Culinary Adventures with Camilla

'Tis the season...for gingerbread! I decided to finally tackle puerquitos . These Mexican gingerbread pigs have been on my to-bake list for a few years. I was cooking dinner for friends, one of whom adores all things pigs. So, I figured: this is the year of the  puerquitos . We really love ginger, so I used ginger paste - instead of the traditional vanilla - and added candied ginger bits, too. Ingredients 1¼ C organic dark brown sugar ¼ C butter, room temperature 2 large eggs, 1 for dough and 1 for finishing ⅓ C milk (I used whole milk) 1½ t ginger paste (you can use vanilla bean paste also) 1½ t baking soda 1½ t ground cinnamon 1 t ground ginger ¾ cup molasses ¼ C honey 6 C flour ½ C candied ginger (diced or use flakes) Procedure Beat brown sugar and butter together in a large bowl until well-combined. Add 1 egg, milk, and ginger paste; beat again until smooth. Add baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, molasses, honey, and candied ginge...

For our final week of Eat a Rainbow, I decided that we would make marzipan for the 'white international food.' Okay, technically it's more of a tan color, but I went with it. And we, then, shaped  Glücksschwein , lucky pigs, in the German tradition.   I started with this, using syrup instead of egg white because of my "vegan" student. Then we added a bit more of almond meal because it was too sticky. Also, I looked long and hard for a natural food coloring; I finally found this one from India Tree whose ingredient list was: Glycerin, deionized water, vegetable juice, beta carotene, and turmeric for color. No Red No. 40. Thank goodness! Ingredients 1½ C almond flour/meal 1½ C organic powdered sugar 2 t pure almond extract 2 T ginger syrup Procedure Place the almond flour and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the almond extract and ginger syrup. Mix with a spatula until a thick dough is formed. Add in the color in small i...

With his batch of Pink Hazelnut Marshmallow Fondant , D fashioned piggies for Stella's birthday cake. He made pigs, pig heads, pig bellies, and - most fun for a 10-year-old boy - pig behinds!

In some countries -  including Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Austria - pigs symbolize progress. Some claim it’s because these animals never move backward; others assert it’s all in their feeding habits, that they push their snouts forward along the ground when rooting for food. But the lucky food is not limited to pork. Pig shaped foods count, too.  So, during our New Year's Day picnic at Mount Madonna, I broke out a Peppermint Pig to smash and share with the Novak gals.