Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Just a reminder why you're being bombarded by Star Wars-inspired recipes this month. Kelley of  Simply Inspired Meals is hosting a month of Star Wars recipes for  Food'N'Flix . You can read her invitation  here . I've decided to wrap up my Star Wars-inspired posts with a ball-shaped recipe in honor of our favorite sentient beach ball. BB-8! But first... Multi-Use Costumes My husband and his dad pals are out of control with the Halloween costumes...and they are die-hard Star Wars fans. Die. Hard. Whenever a new movie comes out, we go to opening night and wait in line for hours, taking turns running to the restaurant near the theatre for cocktails.  When The Force Awakens*  came out, not only did they create these costumes with the kids for Halloween 2015; but they  had  to go out for a photo shoot on the sand dunes. Here's R and one of his best friends (since kindergarten). He's BB-8 and she's Rey. If you are asking: How does so...

Today's cookies are part of my offerings for August's  Food'N'Flix  event.  Kelley of Simply Inspired Meals is hosting a month-long round-up of Star Wars recipes for   Food'N'Flix . You can read her invitation  here . I was inspired to make a cookie in honor of my favorite scoundrel and his princess! Love-Hate from disney.fandom.com Han Solo and Leia Organa's is a classic love story, and one of my favorite patterns. I've always had a soft spot for enemies that eventually set aside their differences and fall madly in love with each other. Love-hate relationships are much more interesting - at least in books and movies! My favorite thing about love-hate relationships: the complexity of the characters. They’re usually hilariously flawed, highly relatable, and - most importantly - they illustrate that the road to true love can be bumpy.  Han and Leia have that perfect blend of passion and hatred that I look for in my fictional couples. On...

Just a reminder why you're being bombarded by Star Wars-inspired recipes this month. Kelley of Simply Inspired Meals is hosting a month of Star Wars recipes for  Food'N'Flix . You can read her invitation  here . I was brainstorming what dishes I could make that would represent Darth Vader and 'squid ink' was the loudest suggestion.  I once made Vadar's Darkside Towers with Boccalone's Sanguinaccio with blood sausages, but I don't have a good source for that here. And I thought about a riff on a squid ink cocktail such as my Blackbeard Cocktail made with dark, spiced rum, stout beer, and the amazingly dark cuttlefish ink. When I was little, Darth Vader terrified me. That heavy breathing. That ominous helmet. That cape. But, for some reason, all the little boys I know think he's cool. For one of our best friend's parties, Jake made a Darth Vader cake. And D wanted his picture taken with that dark lord at the 20...

August - also now called 'Star Wars Food Month' in my house - is rolling right along. Remember: Kelley of Simply Inspired Meals is hosting a month of Star Wars recipes for  Food'N'Flix . You can read her invitation  here . My family and I talked about what food could represent Princess Leia; the resounding answer: Leia buns!! They were picturing more cinnamon buns. But I really wanted to remake these amazing Danish rolls - fastelavnsboller - that are pillowy soft and filled with custard. I opted to cover these in chocolate since Leia is a brunette. You can't really see the Leia buns on this cake, but it was the groom's cake a our friends' wedding. What fun, right?!? But I've loved Princess Leia since I first saw Star Wars in 1977. I was four years old when the movie came out. I remember dressing up as Leia for Halloween in first grade when The Empire Strikes Back*  was released. My hair was super long and my mom braided my hair and wound the...

Ever since Luke Skywalker met Yoda in The Enpire Strikes Back* I have loved that cryptic little Jedi master! He was just the right amount of grumpy mixed with wisdom. And I clearly transferred that adoration to my kids. D loves Yoda, too. This was his costume for a preschool May the Fourth Be With You party. ...and he loved being the same size as Yoda at the Star Wars exhibit we attended in 2013. When I talked about what I could make that was Yoda-inspired, D remembered his Kaffir Lime Matcha Sugar Cookies   that were just the right shade of green. Just a reminder why you're being bombarded by Star Wars-inspired recipes...Kelley of Simply Inspired Meals is hosting a month of Star Wars recipes for Food'N'Flix . You can read her invitation here . So, D wanted to make cookies again, but I wanted to go 'swampy' and opted to make a homemade Italian liqueur made with foraged bay leaves. You can make this in as little as two weeks, but I prefer to ...