Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I found this information on the website entitled "practically edible." Hmm... Loroco is small green unopened flower buds used as an herb for flavouring in Central America. The closest taste comparison is might be to chard or spinach, or a cross between mild broccoli and squash. It is used in salads, rice dishes, stews and sauces. In El Salvador and in Honduras, it is added to the fillings in "pupusas." The Loroco plant is a woody vine. It grows wild in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and prefers a temperature range between 68 and 90 F (20 and 32 C.) Loroco is not available fresh in the United States because the USDA's Commodity and Biological Risk Analysis team discovered that the plants can bring with them the "Diabrotica adelpha" beetle. But loroco can be bought in jars (brined or pickled in vinegar), or frozen. I wonder if the owners of Cabo Hermoso grow it themselves.

Having read a review that made my mouth water, I pulled out the globe, had the boys locate El Salvador and San Salvador, and loaded everyone in the car to go to Cabo Hermoso for lunch. We ordered pupusas (pork, chicken, beans, and loroco flower - a delicious exotic bloom, native of El Salvador) , platanos fritos, and something whose base seemed to be made of a spiced lentil flour. Everything was served with curtido, a spicy, vinegar-based condiment made from cabbage, carrots and other veggies - much like sauerkraut. And we ended the meal with a mug of Salvadorean hot chocolate. It was delicious and we all but licked the plates clean. I'm going to have to locate some recipes!

Jo wanted a recipe suggestion for langostino tails. Cam says: Langostino typically refers to the tailmeat of the squat lobster which is, surprisingly, neither a lobster nor a prawn which it resembles quite a bit. It's actually more closely related to a porcelain crab or a hermit crab. Still, I use them how I would use shrimp or lobster. A fairly easy, but tasty dish is a lobster potpie. You can make individual pies in small ramekins or a large, family-style pie. Whatever you do, use cookie cutters to create some festive looking crust - hearts for Valentines, stars for Christmas. You get the idea. Cook the langostino tails ahead of time and because they are small, you don't need to chop or shred the meat. Make your usual pie crust, but add some lemon zest for added zing. Make your usual cream sauce, but add some sherry. Stir the cooked langostino tails into the sherry-cream sauce and season with sea salt and pink pepper to taste. Add some rough chopped parsley. Line b...

I love Thai food, especially at Wat Mongkolratanaram, the Thai Buddhist temple in Berkeley. It's not just a brunch, it's an institution. Fabulous food, reasonable prices, and lots of local color make it another of my favorite destinations when we're up there. Pad Thai, Green Papaya Salad, Pumpkin in Yellow Curry, Coconut Gelatin. The only tragedy this weekend was that the little old ladies weren't there making Kanom Krok . When I inquired, I was told, "they're old. They don't come during the winter. They'll be back in the Springtime." Disappointing. But I finally got up the nerve to ask the secret to their Thai iced coffee. Secret? It's no secret she told me. Use sweetened condensed milk. Lots of it.

It's not a successful trip to the East Bay without a stop at Bittersweet Cafe . So, after our Ethiopian dinner, Jacob and I headed to Rockridge for some sweet treats. The chalkboard outside gave me a chuckle, announcing: "Chocolate is love in food form: complex and bittersweet." Inside, the smell of chocolate envelopes you like your favorite sweater and the racks of handcrafted chocolates wrapped in everything from plain brown paper and twine to ornately embossed gilded foil are as stunning as they are tempting. I always try something new; Jacob leans towards a perenial comfort food - chocolate pudding. Since we were still stuffed from dinner, in a rare moment of self-control in the face of chocolate, Jacob offered to share. So I ordered a spicy chocolate and grabbed something I'd never tried much less heard about: rhubarb soda. It was crisp, subtle, and is a new favorite. But that certainly didn't stop me from helping Jacob devour the pudding. We refrained f...

Unlike Harry's quip in When Harry Met Sally... when Jacob and I went to Cafe Colucci, an Ethiopian restaurant, we did not order two empty plates and then leave. We feasted. All the flavors were bold and big. Meat dishes, vegetable dishes. And we washed it all down with Ethiopian beer and honey wine. Normally I wouldn't enjoy a wine that sweet, almost syrupy. But it was the perfect pairing for the meal. I am definitely going to make Ethiopian as one of my month's culinary adventures. Maybe for Fathers' Day. Now I just have to locate a local source for that wine!

Though this wasn't a planned stop, the line winding up the block made up stop to look. And we are so glad that we did. Ici in Berkeley's Elmwood area was an foodie's ice cream dream come true. First, they make everything there in the kitchen and work with local, organic farmers to get the freshest and in-season ingredients. Second, all of their packaging and servingware is compostable: the ice cream cups and bowls are made from baggase which is derived from sugar cane; spudware spoons are made from potato starch and soy oil; and their clear plastic cups - for the free sparkling water - is made from a corn by-product. And then there's the ice cream itself...amazingly unique concoctions that were as tasty as they were lovely. Voluptuous mounds of ice cream in delicate shades whose subtle flavors inspired moans of appreciation from everyone in the family. Wow. I chose a scoop of pink peppercorn with a scoop of candied blood orange. Dylan opted for a chocolate-mint sorbet....