Culinary Adventures with Camilla

We are kicking off 2021 in our online Lit Happens book group with Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore.* And though it's not a cook-from-the-book kinda group, I am almost always inspired into the kitchen after reading a book or watching a movie.  On the Page image from amazon.com I honestly can't even remember what made me pick up this book, or choose it for the group, but it was a diversion for an evening or two. The ensuing online discussion with the other readers has been much more interesting in my opinion. The premise of this book - that Oona time-travel every year on her birthday and lives her life out of order - is intriguing. And having seen the rave reviews, I was excited to read it. But I struggled through this story because I didn't care for the protagonist.  Oona is selfish and though she’s aware she’s living her life in random, one-year segments, she’s remarkably uninterested in any kind of introspection. Her main goal in life seems to be having fun, rega...

I picked up a copy of Crazy Rich Asians  by Kevin Kwan* after hearing the author interviewed on NPR about the movie adaptation. I figured: if I'm going to see the movie - because after hearing the interview, I definitely wanted to see it - I'd like to read the book first.  Now that I've read it...eh...I'm not sure that I'll see the movie. And I am absolutely not going to read the remaining books in the trilogy. While I loved the way the book opened, it devolved into a sort of retro television soap opera featuring an all-Asian cast. Do you remember the show Dynasty?! Well, all that drama, except set in Singapore. But the ball gowns, the mansions, the mistresses, the jewelry, the drama, and the family feuds were all there. Additionally it's over 500 pages. Five. Hundred. Pages. I kept asking myself, "Is this necessary?" The writing grew repetitive and the story tedious. On the Page Rachel and Nick are professors in New York who have been dat...

Gimjang  is the traditional process of preparing kimchi. This is not that. I'm pretty sure actual Koreans wouldn't consider this kimchi either. But, it's similar to what I buy in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods...and they call that kimchi. So, I'll do the same! There's a Korean saying:  "There are as many types of gimchi as there are holes in the ground." Reason being that that's how gimchi/kimchi is traditionally made. A friend who lived in Korea for many years informed me that traditional kimchi is made in fall, left in kimchi pots in the ground for several months during winter, to ferment naturally. Although most Koreans now, she wrote, have special "kimchi refrigerators" - sort of like wine fridges - that keep the kimchi at the right temperature until it's ready in spring. Wow. I want one of those! So, my version of fermented cabbage may be the furthest possible process from authentic  gimjang , but it tastes great a...

Every time we have ribs for dinner, we chuckle about this story. D was about three-years-old at the time, riding in the cart with me at the grocery store. He asked me about the rack of ribs in the cart, pointing, "Mommy, what are those?"  Ribs , I answered.  His chubby fingers went to his side and he declared, "These are my ribs!"  Yes, that's true.  Horror contorted his little face and he whispered, pointing into my shopping cart, "Whose ribs are those?!?"  Not a person's , I assured him.  "Then who?" he demanded. He knew meat came from a living animal. But, I suppose, ribs were a little too recognizable. Now he loves ribs, but we still tell that story every time they're on our table. The marinade on these ribs were inspired by the flavors in some of our favorite Vietnamese dishes. Well, it has a lot of Asian-inspired flavors. It was tasty! Ingredients 1 medium shallot, finely chopped 2 lemongra...

Inspired by his latest issue of MAKE  magazine, the Precise Kitchen Elf requested that we make our own hot sauce. Done. Though the magazine was the inspiration, the recipe is our own. Ingredients 2 pounds fresh peppers (I had shishitos, red jalapenos, and more) 3 whole garlic cloves 1 T salt 1 1/2 C white vinegar Procedure Wash and dry your peppers. Lay them on a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Roast for 40 minutes - until the peppers are shriveled and golden.     Once roasted, pull the stems from the peppers.     Combine the peppers, garlic cloves, and salt in a blender. Blend for a few pulses. Once the ingredients are roughly combined, drizzle in the vinegar. Blend till smooth.     Transfer sauce to a jar and cover with a cheesecloth. Allow to sit in the pantry; the longer it sits, the deeper the flavor that develops.  We le...

In an effort to make all of my holiday gifts this year, my blogging friends and I are sharing recipes for hand-crafted edibles. Over the course of twelve weeks, we've been sharing recipes that you can make at home to give to friends and loved ones, or things to serve at holiday parties. It's hard to believe we're at week 11. We hope you'll follow along for inspiration. You can find out more information, including the schedule:  here . This week, we are bringing you inspiration for your holiday cookie trays. Have you started with you holiday baking yet? Thanksgiving weekend, my Kitchen Elves and I baked four different kinds of cookies. So. Much. Fun. Our #HandCraftedEdibles Cookie Tray... Amy's Cooking Adventures  shared 40+ Cookie Cookie Recipes Fantastical Sharing of Recipes  created Dark Chocolate Cherry Pudding Cookies Cookaholic Wife  baked Iced Gingerbread Biscotti Making Miracles  made Candy Cane Cookies Sew You Think You Can Cook ...

Halloween always makes us all a little batty. And it launches our entire household into the state of constant motion that is typically only in my domain. My husband and boys have been beyond busy with their costume construction. R is BB-8 and D is an AT-ST. Can you tell we're huge Star Wars fanatics? But, seriously, I ask my husband why Halloween costumes require schematics and months - literally months - of planning and execution. He just ignores the question and asks what's for dinner. We all have our areas of expertise. I needed a quick, mostly hands off dinner that would cook while I ran around the kitchen like a mad woman, getting things ready for all the Halloween festivities. Chicken wings it was. But - in the Halloween frame of mind - bat wings they were called. I laughed as my husband asked if everyone had already eaten - we had - and he took the entire bowl and a beer to his seat and polished it off. Ingredients  serves 4 2 pounds chicken wings, s...

After picking up two flats of tomatoes from Jamie at Serendipity Farm in Carmel, earlier this week, I pondered what to make. Initially, I had thought I'd make a basic sugo to use as a pasta sauce base. Then, I realized that I wanted to be a little bit more adventurous. I've made Tomato Jam . And I've made Bacon Jam . But, I've never made a Bacon-Tomato Jam!  I added a little culinary intrigue with black garlic (click to  read about it ), smoked paprika, smoked sea salt, and local bacon odds and ends from Baker's Bacon . A word of warning: this is concentrated stuff. So tasty, but a little bit goes a long, long way. Ingredients 4 pounds tomatoes, diced 1-1/2 C bacon, diced 4 cloves black garlic, thinly sliced* 1 t smoked sea salt* 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper 1/2 C organic dark brown sugar 1 t hot sauce (I used Garlic Goodness from Intensity Academy ) 1 T smoked paprika 3 T vinegar (I used a white balsamic) Proced...

Here we are at day two of my  Hot Summer Eats event . As promised, I will be sharing a grilled recipe, a non-lettuce salad, and/or a cocktail. So, for the non-salad offering today, here's my recipe for a garlicky bean salad...with a little help from one of our event sponsors:  Intensity Academy Gourmet Sauces . Intensity Academy's  Garlic Goodness Hot Sauce  added the perfect amount of heat and flavor to my bean salad. I use dried beans, but you can certainly speed it up by using canned beans. Ingredients 1 pound beans (I used dried Moro beans. Click here for how to cook dried beans .) 4 onions, peeled and sliced 1 T butter 1 t local honey juice from 1 organic lemon zest from 1 organic lemon olive oil 1 to 2 T Intensity Academy's  Garlic Goodness Hot Sauce 1 T fresh herbs (I used parsley) Procedure In a large flat-bottom pan, melt the butter over a low heat. Add the onions and cook, over low heat, until caramelized. Mine took appr...

Earlier this month I hosted an 8-day online event celebrating food and romance - #TripleSBites. Along with 19 other bloggers, we shared over 130 recipes. I wanted to give my readers an easy way to view the recipes from each sponsor. Here are the 10 recipes posted using  Pirate Jonny's  Syrena's Seduction Sauce. Thanks, again, for sending product to the bloggers and for providing a wonderful prize package for our readers! Check out everything from tostadas to kimchi. These recipes are listed in alphabetical not chronological posting order. Enjoy! All  of the  Pirate Jonny's   Recipes... Caribbean Beans & Rice by Dancing Veggies Dairy-Free Chicken Burritos by The Not So Cheesy Kitchen Date Worthy Beef and Cheddar Sliders by Famished Fish, Finicky Shark Roasted Chickpea Tostadas by Amy's Cooking Adventures Seared Tri Tip Bites with Smoky Date Sauce by Famished Fish, Finicky Shark Seductive Tossed Salad by Amy's Cooking Adventures Smo...