Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I wrote this for the WE Cooperative CSA newsletter this week and thought I'd share it here, too. All of these terms are ones I hear, but I was never sure of their exact meaning and implication for my food. Here's what I found... We read and hear a lot of different terms in regards to our fruits and vegetables - heirloom, organic, hybrid, and GMO (genetically-modified organism). I thought I'd give you a brief run-down so you can begin to decipher what it all means...and why you should search out some and avoid others.  Let’s take a look at a few definitions so we can better understand what an heirloom seed is compared to a hybrid or genetically modified seed. Heirloom 'Heirloom' - like your great-grandmother's brooch or your great-uncle's cello -  generally refers to something passed down from generation to another. Heirloom seeds are from a plant that has been passed from one generation to another, cultivated and preserved because of its value. The...

My radishes are most often relegated to salad. There's nothing wrong with that; I love fresh radishes. But I had seen a recipe for  Butter-Braised Radishes that was posted in  The Washington Post  in 2008 . I decided to give that a try with my own little twists. The braising rendered the usually piquant radishes mellow and silky. 2 T butter 1 bunch French breakfast (or any kind of) radishes, cleaned, greens removed, halved lengthwise freshly ground black pepper 1 t raw honey 1/2 C water Italian flat-leaf parsley olive oil  Use a pan large enough to hold the radishes without crowding. Melt the butter over medium heat; let it brown slightly.  Add the radishes, honey, and water. Stir to combine. Raise the heat and bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes or so.  Uncover, increase the heat to high and bring back to a boil. Cook for another few minutes, until almost all the liquid has evap...

Paella has always been something I've wanted to make at home. For my 40th birthday I received a gift certificate - from one of my best friends - to a local kitchen store with a note attached: "For your paella pan...". Sweet! So, I headed over there and picked up a paella pan large enough to serve 10. It hasn't left the shopping bag yet. Then, yesterday, at the Maker Faire, I saw the huge pans of paella goodness at the Gerard's Paella booth. We ordered two huge plates for lunch! All signs are pointing to: Paella. From my kitchen. Stat. Now I just need a good, traditional (or not traditional) recipe. Any suggestions, dear readers? I'm all ears. Comment below or email me directly at constantmotioncamilla[at]gmail[dot]com. Many thanks.

' Se prendre pour un bûcheron .' The phrase just popped into my head when I saw this cheese. He thought he was a lumberjack. What?! Where did that come from? Sort of like when I had Jake listening to Italian CDs before our trip in 2001. I remember he sat straight up in bed one night and said - with perfect pronunciation, I might add - ' Dove posso parcheggiare la macchina ?" I burst out laughing when he asked, "What did I say?!" So the CDs were sort of working. But since he wasn't going to be driving while we were there, asking where he could park the car wasn't really a useful phrase to know. ' Bûche ' means log in French and is the root word for the name of this log-shaped French goat cheese. Bûcheron is a lumberjack, I think. My French is rusty.  It's made near Sevre et Belle in the Loire Valley of France. Each slice provides a glimpse into the ripening process for this soft cheese. In the center, the crumbly, chalky...

  Less than a week ago, I lost someone I knew. I saw on Facebook that Matt Schuler had died. At first I thought it was a joke. A sick joke. Then a few more posts and a couple of emails later, I realized that it was true. And it launched me down a nostalgic, wistful road. Matt and I were part of the original 13 - thirteen students who began their high school careers at York School in Monterey a year early, as eighth graders. By the time we graduated five years later, our class had swelled to 32 with a few kids drifting in and out through the years. For the most part, it didn't matter who had arrived in eighth grade, ninth grade, or even transferred in as a junior. What it meant to me was that Matt and I shared many, many classes. From English to Physics and Chemistry to Choir, he was there. Most memorably, he and I were the only two in our class who slogged through five years of Latin when only two were required. By the fifth year, we began to bicker about what we should rea...

 Bol Renverse (translated as Upside Down Bowl) is a popular Mauritian dish with Chinese roots. It's really versatile. You can add any vegetables you want and you can use any meat that you want. I found recipes that used cabbage; I had chard. And the boys were reading about the religious breakdown of Mauritius and noted that Hindus don't eat beef while Muslims don't eat pork. So, we went with chicken. 2 C cooked sticky rice 3 chicken thighs, deboned, deskinned, and thinly sliced 1 Spring onion, trimmed and thinly sliced 4-5 shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced 1 bunch of chard, thinly sliced 3 carrots, cut into coins 1 egg per person Cooking: (1) Make a stir-fry with all of the ingredients except the rice and eggs. Season with soy sauce and thicken, if desired, with a little bit of flour or cornstarch. (2) Beat the eggs with a splash of water or milk and cook into a flat omelette. Now here's the fun part: assembling your bol... 1. In a small serving bowl, l...

This is my third month participating in Taste and Create and I was assigned to Sara's Tasty Buds . There were so many recipes that I wanted to try, but I had my heart set on one of her halwas. She has a cornflour halwa , a wheat flour halwa , and even a lentil halwa ! But I decided to make her Beetroot Halwa because I already had some leftover roasted beets in my fridge...and I've never heard of a halwa made with beets before. We did make a carrot halwa once that was delicious and easy! My only stumbling point was 'khoa.' I had no idea what that was, but one site suggested it was similar to ricotta, so I went with that. Also, I subbed almond paste for her cashew paste and butter for ghee. I know, I know, purists are rolling their eyes, thinking that I should have gone to the store. But it was the end of a long and trying week. I was going for easy. And it turned out great. 1 cup shredded beets 1/2 cup organic granulated sugar 1/2 cup ricotta cheese 2 Tablesp...