Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day for #FoodieExtravaganza is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page  Foodie Extravaganza . We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our  Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board ! Since September is National Rice Month, I decided to ask the bloggers to share their favorite recipes or cooking tips. Here's the Foodie Extravanganza's rice-filled line-up... Arroz Rojo (Mexican Red Rice) by Palatable Pastime Beetroot Pulao by Magical Ingredients Bulgogi Kimbap with Seasoned Rice by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Curry Doria (Japanese Curry Rice Gratin) by Tara's Multicultural Table Kimchi Fried Rice by Karen's Kitchen Stories Rice Pudding by A Day in the Life on the ...

I don't really know how this book ended up in my list. Well, it's not that much of a mystery really. It's set in Europe; it involves lots and lots of good food...with an eye to making fun of North American cuisine. That's pretty much my schtick, right? But I breezed through  My Grape Year by Laura Bradbury,* the first in a series, and then promptly read the next five books! I'm in the middle of the sixth book now. That was one good thing about being sick with a rotten cold for the past few week: I did a lot of reading.  This is Laura's telling of her year in France. As a seventeen-year-old Laura lands in Burgundy as an exchange student with a planned stay at four different host families' homes. She has a few 'goals': frequent French cafés, drink French wine, fall in love, and learn to speak French. Her exchange agency has a few rules that are in direct conflict with that: no driving, no drinking, and no dating. Hmmm... The narrative is rife with fun...

This month Elizabeth at Literature and Limes is hosting the Food'N'Flix group as we watch Moonrise Kingdom .* You can read her invitation here . I had never heard of the movie, but was eager to jump in. I picked up the DVD at the library and we all nestled in to watch. Then we realized that it was directed by Wes Anderson and promptly went on a deep dive down the Wes Anderson rabbit hole. After Moonrise Kingdom , we pulled out Fantastic Mr. Fox , we streamed  Isle of Dogs , and we also sat down to watch The Royal Tenenbaums, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Rushmore  which were all available at the library. So, after our Wes Anderson exploration, I can say that his movies are eccentric, distinctive, and each frame could be printed and hung up in an artsy coffeehouse. The pacing and dialogue is understated and the soundtracks are ethereal. This is a sweet coming-of-age story where Sam and Suzy run away from home on their tiny island off the coast of New England. They had been pl...

Today the Sunday Funday group is writing about and sharing peach recipes. 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. This week, I am hosting, I wanted to celebrate summer's darling, the peach. Here's the line-up... Citrus Peach Sangria by Food Lust People Love Fresh Peach Iced Tea by Our Good Life Fuzzy Melba by A Day in the Life on the Farm Georgia Peach Cocktail by Amy's Cooking Adventures Grilled Peach Cocktail of Heavenly Wisdom by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Homemade Fresh Peach Nectar by Sneha’s Recipe Maple Roasted Peaches by Mayuri’s Jikoni Peach Glazed Chicken Breasts by Making Miracles Peach Scones by Palatable Pastime I don't remember how we started this conversation, but my family and I were ranking our favorite movies...made by Dreamworks, by Disney, by Pixar, etc. Then we sta...

Cindy of Grape Experiences is hosting the #WorldWineTravel group as we head, virtually, to Valencia. Read her invitation . If you are reading this early enough, feel free to to join in our live Twitter chat on Saturday, August 28th at 8am Pacific time. Follow the hashtag #WorldWineTravel and be sure to add that to anything you tweet so we can see it. Here's the line-up of the articles that the writers are sharing about the Valencia region of Spain... Monastrell from Murcia and Valencia Paired with Lamb-Beef Burgers and El Taberno from Gwendolyn Alley at Wine Predator......Gwendolyn Alley Getting to Know the Grape Known in Spain as Monastrell from Linda Whipple at My Full Wine Glass. Rosados from Jumilla from Susannah Gold on Avvinare. Valencia Inspires My First Paella from Jeff Burrows at Food Wine Click! Light up the Grill and Open that Bottle of Jumilla Wine from Wendy Klik at A Day in the Life on the Farm. To Valencia with Sobrasada, Other Spanish Nibbles, and Enrique ...

Last month wasn't a very productive reading month for me. But we headed out of town earlier this month for a back-to-school celebration camping trip and I was determined to read a book and relax. I had just acquired Plenty: A Memoir of Food and Family by Hannah Howard* and it was a breeze to read. Hannah Howard is a writer and food expert. This is her second memoir and I will definitely be looking up the first soon! Plenty  is a timely memoir in which she poignantly details being pregnant and giving birth amidst this on-going COVID pandemic. Among many things, she writes about cheese. Glorious, beautiful cheese. "The cheese was perfect. It oozed out of its snow-white skin, leaving a puddle on the cutting board. It tasted of sweet milk and buttered mushrooms and joy."   "I wanted to taste everything and learn everything about what I was tasting, the person who made that cheese, their traditions, their dreams. I was also afraid of my own appetites and learned to loath...

This post is sponsored  by Adagio Teas .  I received complimentary product for the purpose of review . All opinions are mine alone.   I received a care package from my contact at  Adagio Teas ,* and was excited to receive a limited release herbal tea called Bella Luna Blue . Only available during a blue moon, this is on their website right now; it will not be available again until August 2023. I'll talk more about it, but the color is stunning and the flavor is beguiling. Bella Luna Blue This is a blend of lemongrass, blueberry flavor, and blue butterfly pea flowers. It's that latter ingredient that gives this tisane its brilliant blue hue. Blue butterfly pea flower is not only brightly colored, but it changes color when pH changes. You can see that in this post: Color-Changing Nam Dok Anchan (Butterfly Pea Flower Lemonade) ; and it always makes me feel a little bit like a culinary magician or a kitchen witch! I toyed with different recipe ideas for this herbal tea a...

Welcome to the August #SoupSwappers event. Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  started this group and I'm always grateful to have a few more recipes to try. This month, Wendy herself is hosting and the bloggers are sharing soup recipes made with mushrooms of all kinds. Here's the line-up... Clear Oyster Mushroom Soup by Sneha's Recipe  Cream of Mushrooms Soup by Culinary Adventures with Camilla  Homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup by Palatable Pastime  Slow Cooker Mushroom Soup by A Day in the Life on the Farm  Sherried Cream of Mushroom Soup by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking   Cream of Mushrooms Soup No, that's not a typo. I do mean cream of mushrooms, with an 's'. I adore the deep, earthy flavors of mushrooms and use as many different kinds as I can find in the market on a given day. I also love that this homemade soup is ready to eat in just a few simple steps. Ingredients   4 Tablespoons butter 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 cup diced onion...