Culinary Adventures with Camilla

The Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf was a little bit grumpy today. First, he was not allowed to go with Daddy and R on the class camping trip. "Ummmm...you're not invited. You're in 6th grade and it's an 8th grade class trip."  But we always go camping as a family , he bellowed.  Second, he was a little saddened about a grade he and his partner received today on a project. We worked so hard...I thought we would do better!   "Well, it's not always about how hard you worked. If your teacher thinks there's room for improvement, you should listen to him. Listen to what he thought was missing or could have been done better." So, I decided to cheer him up with a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-Dinner. No surprise, he picked Chicken Tikka Masala with Naan. It's definitely his comfort food. Ingredients Chicken 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs 1/4 C organic whole milk yogurt 2 T walnut oil 2 t freshly squeeze le...

The great thing about this recipe: its flexibility. You can use whatever root vegetables you have. Think rutabagas, parsnips, celeriac. Get creative! Ingredients 6 turnips, cut into 1" pieces 3 sweet potatoes, cut into 1" pieces 2 onions, peeled and cut into 1" pieces 2 fennel bulbs, cut into wedges with the end intact 3 purple potatoes, cut into 1" pieces 2 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1" pieces 1/2 C olive oil 1/2 C honey (I used a local pine honey) pinch of saffron freshly ground sea salt freshly ground pepper dash of ground sweet paprika juice from 1 lemon 4-5 thyme sprigs Procedure Place all of the vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and honey. Season with everything except the lemon juice and fresh thyme. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roast the vegetables for about 25 – 30 minutes or until cooked and glazed. You want them soft, but not mushy. Drizzle the...