Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Though we already did a 9th birthday celebration with a cake ( Inky Chocolate Cake ), the kid has to bring treats to school on his birthday. Do you remember my Valentine treat quandry?!? Well, I'm playing the same logic game with Riley's birthday treats for his classmates... If I make the carrot cakes with chestnut flour, then Sophia can't have one. If I make the carrot cakes with wheat flour, then Danya can't have one. If I make top the carrot cakes with cream cheese frosting, then Joshua can't have one. If I make a flourless chocolate cake - with butter - then Sophia and Danya can both have that, but not Josh. My solution: carrot cakes without nuts and without butter (substituting oil and applesauce) for everyone except Danya. And then a flourless chocolate cake for our favorite gluten-free girl! Now I just need to bake them all.

Our "Dinner from the Deep" for Riley's camping trip included this seafood chowder that was a hit! I made it the night before, packed it in ice for our trek down the coast, then reheated it on a camping stove and served it with crackers. 1 C cubed pancetta 1 C diced onions an assortment of potatoes (purple, Yukon gold, and new red) carrots 1 lb cleaned squid 1 lb scallops 1 lb cleaned and deveined shrimp 1 lb lump crab 1 C roasted corn cut off the cob butter flour 2 C clam juice milk fresh oregano fresh thyme pink Himalaya salt In a large soup kettle or stockpot, cook pancetta and onions over medium heat. Add potatoes and carrots and cook till beginning to caramelize. Add the seafood. Cook for 10 minutes or until scallops and squid are opaque and shrimp turn pink. In another pot make a roux with the butter and flour. Add the clam juice to make a thick sauce. Transfer the sauce to the larger pot. Stir in milk and cook till desired thickness. Season with f...

Riley's cake request for his Deep Sea birthday party: a dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate frosting topped with a marzipan octopus. Okey dokey. I started with a recipe from Nick Malgieri's Perfect Cakes which is always my go-to when I need baking inspiration. His is aptly named: Perfect Chocolate Cake. I added chestnut flour and used raw sugar for little bit more depth of flavor. 1 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 C chestnut flour 1/2 C alkalized (Dutch-process) cocoa powder 1 t baking powder 1/4 t baking soda 2 sticks butter, softened 1 C organic raw sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature One 8-ounce container crème fraîche 1 T organic heavy whipping cream I doubled this recipe so I ended up with two 8" round cakes. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. In a bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda. Sift the ingredients onto a piece of parchment or wax paper and set aside. In a large bowl wi...

Over the river and through the woods... As part of Riley's 9th birthday party, we were stopping at the beach in Andrew Molera State Park in Big Sur on our way down to camp at Limekiln. What do you serve when you're hiking lunch for fifteen people along a trail and across a river?!? My solution: fresh fruits and veggies, lots of them; seaweed-kale salad; pasta salad; and Riley's favorite - ham and cheese quiche. The best part was that everyone ate everything, so the packs were much lighter on the way out. Crust 2 C white whole wheat flour 3/4 C butter pinch of pink Himalaya salt 1 T cold water Preheat oven to 350. Place flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Rub in butter till the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in water until the mixture forms a ball. Press the dough into tart pans and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Place diced ham and cheese into the crust, top with beaten egg, and bake till firm, about 30 minutes. Once cooled, remove from ...

1 T active dry yeast 1 T organic granulated sugar 1 C warm water 1-1/2 C white whole wheat flour 1 C chestnut flour 2 T olive oil 1 t pink Himalaya salt Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza stone dusted with flour. Smear with minced garlic and tomato sauce and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving. Top with sliced fresh mozzarella, fresh cut tomatoes, and rough chopped fresh basil. Sprinkle with pink Himalaya salt and drizzle with olive oil.

At IKEA, on our culinary adventure with the Novaks, we washed down the Swedish meatballs swimming in brown gravy with elderflower and lingonberry juice boxes. I was reminded of the dried elderflower blossoms I had ordered from Monterey Bay Spice Company . I think that I will infuse some vodka with the dried elderflower blossoms for some unique summer cocktails. I'm quite taken by the Sage, Elderflower, and Cucumber White Sangria created by Brian McGrory in New York. Keep your eyes open for my infused vodka over the next couple of weeks.

While we were waiting in line to get into the Maker Faire - Riley stood huddled over his book, Dylan was pesting anyone and everyone he could reach - Ulla announced that she had a plan for dinner: Swedish meatballs at IKEA. Bear in mind the one and only time Jake and I have ever set foot into an IKEA we were beset by claustrophobia, annoyed by the cattle-feel of the routing through the store, and swore to never go again. But, as I tell the boys, if you're with friends who want to do something, just do it...and smile while you're doing it. So, we followed the Novaks into the back entrance of the parking garage, rode the escalator up to the cafeteria, ordered plates of meatballs swimming in brown gravy, loaded up the trays with some sweets and drinks, and sat down at the table. It was only then that I noticed there were trays in front of all of us, but not in front of Ulla. She took me on this culinary adventure and then didn't even eat it herself! Though I was not impres...