Culinary Adventures with Camilla

There is no other fruit, to me, that screams "It's summer!" as much as a watermelon. So, when we get them, I use them in sweets and savories. They are the perfect addition to summery salad with their refreshing coolness and pop of sweet. And I still had half of a watermelon after our Watermelon #KitchenMatrixCookingProject post earlier. This isn't so much a recipe as an encouragement to use whatever fresh produce you have on hand to make a seasonal sweet and savory salad featuring watermelon. And I didn't even make a dressing. I just drizzle it with olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Ingredients serves 4 4 C cubed organic watermelon 2 C cubed organic cucumber 2 ears organic corn 1/2 C thinly sliced red onion olive oil freshly squeezed lemon juice freshly ground salt freshly ground pepper 2 avocados, peeled and sliced fresh herbs, optional Procedure Slice the kernels from the corn. I used them raw, but you can blan...

Here we are at the fourth #KitchenMatrixCookingProject post for July. This month I picked the dishes with easy recipes to inspire some  al fresco  dinners. This week, I decided to focus on a summer produce darling: the watermelon. I remember long summer afternoons when I was a kid, having watermelon seed spitting contests with my friends. I don't think I've seen a seed in a watermelon in decades. Why is that?! In any case, when they are in season, we always seem to have one on our counter or in the fridge. I have made  Watermelon Pico de Gallo ,  Roasted Watermelon Fennel Ice Cream ,  Watermelon Agua Fresca ,  Grilled Haloumi Watermelon Salad , and more. When it's in season, I love how it adds a refreshing texture to things and succulent sweetness that just scream, "Summertime!!" In case you don't have Bittman's cookbook, you can read his Watermelon Matrix online . He offers four categories - cocktail, salad, soup, dessert - and three variations of ...

This is a sponsored post written by me in conjunction with the August #WinePW event. Wine samples were provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. This is my self-declared 'month of Albariño'...or months because these pairings will span a few weeks of July and August! Since I am hosting the August #WinePW (Wine Pairing Weekend), I figured I wanted to really understand more about that grape and that wine. I asked the others to join my quest. Here's my post to the rest of the Wine Pairing Weekend crew; read  my invitation here . Thanks to Nicole of Somm's Table and her contact at Gregory + Vine , several members of the #WinePW group received samples of Albariño. I received the Albariño de Fefiñanes III Año.* And I also purchased several bottles from local-to-me vintners who are using the grape in their own wines, including La Marea made by I. Brand & Family Winery  and three different bottles from Pierce Ranch Vineyards . So, in the...

My boys and I have been foraging huckleberries for years. Normally we just devour them by the handful as we're hiking. Though one year I did get enough to make a Huckleberry Pound Cake . Last weekend we were up there and there were so many berries...and they were just about ready. So, on our way home from a sausage-making class yesterday, the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf and I scaled the almost 200 steps to the top of Huckleberry Hill with containers in hand and determination to get enough to make a pie. Almost everyone we encountered up there had the same idea we did! Well, maybe not about the pie, but about picking all those ripe huckleberries. When I signed on to join the fifth annual Pieathalon this year, I was on the hunt for pie recipes from old cookbooks. I came across this one from The Times Cook Book , copyright 1905:  NO. 11. HUCKLEBERRY PIE. Okay, what I made isn't even close to Mary's, but as I was inspired to try my hand at a huckleberry pie becau...

This is a sponsored post written by me in conjunction with the July #Winophiles event. Wine samples were provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. Lauren of  The Swirling Dervish  is hosting the French Winophiles as we explore Rosés from Around France. You can read her invitation  here . And many thanks to Michelle of  Rockin Red Blog  for arranging samples through  Teuwen Communications  for the party. Again. They are so generous.  Santé! What the Winophiles are Sharing Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles shares her vision of Côtes de Provence through Rosé Filled Glasses . Mardi from Eat Live Travel Write goes From Rosé? No Way! To # RoséAllDay . Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares Warm Weather Rosé and Cheese Pairings. Michelle from Rockin’ Red Blog will be Celebrating the Provençal Lifestyle with Three Rosés . Lynn from Savor the Harvest...

I love the idea behind the Crazy Ingredient Challenge, but I'll be honest: I haven't been very good at participating. In the Crazy Ingredient Challenge, we are assigned two ingredients to cook and create.  Lori of  Lori's Culinary Creations   and Kelly of  Passion Kneaded   are our fearless leaders. And, unfortunately, due to lack of participation, they are calling it quits for now. Adieu, Crazy Ingredient Challenge. Sorry to see you go, but I completely understand. So, for this final month... July's Crazy In gredient Challenge = capers and lime Capers are something I always have on hand. They add a nice pop of saltiness to salsas and salads. And I will never forget renting a house on the island of Ustica. When we left, after a week, Antonio, the owner, gave me a jar of home-cured capers to take with me. I may or may not have slapped a commercial label on them and brought them back to California with me. Maybe that happened...I'm not really saying. ...

Christie from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures is hosting the Festive Foodies for National Hot Dog Day. My favorite podcast is FoodStuff. And Anney and Lauren got frank about hot dogs; you can hear that here , but I'll give you a few snippets. Let's start with a definition: "A hot dog is a tube of fine-ground meat, usually beef or beef and pork, seasoned with stuff like coriander, mustard seed, pepper, nutmeg, cloves, paprika, garlic, sugar, and salt. Usually cured. Sometimes smoked. ...Savory, salty, spiced...it's simply a type of pre-cooked sausage." Frankfurter or wiener or wienie are other names for them, too. As far as the meat goes, all-beef, beef and pork, turkey, and caribou have all been turned into hot dogs. Anything goes. The average American consumes 60 hot dogs. I find that stunning. I have maybe two a year. Many Americans believe there is a "proper hot dog" and everyone else is wrong. "Ketchup is 'unacceptable'....