Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I'm so excited to be wrapping up #BrunchWeek with this easy but unique pizza...and it's pretty! When I saw the bunch of dandelions in my  WE Cooperative  CSA box from  Fogline Farm , I decided to make dandelion pesto and smear it on a pizza crust. When I plan ahead - way ahead - my favorite pizza crust is Mark Bittman's "No Work Mostly Whole Wheat Pizza Dough." This is the easiest pizza dough I have ever made! But it does require lots of lead time. The recipe suggests letting the dough ferment for six to twelve hours and that the longer you let it ferment, the more complex the flavor. 2 C whole wheat flour 1 C white flour 1/2 t active dry yeast 1 t fennel pollen 1 t pink Himalaya salt freshly ground pepper 2 T olive oil 1-1/2 C warm water Mix everything together in a large bowl. The texture will be a wet, sticky dough. Cover and let ferment for as long as you can - between six and twelve hours. At the end of that, use the dough as you would use ...

Here we are at Day Three of #BrunchWeek. Inspired by Miche Bacher's Fig and Rose Cream Trifle recipe in her new cookbook  Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers ,  I made a  rose-infused cream  and layered it into a trifle with some fresh kiwi and rose petals. The cake is scented with saffron, elevating the entire dessert to an exotic, sensual treat. 1 C organic butter pinch of saffron 3/4 C milk 2 eggs 1-1/2 C organic granulated sugar 1-3/4 C white whole wheat 2 t baking powder splash of pure vanilla extract 6 fresh kiwis 3 C  rose petal whipped cream rose petals for garnishing Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter and saffron in a saucepan. Add the milk and let stand. In a large mixing bowl, blend the eggs and sugar until opaque and beginning to plump in volume. Stir in the flour and baking powder until completely combined. Pour in the saffron-infused butter a...

For Jake's birthday party at the beach, I whipped up some carrot cupcakes and zucchini cupcakes. They were devoured before I remembered to take a photo of them, but I did shoot the extra batter that I made into a loaf! Same recipe, different shape. 2 C white whole wheat flour 2 t baking powder 1-1/2 t baking soda 1 t ground cardamom 1 t ground ginger 3 eggs 1-1/2 C organic raw sugar 1 C Greek yogurt 1/2 C olive oil 2 C grated carrots 1 C sliced almonds 1/2 C marigold petals + some for garnish Preheat oven to 325. Whisk all wet ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Stir in carrots. Fold in dry ingredients until just moistened. Gently fold the flower petals. Scrape batter into cupcake liners and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely then top with cream cheese frosting and top with more marigold petals for garnish Cream cheese frosting: 16 oz cream cheese, 1/2 C softened butter, 1 T vanilla extrac...

The pansy in this creation is completely gratuitous; it's just pretty. But I liked the way it looked with the purple potatoes, so I went with it. Feel free to exclude the flower...it'll taste just as good! 1 potato per person + 1 extra, scrubbed, dried, and cubed (use a variety of potatoes for the most plate appeal, including red potatoes, Yukon golds, and purple potatoes) kernels of corn from 2 ears 2 T fresh cilantro, rough chopped 2 T butter, room temperature 1 T fresh lemon juice freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper pansies for garnish, optional Boil the potatoes until they are just fork tender. Blanch the corn kernels. Drain everything and place them in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the butter until it's melted and everything is nicely coated. Toss with lemon juice, salt and pepper to season. Serve warm and garnish with pansies, if desired.

Even though I wrapped up my review of Miche Baker's  Cooking with Flowers , I am still relishing adding blossoms to my culinary creations. So, tonight I made some cheesy black bean quesadillas with chicken and nasturtiums for dinner. So fast, so easy, and so tasty. Lightly butter a large flat-bottom pan. Lay tortilla in the pan. Cover with shredded cheese. Add slices of roasted chicken, cooked black beans, and nasturtium petals. Cover with more cheese. Top with a second tortilla. Heat until the tortilla is lightly toasted. Flip over and complete toasting the other side. Serve hot with a side of salsa.

*Full Disclosure: I received a complimentary, advance copy of this book -  Cooking with Flowers  by Miche Baker  -  from the publishers for the purpose of reviewing it. All opinions are my own.* The beginning of my fascination with flowers. At the Keukenhof Garden. 1976. In another lifetime, I worked as a florist. I loved that job. I created beautiful arrangements, my clothes smelled like flowers, and I never had any empty vases in my house. These days, I only push petals on special occasions but I still love anything to do with flowers. So, when Eric at  Quirk Books  asked me if I would be interested in previewing and reviewing  Cooking with Flowers  by Miche Baker of  Mali B Sweets , I couldn't say 'yes' fast enough. As soon as it arrived, excitement washed over me as I giddily tore open the envelope. I thumbed through the pages, enthralled by the dizzying array of Miche's recipes and entranced by photographs by Miuna Jun...

This hearty, exotic salad was inspired by the Thai Orchid Beef Salad recipe in  Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers  by Miche Bacher of  Mali B Sweets . I made several adaptations. I didn't have any beef in my fridge, but I had a few salmon filets. So, I went with those. I lined the plates with Little Gems lettuce leaves. It almost looks like the picture...the dendrobium orchids are ridiculously photogenic. salmon filets for as many people as you are serving 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced splash of olive oil soy sauce Little Gems lettuce leaves 1/2 C fresh, chopped cilantro 3 chives, chopped 6-8 dendrobium orchids Dressing: 3 T fermented fish sauce 3 T Meyer lemon juice 1 T organic honey 1/2 t Thai chili paste Saute the onions in a large, flat bottom pan that will be able to accommodate all of your salmon. Once the onions are softened, but not browned, lay your salmon filets ...

I was inspired by Miche Bacher's Calendula Quiche in  Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers . But I didn't have calendula and I have never liked the designation of a 'crustless quiche.' To me, a crust makes it a quiche. I call this a frittata and decided to use my organic marigolds. 1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced 1 bunch chard, chiffonaded 6 eggs, beaten fromage blanc petals from 6 organic marigolds freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper Preheat the oven to 350. Butter your baking dish and set aside. In a large saucepan, quickly saute the leeks and chard until just beginning to wilt. You don't want them soggy. Spoon them into your baking dish, sprinkle them 1/3 of your marigold petals, and cover them with beaten egg. Dot the dish with as many dollops of fromage blanc as you want. I used a sheep's milk  fromage blanc  from  Garden Variety Cheese  at the Monkeyflower ...

I sprinkled dianthus blossoms on top of a dandelion pesto-smeared pizza for our first course. For the second, I topped a salad with jasmine blooms from Jenn's garden. organic wild arugula organic micro greens romaine lettuce hearts cubes of Danish feta roasted beets , cubed sliced almonds jasmine blooms for garnish freshly ground pepper Meyer lemon vinaigrette* *white ambrosia vinegar, Meyer lemon juice and zest, olive oil, freshly ground sea salt and pepper If you know nothing else about vinaigrettes, remember this: the magic ratio of oil to vinegar/acid is 3 to 1. As long as you know that, you won't need to consult a vinaigrette recipe ever again. Just remember three parts oil to one part vinegar/acid and you'll be all right. If you get them backwards and do three parts vinegar to one part oil, your puckered mouth will ensure you don't make that mistake a second time!  So, I did 3 parts olive oil, 2/3 part white ambrosia vinegar, 1/3 p...

When I saw the bunch of dandelions in my  WE Cooperative  CSA box from  Fogline Farm , I decided to make dandelion pesto and smear it on a pizza crust. Dinner! When I plan ahead - way ahead - my favorite pizza crust is Mark Bittman's "No Work Mostly Whole Wheat Pizza Dough." This is the easiest pizza dough I have ever made! But it does require lots of lead time. The recipe suggests letting the dough ferment for six to twelve hours and that the longer you let it ferment, the more complex the flavor. 2 C whole wheat flour 1 C white flour 1/2 t active dry yeast 1 t fennel pollen 1 t pink Himalaya salt freshly ground pepper 2 T olive oil 1-1/2 C warm water Mix everything together in a large bowl. The texture will be a wet, sticky dough. Cover and let ferment for as long as you can - between six and twelve hours. At the end of that, use the dough as you would use any pizza dough. When I'm pressed for time, as I was tonight, this dough works fine. 1 ...

My foray into cooking with flowers continues. This is the perfect Springtime kitchen project. This morning - before the boys headed off for school - I whipped up some crêpes sprinkled with Sweet William petals. 1-1/2 C white whole wheat flour 3 eggs 2 C organic whole milk dash of cardamom splash of vanilla organic Sweet William blossoms Whisk all of the ingredients - except the flowers -  together until lump-free. Let sit for at least 20 minutes. Heat a large flat-bottom pan and rub the bottom with butter. Pour the batter in the middle of the pan and quickly make a tilting motion to distribute the batter all over the pan. The goal: have as thin a batter layer as possible. Gently press a few petals into the batter. Cook until the crêpes is a bit stiff and flip over, cooking for another minute The pancake should be lightly browned on both sides. Repeat till all the batter is used; I made 10 crêpes with the amount listed. I served these with smears ...

My friend Jenn brought me some roses from her garden this weekend. Gorgeous, organic roses. Inspired by Miche Bacher's Fig and Rose Cream Trifle recipe in her new cookbook  Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers ,  I made a rose-infused cream and layered it into a trifle with some fresh kiwi and rose petals. The cake is scented with saffron, elevating the entire dessert to an exotic, sensual treat. 1 C organic butter pinch of saffron 3/4 C milk 2 eggs 1-1/2 C organic granulated sugar 1-3/4 C white whole wheat 2 t baking powder splash of pure vanilla extract 6 fresh kiwis 3 C rose petal whipped cream rose petals for garnishing Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter and saffron in a saucepan. Add the milk and let stand. In a large mixing bowl, blend the eggs and sugar until opaque and beginning to plump in volume. Stir in the flour and baking powder until completely combined. Pour ...