Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This weekend, we did a tea tasting in Berkeley. And for each pot of tea ordered, we got to try two cookies. I opted for a mung bean apricot thumbprint cookie and a tahini cookie. I was immediately inspired to create a version of my own! Ingredients 1 cup flour ½ cup rolled oats  ⅓ cup organic powdered sugar ⅓ cup tahini (sesame paste) 1 egg ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract or paste ¼ cup olive oil ½ teaspoon salt (I used some vanilla salt) 1 Tablespoon black sesame seeds 1 Tablespoon white sesame seeds 1½ Tablespoon organic granulated sugar Also needed: scoop, baking sheets, parchment paper   Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place flour, oats, powdered sugar, tahini, egg, vanilla, and olive oil in a bowl. With a pastry cutter, blend the dough until pea-sized chunks form. Press the dough into a ball.   Mix the sesame seeds and sugar together in a shallow bowl.   Form dough into 1-inch balls - I used a cookie scoop - and roll them in the sesame see...

  These were a 'just because' dessert...no special reason for them. Well, not really. I was just looking for something to pass the afternoon and to trade with a friend. She was dropping off burgers and fries; I wanted to give her a treat, too. So, I guess there was a reason after all. These are rich and chocolate-y with a splash of coffee flavor in the cakes and the savory bent of tahini in the frosting. Ingredients  makes 12 cupcakes Cupcakes 2 eggs 3/4 cup organic granulated sugar 3/4 cup organic dark brown sugar 1 cup buttermilk or sour cream 1/2 cup olive oil 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 cup brewed coffee 1/3 cup hazelnut butter (such as Nutella, you could also use tahini here as well) 2 cup flour 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chunks Cocoa Tahini Frosting 1 cup (2 sticks)  butter, softened 1/2 cup tahini 1-1/2 cups organic powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon...

  Today the Sunday Funday group is celebrating Easter a little bit early...or rather inspiring you with Easter side dishes. 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.  And, for this event, Wendy is hosting. Here's the line-up of our Easter side dishes from the #SundayFunday bloggers... Bunny Cupcakes from Amy’s Cooking Adventures   Feta and Strawberry Tabouli Salad from Food Lust People Love  Fresh Pea Hummus from Culinary Cam Pineapple Bread Pudding from A Day in the Life on the Farm  Pork Sorpatel - East Indian from Sneha’s Recipe  Potato Salad with Condensed Milk from Palatable Pastime  Stir-Fried Balsamic and Ginger Glazed Carrots from Karen’s Kitchen Stories  Veggie Niçoise Salad from Mayuri’s Jikoni   Whole Wheat Rosemary Garlic Bread Recipe from The Mad Scientist’s Kitc...

     This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of  St. Supéry . Complimentary wine was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. However, all opinions expressed here are my own.   After working with  St. Supéry Estate Vineyards and Winery * for #MerlotMe last autumn, when I shared Lebanese Lubyi, Turkish Bazlama, and 2016 St. Supéry Rutherford Merlot , I was invited to join them for a series of collaborative posts throughout 2021. What fun! Their #InJoy series started last week, but I was late to the party.  For March and April, the theme is 'My Wine, My Garden' with Estate Horticulturist Brianne Hoover. Last week, they tasted the 2016 Dollarhide Elevation with Spring Vegetables and Lamb Loin. This week, we chatted with Hoover;  Emma Swain, CEO;  Michael Garcia,  Viticulture Manager;  Brooke Shenk, Winemaker; and  Tod Kawachi, Estate Chef. And we sipped the  2019 St. Supéry Dollarhide Es...

  Halva is one of my favorite treats. It's more savory then, say, fudge and is so simple to make. You just need four ingredients and a little bit of patience. You'll see this version used in an upcoming cake recipe for November's The Cake Slice Bakers which called for halva, but I did steal nibbles here and there as well. I used some Fiori di Sicilia extract, but you can use whatever extract you have. I have used rosewater which isn't beloved by half of my household and orange blossom water. But you can use pure vanilla extract, too. The flavor of Fiori di Sicilia, in my mind, would be a blend of orange and vanilla. Ingredients makes one 5" x 7" pan 10.6 ounce tahini (sesame paste) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia extract (feel free to substitute any kind of extract that you wish) 1 cup organic granulated sugar Also needed: medium saucepan, 5" x 7" rimmed dish, parchment paper Procedure Line your rimmed dish with parchment pa...

While it definitely feels like Fall in the mornings, California's central coast is still getting warm enough during the afternoons that it feel like it might be appropriate weather for a pink wine. A few months ago, for the August Italian Food Wine Travel blogging event, I posted: Italian Pinks, Sardinian Native Grapes, and Gamberi all'Aglio . In the Glass I initially bought a bottle of Cantele Negroamaro Rosato 2018 (purchased at wine.com for $17) to share that month, but then decided to focus on native grapes from Sardinia. So this wine from Puglia didn't fit my theme. I held on to the bottle and have decided to share it with you today.  map from winefolly.com Puglia is, if you look at Italy's boot, the heel. A little history: At the end of World War II, most of Puglia's population migrated North to find factory near Milan and Turin. Instead of following the exodus, Giovanni Battista Cantele, a wine merchant living in Imola, in the Emilia-Romagna, moved to S...

I love this unassuming root. It looks like a turnip, but then you slice into it... And it looks just like a watermelon! I picked up a few watermelon radishes at the recently opened Elroy's Fine Foods market here in town and wanted to do something other than slice them thin or pickle them. And I got to thinking about turnips. One of my favorites ways to prepare those is to roast them. So, I decided to try that preparation with these watermelon radishes. Ingredients serves 4 Radishes 4 cups watermelon radishes, scrubbed clean and thickly sliced 2 Tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (I used the local-to-me Morada salt blend from Big Sur Salts) 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper Also needed: baking sheet lined with parchment paper, freshly squeezed lemon juice for serving Tahini Sauce 1/4 cup tahini 2 Tablespoons olive oil 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice  2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed 1 Tablespoon maple syrup 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (I used t...