Culinary Adventures with Camilla

These will be included in our July Food'N'Flix event, so you can read why I've gone down the JAWS rabbit hole soon. But I wanted to make some shark-inspired sugar cookies to start. This is my go-to recipe for sugar cookies with just a little bit of vanilla and cardamom to keep them from being too plain; and the icing has just the right amount of tartness with freshly squeezed lemon juice. If you don't have ground cardamom, you can substitute ground cinnamon or leave it out completely. It will be just as delicious. Also, I used vanilla paste in this cookie; feel free to use vanilla extract if that's all you have. I just love the flecks of the vanilla seeds in this light-colored cookie. Ingredients Vanilla-Cardamom Sugar Cookies 2-3/4 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup butter, softened 1 cup organic granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste or extract 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom Also needed: shark cookie cutters* Royal Icing  (you ...

Two weekends ago I finally was able to have a dinner with my best girlfriends. In. Person. We haven't spent any significant amount of time together since the Before Times, as in before the COVID pandemic began and we  sheltered-in-place. And in between mouthfuls of amazing food, conversations about our kids, and every other topic you can image, recipes bubbled to the surface. Jenn mentioned a recipe for Hawaiian butter mochi and promised to send it to us. Thankfully I always have a box or three of mochiko rice flour and cans of coconut milk in my kitchen. I even had a can of evaporated milk, so...this happened! It's slightly adapted from her version and reminds me of my grandmother's bibingka. Ingredients makes two 8" square pans   1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 3/4 cup organic granulated sugar 4 eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste (or extract if you don't have paste) 1 box mochicko glutinous rice flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 can evaporated milk 1 can coconut milk  ...

Jake and I are celebrating 18 years of marriage tomorrow. That's a whole lifetime...well, at least the time it takes for a child to be considered an adult. On one hand it certainly feels like a lifetime; on the other, it seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. In this past eighteen years, we've had two boys, lived in two states and five different houses, and juggled probably a dozen different jobs between us. We've traveled to Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona; we've visited Italy and Costa Rica. We've SCUBA'd, zip-lined, canoed, and tangoed. It's been an amazing adventure. Under the Wedding Maple at Owen R. Cheatham Redwood Grove, Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park But it's also been work. A lot of work. Don't let anyone tell you that marriage is easy. Maybe that is what makes the celebrations all the more sweet. So, why cheesecakes? you ask. Well, we had seven cheesecakes at our weddi...

My husband is doing a gluten-free, dairy-free experiment. So, when the boys asked for flaugnarde this weekend, I decided to give it a try with sweet rice flour and almond milk! Actually, truth be told, the boys asked for clafoutis , but I didn't have any cherries. I had a basket full of luscious, summer stone fruits. So, we went with that. And if clafoutis is made with anything other than cherries, it's a flaugnarde . This was made with a mixture of peaches, nectarines, and pluots from a local farm. Slight adaptation: I increased the liquid in my usual flaugnarde recipe as things with rice flour always seem more dry. Ingredients non-dairy butter for greasing the pan 3 C sliced stone fruit 4 eggs 3/4 C organic granulated sugar 3/4 C sweet white rice flour 1-1/2 C almond milk 2 T vanilla paste 1 T apricot liqueur powdered sugar for dusting Procedure Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter your baking dish(es). Spoon the sliced stone fruit into the bottom o...

After a great dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, D asked if I would make some panna cotta. I had all of the ingredients I needed. Done deal! I served these for breakfast this morning. Yep. Dessert for breakfast...it must be a holiday. Ingredients 1 C whole milk 2 T unflavored powdered gelatin 2 C organic heavy whipping cream 1/3 C maple syrup 1 T organic granulated sugar 1 T vanilla paste 2 C assorted fresh berries (for this 4th of July, we used blueberries and raspberries) Procedure Place milk in medium saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the top and let stand for 3 to 5 minutes to soften. Stir over medium heat until the gelatin dissolves, approximately 5 minutes.  Add the cream, maple syrup, sugar, and vanilla paste. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Do not let the mixture boil. Place berries in the bottom of your serving dish, then pour the cream mixture over the top. Cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap, then refrige...

This is what happens when I am craving something sweet: cookies with whatever I have in the cupboards. This was a hit and I was asked to write down the recipe. Okay. Here goes. The name - Mixie - that's the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf's doing. He called them Mixies. I'll run with it. Ingredients 1 C butter, softened 3/4 C organic dark brown sugar, lightly packed 3/4 C organic granulated sugar 1/2 t baking powder 1/4 t baking soda 1/4 t salt 2 eggs 1 t vanilla paste 1/2 t pure vanilla extract 1 1/3 C flour 1/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder 2 C rolled oats 1 C white chocolate chips 1 C chopped walnuts Procedure In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars together until lightened and fluffy. Add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat mixture until well-combined. Add eggs, vanilla paste, and vanilla extract. Beat well. Fold in flour and cocoa powder until just combined. With a wooden spoon or spatular, stir in the oats, ch...

With it being #BrunchWeek and Cinco de Mayo , I decided to share my variation on horchata, a traditional Mexican beverage made with homemade rice milk, cinnamon, vanilla, and honey. I’ve taken liberties with it here by adding in oats, nuts, and a few more spices Ingredients makes about 4 cups 4 C water, divided in half 1 C oats (I used  Bob's Red Mill   rolled oats) 1/4 C sliced almonds 1/4 C rice (I used organic brown basmati rice) 2 whole cinnamon sticks 1 T local honey 1 t vanilla (I used vanilla bean paste from  Nielsen-Massey ) 1/2 t ground nutmeg Procedure Pour 2 cups water into a glass jar along with the oats, almonds, rice and cinnamon. Let soak overnight - or between 8 to 24 hours. Once you're done soaking, remove the cinnamon sticks and place the mixture into a blender. Blend until most of the particles have broken down, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Strain through a small mesh strainer into a bowl, then strain the mixture...

This easy breakfast treat came from my #BrunchWeek recipe development with a few sponsor ingredients; I used chocolate chips from Pacari Chocolate , in the scones, and vanilla bean paste from Nielsen-Massey , in the glaze. I also had some coconut flour and almond flour from Morning Pep that I needed to use and review. Enjoy these. We surely did. I will double this recipe next time as the boys were vying for seconds and I only had two more scones...and three hungry boys! Yes, I do include my husband in that "boys" count. Ingredients Scones 1 C almond flour (I used  Morning Pep *) 1/2 C coconut flour (I used  Morning Pep *) 1 t baking powder 4 T butter, cubed 1/4 C local honey 1/2 C almond milk (I used vanilla unsweetened) 1 t vanilla paste (I used  Nielsen-Massey *) 1  egg 1 C sliced fresh banana 1/2 C chocolate chips (I used  Pacari Chocolate *) 1/2 C shredded coconut Glaze 1 C organic powdered su...