Culinary Adventures with Camilla

  One thing I have always wanted to instill in my kids: lifelong learning. I strive to lead by example because there is always so much to learn! This month I learned that what I have always called 'Fresh Spring Rolls' is more often called 'Summer Rolls.' And what I have always called 'Kimbap' is...well, not. You'll see the summer roll recipe soon. But for today, let's talk about kimbap. I have always made my version with a vinegar-seasoned rice, akin to sushi rice, just swapping out the fishy fillings for vegetables, eggs, and sliced beef. That seemed to make sense to me. However, kimbap has an entirely different rice base. Whoops! Instead of a vinegar-seasoned rice, kimbap is made with rice simply seasoned with sesame oil and salt. But as we really like the tang of vinegar, I made a hybrid version of the seasoned rice with vinegar and sesame oil for this. Ingredients  serves 8 4 cups short grain rice (sushi rice) 4 cups water plus more for soaking 1/3 c...

Today the Sunday Funday group is celebrating umami. Thanks to Stacy of  Food Lust People Love , Sue of  Palatable Pastime , Rebekah of  Making Miracles , and Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  for coordinating this low-stress group. Today Sue is hosting and she's given us the prompt of making recipes with umami. Then she shared this link to help guide our umami explorations: Getting to Know Umami Powerhouses . Here's the #SundayFunday umami line-up... Chorizo Chickpea Tomato Pasta  by Food Lust People Love Easy Vegan Pad Thai by Cook with Renu Fried Chicken Wings - Korean Style  by Sneha's Recipe  Patatas Bravas  by Mayuri's Jikoni Steaks with Gouda Sauce  by Amy's Cooking Adventures Tomato and Blue Cheese Salad  by A Day in the Life on the Farm Umami Bomb Tomato Sauce  by Making Miracles Umami from the Sea: Sea Palm-Kale Salad and Uni Handrolls by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Umami I was already pret...

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Quail & Olive . Complimentary product was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. However, all opinions expressed here are my own.   If you have been following me for awhile, or even just a little while, you might know that I am a huge proponent of using what you have on-hand. So, when I made kimbap for my mom's birthday last month, I reached for the Winter Ambrosia Vinegar from The Quail & Olive * instead of my mirin to use in the rice. Not traditional, obviously, but just as delicious...and local to me! Winter Ambrosia starts with organic apples and pears and offers a sweet-tart flavor to dishes. Besides when I made Bulgogi-Inspired Beef Jerky , I used apples to tenderize the beef; using pears is traditional. So, that's not too far out in left field on the flavor profile, right? Seasoned Rice Ingredients  serves 8 4 cups short grain rice (sushi rice) 4 cups water plus more for soaking ...

I'll admit it: I bought  Soy Sauce for Beginners by Kirstin Chen* because I liked the cover. Well, that and I do love soy sauce. I had no idea what to expect from this novel. But, as we enter our twenty-first week of being sheltered in place, I'm less and less picky about what I'm reading. On the Page I enjoyed this book for two reasons. One: Chen clearly paints a portrait of how messy life can be. And two: It made me want to track down some artisanal soy sauce and do a tasting as the Lin's do for their prospective clients. Maybe one day... Gretchen Lin is our protagonist who has left a cheating husband in San Francisco and gone home to work in her family's artisanal soy sauce company. Her mother, an alcoholic, is undergoing dialysis for kidney failure; her father is ready to retire, but battling with his brother about the future of their family's company; and Gretchen is emotionally adrift. As I said, it's messy. This isn't about fr...

One of the things the kids wanted to learn to make: sushi. So, I was grateful to one of my best friends and her mom for volunteering to come teach them. This was the recipe Jenn shared with the kids today. Sushi Meshi (Rice for Sushi) Ingredients serves 8 4 C short grain rice (sushi rice) 4 C water 6” dashi konbu Also needed: paper fans, wooden spoons, and a non-aluminum pan Awase Zu (vinegar mixture for sushi meshi) 1/3 C Japanese vinegar (or white vinegar) 5 T sugar 1 T salt Procedure Awase Zu Heat ingredients until salt and sugar are dissolved. Cool and fold into hot rice being careful not to mash the rice grains. Fan and cool immediately. Rice is now ready to make sush (makizushi, chirashi, nigari, or inari Zushi) Wash rice and soak in water 2 hours or longer. Put water and konbu (wiped with a damp cloth) in a saucepan and bring to a boil. After 3 minutes remove konbu and add drained rice. Mix well, cover, and bring to a boil. ...

This post has been sitting, in draft form, for a week. Whoops! I already posted about R's birthday crêpes   and his birthday Baked Alaska , but I didn't share his birthday sushi lunch.  I worked a half-day, dropped off teacher gifts (he didn't feel comfortable bringing wine onto campus!), and picked him up from his last day of finals. I told him that I would take him anywhere he wanted to go for lunch. Anywhere. And my creature of habit declared: Ocean Sushi Deli ! I reiterated, anywhere. Somewhere new, perhaps? Nope . Here's, probably, a 7 year span from his 8th birthday to his 15th. And one year, maybe his 13th, we took two of his friends with us for a mid-week birthday dinner. He always starts with the ocean veggie salad... And Ms. Shiho always gives him pudding at the end. He varies what he orders for his main dish, but this time he went for a variety of rolls. He was so happy. I'm not sure what he's going to do ...

Not only did Shiho, from Ocean Sushi Deli , bring us a tantalizing array of sake s for the Sake Tasting , she also prepared some amazing eats as well. I didn't get a chance to photograph everything; I was too busy stuffing my face. Whoops. Enjoy. And try not to stick chopsticks through your monitor. This was only  part of our menu... Yellowfin tuna and avocado salad with mandolined sweet onion topped with hand-cut nori tossed in a poke-style vinaigrette   Ingen Goma-ae : traditionally prepared with green beans and toasted sesame seeds. This version had some ground flaxseed which lent the dish a natto mouthfeel. Nasu No Nimono : a traditional way of preparing eggplant - prepared in dashi with a hint of freshly grated ginger topped with scallions   Ume Shisho : skewered chicken serve with oba (shisho  leaf) served with ume (pickled plum) paste... On the sushi side of things, Shiho made: a spicy shiro maguro (albacore) w...