Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This month I am hosting Food'N'Flix and have the group watching Spirited Away . You can read my invitation here . And I will give my thoughts about the movie in another post. It just inspired me to try all sorts of Asian recipes!  First up:  Bò Nướng Hành Hương,  the Vietnamese version of Japanese Nikumaki which is beef wrapped around green onions, then grilled. I prefer the Vietnamese version as it has more spices for flavor, giving the meat a sweet, sour, and salty taste. And, perhaps, it's a ubiquitous Asian dish because a friend mentioned that it looked like a Korean BBQ dish. Ingredients  makes 4 servings 1 pound beef tenderloin steaks, pounded thin 2 green onions ½ Tablespoon five spice powder ½ Tablespoon tamarind paste 1 teaspoon honey 1 teaspoon soy sauce or gluten-free tamari 1 clove garlic, finely minced 2 Tablespoons canola oil 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil + more for drizzling Also needed: 100% cotton twine for tying ...

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of  Moms Meet .  I received complimentary product for the purpose of review,  but all opinions are honest and they are my own.  This page may contain affiliate links. Growing up in a Filipino family, soy sauce was on the table at every family event. But, years ago, when my husband went gluten-free I had to be careful about that condiment. So, when I was offered the opportunity to do a product review and develop a recipe with a gluten-free tamari by San-J, I was excited! And, as an added bonus, this version also had half the sodium. Sweet. About San-J  In 1804, San-Jirushi, the founding company of San-J, started a tamari soy sauce and miso company in the Mie Prefecure on the Japanese island of Honshu. Nearly two centuries later, the first tamari brewery was built in Henrico, Virginia as San-J. Eight generations later, a member of the founding family is still continuing the tradition of quality w...

I love the idea behind the Crazy Ingredient Challenge (CIC). In the CIC, we are assigned two ingredients to cook and create. Lori of  Lori's Culinary Creations   and Kelly of  Passion Kneaded are our fearless leaders. So, here goes... August's Crazy In gredient Challenge = chili powder and honey Ingredients Lamb 1 rack of lamb splash of olive oil freshly ground sea salt freshly ground pepper 1 T crushed garlic Glaze ½ C olive oil 1 ½ C chopped yellow onion (approximately 1 large onion) ½ C tomato paste ½ C orange marmalade 1 C balsamic vinegar 1 C organic, raw honey ½ C Worcestershire sauce 1 C Dijon mustard ½ C  tamari 1 C  hoisin sauce 2 T chili powder 1 T ground cumin 2 crushed tepin chiles Procedure Lamb Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add crushed garlic and sear rack of lamb for 1 to 2 minutes on all sides. Set aside for a few minutes. Arrange the rack bone s...

Welcome to Day Three of #CranberryWeek, hosted by Caroline's Cooking and A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures . We'll be sharing cranberry-inspired creations all week long in celebration of national cranberry day.  Search #CranberryWeek to keep up to date and follow the #CranberryWeek Pinterest board for more cranberry inspiration. But first, see all the other cranberry recipes being shared today: Braised Short Ribs with Hoisin-Cranberry Sauce and Asian Coleslaw from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Cranberry & Cornbread Stuffed Pork Chops from Books n' Cooks Cranberry Borscht from Palatable Pastime Cranberry Glazed Pork Loin from Sew You Think You Can Cook Cranberry Lemon Curd Tart (No Bake, GF) from Caroline’s Cooking Cranberry London Broil from Cindy's Recipes and Writings Cranberry Mustard from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures Cranberry Smoothie from The Chef Next Door Cranberry Vanilla Bean Donuts from Hostess At Heart Grilled Brie with Cran...

Every time we have ribs for dinner, we chuckle about this story. D was about three-years-old at the time, riding in the cart with me at the grocery store. He asked me about the rack of ribs in the cart, pointing, "Mommy, what are those?"  Ribs , I answered.  His chubby fingers went to his side and he declared, "These are my ribs!"  Yes, that's true.  Horror contorted his little face and he whispered, pointing into my shopping cart, "Whose ribs are those?!?"  Not a person's , I assured him.  "Then who?" he demanded. He knew meat came from a living animal. But, I suppose, ribs were a little too recognizable. Now he loves ribs, but we still tell that story every time they're on our table. The marinade on these ribs were inspired by the flavors in some of our favorite Vietnamese dishes. Well, it has a lot of Asian-inspired flavors. It was tasty! Ingredients 1 medium shallot, finely chopped 2 lemongra...

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: Picnic & BBQ. I was excited to be assigned to The Spiffy Cookie , written by Erin. I've been reading Erin's blog for awhile. She's even taken part in a few online multi-day, multi-blogger events I've organized; and she's one of the hosting bloggers for our year-long project:  The Book Club Cookbook Cooking Project . So, I was excited to get to explore her blog more. I have a funny story. I recently saw one of my local friends bragging about the best chocolate chip cookies ever on social media. And it was one of Erin's recipes. I was so tickled to see my blogging life intersecting with my actual life. I told Jenn, "Not only is she a Spiffy Cookie, but she's a Smart Cookie!" Erin has a PhD in Microbiology.  More importantly for m...

I signed up to test a recipe for Food52:  Radish Sashimi by Alexandra of Lollipopsicle . Alexandra writes that "this recipe is a fun lil’ play on Japanese sashimi [because she likes] to prepare produce like you would animal protein." I have to admit that, initially, I wasn't sure I agreed with the recipe title. Sashimi? When I think of sashimi, I think more of this... ...than this... But, I think that 'sashimi' refers to the fact that it's thinly sliced not so much that it's fish. So, if that's the case, this is radish sashimi. And, as Alexandria suspected, I was entranced with this dish. It was ridiculously simple with a refreshing crunch and surprising silkiness. I did skip the sugar - only because I forgot about it; we didn't miss it. And we will be making this dish again. Probably tomorrow. Ingredients serves 3 to 4 1 bunch organic radishes 2 T gluten-free tamari 2 t olive oil zest and juice from 1 organic li...

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, I'm teaching a Bizarre Foods SEM this term? Today, we traveled by tabletop to the Philippines. Don't worry, I didn't make the kids eat balut. Considering I won't even eat balut...I figured that wouldn't be very fair. But we did talk about balut . For our make-project today, I decided that eating seaweed was bizarre enough for some of the kids. Besides this dish has special significance to me. My grandmother, my dad's mom, used to make the most amazing seaweed salad. I remember when I went to Oahu with her as a child, we would drive to Ewa Beach and pick seaweed. She would clean it and make a fresh seaweed salad with it.  Today, I made it with my own kids and ten other students. Reactions were varied. One student said that the seaweed didn't taste like anything, that it just had a funny texture. Another student declared, "I really hate kale."  One student said he didn't want to try it. I insisted. Just one bite....

I very rarely eat meat twice in a day. But even though we had  Bò Nướng Hành Hương (Vietnamese Beef-Onion Roll) for lunch, Sundays are a great day for me to do a slow-cooked stew for dinner. So we had beef twice yesterday. There were no complaints from the boys and the littlest one even asked for a second helping. Beef  rendang  is of Indonesian origin, from the Minangkabau ethnic group of Indonesia and is often served at ceremonial occasions and to special guests. But beware, beef  rendang  is not your everyday beef dish that you can whip up in a jiffy; it takes a good four hours of cooking, not including all the chopping and prep. Plus, I think that letting it sit overnight actually helped develop the flavors. No beef  rendang  is made exactly the same, so I didn't feel too badly about taking some culinary liberties with the dish. I added in potatoes and cauliflower with this version Ingredients 1 pound boneless beef, cubed 2 T...

As my Fresh Tasty Valentines event enters its final stretch, I wanted to share a recipe from a new  BenBella Vegan  title: Dining at the Ravens by Jeff and Joan Stanford. I'm not going to say too much about it as I will be kicking off a blog tour for them on the 9th. Check back for that full review and another recipe then. For this event,  BenBella Vegan  is  providing a prize package that includes five different cookbooks from their 2015 publishing releases! One #FreshTastyValentines winner will receive a print copy of the following cookbooks:  The Plant-Based Journey ,  Dining at The Ravens ,  Plant-Powered Families ,  The China Study Quick & Easy Cookbook ,  and   The Plant Pure Nation Cookbook . Enter the giveaway below! Carrot Pâté Canapés   makes 1-1/2 C of pâté slightly adapted - recipe shared with permission I selected an easy - and versatile - recipe. It was quick to put together and delici...