Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Easter is always a fun celebration with my parents. This year, my menu was inspired by some of my favorite food purveyors: Farmer Jamie at Serendipity Farms , Wayne's Fine Swine , and Chef Ron at Revival Ice Cream .  And I just swapped out the wine paring for the main course because I received my shipment from Hundred Suns Wine and wanted to have them on my Easter table. I have never tried their wines, but it's a boutique operation in Oregon and I went to high school with the wife. Besides, my parents are coming over and they play ukulele with that schoolmate's mom. Small world. Really. And, yes, you are reading that correctly. I am serving rabbit on Easter Sunday. No, I assured my boys, it's not that rabbit! Can't wait till Sunday. I'll link up recipes following that. If you celebrate, what's on your Easter table this year? 

Surprise!  I knew that the man who purchased my locavore cooking class + wine pairing dinner , at a local auction, was going to surprise his wife on her birthday. I didn't realize that it was a surprise to everyone that they had to cook their own dinner! A few of the guests looked a little stunned when I handed them knives, made them pull tasks out of my wooden bowl, and settled them in to work stations around the kitchen. But they ended up having fun while they cooked...I hope! Here's what they made...recipe posts to come. Thanks, again, to my produce and wine donors. I couldn't have done it with you all. Menu I. Cheese, Local Honey, Nuts, Grapes, and Olives Grilled Artichokes Grilled Squash Bruschetta with Goat Cheese + Chard Pesto Wine Pairing Côtes de Paso by Halter Ranch II. Monkfish en Papillote Spiced Cauliflower-Carrot Salad Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs over Peppercress Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette   Wine Pairing  Pin...

I recently saw a poll, on a foodie blog that I follow, that asked how readers would classify themselves. Helpful suggestions were offered: Vegetarian? Vegan? Omnivore?  I paused before answering. I was a vegetarian for the greater part of a decade; I could never go back. And though I thoroughly enjoyed a vegan dinner in San Francisco recently, that is a much too involved way of eating. As a mother attempting to raise kids with fearless palates, I think the label I embrace would be: 'thoughtful locavore.' I don't want to limit my food to things that don't have eyeballs. It's more important to me that the food I'm consuming - and serving to my kids - was grown and produced without chemicals, locally, and in a sustainable way. I want my kids to know where their food is coming from...and to understand why we only eat peaches and tomatoes at certain times of the year. They definitely need to know that lettuce doesn't come from a grocery store, wrapp...