Culinary Adventures with Camilla

It's hard to believe that the first quarter of 2020 is almost over. Welcome to our March #EattheWorld project, being spearheaded by Evelyne of  CulturEatz . Here's  her challenge . This month she said, "Snowstorm and winter relief! Bring the tropics to your kitchens as we explore Fiji on a plate! Join us on March 10th, 2020 at 10 am with a recipe." Before I get to my post, please take a look at the offerings... A Day in the Life on the Farm:  Kokoda Amy’s Cooking Adventures:  Fijian Creamy Lentil Soup (Dhal)   Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Fijian Food for a Crowd: Curry, Pulao, and Cassava Cake  CulturEatz:  Kokoda, a Fijian Coconut Milk Ceviche   Dinner By Dennis:  Palusami   Kitchen Frau:  Spiced Sweet Potato and Banana Salad   Making Miracles:  Lolo Buns   Palatable Pastime:  Pawpaw Curry with Lolo   Pandemonium Noshery:  Fijian Banana Cake with Dates and Coconut   ...

Who needs a flowers when your Love bring you purple cauliflower?!? In this case it wasn't my husband, but my littlest Love - one of my Kitchen Elves. The Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf walked up to me in Whole Foods with his hands behind his back. "Mom, can you buy something for me? It's edible." Sure. What it is? "Well, I want to buy it with my own money, but I didn't bring any money. But I want to buy it for you because it so pretty!" He swung his arms out and was holding a beautiful, deep purple head of cauliflower. "Can you buy it for me? I'll give you money when we get home." Absolutely. But, you do know that we're going to eat it, right? You don't want me to put that in a vase, do you? "Well, can it sit in a vase for one night? Then you can cook it." Deal. I actually whipped this up the first night the boys were away for Fall Break. So, D didn't actually get to eat the centerpiece! I served this ...

For the love of coconut! Because National Piña Colada Day is on July 10th, the Sunday Supper tastemakers are celebrating with all things coconut! This event is hosted by Constance of  Cosmopolitan Cornbread . All Things Coconut... Great Starts Coconut Granola Bowla by Family Foodie Gluten Free Coconut French Toast by Gluten Free Crumbley Make Ahead Healthy Piña Colada Breakfast Parfait by Easy Cooking with Molly Piña Colada Granola (grain free) by My Life Cookbook Piña Colada Nut Bread by Where Latin Meets Lagniappe Piña Colada Overnight Oats by Take A Bite Out of Boca Piña Colada Pancakes by Dizzy Busy and Hungry Dive in with Sides and Appetizers Easy Piña Colada Salad by April Golightly Piña Colada Coleslaw by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Coco-Nutty Main Dishes Chickpea Potato Curry by Sunday Supper Movement Piña Colada Chicken and Rice by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings Piña Colada Chicken Skewers by The Crumby Cupcake Pineapple B...

For this Sunday Supper we are celebrating pies! Definition of a Pie Before I decided on what I wanted to share, I looked at my previous pie posts and chuckled at this conversation from a few years ago when we were discussing: What makes a pie a pie? Sensibly, my Precise Kitchen Elf said, "A pie has no frosting." True . My Love declared, "It's the crust." Okay . And my sweet, Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf asserted, "A pie has a crust...and is low to the ground." Huh . "You know, a cake can be tall; a pie is short." Employing all three of those criteria - no frosting, a crust, and low to the ground - a galette can qualify as a pie. So can a tart, right? Our host for this event is Erica from   The Crumby Cupcake   and she seems to embrace a loose definition of a pie, too. She wrote: " Shortcrust, puff pastry, two-crust, one-crust, crumb crusts, with all sorts of fillings from fruit or nuts, to cheese or meat. Or mak...

Welcome to the inaugural Fish Friday Foodies, coordinated by Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm . She writes that in the interest of eating healthier in 2016, we'll be sharing fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month. I'm in! That definitely fits into our goals of eating less meat and more fish this year. I had initially planned to share a recipe with the seafood from our community supported fishery. But, the Precise Kitchen Elf was sick on Tuesday and I was completely befuddled. I missed my pick-up because I didn't know what day of the week it was. Boo! So, I'll write more about Real Good Fish on another post. As Plan B, I needed something fast. This dish is on the table in less than 20 minutes. Perfect! Ingredients 1 lb scallops (these are listed as best choice or good alternative according to Seafood Watch ) 1 T crushed garlic 1 T minced ginger 1/2 t ground turmeric 1 t tamarind paste (you can find this at an Asian grocery store)...

A twist on Aldous Huxley's  Brave New World, m y planned 'Brave New Swirled Soup' - 'Pumpkin, Corn, and Lemongrass Soup with a Swirl of Crème Fraîche' became 'Pumpkin, Corn, and Lemongrass Soup with a Swirl of Plain Yogurt' after I sent the crème fraîche over to my parents with the boys a day early. The boys spread it on their bagels for lunch! Oye. The plain yogurt worked out fine...and makes for a silly story. Brave New World 's title comes from William Shakespeare's The Tempest.  In Act V, Scene I, Miranda exclaims: O wonder! How many godly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in't. The irony: Miranda, who was raised on an isolated island, is praising men not  acting in godly manner at all. Huxley uses the same irony when the "savage" John refers to what he sees as a "brave new world." It's been a long time since I've picked up eit...

In an effort to make all of my holiday gifts this year, I invited some of my favorite foodie bloggers to share recipes for hand-crated edibles. Over the course of the next twelve weeks, we'll be sharing recipes from homemade spice blends (last week's theme) to charcuterie trays and everything in between. Hope you'll follow along for inspiration. You can find out more information, including the schedule:  here . This week, we're sharing our favorite special diets creations. They might be gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or sugar-free. Thanks to these gals and their Special Diets Creations! Amy's Cooking Adventures   bakes some  Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Bites Sarah of  Fantastical Sharing of Recipes  blends up her  Maple Cream (Gluten Free) Rebekah from  Making Miracles  offers a Dairy-Free, Soy-Free Pumpkin Pie Culinary Adventures with Camilla  is whisking together a  Dairy-Free Aztec ...

This is  not  a traditional Thai  Khao Neeo Mamuang ; it's my own fast and loose interpretation with seasonal peaches instead of not-local mangoes. I love the nuttiness of the forbidden rice...and I love that name! Plus, it  is  delicious! Ingredients 2 C Forbidden rice 2 C coconut cream 2 C water 1/2 C organic granulated sugar 1 t pure vanilla extract 4 T coconut flakes, toasted ripe peaches, sliced for serving Procedure Place all of the ingredients - except for the coconut flakes and the peaches - in a large saucepan that has a lid. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and let steam until the rice is tender. If the rice is not cooked, but all the liquid has evaporated, add in more water. Once the rice is cooked, fold in the coconut flakes. Spoon it out on individual plates and top with sliced peaches.

Goedangan is a cool and refreshing salad that's similar to Indonesian gado-gado . It's made with blanched vegetables in a coconut-based dressing. Ingredients 1 small head of cabbage, thinly sliced 8 oz green beans, ends trimmed 2 C mung bean sprouts 2 hard boiled eggs 1/3 C coconut cream 1/2 C yogurt 3 T organic turbinado sugar 3 T fresh cilantro, chopped juice from 1 organic Meyer lemon pinch of salt ground paprika for garnish Procedure Whisk together the coconut cream and yogurt. Stir in the sugar, cilantro, lemon juice, and salt. Chill until ready to serve. Slice the cabbage into thin strips and trim the ends off the green beans. In batches, blanch the cabbage, green beans, and mung bean sprouts. Drain and plunge them into a batch of ice water. Let stand for 5 minutes. then drain. Place the vegtables in a large mixing bowl. Spoon dressing over the top and toss to coat. Arrange vegetables on a platter and top with wedg...

It is a rare day that Jake makes a request for food; he usually just eats whatever I make. But when he looked at the mango in our fruit bowl and asked, "Do you have any rice? The white, sticky kind?" I followed his gaze and commented, "You want mango sticky rice, don't you?!" Yes! Okay. This is not a traditional Thai  Khao Neeo Mamuang ; it's my own fast and loose interpretation. But it is delicious! 2 C Kuhuho Rose rice 2 C coconut cream 2 C milk 1/2 C organic granulated sugar 1 t pure vanilla extract 1 ripe mango, peeled and sliced Place all of the ingredients - except for the mango - in a large saucepan that has a lid. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and let steam until the rice is tender. If the rice is not cooked, but all the liquid has evaporated, add in more milk. Once the rice is cooked, spoon it out on individual plates and top with mango.

MOffin = mochiko (sweet rice flour) + muffin. This makes for a quick and portable breakfast. I served these with some yogurt and fresh strawberries from my WE Cooperative CSA box from Fogline Farm . 4  eggs 1/2 C olive oil 1-3/4 C coconut cream 1/4 C water 1/2 C organic raw turbinado sugar 1 T baking powder 1 box of rice flour 1 C fresh blackberries Mix the eggs and oil. Then mix in everything else until just moistened. Spoon the batter into greased muffin hollow. Bake for about 30 minutes at 375˚F till the top of the MOffin is slightly browned.

So, that is not a typo. I do not mean 'muffin.' I do mean MOffin. Mochi + Muffin = MOffins. I haven't made these for a couple of years, but they are always a favorite on a chilly autumn morning. 4  eggs 1/2 C olive oil 1-3/4 C coconut cream 1/4 C water 1/2 C organic raw turbinado sugar 1 T baking powder dash of ground ginger dash of ground cinnamon dash of ground nutmeg dash of ground cardamom 1 box of rice flour   Mix the eggs and oil. Then mix in everything else. Spoon the batter into lined muffin cups. Bake for about 30 minutes at 375˚F till the top of the MOffin is slightly browned.