400 Companies That Are GMO Free

05 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Buy Idaho, Cooking Safety, Food Prep, Food Trivia, Gardens, GMOs, Interesting Information, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Special Information, What's For Dinner?

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GMO, GMO free, Organic products, PLU, The Free Thought Program, Whole Foods

Here is an article from The Free Thought Program that lists 400 companies that are GM free, at least some of their products. They do not use GMO’s in their products. Whole Foods is just one of them.

All too often we rely on the state to tell us what to eat and which companies are ethical. And all too often the companies that the state deems ethical and safe are proven to be quite the opposite. The giant agricultural companies that produce GMOs and use millions of tons of chemicals are able to do so because of monetary support. As long as we continue to purchase their products they will continue to pollute the environment and our bodies.

You and I have the power to stop this madness. We can choose to support those companies that do not use GMOs. The best way is to buy from a local organic farmer, or to grow your own; however there are plenty of ethical companies out there that you can support who practice sustainable methods and source from farmers that do not use GMO. [The Free Thought Project]

Another good informational social media site is on Facebook at GMO Awareness USA, which also has some good information on GMO free and resources. And if you are following the PLU numbers, that little 4 or 5 digit number that is on a sticker on most produce, then be aware anything that begins with an “8” is a GMO product. Organic products start with a “9” and conventional growing practices run the gamut from “2” – “7”. Stated another way, organic produce has a 5 digit PLU number that begins with the number 9. Conventional produce has a 4 digit PLU number that begins with the number 4. Genetically modified (GMO) produce has a 5 digit PLU number that begins with the number 8.

Great Lunch At “Sushi Joy”

03 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Asian - Sushi Joy, BBQ Fish, Dinner With Family, Grilling, Japanese Food, Locavore, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Salad, Seafood, Soup, Sushi Joy, Traditional Food, What's For Dinner?, Whats For Lunch?

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sashimi, Sushi Joy, yellowtail

I have yet to have anything bad here at Sushi Joy. It is still the finest Chinese/Japanese restaurant in Boise. Bar none! I by far prefer the Japanese cuisine over the Chinese and that is not because one is better than the other. It is just a preference. The Samurai Yellowtail, as listed on the first photo below, was awesome. A great ying-yang of sweet and biting flavors. The Yellowtail is somewhat sweet. The House Sauce was pleasingly biting. If I could give them a rating of more than 5-Stars, I certainly would. But just be assured, this restaurant is a solid, very solid, 5-Stars. Left-Click any of these photos to see them enlarged. Cheers!

Samurai Yellowtail

This was so good that I even wrote on the bill, “Loved it!”. And it was that good. Yellowtail neck? Surprised me too and very delicious. I will have it again.

Avocado Crab Salad

This is the salad that Robin really likes. I may have to try this one. I normally take the small house salad.

Sushmi Plate Robin and Marnie each had one of these.

Sashimi Plate

Robin and Marnie each had one of these. It was good to have Marnie and Mac with us for lunch.

Bento Box

Mac had this “stand-by”.

Good Nutrition Guide

03 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Baking, Captain's Shack, Cooking Programs, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner With Robin, Happy Forks, Nutrition Label, Photos By: Bob Young, Report By Robin, Salmon, Seafood, What's For Dinner?

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copper river salmon, Happy Forks Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition label, nutrition labels

Robin came across this interesting Nutrition Guide where online, you can make your own nutrition labels or just check to see the nutritional value of your meal. Look at Happy Forks Nutrition. Here is the nutrition label for Baked Salmon II, found in the recipes above. (This is not the recipe for the dish shown here.) I have also added a nutrition to our Green Tomato Relish to see how the program works with a large list of ingredients.

Nutrition label for Baked Salmon II made at Happy Foods.

Nutrition label for Baked Salmon II made at Happy Forks.

This is the nutrition label to our Green Tomato Relish.

Dinner Tonight: Truite au four en Papillote

02 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alley Gardens, Baking, Baking - Papillote, Brocolli, Captain's Shack, Cooking Styles, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner With Robin, French Foods, Fruit, Idaho Trout, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Seafood, Trout, What's For Dinner?

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fresh water fish, Papillote, pinot grigio, pinot gris, trout

On my! This was so good. The trout, Idaho trout from Hagerman, ID, was so light and sweet and good. And for me, that is saying something. I grew up on the East Coast eating Atlantic seafood. We never had much fresh water fish. But this trout was awesome. Loved it and would do it again. Not hard or difficult to do at all. Don’t be intimidated by the name. Basically, Truite au four en Papillote implies Steamed Trout in Parchment. If you follow the photos, you should have not problems. Give it a try. Use any seafood, in this case, that you like. Good luck! If you try this, let us know how it turned out for you. Cheers.

$Stuff the trout with 5 sprigs of Lemon Thyme and 2 sprigs of French Thyme. Add 1 slice of orange. For generating the steam, we used a\ 2011 Dusted Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris. About 2 Tablespoons.$

Stuff the trout with 5 sprigs of Lemon Thyme and 2 sprigs of French Thyme. Add 1 slice of orange. Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. For generating the steam, we used a 2011 Dusted Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris, Washington State. About 2 Tablespoons.

The trout is sealed in parchment. I folded the edges and then stapled them to hold the seal.

At 400 degrees F it takes about 20-25 minutes to steam this fish. Be careful when opening the packet, there is steam inside.

The plated dinner. And again, it was so very good!

Truite au four en Papillote
with
lemon thyme, French thyme and orange slice

Mashed Potatoes

Steamed Broccoli

2010 Charles Shawm Pinot Grigio

Fresh Hagerman Trout

02 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Red Wheat Bread, Alley Gardens, Backyard Garden, Baking, Baking - Papillote, Boise Farmers Market, Buy Idaho, Captain's Shack, Classic Cuisines, Cooking Styles, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner With Robin, Ethnic Foods, Food Prep, Healthy Eating, Herbs, Idaho Trout, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Main Dish, Recipes, Red Wheat, Seafood, Trout, What's For Dinner?

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en papillote, Idaho Trout, Lemon Thyme

I found some what looks like some good Idaho – Hagerman to be exact – trout. Yes, I know, it’s farm raised, but still excellent trout. Did you know that 98% of the trout that you buy in the US, whether it be in a restaurant or in a grocery store or fish store is trout from Idaho? That’s a very high percentage! Tonight I think I will make a Truite au four en Papillote, Trout Baked in Foil is the direct translation but I will use parchment. Stuff the trout with some very fresh Lemon Thyme from the garden and some lemon slices, salt and pepper and a Pinot Grigio to baste. Sounds yummy!

Note: 09 July 2016 – I had a question from a reader from Georgia asking where they might buy some fresh Idaho t6rout and have it shipped to them. Here is a reply that I made to her. “Hi Nona – Thanks for the question. One source for fresh Idaho trout is http://www.clearsprings.com/consumer/products/trout/clear-cuts/. Another source may be Hagemann Ranch Trout Farm (Google it for website) and they are in Bodega Bay, CA. A lot of the restaurants in the area use them, but they do sell to individuals. I will continue to look for you. Enjoy the trout!”

Modified Eggs Benedict

01 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Sourdough, Boise Artisan Bakery's, Boise Farmers Market, Breakfast At The Captains Shack, Breakfast With Robin, Buy Idaho, Captain's Shack, Eggs, Eggs Benedict, Herbs, Herbs and Spices, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Meadowlark Farms, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipe By: Russ Terrell, Strawberries, What's For Dinner?, Whats For Breakfast?

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Acme Bake Shop Sourdough Bread, basil, Eggs Benedict, herbs, Hollandaise Sauce, Meadowlark Farms

Yes. I know. It’s a sin to modify Hollandaise Sauce, even if it is this Easy Hollandaise. So how did I modify the Eggs Benedict? First of all I used some lightly toasted and very fresh Acme Bake Shop Sourdough Bread and then to the Hollandaise, I added 4 large leaves of chopped fresh basil. You can see the large pieces of the basil – from our yard – in the sauce in this photo. What else was local? The eggs. From Meadowlark Farms. Fresh. Deep orange yolks. Delicious eggs. The fresh fruit cup was from The Strawberry Lady at the Boise Farmers Market yesterday, and they too are awesome. It was a great breakfast. Loved it.

Modified Eggs Benedict Fresh Strawberries Coffee

Modified Eggs Benedict
Fresh Strawberries and Oranges
Coffee

This was delicious!!

Bar Code Interpretation: How To Read It

31 Saturday May 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Barcode Identification, Captain's Shack, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Special Information, What's For Dinner?

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Bar Code Intrepretation, barcodes

Ever wonder what the Bar Code on that product you just bought can tell you? Here is a link to Snopes and Bar Code Intrepretation. Enjoy! Here is some exerpted information from Snopes.

If the origin of what you buy is important to you, may I suggest that you write down on a card (the size of your credit card) and keep in your wallet, the following information.

The first 3 digits of the barcode is the country code wherein the product was made.

BARCODES
00 ~ 13 USA & CANADA
30 ~ 37 FRANCE
40 ~ 44 GERMANY
49 ~ JAPAN
50 ~ UK
57 ~ Denmark
64 ~ Finland
76 ~ Switzerland and Lienchtenstein
471 ~ Taiwan
480 ~ Philippines
628 ~ Saudi-Arabien
629 ~ United Arab Emirates
690 ~ 695 China
740 ~ 745 Central America
Please spread this to everyone
Read more at – Barcode Information

Here is a more complete list of the Barcode Country list.

Great Halibut Dinner

31 Saturday May 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Capers, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Cooking Styles, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner With Robin, Greens, Halibut, Herbs, Idaho Wine, Main Dish, Parma Ridge Winery, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Salad, Seafood, Snake River AVA, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wines - Idaho

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capers, Filets de flétan en papillote, halibut, halibut packet, saffron

Last night we had this awesome Saffron Halibut Packets, a recipe adapted from Roger Mooking. This is an absolute keeper recipe. The style of cooking halibut in parchment paper is called Filets de Flétan en Papillote, or generally en Papillote. There is a great Mexican recipe – I can’t remember it correctly right now – from the movie Tortilla Soup where they prepare a fish this way. Anyway, here is our adaption. Enjoy!

The halibut is being prepared for the parchment wrap.

See the halibut and carrots in the packet?

Opening the parchment. Be careful. There is steam in the packet.

Fresh Made Potato Leak Soup
Great starter!

The halibut is being prepared for the packet.

Saffron Halibut Packets
Fresh Carrot and Green Salad
with
lemon, olive oil and salt dressing
2004 Parma Ridge Vineyards Dry Gewurztraminer
Be sure to check the recipe above.

Boise Farmers Market Today

31 Saturday May 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Sourdough, Acme Bakery, Android Photos, Boise Artisan Bakery's, Boise Farmers Market, Buy Idaho, Carrots, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Parma Ridge Winery, Photos By: Bob Young, Strawberries, What's For Dinner?

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Boise Farmers Market, farmers market, fresh strawberries, super bike lane

Great to have Purple Sage Farms back at the market after graduations and weddings. Congratulations! But we did miss you. Also great to have fresh strawberries in today and fresh carrots!
I have been riding my bike to the market every Saturday because the City of Boise has added a super bike lane to Main Street going East and Idaho Street going West. These specific and guarded lanes help to keep the riders much safer. They are a great thing and I hope they keep them. Enjoy these photos!

Protected bike lane in downtown Boise. I do like them very much!

More of the protected bike lane.

The line at the fresh strawberries. I was one of the first in line. They went fast!

Here is what I waited for. I bought 2 pints. Yum!

Memorial Day/Graduation Celebration

27 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beef, Beer and Food, Blueberries, Bradley Smoker, Cakes, Captain's Shack, Celebrations, Comfort Food, Cookies, Corn, Dessert, Dinner At Marnies, Dinner With Family, Fruit, Grillin' and Chillin', Holiday Gatherings, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Slow Cooking, Smoking and Grilling, Special Dinners, Special Events, What's For Dinner?

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Bradley smoker, grilling, recipes, smoker

Such a great party to celebrate Memorial Day and Sophia graduating from Boise High School. Congratulations Sophia!!And absolutely great food from everyone – Mac for the hamburgers, Marnie for the strawberry cake, Chris and Madison brought the cookie pictured here and Robin’s awesome Tuscan Orange Cake and Blueberry Pie. Super great eats, everyone. And it was good that Mac’s Mom and Dad, Linda and Jim, drove all the way from Virginia to be at the party. Enjoy these photos! Cheers.

Sophia graduates! Congratulations and hugs Sophia.

Cricket is thinking, “Which way do I go?”

Eat dessert first, life is too short!!

Chris and Madison look at that awesome cookie!

Robin made this Tuscan Orange Cake and made these decorations. Great job, Honey!

Robin made this Tuscan Orange Cake and the decorations, too. Great job, Honey! Here is the recipe for the Tuscan Orange Cake (Schiacciata Alla Florentina).

Robin also made this Blueberry Pie. I do like blueberries!

Marnie made the Strawberry Cake. This was really good.

Now that dessert is over, we can eat the main meal. Yummers!

Robin and I made these Baked Beans totally from scratch. The Lyle’s Black Treacle is a Scottish addition.

Great corn, Marnie, for this early in the season. Did not need and salt, pepper or butter.

And the ribs just coming out of the smoker. Top Two Shelves - Memphis Rub. Middle Shelf - Casey's Hot Sop and the bottom shelf, Regular rub or garlic, onion and salt and pepper.

And the pork ribs just coming out of the smoker. Top Two Shelves – Memphis Rub. Middle Shelf – Casey’s Hot Sop and the Bottom Two Shelves, Regular rub – garlic, onion and salt and pepper.