Great Breakfast and Lunch

26 Tuesday Aug 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Sourdough, Boise Farmers Market, Breakfast, Breakfast At The Captains Shack, Breakfast With Robin, Captain's Shack, Classic Herb Blends, Classic Sauces, Cooking Styles, East Indian Food, Ethnic Foods, Housemade Hollandaise Sauce, Indian Food, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Lox, Mushrooms, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Salmon, Seafood, Soup, Spices of India, Spinach, Vegetables, Vegetarian Foods, What's For Dinner?

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Cream of Mushroom Soup, fenugreek, India foods, portabella mushroom, turmeric

Here are two meals that we have had this week. Very vegetable based, but not entirely vegetarian. I think both were superb and well worth repeating. What do you think?

Non-Traditional Eggs Benedict Grilled Prtabella Mushroom Spinach 2 Meadowlark Farms Poached Eggs Housemade Hollandaise Sauce

Non-Traditional Eggs Benedict
Grilled Portabella Mushroom
Steamed Spinach
Robin’s Housemade Lox
Two Meadowlark Farms Poached Eggs
Housemade Hollandaise Sauce

The portabella mushroom takes the place of the traditional toasted English muffin and we also added steamed spinach, to give the dish that Florentine look. This was really delicious. Then we had this wonderful soup.

Cream of Mushroom Soup
with
Fenugreek and Turmeric

Acme Bake Shop Toasted Sourdough

For a thickener we used steamed cauliflower florets that were emulsified in chicken or vegetable bouillon. The fenugreek gave the soup and very East Indian aroma and flavor and the turmeric gave it a wonderful soft, spiciness. The recipe for the soup is in the recipe file above or you can view it here: Cream of Mushroom Soup with Fenugreek and Turmeric. Enjoy!

A Night In Shangri-La

02 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Appetizers, Avocado, Beer and Food, Blueberries, East Indian Food, Ethnic Foods, Housemade Soup, Locavore, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Salads, Shangri-La Tea Room, Tea, Things To Do, Vegetarian Foods, What's For Dessert?, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food

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Cecilia Rinn Starbelly Dancers, Shangri-La, tea, vegan, vegetarian

The Shangri-La Tea Room and Cafe, that is! Good music with the Fleet Street Klezmer Band and Dancing by the Cecilia Rinn Starbelly Dancers. And then, there is always the awesomely different food served up. Vegetarian at that. But delicious. Easily a 4-Star, if not higher, out of 5-Stars restaurant. Don’t wrinkle up your nose at the thought of a vegan dinner. This is really superior. We’ll be back! Enjoy these photos of the evening and Left-Click any of them to see enlarged. Cheers!

They do have other things besides tea. Yes, they have a fairly good selection of beer and wine.

But with close to 100 different teas to select from, you should find one you like.

And some of the teas you can steep right at your table. This is a Tea Flower.

A wonderful Coconut Soup to star thing off with. And housemade, as is most of their food, salad, sandwich, soup and dessert selections.

A wonderful Coconut Soup to start things off. And housemade, as is most of their salad, sandwich, soup and dessert selections.

How about this Mock Tuna sandwich? This is absolutely delicious and one reason I keep going back.

Or this Mock Tuna and Crackers appetizer.

Or maybe you would like this Veggie Burger made with goat cheese, mango and peach salsa, spring greens, walnuts and portobello mushrooms. This is almost better than the Mock Tuna.

How about the Veggie Burger Salad?

Then for4 dessert a delicious Blueberry Lemon Muffin Cookie.

Then for dessert a delicious Blueberry Lemon Muffin Cookie.

This Power Pudding is to die for!! It’s like eating a chocolate mousse mixed with nice, creamy butter.

After eating all of these goodies, one must have entertainment.

Body art on one of the dancers!

Fleetstreet Klezmer Band. Victoria Kostenko on tyhe violin. Schlomo Kostenko vocals and bass fiddle and Mathew Voorhees on the accordion.

Fleet Street Klezmer Band. Victoria Kostenko on the violin. Shlomo Kostenko vocals and bass fiddle and Mathew Voorhees on the accordion.

The Cecilia Rinn Starbelly Dancer performed.

The Cecilia Rinn Starbelly Dancers performed.

Some the excellent dancers.

Even the guys get to dance!!!

Turmeric – The “Poor Man’s Saffron “

11 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by Bob and Robin in East Indian Food, Interesting Information, Moroccan Spices, Photos, Special Information, Spices, Spices of India, What's For Dinner?

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food, middle eastern cuisines, moroccan cuisine, spice in indian cuisine

Here is another fascinating “spice” article from Malaysian Delacacies on Facebook. (If you look, Facebook does have some interesting posts. But only some.)

Turmeric is named as the ’Golden Spice of Life’.The botanical name is Curcuma longa, and the plant is a member of Zingiberaceae or ginger family. Turmeric has color similar to that of sunlight. Therefore, it is considered to be sacred in India as in ancient times such natural forces were believed to have supernatural powers. It is used in auspicious ceremonies and rituals.

Studies have shown that two teaspoons of turmeric contain 1.88 milligrams of iron, 0.08 milligrams of vitamin B, 0.96 grams of dietary fiber, 114.48 milligrams of potassium and 0.36 grams of manganese.

Turmeric is an essential spice in Indian cuisine. This warm and aromatic spice with bitter undertones is also used extensively in Southeast Asian and Middle-Eastern cuisines. In Indian cuisine turmeric is added to nearly every dish, be it non- vegetarian or vegetarian. Its bright yellow color imparts an orange yellow hue to curries. It is widely used in Moroccan cuisine to spice meat, particularly lamb, and vegetables. It is also used in spice blends in the Caribbean, North Africa, the Middle East, and Indonesia. Turmeric is also used to give a yellow color to some prepared mustards; it gives ballpark mustard its bright yellow color.

Listed above on the graphic, are the benefits of Turmeric. Left-Click to see enlarged.

Halloween Bounty

24 Sunday Oct 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in East Indian Food, Miss Donna, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do

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Robin and I are so very lucky! Marnie is learning to create cakes from scratch. And doing a superb job, too! And then there is Donna. So very talented when it comes to cookies, cakes, flowers and gardens!!! She called me the other day and asked if we wanted some Cabbage (wait until you see the photo of this one. Below), Butternut Squash and Cilantro. Of course we accepted. When I got there this afternoon, she also had a plate of fresh baked and decorated cookies, candy apple, and from the garden fresh cilantro, carrots and onion. This was awesome. Thank-You Donna for all of the goodies and Marnie for taking the time to learn a new craft. And Mac? Thanks for making Marnie the wine rack! It really looks good.

Donna’s Caramel Apple

Cookies by Donna
Ghost
Amputated Finders
Eyes
Pumpkin
Black Cat
Witch

Garden cabbage. 12″ from top to bottom and I bet 24 pounds if it weighs an ounce. Sauerkraut here we come!

Her garden vegetables
Radish
Onion
Cabbage
Carrots

The wine rack Mac made for Marnie

Who could ever ask for more? Not us!

Question Is: What Is Masala?

05 Sunday Sep 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in East Indian Food, Things To Do

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The question is: What is masala? Basically, it is an East Indian spice blend. The photo to the left is from the Masala Cook web site. The web site Masala Cook states that,

“You’ll find this term popping up in virtually all South Asian cuisines. Masala generally refers to the (sometimes) dry-roasted and ground spice powders used to add flavor and aroma to dishes. Some frequently used spices are coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon, black cumin, bay leaves, mace, nutmeg and peppercorns. Regional preferences and the type of dish determine the infinite number of combinations.

Curried dishes have spices and chilies added to a tomato and onion base. In southern cuisines, spices are added to ground coconut paste or coconut milk gravies and stews. The resultant thick mixture is also referred to as ‘masala’.

Masala Dosa is a breakfast food/tiffin that’s a given on South Indian restaurant menus. Here, ‘masala’ is the spicy potato mixture that sits rolled up in the middle of the dosa (a crisp, rice-and-lentil crepe).

On a dull, winter day, try a masala chai to pep you up! The spice mix brewed with tea leaves and sugar varies according to individual taste, but usually includes cinnamon, ginger, cloves and peppercorn, with the dominant flavor of cardamom.”

Hopefully, this answers some questions. But as you can see from the article, the masala spice blend can be quite varied. It depends on the locale of the cooking – New Delhi cooking is different than Bombay cooking which is different than Lahore cooking or Madras cooking – and the dish being prepared. Indian cooking, curry for example, from India tends to be more spicy than the somewhat sweet curries of Indonesia. Therefore, the masala spice blend will be different. Pick the one you like and go with that. Or experiment. It’s definitely your choice. Cheers!

Indian Foods Grocery Store in Boise

05 Sunday Sep 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in East Indian Food, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young

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One thing that Boise has really improved on in the pat 10 years or so, is ethnic foods. Ethnic restaurants and grocery stores. As C. Jeanne Heida says in her post on Associated Content,

“… Boise, Idaho is not known for having a wide range of ethnic grocery stores, and up to about 15 years ago or so, our ethnic food choices were pretty much limited to the “foreign food” aisle of the local grocery store.

Fortunately for Boise, a number of small ethnic markets have sprung up in recent years, providing a wide range of international foods. Since many of these small markets are neither advertised or listed in the Yellow Pages, they can be a little tricky to find.” Robin and I totally agree with this statement! It is great to see these small markets in Boise.

Robin and I visited this shop this morning and found it to be very complete and versatile. Hasmuka Patel has done a great job. The store is located at 6020 W Fairview Ave in Boise. Telephone is (208) 387-0000. I have not found a website for them.

The store is located in the old Bob’s Bicycles – no relation. For some, it might be a little difficult to locate. It tends to sit back off the highway. But, there is plenty of signage, as evidenced in the above photos. This is a photo of the store front.

As you can see from this interior shot, the store has a lot of shelving that is full of product. There is also a space for cooking supplies – pans, steamers, etc. This is just two isles of four, plus end shelves and another room. The products include not only food stuffs, that being the primary emphasis, they also provide incense and some light hardware. An interesting shop that if, you are looking for the East Indian, Asian or Pakistani foods, this should be your first stop. Open 7 days a week from 9:30am until early evening. Cheers!