“State and Lemp” – Awesome

17 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Acme Bake Shop, Anniversary, Appetizers, Apricots, Beets, Boise Adventures, Boise Restaurants, Bread, Buy Idaho, Carrots, Celebrations, Chardonnay, Classic Cuisines, Dinner Reviews with Robin, Dinner With Robin, Food Photos, Friends, Heirloom Carrots, Heirloom Squash, Idaho Greens, Idaho Potatoes, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Restaurants To Try, Salads, Special Dinners, Special Events, Special Information, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

State and Lemp

I could, and probably should, fill up this page with the word awesome, but that would be boring! If you are in Boise and have been here for awhile, do you remember Andrae’s? That definitely was a 5-Star restaurant. And so is State and Lemp. It is every bit as good as Andrea’s was; If not better. But I can only give 5-Stars and State and Lemp earned every one of those stars. From the local art on the wall, as pictured here, to the outstanding service. Also outstanding was the plating of the different food offerings. We eat with our eyes first, and as you will see, the presentations were super good! The seating is limited to about 28 people, so call for a reservation. We did like the way they have the tables set, it gave us time to chat with our table “neighbors”. Here are some photos from the evening. Enjoy! We will return for another special celebration, whatever that may be!

Robin at our seating.

The seating arrangements.

The menu and our place card. Yes, it is that formal!

It is great to see that they use as much local products as possible. Here is Acme Bake Shop Sourdough Bread. For a complete list of their farmer suppliers, check their web site.

It is great to see that they use as much local products as possible. Here is Acme Bake Shop Sourdough Bread. For a complete list of their local farmer suppliers, check their web site.

Sardine
with
Micro Greens and Flowers

Strawberry & Cucumber Scallop. Cilantro. Shiso Patrick Bottex – “La Cueille” Gamay / Poulsard

Strawberry and Cucumber
Scallop. Cilantro. Shiso
Patrick Bottex – “La Cueille” Gamay / Poulsard

Summer Squash & Fava Beans Black Cod. Sea Beans Nasturtium Taft Street – Chardonnay

Summer Squash and Fava Beans
Black Cod. Sea Beans. Nasturtium
Taft Street Chardonnay

Carrot & Apricot Goat. Sesame. Fried Rice Maxime Magnon – “La Démarrante” Carignan / Cinsault

Carrot and Apricot
Goat. Sesame. Fried Rice
Maxime Magnon – “La Démarrante” Carignan/Cinsault

Intermezzo – Huckleberry Sorbet

Beets & New Potato
Pork. Gooseberry. Sorrel
Domaine Gayda – “Flying Solo” Grenache/Syrah

Currants & Cherry Ginger Ale. Vanilla Cream. Mochi Taylor Fladgate – “LBV” Port

Currants and Cherry
Ginger Ale. Vanilla Cream. Mochi
Taylor Fladgate – “LBV” Port

Those little ginger ale “balloons” just “popped” flavor in your mouth. I intentionally did not pick a “favorite” dish – they were all superior. The wines also were paired perfectly. Here is a little more about State and Lemp from their web site.

In our effort to showcase local and regional farmers, ranchers, and artisans we have utilized the following…
Purple Sage Farms /purplesagefarms.com – Waterwheel Gardens /waterwheelgardens.com – Rice Family Farms / ricefamilyfarms.com – Sweet Valley Organics / sweetvalleyorganics.com – Peaceful Belly / peacefulbelly.com – Dawson Taylor Coffee Roasters / dawsontaylor.com – Malheur River Meats / malheurrivermeats.com – Ohana Farm Inc. Frostenson Farms – Acme Bread Co. – Double R Honey Farm – Cloverleaf Creamery …. Ownership and management will maintain a constant presence on the floor as we interact with guests to ensure an unforgettable experience. We provide continuing education and training for all team members in order to better enable them as they assist guests with decisions. Additionally, we seek to advance all team members and enable their growth as hospitality professionals.

Boise Farmers Market is Busy!

11 Saturday Jul 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Breads, Boise Farmers Market, Bread, Buy Idaho, Comfort Food, Heirloom Carrots, Idaho Pork, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Meadowlark Farms, Organic Foods, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Potatoes, Sourdough Bread, True Roots Produce, What's For Dinner?

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Boise Farmers Market, bone in pork chops, Homestead Natural Foods, indian creek winery, pork

Maybe some beets? If not, fresh tomatoes are available. It is really great to see such activity at the Boise Farmers Market. Full of busy, busy people all looking at the wonderful farm fresh products available to the shopper. Fruits are in … leafy greens seem to be on the decline, except, of course, for kale. But, buy some great beets or turnips and you can prepare the tops as greens. Carrot tops? Make a soup from them. So one does have options. Did you say corn? Yup! It is here and from Emmett. Enjoy these photos of the Market this morning. And as a note, the photo in the header I took this morning. Love the colors! It was great to see Indian Creek Winery in a booth this morning. Good to see you Mike McClure, winemaker.

A busy market just before none o'clock this morning.

A busy market just before nine o’clock this morning.

Even as unseasonably hot as it has been, the heirloom carrots are great!

Same photo as in the header, but delightful colors and products. Love those blue potatoes. Now all we need are some orange colored spuds!

Buy some awesome bread from the Acme Bake Shop! Super good Old World Rye and Sourdough.

No! These are not rib-eye steaks! These are Homestead Farms Pork Chops!!! Oh yum!

Boise Farmers Market Expands Program

23 Saturday May 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in Boise Adventures, Boise Farmers Market, Buy Idaho, Comfort Food, Food, Food Carts or Trucks, Green Beans, Green Peas, Greens, Healthy Eating, Heirloom Carrots, Heirloom Squash, Heirloom Tomatoes, Herbs and Spices, Idaho Greens, Idaho's Bounty, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Meadowlark Farms, Next Generation produce, Onion, Peaceful Belly Farms, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Purple Sage Farms, Special Events, Special Information, Spinach, Spring Greens, Spring Plants, Spring Vegies, Traditional Food, True Roots Produce, Watercress, What's For Dinner?

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Boise Farmers Market, Mobile Market, Next Generation produce, Purple Sage Farms, spring vegetables, True Roots produce

The BFM, Boise Farmers Market, has come up with a novel idea – Take the market to those who can least afford to attend the market at 10th and Grove or any other market in the downtown corridor. In other words, hook up a trailer to a vehicle and take the produce to different neighborhoods. New idea? In the 21st Century, maybe, but I can remember the farmers coming to our neighborhood – in Delaware – and my Mother buying fresh produce that way in season. Look at what they are doing. If you need to enlarge the photos to see them or to print them, Left-Click the photo. From the BFM website, “Spring produce galore! Look for strawberries, asparagus, lettuces, mustard greens, radishes, rhubarb, micro-greens and a whole lot of love. Plus, the debut of the BFM Mobile Market on Saturday, May 23rd!”

The schedule of where the produce trailer will be.

As this poster says, “The Boise Farmers Market and the Boise Parks and Recreation are bringing fresh local produce to your neighborhood this summer! Shop for Fresh-From-The-Farm fruits and vegetables while your kids play in the park. The Mobile Market accepts SNAP benefits. For more information, please contact Janie Burns at (208) 863-6947 or at info@boisefarmersmarket.com.” You can also check the website at The Boise Farmers Market.

The Mobile Market

Map of the service and schedule for the Mobile Market.

Boise Parks and Recreation are helping with this project. Thank-You Boise Parks and Rec!

Hopefully, some of these produce vendors will have some of their produce on the Mobile Market. I know you will be able to purchase fresh, farm eggs from Meadowlark Farms. And maybe bakery items in the future.

True Roots produce.

Purple Sage Farms

Maybe some live plants? If not, fresh tomatoes should be available in season.

Another Good Römertopf Chicken

22 Friday May 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alley Gardens, Arugula, Boise Farmers Market, Capers, Captain's Shack, Carrots, Chicken, Classic Cuisines, Dill, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner For Robin, Garlic, Green Salad, Healthy Eating, Heirloom Carrots, Herbs, Herbs and Spices, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Locavore, Morels, Onion, Party Time, Peaceful Belly Farms, Photos By: Bob Young, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, Potatoes, Römertopf, Römertopf Cooking, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Rice Family Farms, Roasted Vegetables, Salad, Salt, Things To Do, Traditional Food, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Römertopf, Römertopf cooking

Yes indeed, another good Römertopf Roasted Chicken. Love using this style of cooking – Römertopf or Tagine; slow, steamed in it’s own liquid. I like to place chopped carrots, onion and potato on the bottom of the Römertopf to keep the chicken off of the bottom of the cooking pot and keep it from burning. Make a gravy from the liquid and use the roasted vegetables as a side. I cooked this one covered at 375 degrees F for about 1 1/2 hours, plus 1/2 hour uncovered at 400 degrees F.
And we do like to keep the ingredients as local as possible: Potatoes from Rupert, Onions from Nyssa, Carrots from Boise, Herbs from our herb garden. Look at what we did and enjoy. We did! Serve with a good Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio. Left Click the photos to see them enlarged.

One of our herb gardens. All four are about this size. The front space between the sidewalk and the street is chock full of herbs – No Grass or otherwise known as a No Mow Lawn.

The 6# chicken is resting after cooking. Stuffed with garlic - a whole bulb cut in half - onion quartered, thyme, rosemary, sage, sea salt and Tellicherry pepper.

The 6# Römertopf Chicken is resting after cooking. Stuffed with garlic – a whole bulb cut in half – onion quartered, thyme, rosemary, sage, Morel mushrooms, sea salt and Tellicherry pepper. The skin is rubbed with unsalted butter, sea salt and Tellicherry pepper. Thyme and sage leaves are scattered on the skin.

Römertopf Chicken Roasted Potatoes, Onion and Carrot Drippings Gravy Green Arugula and Black Leaf Lettuce with capers, radish sticks Olive Oil, Lime Zest and Juice and Honey Dressing

Romertopf Chicken
Roasted Potatoes, Onion and Carrot
Drippings Gravy
Green Arugula and Red Leaf Lettuce Salad
with
capers and radish sticks
Olive Oil, Lime Zest, Lime Juice and Honey Dressing

Let’s Make Some Pasta!

28 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bacon, Bolognese Sauce, Captain's Shack, Classic Cuisines, Comfort Food, Garlic, Heirloom Carrots, Housemade Pasta, Italian Food, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Sofritto, Special Events, Tuscan Cuisine, What's For Dinner?

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bolognese sauce, homemade pasta, pasta, sauces for pasta, sofritto, Tuscan cuisine

Pasta. Ever think about how it is made? Really not hard to do. A little flour, some eggs, a little oil and water. That’s all there is. Oh yes. Then mix it all and not in a mixer. On a flat surface. Don’t get any on the floor! Here is a recipe from Chef Anne Burrell. Pasta. OK. So now I have made the pasta, and not to much of a mess.
Now what? Try a Bolognese Sauce with your pasta. The Bolognese is a very Tuscan style of sauce. We made all of this to take to the Treasure Valley Wine Society Board meeting last night. I think they liked it! Let me take you through the process of making the pasta. Here we go!

First. Make a hole in the center of your flour – I used Semolina. Add the eggs and the egg yolk, oil – I used a garlic infused olive oil – salt and 1 or 2 T water. Use a fork to mix the eggs. Start to bring the sides into the egg mixture and slowly mix.

It should start to look like this.

Once it is all mixed and blended, you should have a ball of dough like this.

Knead it for 8 to 10 minutes by hand. When done, the dough should look very smooth and feel almost velvety.

Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour,m if you are not going to use it immediately.

Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour, if you are not going to use it immediately.

Remove from the refrigerator and flatten out. Flour well. Cut into thirds, or even quarters – I used quarters.

Start on setting 1 on your pasta machine. The one pictured here fits on our Kitchen Aid. But there are other mechanical ones the fit on a counter top. They both do the same thing, except the one for the mixer does not require hand turning, obviously.

Start on setting 1 on your pasta machine, speed on mine set at 4. The one pictured here fits on our Kitchen Aid. But there are other mechanical ones that fit on a countertop. They both do the same thing, except the one for the mixer does not require hand turning, obviously.

Increase the setting to number 2, and runn the dough through the machine again. And Voila! Fettucin

Increase the setting to number 2 (the higher the number, the thinner the pasta.), and run the dough through the machine again. And Voila! Fettuccine.

Fettuccine processed and floured to keep it from sticking.

Sofritto cooking for the Bolognese. See the recipe above.

Sofrito cooking for the Bolognese. See the recipe above.

Bolognese Sauce.

Wine for the Bolognese. This is what I used in the sauce.

Fresh Alaskan Salmon 2 Ways

10 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alaskan Salmon, Asian Food, Captain's Shack, Classic Cuisines, Classic Herb Blends, Cooking Styles, Dinner With Robin, Grilling, Heirloom Carrots, Herbs, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Recipes - Marinades, Salad, Salmon, Seafood, Vegetables, What's For Dinner?

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Asian marinade, Asian salmon, food photos, Grilled Salmon, recipes

Wow! This salmon was super good and fresh! It should be. Our neighbor, Cary White, returned from an Alaskan trip and brought us a side of fresh salmon. Thank-You so much, Cary, this was superb. We made Asian Grilled Salmon, a new and awesome recipe that we tried, and Robin’s Icebox Lox from the side. I know the Asian Grilled Salmon was wonderful – we had some last night – and I know the lox will be superb. Here are some photos of our endeavor. Enjoy and Enjoy the recipes! Cheers.

Robin’s Icebox Lox getting ready for the refrigerator and the weight.

Asian Grilled Salmon getting to know the marinade. Just remember to use a hot grill and 3 – 5 minutes per side. Cook just long enough so the salmon releases from the grill or grill pan easily and is slightly “marked”.