wine bread, sliced (I used mini loaves of a whole wheat hazelnut bread I had made yesterd...

I'm pretty sure she meant 'best' chocolate. For the last day of our History of Chocolate class, I gave the kids options and told them that I would make their combinations. So, tonight, I made my way through all ten concoctions. Five melted pounds of chocolate later...done. dark chocolate ground ginger smoked sea salt peppermint extract dried coconut I melted the chocolate over a double boiler. Once it was completely melted, I seasoned it with the ground ginger, smoked sea salt, and peppermint extract. Then I stirred in the dried coconut, spooning out mounds onto a piece of parchment paper. I sprinkled it with a little bit more sea salt and let it harden.

While Riley opted for sardines at the fish market, Dylan wanted scallops which are also listed as one of the "best choices" in the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch cards. Click here to see the Seafood Pocket Guide for the West Coast . I remember reading something about scallops once: cook quickly, sauce lightly. Makes sense since scallops are so succulent and delicate. So, I followed that advice though I have no idea where I read that. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet I melted some butter with a splash of olive oil. I browned some minced garlic and pressed the scallops into the pan to sear them quickly on each side, probably two minutes per side. Leaving them on there longer would produce a thicker crust and nice color. Next time. Then I squeezed a little lemon juice over them, added some capers, and salted them lightly. Add a little bit of freshly ground pepper and a dash of paprika for color.

Kale is a leafy green vegetable that belongs to the Brassica family, a group of vegetables including cabbage, collards, and brussels sprouts that have gained recent widespread attention due to their health-promoting, sulfur-containing phytonutrients.  So, dinosaur kale is good for you and has a cool name.  The name initially helped sell this to the boys who thought they were eating dinosaur skin.  Now that they've had it several times, it's just like spinach; they love it! I got some in my High Ground Organics CSA box last week, so I chopped it up and did a quick saute with minced garlic and olive oil. Once it's softened, I sprinkled it with some smoked sea salt and drizzled it with a little bit more olive oil. Quick and easy side-dish.

I love the ease of this salad. It's a delight for the eye as well as the mouth! crimson pears fennel olive oil balsamic vinegar smoked sea salt freshly ground pepper sliced almonds spinach Slice the pears and fennel. Toss with olive oil and vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve on a bed of fresh spinach leaves. Top with sliced almonds.

With the boys heading off for a few days, I'll have no one bellowing at me about "what else are we eating for breakfast? What's the second course?!?" Yes, I actually do hear that on a regular basis. So I whipped up a batch of granola that I'll toss over yogurt and call it good. 4 C rolled organic oats 1/2 C sugar in the raw 1/2 C organic unsweetened flaked coconut 1/2 C sliced almonds 1/4 C organic flax seed meal 1/2 t smoked sea salt 1/3 C canola oil 3 T ginger syrup dash of ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cardamom 4 t lychee liqueur In a large bowl mix oats, sugar, coconut, almonds, flax seed meal, and salt. In a saucepan heat canola oil and honey until warm. Remove from heat and whisk in lychee liqueur. Pour this mixture over the oat mixture and mix thoroughly till everything is completely coated Spread this evenly on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake at 300º for about 20 minutes until slightly golden brown. Don’t sti...