Culinary Adventures with Camilla

As I embark on my Whole30 Adventure , I have been asked to share some of my recipes. Happily. Whether you're on your own Whole30 journey, or just looking for some new whole foods recipes, I hope you'll follow along. This recipe is so easy and it's just as good freshly made as it is for lunch the next day. Ingredients makes 6 servings Salad 5 C shredded green cabbage 1/2 C julienned carrots 1/2 C shredded purple cabbage Dressing 3 T olive oil 1 T mustard (Annie's Organics doesn't have any added sugar - read your labels to ensure yours is Whole30 compliant) 1 T white balsamic vinegar (feel free to substitute any vinegar you wish) freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper 1 T fresh herbs, optional Also needed: mason jar with a lid Procedure Place the green cabbage, julienned carrots, and purple cabbage in a large mixing bowl. Place dressing ingredients, to the vinegar, in a mason jar. cover with a lid and shake to emulsify. Shake, s...

I've been jealous of friends posting photos of their morel hunts. Seriously, friends have posted photos of entire pick-up beds full of morels. I would be thrilled with just two cups. Really! So, when I saw a scant handful of them at the market, I scooped them all up! It really wasn't enough to make a complete dish with them, but I added in the maitakes that I had on-hand. This was an easy lunch and so, so tasty. I will have to track down more morels soon. Ingredients serves 6 to 8 Chicken 6 to 8 bone-in, skin-on organic chicken thighs 4 cloves garlic, crushed freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper 1/2 C white balsamic vinegar olive oil for drizzling Crisped Mushrooms 1 to 2 C mushrooms (I used morels and maitakes) 1 T butter freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper 2 T fresh parsley, chopped Procedure Chicken Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place chicken in a baking dish. Rub with garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper...

I had leftover mushroom parts from different recipes, including the stem of a monster porcini [look right!], a handful of shitakes from D's Barley-Stuffed Pumpkin , and some oyster mushrooms. I decided to marinate them for a surprise Thanksgiving bite. Ingredients 1 C water juice from 1 lemon 1 T fresh oregano freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper 1 t anise seeds 3 to 4 C mushroom (parts) 2 T vinegar (I used a white balsamic) Procedure Place the water, lemon juice, oregano, and anise seeds in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 10 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, making sure they are coated in liquid. Cook for another 10 minutes, then remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand for an hour. Stir in the vinegar. Place in a jar or container so that the mushrooms are completely submerged. Marinate for at least 24 hours before serving.

This week the #SundaySupper crew is sharing lightened up holiday dishes. This is a great, tasty substitute for coleslaw. And it's easy, too! I used red cabbage which has a slightly tougher texture but slightly sweeter flavor than its green counterpart. Ingredients 1 red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced 1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced 1 tart apple, cored and thinly sliced 1 C pitted dates, chopped 1 t ground cinnamon 1/4 t ground cloves 14 t ground cardamom 1 t black cumin seed 1 t caraway seed 3 T white balsamic vinegar 1 C water splash of olive oil freshly ground salt, to taste freshly ground pepper, to taste red pepper flakes, to taste Procedure In a large flat-bottom pot, add all of the ingredients - except the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes - to the pot. Stir to mix thoroughly. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the cabbage is tender, approxim...

I love this quick mayo-less slaw. So easy. So tasty. Ingredients 5 T olive oil, divided 3 T white balsamic vinegar 2 T prepared yellow mustard 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced 1 purple cabbage, thinly sliced Procedure Whisk together the first three ingredients. Stir in the fennel and cabbage. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let stand 10 minutes before serving, stirring occasionally.

It's always a challenge to pick a recipe that can be done by a dozen kids - start to finish - in just less than 90 minutes. And, this time around, I have one vegan. But as one of my students, who happens to be a good family friend, rightly commented: "Without challenges, teaching this class would be too easy for you." Okay. I have to embrace that sentiment. It's pumpkin season! So during this 'Orange' week of our 'Eat a Rainbow' class, I knew that we had to make something with pumpkin. First up: make pumpkin puree. Click to see how to make pumpkin puree . For my 'Eat a Rainbow' class, I roasted the pumpkins night before and let them cool completely. Then, the kids scooped and mashed the pumpkin flesh to get about 2 cups of pumpkin puree. Ingredients 2 C pumpkin puree 2 C mashed potatoes (we used Yukon gold to stay with the orange theme) 3/4 C flour 1/4 C olive oil vegetable stock + water for cooking gnocch...

This is my only sweet creation for #10DaysofTailgate... I love quince. If you're unfamiliar, here's a piece I wrote for Edible Monterey Bay in August: Queen of Quince Takes Her Show on the Road . So, when some friends left me a bag full of quince last weekend, I hooped, hollered, and prepared to quince. One of my favorite things to make: quince butter. We can never have enough. So, for the only #10DaysofTailgate dessert I'm making, I decided to incorporate quince butter. Ingredients Quince Butter makes 2 quart jars 4 large quince, peeled, cored, and diced 1/2 C white balsamic vinegar  2 C water 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 T ground cinnamon 1 t ground cloves 1 t ground nutmeg 1 t ground cardamom Cookie Dough makes approximately 30 3/4 C butter, at room temperature 3/4 C organic granulated sugar 2 egg yolks 2 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 C ground almonds zest from one lemon 1 t vodka 1 t cold water Procedure Quince Butter ...

A little late...but I am just catching up on my blogging. Sorry. With Halloween, followed by an all-day field trip, a date night, and an assignment from Edible Monterey Bay this weekend, I am just now surfacing. A friend of ours hosted a Street Taco party for Halloween and asked me to bring the salsas. It was perfect timing as I had agreed to write a review of  Muy Bueno: Three Generations of Authentic Mexican Flavors  by Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack, Veronica Gonzalez-Smith, and Evangelina Soza. And the book was full of great-looking salsa recipes. I ended up bringing a version of their Roasted Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa , their Mushroom Salsa , and a Quince-Pumpkin Salsa of my own creation. But, despite my usual penchant for a trio of offerings, I wanted one more salsa. And I found a recipe for Roasted Yellow Tomato Salsa on the Gluten-Free Goddess's website. Roasted Tomato-Corn Salsa adapted from Karina, the Gluten-Free Goddess 1 pint cherry tomatoes 1 onion, p...

I once read that cooking with a new ingredient or making something you've never made before is a good exercise for your brain. Makes sense. I've taken that to heart! So, when I saw the gorgeous tomatoes in my CSA box this afternoon, I had a flash of inspiration: I've never made homemade ketchup. It'd be a perfect way to challenge my brain and make an unprocessed condiment. Though I buy organic ketchup made without high fructose corn syrup, and I know that I could make ketchup, I never have. Tonight I changed that. There seem to be a myriad of homemade ketchup recipes. Joy the Baker's Curry Ketchup , Date Ketchup from MarocMama, and a Blackberry Ketchup from a chef in North Carolina all caught my eye. The formulae seemed very similar: tomatoes + sweetener + seasoning. So I decided to forge ahead on my own with combination of herbs and spices. And, being that I'm a little starstruck with vanilla at the moment, I added some of that! 15-20 medium sized tom...

I am certain that I must block out how much butter is in this sauce every time I make it, which - probably because of the amount of butter - is very infrequently.  But it is so delicious and a must when you make eggs benedict! 4 egg yolks 4 T lemon juice 1/2 t white balsamic vinegar 1 T white wine 1 C butter, melted 1/4 t pink Himalaya salt caviar from one vanilla bean In the top of the double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, white balsamic, wine, and vanilla caviar. Add the melted butter to egg yolk mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time while whisking yolks constantly. If hollandaise begins to get too thick, add a teaspoon or two of hot water. Continue whisking until all the butter is incorporated. Whisk in salt, then remove from heat. Place a lid on pan to keep sauce warm until ready to serve. I made a breadless benedict for dinner tonight: wilted spinach topped with a poached egg, slathered with the vanilla bean hollandaise. Yummy. ...

With the last of my beloved quince, I was inspired by a recipe for apple butter. And because I am completely inept at following a recipe, I made some changes. I swapped balsamic vinegar for apple cider vinegar. I reduced the sugar and doubled the liquids. I substituted spices to match what I had in my cupboard. 8 large quince, peeled, cored, and diced 1/2 C white balsamic vinegar  1/2 C balsamic vinegar 4 C water 3 C organic granulated sugar 1 T ground cinnamon 1 t ground cloves 1 t ground nutmeg 1 t ground cardamom Put quince pieces into wide thick-bottomed pot, add all ingredients, cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cook until pieces are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove cover and cook uncovered, stirring constantly to prevent burning and encourage evaporation. Scrape the bottom of the pot while you stir to make sure a crust is not forming at the bottom. Cook until thick and smooth, about one hour. Spoon the butter into sterilized jars, ...

Wanting to venture onto the savory side with my quince culinary adventures, I decided to use the last of the cherry tomatoes from Belle, fennel from my High Ground Organics CSA box, some tepin chilis from Jenn Erickson, and more of my quince from the Novaks to make a fiery quince-tomato chutney. 5 crushed tepin chilis 1 sliced fennel bulb 2 T minced garlic 1 C cherry tomatoes 1 can diced tomatoes 4 C peeled, cored, sliced quince 1 t Hawaiian alaea salt 1 T ground ginger 1 t smoked paprika 1/2 C white balsamic vinegar 1/2 C red wine 1 C organic granulated sugar In a large saucepan, I crushed 5 tepin chilis - this chutney has a lot of heat, so adapt as needed - and heated them with olive oil. Then I added the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce to a simmer, stirring about 1 hour until thick. Place in hot water bath for 10 minutes. I plan to serve this with a rack of lamb or pork tenderloin.

When I first made this, I was afraid to call it 'kimchi' despite assurances from my Korean friends that there is no such thing as a single kimchi recipe. But after creating two fermented cabbage converts, I'm feeling a little bit more sure of my kimchi-making self. My husband typically steers clear of kimchi , but when I served mine, he had a second helping and a third! And another self-professed cabbage-phobic actually enjoyed it as well. Since I had used purple cabbage in my last batch, the kimchi took on a bright amethyst hue that, according to previously mentioned cabbage-phobic friend, should only belong to an OtterPop. So, I'm making another batch of kimchi , this time with only green cabbage from my High Ground Organics CSA box. 1/2 C Hawaiian red alaea sea salt enough warm water to submerge all the cabbage 1 head of cabbage 1 T minced garlic 1/2 C Korean chili paste 1/2 C white balsamic vinegar 3 T honey In a very large mixing bowl dissolve the sa...