Culinary Adventures with Camilla

It's time for Fish Friday Foodies' August 2021  event. W e are a group of seafood-loving bloggers, rallied by Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm , to   share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month.  This month, we are looking at seafood appetizers with Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen leading the discussion. " Share your Favorite Seafood Appetizer," she wrote. Here's the line-up for the event... Air Fryer Crab Rangoon from Karen's Kitchen Stories Crumbed Fresh Herbed Fried Fish from Sneha's Recipe Peel-N- Eat Shrimp from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Piri Piri Shrimp from Palatable Pastime Spiced Salmon Bites from Zesty South Indian Kitchen Sweet and Spicy Shrimp from A Day in the Life on the Farm Vietnamese-Style Summer Rolls with Smoked Trout Pate and Smoked Salmon from of Goats and Greens One of our favorite appetizers is peel-n-eat shrimp. Here's what Seafood Watch has to say about shrimp and mak...

It's Fish Friday Foodies time again. We're a group of seafood-loving bloggers, coordinated by Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm ; w e share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month. I hope you'll follow along and get inspired. This month, April of  Angels Home Sweet Homestead   is  hosting. Here was her challenge to the group: " Pan or Deep Fried Fish is a Southern treat that can't be beat. Recipes are as varied as the cooks who prepare them. Flour or cornmeal, or both? Wet or dry coating? From fish, to shrimp, to calamari, and everything in between, let's have a good ol' Southern fish fry!" Okay, true confessions: I don't like to fry. I even come up with ways to bake things that are almost always fried. My Stuffed Squash Blossoms are a case in point as are the fries for my  Moules Frites and my Supplì al Telefono . So, I decided to stretch the frying category to pan-frying...with no breading. Several months ag...

When I signed on for the  Foodie Reads 2016 Challenge , I pledged that I would read more than nineteen books during the course of 2016. Amazingly, this is book number nineteen and the year is not yet half over! Dare I think I might be able to knock out thirty-eight books this year? I'm not sure about that. But I'll try. Maybe I can hit at least thirty. Maybe. I had started  The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo  by F.G. Haghenbeck* last month, but just finished it this week. images from fridakahlo.org On the Page... I can probably pick out a Frida Kahlo painting; they're pretty distinctive. But I definitely can't say that I know much about her life. So, I was instantly intrigued by the premise of  The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo. The titular secret book was found among her personal effects at La Casa Azul, her childhood home, and contained recipes for offerings on the Day of the Dead. The book mysteriously vanished the day it was supposed to be exhibited. ...

When I saw #peterbsbrewsandbitescontest - a cooking contest to create an appetizer using one of their brews - announced on Peter B's Facebook page , I   was instantly inspired. I wanted to create a dish showcasing my favorite Peter B's brew: Legend of Laguna IPA. I am definitely not a hop-head; I am typcially not a fan of IPAs. But the first time I tasted the Legend of Laguna IPA, in a tasting flight, I was enamored. It was my favorite of the six for sure. I went back to try it a second time and had the same reaction: I love the citrusy, everygreeny taste! It's bright without being too bitter. I'm definitely a fan. So, to play on those orange and pine flavors, I created some carnitas-topped polenta cakes made with citrus juice and pine honey. If you're local, here's a link to all the places you can purchase bottles , and the brew pub also has growlers & growlettes to go! Here we go...what I made for #peterbsbrewsandbitescontest... N...

Tonight I made a delicious Lemon-Herb Compound Butter and used it atop Roasted Cod Filets . But, after we devoured all the fish, my boys were still hungry. So, I decided to use it on some pan-fried haloumi. It was a hit! Halloumi, or haloumi, cheese originated in Cyprus during the Medieval Byzantine period. Traditionally, haloumi was wrapped with mint leaves to preserve it; today it's often packaged with pieces of mint leaves on the cheese's surface. It's similar to mozzarella but it has a higher than normal melting point, so it's perfect for frying or grilling. Cypriots eat the cheese with watermelon during summer months. Ingredients bread, sliced haloumi, sliced olive oil Lemon-Herb Compound Butter Procedure In a medium skillet, heat a splash of olive oil. Lay slices of haloumi in the pan and cook for 30 to 45 seconds on each side, or until a golden-brown crust appears. Flip over and pan-fry on the other side. To serve, place a slice of griddl...

It's time for Group B's  Secret Recipe Club   June reveal. This month I was assigned to   The Tasty Cheapskate , a blog written by Jean. She humorously writes about the name of her blog and how cheapskatery was a major theme of her childhood. She admits that she cooks now. And eats. "Though--for the record--I'm still really cheap (not margarine cheap, my friends, but cheap). It's in my bones." Too funny. Glad to have gotten to know her...and her glowing liver! Jean has a Cheap Eat Challenge where she's attempting to feed 6 people on 6 dollars a day. Click to read more about that: here . These Balsamic Strawberries cost just over $1; Dal with Tomato and Cream is just less than $2; and her Skillet Lasagna was $5. I wanted to try something completely new to us and settled on her Okra Chips . But I will definitely give her Dilly Beans  and Quick Pickles a try this summer. We, as a family, as not anti-okra, but I have never made them this way. Enj...

Okonomiyaki  is a savory pancake.  Okonomi  means something along the lines of "what you want" and  yaki  means "grilled" or "cooked." We've made it before - during our  Cooking Around the World Adventure   when we traveled to Japan by tabletop. Click to see that post: here . Tonight, it was less "what you want" and more "what's in the vegetable bin." I had green cabbage, purple cabbage, yellow carrots, and a fennel bulb. It was a quick, filling dinner. Ingredients 2 C organic chicken stock 2 C white whole wheat flour 4 eggs 6 C chopped or sliced vegetables (I used a mixture of cabbage, carrots, and fennel) 1 C tuna 1/2 C dried shrimp butter for pan-frying mayonnaise, to garnish okonomiyaki sauce, to garnish Procedure Mix all of the ingredients - except butter, mayonnaise, and okonomiyaki sauce - together in a mixing bowl. Melt butter in a large, flat-bottom pan and spoon 1/2 C batter into a pancake sha...

Back when we cooked Cypriot during our Cooking Around the World Adventure , I tried - and failed - to find halloumi cheese for grilling. But when I saw it at Trader Joe's this week, I picked it up. Halloumi originated in Cyprus, during the Medieval Byzantine period, and gained popularity throughout the Middle East region. The cheese is often used in cooking and can be fried or grilled until brown without melting, owing to its higher-than-normal melting point. Since Cypriots like eating halloumi with watermelon in the summer months, I decided to do the same...with some fresh tomatoes from Belle's garden. herbs and mixed greens watermelon slices tomato slices grilled or pan-fried halloumi dressing of your choice freshly ground sea salt freshly ground pepper