Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This is how inspiration works in my kitchen. Last night, it resulted in these cookies. I was dubious that the ingredients would actually result in a cookie, but they did! One of my best friends emailed me this photo. Another one of his friends had scribbled this down at swim practice. The only words in the email: "If you want to try…they are soooooo goooooooood!!!" Okay. Sold. So, I went to the website she references and found a slightly different recipe . Then, because I can't follow a recipe to save my life - well, I probably could to save my life - I slightly adapted it. I used three different kinds of nut butter, swapped out the vanilla for bourbon, and added hemp seeds. Ingredients 1/2 C bourbon pecan peanut butter (I bought mine at Mouth ) 1/2 C raw almond butter 1/2 C raw peanut butter 1/2 C honey (I used pine honey) 1 T bourbon 2 eggs, room temperature ½ t baking soda 2 T hemp seeds 1 T instant coffee 1/3 C semi-sweet chocolate chips ...

Here we are at the September Soup Saturday Swappers event. Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  started this event and, every month, I get a new array of soup recipes to put in my to-try pile. And this month, Sid of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking is hosting as we explore soups featuring potatoes. Sid writes, "Share your favorite soup that contains potatoes. Baked, Mashed, Red, White, Russets, Sweet.....as long as they play an important enough role in the soup that it wouldn't be the same soup sans potatoes." I thought about all of the soups I love with potatoes: Spring-Kissed Seafood Chowder , Spinach Chowder , and King of Soups . But all of those were cold-weather soups and we are enjoying a warmer than usual Indian summer. So, I decided to make one of my favorite chilled soups for the event. But first, here's what the other bloggers made... An InLinkz Link-up New Potato-Corn Vichyssoise inspired by Laurey Masterton's   The Fresh Honey Co...

I love the Fantastical Food Fight coordinated by Sarah of  Fantastical Sharing of Recipes . For more information about the event, click  here . I haven't been very good at participating, but this month, I couldn't resist. We were given the challenge of making a recipe with honey. So. Many. Possibilities. And besides loving honey, I love bees and have been toying with the idea of getting a hive or two. Until then, I just make sure to meet as many local beekeepers as I can to get on their list for when they spin and sell their honey. The Fantastical Food Fight Honey Pot An InLinkz Link-up Honey-Candied Kumquats After my cover and article on honey - Bee Yourself - was published in Edible Monterey Bay 's Summer 2013 issue [cover above!], several publishers sent me honey cookbooks. And, for Mothers' Day this year, after four moves in the past eight years, Jake gave me a bookshelf. So, I was able to finally unpack all of my books ...

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...

Ingredients  For the Crust 1-1/2 C flour (I used more of the complimentary  Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour I had received from the sponsors of this year's #BrunchWeek) 1/2 C Bob's Red Mill Hazelnut Meal Flour* 1/2 C softened butter 1/2 C organic, coconut sugar 1/4 C olive oil 1 T cold water 2 pinches of fleur de sel *another complimentary product I received with which I am now completely enamored For the Filling 4 organic Meyer lemons 1/2 C organic powdered sugar 2 T honey (I used a local pine honey) 8 T butter 8 large egg yolks dark chocolate Procedure For the Filling Juice the lemons. Combine the juice, powdered sugar, honey and butter. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile beat the yolks. Add 1/3 of the boiling liquid to the beaten yolks then add the mixture back into the boiling liquid. Continue beating over medium heat until it thickens. Be careful not to let the curd boil or it will scramble. Pour the curd into a bowl and press plas...

I've candied lemons many, many times...but I've never candied them in honey. I decided to give it a shot for a honey-themed baby shower. Easy! Ingredients 1 C water 1/2 C organic coconut sugar 4 T honey (I used a local pine honey) 6 organic Meyer lemons, thinly sliced Procedure Place the water, honey, and coconut sugar in a pan and bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar is completely dissolved. Lay the slices in the syrup so that they are all flat and all submerged. Simmer until the rind is softened and translucent in places. Approximately 5-7 minutes. Remove from the syrup with a slotted spoon and set aside. You'll see these on an appetizer for the Meant to BEE baby shower brunch . Delish.

I love eggplant and wanted to make an eggplant-honey dip for a honey-themed baby shower I was co-hosting. I started with my recipe for Melitzanosalata   and went from there.  2 large eggplants juice from 1 Meyer lemon 1/4 C diced onions 2 diced shallots 1/4 C olive oil + splash for sauteeing 2 T honey (I used a local pine honey) 1 T minced cilantro 1 T minced basil 1/2 C crumbled feta, divided into 1/4 C portions freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper Preheat the oven to 350 F. Slice eggplant in half, sprinkling with salt and pepper and drizzling with olive oil to coat the entire cut surface. Place them in a roasting pan, cut side down, cover with foil, and bake for 60-70 minutes. Let cool until they can be handled. Scoop out all the insides into large mixing bowl. In a large, flat-bottom pan, add onions and shallots. Saute in a splash of olive oil until translucent. Add the onion mixture, herbs, lemon juice 1 T honey, and 1/4 C feta to the eggplan...

Inspired by  Louisa Shafia's  The New Persian Kitchen , I made a version of her Turmeric Chicken for dinner a couple of night ago...only I didn't have sumac or limes. I did have some omani (Black Lime) powder and lemons. That worked well. Ingredients 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs 1 t ground turmeric freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper 2 T olive oil 1/2 C water 1 T minced garlic 1 bunch scallions, diced 1 T honey (I used a local pine honey) 1 t omani powder 2 lemons for garnish Procedure In a large mixing bowl, blend together the turmeric, salt, pepper, minced garlic, scallions, honey, and  omani powder. Coat both sides of the chicken with the blend. In a large, flat-bottom pan, heat the olive oil. Add the chicken and brown on each side for 5-7 minutes - until well-browned on both sides. Pour in the water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and cover. Braise the chicken for 25-30 minutes. Transfer the chicken t...

I was already making a pie for Brian - click here for that post - and I knew that my three would object if they didn't get a pie, too. But I ran out of sugar, so this is a honey-kissed version. Here goes... For the  Pâte Brisée for two pie crusts 2-1/2 C all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling 1/2 C finely ground blanched cashew or cashew flour 1/2 C organic powdered sugar 1 C butter, very cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 2 T  limoncello 3 to 4 T cold water I don't have a food processor, so I use a pastry blender and do it all by hand. Place the flour, ground cashews, powdered sugar, and cold butter in a large bowl. Use the pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add limoncello and cold water 1 T at a time, until mixture just begins to clump together. If you squeeze some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and cut again....

Roasted Chicken with Fresh Herbs inspired by Laurey Masterton's  The Fresh Honey Cookbook: 84 Recipes from a Beekeeper's Kitchen Ingredients 2 t fresh ginger, minced 1/4 t fresh ground Indian long pepper 1 T sea salt 1 sprig of rosemary, de-stemmed and chopped 1/4 t dried sage, crushed 3 sprigs of thyme, de-stemmed and chopped pinch of ground sumac 1/4 t dried, ground Thai dragon pepper 1 chicken, cut into pieces 2 T champagne vinegar 2 T local pine honey Procedure In a bowl, combine the first eight ingredients and rub both sides of the chicken with equal amounts of the mixture. Drizzle each side with 1 T champagne vinegar. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cover your baking dish with foil and roast for an hour. Turn up the heat to 450 degrees. Drizzle with honey and return to the oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes. The chicken should be crisped and golden. Serve hot.