Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I know, I know. American Craft Beer Week is officially over. But, well, I over-bought. I found intriguing beers and filled a shelf in my fridge last week. Now we have to make our way through, tasting, enjoying, and exploring. No complaints from Jake.  And when we were at a restaurant last week, they served their beer with some celery-salt dusted cheese. Okay. I can do that. So I poured the Ovila Abbey Saison and served it with an aged gouda sprinkled with a salt-pepper blend that a friend brought back from Hawaii for me. It was a magnificent combination. Ovila Abbey Saison is part of a series of Belgian-inspired beers brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.in collaboration with the monks at the New Clairvaux Abbey. This unique brew has the tang of mandarin oranges and the kick of black pepper. It's nice! I only wish I had picked up more than one bottle.

This is my first post for #WeekdaySupper. I've been part of the #SundaySupper group for a little while and decided to take the plunge on this. Hope you enjoy it. Lamb lollipops are a favorite of ours and I love that it takes me about 3 minutes of active time plus the time for Jake to grill it. It's on the table in less than 30 minutes. And while he's grilling I blanch some broccoli or asparagus and toss a salad. Easy, easy dinner! Ingredients rack of lamb 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 2-3 T sea salt Procedure In a small mixing bowl, blend together the minced garlic and sea salt. Rub the mixture on a the rack of lamb, taking care to coat all sides. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before grilling. Grill till desired doneness. Once cooked, slice the rack into separate pieces - with the bone like a lollipop stick - and serve. Here's what the other bloggers made, or are making, this week...links will all be live by Friday. Monday -  Stuffed Orzo S...

I  thought that I was on Orphan-detail today for the  Secret Recipe Club . Turns out she wasn't an orphan after all, but I decided to cook and post anyway because   I am  so  excited about having been introduced to Karen of Lavender and Lovage . What a lovely blog! One of the reasons I always volunteer to help out an SRC orphan is to meet new foodie bloggers. And Karen is definitely one to follow. She divides her time between North Yorkshire and South West France, where most of her time is spent food writing, food styling and photographing. She grows most of her vegetables and all of her own herbs, specializing in old-fashioned and seldom used herbs. And she hosts regular French and seasonal cooking workshops in her specially designed kitchen. Wow! How I wish I lived closer. I would definitely find my way into one of her classes. Speaking of those old-fashioned and seldom used herbs and ingredients, I was intrigued by her Blue Blossom Salad - greens with...

We had more fun with our  blueberries from High Ground Organics ... While everyone in the house was clamoring for something sweet - crumbles, pies, or cobbler - I considered how to use our bounty for something savory. The boys helped me brainstorm and we decided on scallops with a blueberry agrodolce sauce; R had suggested beef, but I couldn't think of a way to use beef and blueberries together. So, if you have any ideas, we still have blueberries. Agrodolce means 'sour-sweet' in Italian and it's a reduction of vinegar, sugar, and - often - fruit. Eccola ! Ingredients 2 splashes of olive oil 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced 1/2 C vinegar (I used a pomegranate vinegar) 1 T organic brown sugar 2 C fresh blueberries scallops, I served 3 large scallops per person butter freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper lemon wedges for garnish Procedure For the sauce...in a large, flat-bottom pan add one splash of olive oil and the onion slices. C...

More blueberry goodness with our hand-picked blueberries from High Ground Organics ... Ingredients 1-1/2 C rolled oats 1 C dried coconut 1 C flour (I used a white whole wheat flour) + 2 T flour 1 C light brown sugar, lightly packed 1 T organic granulated sugar 1/4 t baking soda 1/4 t fleur de sel 12 T butter, melted + 1 T butter, softened 3 C fresh blueberries zest from 1 lemon juice from 1 lemon 2 T ground almonds Procedure Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the oats, 1 C flour, dried coconut, light brown sugar, baking soda, and salt, in a 9" x 13" baking dish. Melt the butter and pour it into the baking dish. Use a fork to blend it together until clumps form. Reserve 1/2 C of the mixture and press the remaining base lightly into the pan. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the blueberries, 1 T softened butter, 1 T granulated sugar, 2 T flour, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Spoon the blueberry mixture over your crust. ...

Have you ever wondered: How important are honey bees to the our diet? Very, very important! According to the USDA, bees pollinate over three-quarters of our flowering crops. That's roughly one-third of everything we eat. Everything. Think apples, broccoli, strawberries, nuts, asparagus, blueberries and cucumbers. And those are just the crops that we eat directly. Bees also pollinate the alfalfa that is used for our beef and dairy cows.   Imagine your dining room table without all of those. No, thanks! What can you do to protect our pollinators? Here are some easy-to-do steps.... 1. Stop using insecticides and avoid seeds coated with insecticides. 2. Plant bee-friendly plants and create natural habitat gardens. 3. Become a beekeeper or buy local honey. 4. Get active and spread the word.

If you've been following along this week, you'll know that we've been enjoying some American craft beers. We've tried  - click the name for my tasting notes! - Ommegang's Hennepin , Sea Dog's Wild Blueberry , The Bruery's Tart of Darkness , and Clown Shoes' Luchador en Fuego . To cap off American Craft Beer Week, and to celebrate our kid-free day, we stopped at Peter B's Brewpub   and opted for the tasting flight of five beers. We tasted their Belly Up Blonde Ale, Inclusion Amber Ale, Stout Resistance, Fort Ord Wheat, and Legend of Laguna IPA. While I am not typcially a hop-head, I have to admit that I really enjoyed the Legend of Laguna. It's impressively floral which seems to temper the bitterness. I was tickled to see a soft pretzel on their bar menu. Fun! Of course, I had to order it. It came with a large grain mustard and a spicy cheese sauce. And when Jake mentioned, to our waiter, that the IPA was a littl...