Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Hearing 'SPAM' might make you think of high-sodium military rations or something you don't want to see in your email in-box. But in Hawaii, it’s a popular ingredient that people use in comfort food. SPAM and veggie stir fry, SPAM omelette, SPAM skewers, SPAM fried rice, or SPAM sandwiches. You name it. Our first stop after landing on Oahu was the Musubi & Bento IYASUME. It ended up being the only place we ate in Waikiki for the entire week...though we did stop there more than once for portable deliciousness that fit into our backpacks!   And I have made them twice already since we have been home. Ingredients  makes 8 pieces 1 teaspoon oil 1 can SPAM or other luncheon meat , sliced into 8 pieces 1/4 cup water 2 teaspoons soy sauce 2 Tablespoons organic granulated sugar 4 cups cooked sushi or seasoned rice (one of my recipes  here )  3 sheets roasted seaweed nori, cut into strips the width of the SPAM slices Procedure Heat a skillet over medium heat. Pour in the oi...

Today the Sunday Funday group is celebrating umami. Thanks to Stacy of  Food Lust People Love , Sue of  Palatable Pastime , Rebekah of  Making Miracles , and Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  for coordinating this low-stress group. Today Sue is hosting and she's given us the prompt of making recipes with umami. Then she shared this link to help guide our umami explorations: Getting to Know Umami Powerhouses . Here's the #SundayFunday umami line-up... Chorizo Chickpea Tomato Pasta  by Food Lust People Love Easy Vegan Pad Thai by Cook with Renu Fried Chicken Wings - Korean Style  by Sneha's Recipe  Patatas Bravas  by Mayuri's Jikoni Steaks with Gouda Sauce  by Amy's Cooking Adventures Tomato and Blue Cheese Salad  by A Day in the Life on the Farm Umami Bomb Tomato Sauce  by Making Miracles Umami from the Sea: Sea Palm-Kale Salad and Uni Handrolls by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Umami I was already pret...

With some leftover nori sheets from my Food'N'Flix Onigiri Adventure , I decided to make some rolls for dinner. And, in line with my sheer Saturday laziness, I didn't even cut them. I just served what the boys jokingly called 'nori sausages.' nori sheets, I used 2 per person forbidden rice , cooked and still hot* carrots, julienned yellow squash, julienned Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced *It's crucial that the rice is still hot. That will render the nori more pliable and less likely to crack when you roll it. Lay your nori sheets on a cutting board. You can use a bamboo sushi mat; I just rolled by hand tonight. Spoon 3 T of forbidden rice onto one end of the sheet, pressing down slightly so that it covers about a third of your sheet. Lay your veggies in the center of the rice. Then, starting at the rice side, gradually form a roll with the rice and the nori. Pile them, seam-side down. As they sit, the warm rice will seal the rolls. I served...

Years ago I hosted a sushi-rolling party for my running group. We were 'on a roll' toward a half-marathon and I wanted to celebrate our successes. We were also celebrating a friend's birthday, so I made a Sushi Cake. Well, it was a cake that looked like sushi... I considered doing something like that for this month's  Food'N'Flix   dinner. I had chosen  Jiro Dreams of Sushi   for the group, after all. But, honestly, after watching the movie twice I just felt completely deflated. I was not inspired to cook anything; all I wanted to do was hop on a plane and go to Sukiyabashi Jiro .  I considered taking a trip to the local fish market for both ingredients and inspiration, but ours pales in comparison to the Tsukiji Market. Then I toyed with making a noodle dish like the one the apprentices were eating in the kitchen...something like ramen. No matter what I put on the table, nothing would look as delectable and fresh as his creations. When I started watc...