Acme Bake Shop Opens in Boise

11 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Boise Weekly, Bread, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Photos, Special Information, What's For Dinner?

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baker michael, bread flour, farmers market, lehi roller mills, whole wheat

(Photo credit: Ryan Thorne, Boise Weekly July 10, 2013)

Baker Michael Runsvold has started a new bakery in Boise/Garden City. The Acme Bakery, Acme Bake Shop. I keep talking about the products that he and Soraya bake. Well here is an article from the Boise Weekly about the start-up. Great bread and great write-up. Acme Bake Shop I have excerpted some of the article below.

Mike Runsvold stood at a nearly empty table as the bell rang, signalling the end of a busy day at the Boise Farmers Market. Throughout the morning, his breads had gradually disappeared one by one, as customers came by to snag a slice of sourdough or a bite of boule.
“Everything that I make, I try to make like it would be an exceptional version of its type of bread,” Runsvold said…Runsvold’s breads are made with local and semi-local flours and ingredients.
“You can’t find bread flour that’s produced or milled locally, but the one I use is in Lehi, Utah, not very far away,” Runsvold said.
In addition to using unbleached white flour from Lehi Roller Mills (where Footloose was filmed), Runsvold also sources from Shepherd’s Grain. He procures other flours, including whole wheat and rye, from Caldwell and Donnelly, where they are grown and milled on the spot.
Acme breads quickly caught the eye of 10 Barrel’s chef Paul Faucher, who wanted local breads to complement the brewpub’s menu.
“When we were opening this place up, I asked Mike if he could do something special for us,” Faucher said. “We decided to incorporate our beer wort into our buns.”
Runsvold uses the wort to add sweetness and flavor to the buns. So far, Faucher has been impressed with the quality of Acme’s breads.[Ryan Thorne, Boise Weekly, July 10, 2013]

Read the rest of the article as linked above. It is a good one and then try some of Acme Bake Shop’s breads. Robin and I have some delivered to us each and every week at home. I also am prone to get some at the New Boise Farmer’s Market at 10th and Grove in downtown Boise each Saturday morning. Cheers!

A Salad on a Warm Summer Evening

06 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bakery, Bread, Comfort Food, Local Markets, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Salad, Seafood, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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food, Fujishin Family Cellars, Tuna Salad, Viognier

It’s a warm summer evening on a link bound for nowhere that we decided to have a wonderful mixed salad. Easy to make, just use your imagination. Here is what we came up with and it was really satisfying.

Fresh Tuna Salad with Tomato
Spring Garden Potato Salad
Mixed Boise Farmers Market Greens
Acme Bakery Ciabatta
2010 Fujishin Family Cellars Viognier from the Snake River AVA, Idaho

Did you know that according to Bobby Flay on the Foodnetwork, that ciabatta means slipper? Interesting. Left-Click the photo to see it enlarged. Enjoy and make a different salad when the weather is hot and muggy! Cheers.

Not Your Standard Memorial Day Dinner

27 Monday May 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bakery, Bread, Captain's Shack, Food, Lamb, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Main Dish, Morels, Mushrooms, Party Time, Petit Verdot, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipes, Salads, Special Dinners, Spinach, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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hard cooked eggs, morel mushrooms, Potato Salad, white wine vinegar, yukon gold potatoes

Oh my. Who could ask for more? So much fun to put together and prepare. Enjoy! We did. Here is the recipe for the Potato Salad. Left-Click these photos to see enlarged and please VOTE above.

Spring Bounty Potato Salad

Source: Sunset Magazine, May 2013

Ingredients:
2 pounds small Yukon Gold potatoes
1 cup shelled fresh peas
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise $
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 spring onions* or green onions, thinly sliced
5 hard-cooked large eggs*, peeled and roughly chopped
About 3 tbsp. chopped tarragon

Preparation:
1. Bring 1 in. water to a boil in a large saucepan. Set potatoes in a steamer basket and steam in pan, covered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Cool in ice water, then pat dry. Cut potatoes into chunks and put in a large bowl.
2. Meanwhile, bring some water to a boil in a saucepan. Add peas; cook until tender, 3 minutes. Drain and transfer to ice water, then drain again.
3. Whisk together vinegar, mayonnaise, and salt in a small bowl to combine. Add onions, peas, and half the dressing to potatoes and gently stir to coat. Add eggs and 3 tbsp. tarragon and gently stir to coat.
4. Spread remaining dressing on bottom of a wide bowl, add salad, and sprinkle with more tarragon if you like.

Note: Look for spring onions (regular onions picked young) at farmers’ markets in spring and at Latino markets year-round. They have a fatter bulb than green onions–which have less crunch but make a good substitute. For perfect hard-cooked eggs, cover them in cold water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand 12 minutes. Plunge cooked eggs into ice water, crack all over, and let sit in the water for a few minutes before peeling.

Lobster Sliders

06 Monday May 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Baguette, Bread, Captain's Shack, Lobster, Main Dish, Miner's Lettuce, Photos By: Bob Young, Relish, Salads, Sandwiches, Seafood, Slider, Special Dinners, What's For Dinner?

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Acme Bakery, Baguette, black bean and corn salad, Miner's Lettuce, tartar sauce, yellow tomato

A good dinner tonight! Lobster Sliders Fresh made tartar sauce fresh picked miner's lettuce yellow tomato

A good dinner tonight! Left-Click to see larger image. VOTE above. Thanks!

Lobster Sliders
fresh made tartar sauce, fresh picked miner’s lettuce, yellow tomato, fresh baked Acme Bakery baguette

Homemade Black Bean and Corn Salad

Great St Patrick’s Day Party

18 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beef, Bread, Comfort Food, Corned Beef, Mustard, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Dinners, Special Events, St Patrick's Day, Things To Do, Traditional Food, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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corned beef cabbage, food, irish soda bread, roasted root vegetables, salt and pepper shaker

Salt and Pepper HDR

Yes it was a great dinner party! Thank-You Tom and Leanne for having us again. The party looks like it is growing! Fun and exciting games and food. I was taking this photo of the salt and pepper shaker and someone ask why? I wanted to see what it looked like in HDR (High Definition Rendering) and here it is. HDR is taking several photos of a subject at different exposures and then combining them into a single photo. Enough of that. Back to the party. The Corned Beef was great again, Gail and Leanne. And the cupcakes hit the spot. Here are some photos from the afternoon. Left-Click any of these photos to see them enlarged. Enjoy and Cheers!

Starting the party off right. There was more and there was wine and punch.

Root vegetables getting ready to be roasted.

Cupcakes being assembled. Yum!

Corned Beef, Cabbage, Irish Soda Bread (Thanks Mac) and Roasted Root Vegetables.

Gail’s Chocolate Guinness!

The completed cupcakes.

Happy Birthday Bobby Burns!

26 Saturday Jan 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in Birthdays, Bobby Burns, Bread, Captain's Shack, Chicken, Cooking Styles, Focaccia, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Römertopf Cooking, Salad, Traminer Riesling, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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quiche lorraine, roasted root vegetables, scotch whisky

Well, there was no Haggis! (If it’s made well, it’s really pretty good!) So instead, we Raised Our Glasses with Whisky and Saluted the poet! Probably not an acceptable party in Scotland, but the best we could do here in Boise, at least at our house. (As I write this, Robin is baking a Quiche Lorraine and it smells soooooo good!) But now for our menu for this party. And don’t forget to Left-Click any of these photos to see them enlarged. Check the label on the Buchannan’s Scotch Whisky. Cheers!

Focaccia rising. Olive Oil, Meyer Lemon, Rosemary, Red Onion, Salt and Pepper

Römertopf Roasted Chicken and Roasted Root Vegetables

Green Salad with Fresh Baked Focaccia

Römertopf Roasted Chicken
Fresh Roasted Root Vegetables
(turnip, carrot, parsnip, onion, garlic, apple)
Meyer Lemon Focaccia
2012 Rosemont Estate Traminer Riesling

Our Thanksgiving 2012

23 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bread, Celebrations, Dried Corn, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Dinners, Thanksgiving, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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chocolate torte, deviled eggs, food

Such a great dinner. It was great to have all of the family and extended family join us for the Thanksgiving dinner. Marnie, Mac, Sophia, Chris, Madison, Tessa and Maggie. These are the folks that made this day so great. Thank you all for joining us and for the salads, pie, deviled eggs, bread, potatoes and oyster stuffing. We did not go hungry. Enjoy this slideshow of the dinner. Cheers! The photo here are the place settings that Robin made.

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Even Buddy had his Turkey Dinner last night – small portion! And then he could not stay awake. He couldn’t even wag his tail. He was so funny. Hope everyone had as great a Thanksgiving as we did. Cheers!! Now for Christmas.

Margaret’s Irish Soda Bread

20 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bread, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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Great to have these small cooking/baking classes for those interested. This one was particularly nice because Margaret requested it. Well ……. Sort of! Fun to make this Irish Soda Bread – it only has 3 ingredients in it – and quick. Total time about an hour. And look at what she made. (Do I hear applause for her?) Left-Click for a larger view of the photos.

But before baking this morning, we had to have some dinner last night. How about

Broiled Talapia
with
Fresh Made Tartar Sauce

Braised Asparagus and Mushrooms
with
Montmorency Cherry Sauce

Wow! This was super! And serve it all with a 2010 Indian Creek Winery Mountain Syringa and you have an awesome and delicious dinner!

Now …… Back to baking!

Margaret. Ready to learn how to make the Irish Soda Bread. She did a great job!

Look at what she made! So easy and so good. Great Job Margaret!

But wait! Here are two loaves. We’ll make one additional loaf at no additional cost! Sucha deal. Spread a little butter on and maybe some honey. Oh my!

Original White or Dark Irish Soda Bread

18 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bread, Irish Soda Bread, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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Well … It was a super St Patrick’s Day dinner! There were 20+ people there and everyone pitched in to help either by preparing something, or setting the table or prepping. It was great. Thank-You Leanne and Tom!
The photo to the left is a White Irish Soda Bread that I made. (The link takes you to the recipe) This comes from an original recipe from the Preservation of the Irish Soda Bread web site. (There is also an article of the Irish soda bread below.)

I had to make two loaves, and I am glad I did. I made one as a White Soda Bread, above. Here is the Dark Soda Bread, to the back of the pan, and the White Soda Bread to the front of the pan. The only difference between the two are the ingredients. Both are mixed and baked off precisely the same way. I have them both in the same recipe as listed above. These are really very easy and quick to make. Do try them and let us know what you think. Cheers!

Traditional Irish Soda Bread ….. The debate Continues!

15 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bread, Ethnic Foods, Food Prep, Food Trivia, Irish Soda Bread, Party Time

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(Photo http://www.sodabread.info)

So it looks like the debate continues about Irish Soda Bread. Actually, I really don’t know that you can call it a debate. Maybe a “misunderstanding” about what “real” Irish Soda Bread is. Maybe from the Irish Soda Bread Web Site we can get some information. Here is some information that may help.

The Un-Bread
If your “soda bread” has raisins, it’s not “soda bread! It’s called “Spotted Dog” or “Railway Cake”! If it contains raisins, eggs, baking powder, sugar or shortening, it’s called “cake”, not “bread.” All are tasty, but not traditional Irish Soda Bread!

Traditional Irish Soda Bread
If one searches the internet using the term “Traditional Irish Soda Bread” about 63,500 sites are listed. 98% of them aren’t even close to being traditional. Google “Irish Soda Bread” and you will find 126,000 sites.

Would “French Bread” (15th century) still be “French Bread” if whiskey, raisins, or other random ingredients were added to the mix? Would Jewish Matzo (unleavened bread) used to remember the passage of the Israelites out of Egypt still be Matzo if we add raisins, butter, sugar, eggs, and even orange zest? So why is traditional “Irish Soda Bread” (19th century) turned into a dessert and labeled “Traditional Irish Soda Bread?” OK, maybe you don’t like the analogy, but you get the point!

So there’s a start on the debate, or maybe the finish. Have a good glass of Belhaven Ale or a Guinness Stout and look at the web site for more detailed information and maybe even a recipe or two. Be sure to look at the White Soda Bread Recipe that is on the site.

But for the time being, the Traditional Irish Soda Bread has “… wheat flour, white flour (do not use self-rising as it already contains baking powder and salt), buttermilk (pour in a bit at a time until the dough is moist), salt, bicarbonate of soda and butter if you want to deviate a bit … The best flour to use is “soft wheat” which is called “pastry flour” or “cake flour” today in the US. If you want to try using Irish flour, may I suggest Odlums.” (www.sodabread.info) Enjoy and thanks Joe Levitch for the reference to this site!!!