Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Here we are in the second month of Wendy's - of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  - new group: Soup Saturday Swappers. And our February theme is Let's Go International, hosted by Kathy of A Spoonful of Thyme . Love it! I wanted to make my own version of this hearty, comforting Finnish Salmon Soup ( Lohikeitto ). And, since it's ready in thirty minutes, it was the perfect first course for when my in-laws came to visit. I used fresh salmon and herbs from CSA box. Traditionally, it would be topped with dill; I used chervil. Ingredients 2 T butter 1 T olive oil 1 C leek, sliced (white and light green parts only) 1 C celery, diced 1 C carrots, diced 5 C fish stock (or you can use water) 4 C potatoes, diced 4 C salmon fillet, de-boned, de-skinned and cut into chunks 1 C half-n-half fresh chervil for garnish freshly ground salt, to taste freshly ground pepper, to taste Procedure Melt the butter in a splash of olive oil in a large so...

Welcome to the second  ImprovCooking Challenge  of 2017. This group is now headed up by Nichole of  Cookaholic Wife . The idea behind Improv Cooking Challenge: we are assigned two ingredients and are challenged to create a recipe with those two things.  This month's items: chocolate and chiles. I considered a lot of different things from spiced truffles to chile-flecked chocolate cremeux. But, in the end, the boys reminded me of a chocolate drink we made when I taught a six-week elective class at their school about chocolate! We had read a book about the Mayans. The Mayans made  chocol haa ; the Aztecs, after they conquered the Mayans, made  xocolatl.  Xocolatl  comes from the Aztec language,  xococ  meaning sour or bitter, and  atl  meaning water or drink.  Bitter water.  That's a far cry from our modern day, milky hot chocolate drinks. And since we remembered not really liking xocolatl ,...

A sweet for my sweets! I decided on a simple dessert for the end of our Valentines' Day dinner: panna cotta . I've made a lot of versions of panna cotta . But I opted for a simple panna cotta flavored with a sprinkle of my favorite spice. And, for some extra sweetness, I spooned some Amarena cherries over the top. Ingredients  makes eight 2-ounce servings 1 envelope gelatin 1/4 C cold water 2 C organic half-n-half 1/4 C organic dark brown sugar 1/2 t pure vanilla extract 1/2 t ground cardamom Amarena cherries for garnish Procedure Dissolve the gelatin in cold water in a medium mixing bowl.  Place all the other ingredients - up to the ground cardamom - in a medium saucepan and heat till it begins to steam. Do not let it boil. Let cool for 10 minutes, then pour the warm cream into the gelatin and stir till completely dissolved. Pour the mixture into your serving containers, leaving a little bit of space at the top and let chill until set, but at least fou...

While I am not a big fan of Valentines' Day - you can read a little bit about my Grinch-like sentiment in this pos t - , I am always up for celebrating love, especially my three loves: Jake, R, and D. And a nice meal is usually how I celebrate just about everything! So, here's how we feasted last night...oh, and a nice bottle of wine and a jar full of tulips doesn't hurt either. To Start Saffron-Peppercorn Pecorino Grilled Baguette (regular and gluten-free) Salads Shaved Fennel Salad with Dungeness Crab and Fennel Pollen Vinaigrette Orange-Beet Salad First Entrée Roasted Beet-Ricotta Gnocchi with Wilted Beet Greens Second Entrée Grilled Lamb Lollipops with a Pear-Rosemary Glaze and a Sprinkling of Gorgonzola Dessert Cardamom Panna Cotta with Amarena Cherries on Top ...recipes coming soon!

Welcome to a new-ish online blogging event: the Fantastical Food Fight coordinated by Sarah of  Fantastical Sharing of Recipes . For more information about the event, click  here . I missed last month - boo! - because I haven't had a chance to unpack my slow cooker. So, I definitely had to jump into this month. This month, we were given the challenge of dipping things in chocolate. So. Many. Possibilities. But before you dip, you must temper. Tempering chocolate is a crucial step for making smooth, glossy, evenly colored coating for your dipped chocolates. Tempering prevents the dull, greyish color and tough, waxy texture that happens when the cocoa fat separates out. Tempered chocolate produces a crisp, satisfying snap when you bite into it. How to Temper Chocolate Place half of your chocolate in a double-boiler and, over low heat, warm until melted. Remove from heat and stir in the other half of the chocolate. Set aside until the chocolate begins to lose ...

For this round - our February-March selection - of  Cook the Books , This month’s book selection was chosen by Claudia from  Honey From Rock . She chose  Dinner with Edward  by Isabel Vincent.* You can read Claudia's invitation:  here . Claudia wrote: "As our last CTBC pick was a memoir about physical healing and the food that helped it to progress, this book is more about the emotional wounded and how cooking can sustain and comfort, as well as how casual acts of kindness can morph into not only friendship but life changes.  Each chapter revolves around a meal, with both menu and delectable recipes." On the Page... I started reading this one evening while watching my boys at the pool. I finished it in just a few sittings after that.  Dinner with Edward  is comprised of Vincent's dinners with Edward at a pivotal point in both their lives. Edward's beloved wife, Paula, has just died and Vincent is in the middle of a divorce. They bu...

I joined this annual #FoodBloggerLove exchange that the team at The PinterTest Kitchen is coordinating. Very similar to the Secret Recipe Club to which I belonged for several years, we were assigned another blog, explored, then selected one of their recipes to cook and post. What fun! I received Cook's Hideout , written by Pavani. You can also find her on Facebook , on Pinterest , on Instagram , and on Twitter . Though Pavani hails from Hyderabad, a bustling city in South India, she currently live in New Jersey with her family. She explains the blog's name: "When I decided to start a food blog way back in 2006 and was thinking of a name for the blog, I remembered my husband telling about his favorite food joint called “Hideout” in Davangere, Karnataka (also in Southern India). I thought that was an apt name for the kitchen where I love to hide and cook, so that’s how the name “Cook’s Hideout” came into being. I was intrigued by the multitude of Indian recipes, s...