Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Terri from  Love and Confections  and Christine from  Cook the Story  cooked up a great recipe-swapping event: Food Blogger #BrunchWeek. They lined up 31 bloggers who have 116 recipes pre-scheduled -  plenty of inspirational fodder for your Mothers' Day feasts. Up until the kick-off, I hope to give a shout-out to all of the bloggers who are cooking and posting for the event. Check out their blogs, but make sure you have already eaten. All of the posts I've seen are drool-worthy! Let me introduce you to...Shaina from  Take a Bite Out of Boca  who has promised to share her recipe Crumb Cake Parfait.* Did you read that? Crumb. Cake. Parfait. Angie from Big Bear's Wife listed an asparagus-tomato frittata as one of her offerings. And Katerina blogs out of Greece at Culinary Flavors . *Bear in mind that recipes selections are subject to change. I know I've already swapped out some of what I had planned based on what's in season!

Next month I will be taking part in a great swap of brunch recipes called the Food Blogger #BrunchWeek. All this goodness was cooked up by Terri from Love and Confections and Christine from Cook the Story . We have 31 bloggers participating and 116 posts pre-scheduled. That should give you plenty of inspirational fodder for your Mothers' Day feasts. And it's a great way for me to meet new foodies in the blogosphere; over the next few weeks, I hope to give a shout-out to all of the bloggers who are cooking and posting for the event. Check out their blogs, but make sure you aren't clicking on an empty stomach. You might just try to stick a fork into your monitor. Let me introduce you to...Samantha from Sweet Remedy  who has promised to share her recipe for strawberry-kiwi jam. Perfect for slathering on fresh out-of-the-oven scones. Jane from Jane's Adventures in Dinner will be posting about Dutch pancakes with bacon flowers. While Diana from The Kitchen Prep  list...

I can't remember where I first saw this recipe. I'm sure it's been on my radar for awhile. Ham + eggs = a Mann family hit. So, I'm not sure why this popped out of the deep recesses of my brain. But it will be back on our table soon. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease your muffin cups. Lay one or two pieces of ham into the hollows, making sure that there are no gaps or whole. Gently crack your eggs into the ham. Bake until the eggs are the consistency that you like. I did ours for 25 minutes. The yolks were still soft, but the whites were firm. Perfect! Garnish with freshly ground salt and pepper. Sprinkle with fresh chopped herbs. I used dill. Delicious!

Sometimes - a lot of times - the most simple recipes can be sublime. Case in point: pasta with sugo agli spinaci . 2 bunches of spinach, de-soiled 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced 6-8 tomatoes, diced olive oil 1/2 C organic chicken stock 2 T fresh dill, chopped 2 T fresh basil, chopped freshly ground sea salt freshly ground pepper pasta In a large, flat bottom pan, heat a splash of olive oil and cook your onions until they are lightly caramelized. Add in the tomatoes and simmer until they have softened and are beginning to lose shape. Pour in the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until it begins to thicken. In the meantime, cook your pasta. For a chunky, rustic sauce such as this, I prefer pastas that have holes or twists so the sauce can stick to it. Stir in your spinach leaves and cook until just past wilted. I use my leaves whole, but chop them down if you prefer. Toss in the cooked pasta and fold in the fresh herbs. Season to taste with sa...

In another lifetime, I worked as a florist. I loved that job. I created beautiful arrangements, my clothes smelled like flowers, and I never had any empty vases in my house. These days, I only push petals on special occasions but I still love anything to do with flowers. When Eric at Quirk Books asked me if I would be interested in previewing and reviewing Cooking with Flowers  by Miche Baker of Mali B Sweets , I couldn't say 'yes' fast enough. It just arrived! I've been perusing the recipes, drooling over photographs, and trying to decide what to make. That's a problem because I want to cook - and eat! - everything in this book. No joke. Well, I've lined up some nasturtiums, pansies, roses, jasmine, marigolds, and orchids for next week. Let the cooking with petals begin in earnest after I get through this weekend's big fundraising event. Stay tuned....

If you buy pre-bagged spinach, you've probably never taken a bite of your spinach and gotten a mouthful of gritty, grainy soil. Whoever is bagging your spinach is also washing it for you. But if you're getting your greens from a local, organic farm - hooray for supporting the local farmer! - or growing it yoursel, then you will have to de-soil the spinach yourself. It's not difficult. And, I promise, it is worth the effort. I use the soaking method. Tonight it took three soaks. Don't those bags claim "triple-rinsed"?!  I guess that might be the magic number. Remove any tough stems, then place the spinach in a large bowl or your sink. Fill the bowl/sink with cool water. Gently agitate the leaves around the bowl with your hands so that any sand and dirt can fall to the bottom. Let soak for at least 5 minutes. Remove the leaves from the bowl/sink while you refresh the water with clean water. Place the spinach leaves back into the bowl/sink and wash th...

I'm on Orphan-detail again today for the  Secret Recipe Club  and I am  so  excited about having been introduced to Julie at Little Bit of Everything . She writes that her blog is a creative journey through her cookbook collection which is over one hundred strong! I need to be more diligent about using my cookbooks, too. Right now, they are just expensive, albeit gorgeous, dust-collectors. Yikes. Looking through Julies's blog - and what goodies were showing up in my CSA box this evening - I settled on her oven-roasted broccoli . The other two recipes that I considered were her savory caramelized onion-sage-cheddar muffins and her penne with sage-brown butter . Soon! Oven-Roasted Broccoli Adapted from Little Bit of Everything 1 bunch broccoli, cleaned and trimmed 2 T olive oil 2 cloves garlic, crushed freshly ground sea salt freshly ground black pepper 1/3 C panko bread crumbs 1/2 C shredded Parmesan Preheat oven to 375F. Cut the broccol...