Lamb For Sale

21 Thursday Oct 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Lamb, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests

Well, it’s that time of year for fresh lamb. We have been getting lamb for about 4 or 5 years now from this source and it has been fantastic. E-Mail Leanne Felzien for more details if you are interested. I don’t know the price right now, but if you don’t want a whole lamb, think about splitting it with someone – share the cost. Leanne will let you know the cost. Indirectly, you can contact Gail McClellan Parker for information and she will forward your questions to Leanne.

The lamb comes cut to your specifications and likes and quick frozen by a local butcher. The lamb is locally grown and harvested. Cheers!

An Awesome Dip and Tomatillo Sauce

30 Thursday Sep 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food Prep, Local Harvests, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Things To Do

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There are still vegetables to use coming from the garden. Tomatillo Green Sauce for one. You know, those little green, sticky “thingys” that are very bitter when eaten raw. But slightly cooked, they make an awesome verde sauce. Great on sliced pork or eggs for breakfast. Try too with chicken. This verde can be used with a lot of dishes.
And then, we have a Mexican Corn Dip. Great with tortilla chips, crackers or on a tomato salad as pictured. Great little story goes with this one. The first time I had some was at an open house at the Idaho Wine Merchant – it was an appetizer. Ed Robertson introduced me to the Chef that made the dip, Rachael Hurd of The Season’s Bistro, 1117 E Winding Creek Dr, Eagle, Idaho. Rachael would not give me the recipe and she still will not. But if I told her I was coming to the Bistro tomorrow, she would have some for me. So, if I want any at home, I had to find a similar recipe and I did!! Even if this recipe is not completely the same as Rachael’s, it is pretty close! It just took me about 6 months or so to make this recipe.
So, there in a nutshell is “… my story and I’m stickin’ to it!” Fun things to make. Fun things to eat. Cheers!

Harvest Under The Stars

28 Tuesday Sep 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Interesting Information, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Party Time, Things To Do

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I received this information from Wes Malvini and he asked me to post it. Looks like it could really be fun.

Harvest Under The Stars

Visit us for a magical, night under the stars where innocence and imagination take you back to the time of being a child! Event organizer, Wes Malvini has brought together Idaho’s finest agricultural producers, local restaurants, businesses, citizens, musicians, and wineries to support the adoption of children from foster care! The event begins in the early parts of the day as a “Family Fun Day”–with games and booths to celebr…ate Idaho’s harvest. Get your children’s photos taken in the pumpkin patch or shop for local produce as your kids jump in the fun house and paint pumpkins! If you’re just passing by, come on in and eat some lunch from Brenda’s Foods and other local, fresh, and organic producers!

Later in the evening come back down and listen to the “joyful melodies, funky grooves, (and) soaring harmonies”* of Finn Riggins and rythmic, acoustic blues by The Quartertons. Fill your stomach muscles with laughter and eye sockets with wonderment as local comedian Heath Harmison and Mentalist, Mental Wes take you down a new kind of rabbit hole.

But that’s not all! The night is catered by Idaho’s Bounty delicious selection of local and sustainable foods! Also Idaho wineries such as Holesinsky Organic Winery, Davis Creek Cellars, and Woodriver Cellars!

Forget your adult shoes at home and become a kid again! All proceeds for A New Beginning Adoption Agency which is a non-profit, private adoption agency licensed in Idaho, Oregon, and Utah. They have been providing adoption services in Idaho for six years and have been involved with the placement of 250 children placed into adoptive families.

The mission of A New Beginning is to create healthy adoptive parents, children, and birth parents through education, preparation, and support throughout and after the adoption process. They have developed pre-placement adoptive training that all adoptive parents are required to complete. They have also developed support groups for birth parents and offered counseling to every birth mother that enters their doors.

When: October 23rd, 2010 from 12:00-4:00 (for children and parents) and 6:00-9:30 (adults ONLY)

Where: North End Nursery North End Nursery, North End Organic Nursery, 2350 Hill Road, Boise, ID

Cost: $20.00 in advance (email Wes Malvini) $25.00 at the door. Or enter our COSTUME PARTY and receive $5 off your tickets a the door and enter to win great prizes!

Sponsors: Idaho’s Bounty, North End Organic Nursery, Holesinsky Winery, Davis Creek Cellars, Woodriver Cellars, Brenda’s Foods, Heath Harmison, Mental Wes, Domestic Jones, BC-Creative.

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This looks like it might be a really interesting and fun affair. Cheers!

Thunder Mountain Line Locavore Dinner

27 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Locavore, Main Dish, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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For Robin’s Birthday, Marnie gave her a Locavore Dinner on the Thunder Mountain Train. This train goes along the Payette River from Horseshoe Bend to Banks, Idaho. Thank you Marnie – It was well worth it. They had a table reserved for us and balloons over the table. It was really a lot of fun to ride the train again and to “get out” with Robin for even a short time. When we reached Banks after riding through the back country and along the river, we had this awesome meal totally produced from locally grown foods and prepared locally. Enjoy these photos of our sojourn! Cheers!

Robin and Bob onboard the Thunder Mountain Line

The Payette River. There are Class 5 rapids on this river.

Kayaking

The Payette River Valley

The Thunder Mountain Line

Arrival at Banks!

In Banks and getting some food.

Ham, Bread, Apple Crisp, Potato Salad and Squash

Pasta with Chorizo, Salmon, Gnoche and Lamb Meatballs

Some of the dinner crowd

I hope you enjoyed the photos. We sure did enjoy getting them for you. Here’s to the next sojourn!

Shrimp Stuffed Cod

04 Saturday Sep 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Buy Idaho, Food, Food Prep, Local Harvests, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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I finished getting the pork ready for Monday – Pulled Pork, Roasted Corn, Baked Beans and Potato Salad. Maybe one of MJ’s cakes (Hope so!) So now it’s dinnertime! Watching how the weather blew in from the west and kept Earl out to sea. That was the onslaught of BSU coming to VA Tech for the game(?) on Monday. And all 10000+ BSU fans headed to FedEx Field to show VA Tech how to yell for their team. Listen for, “BOISE …….. STATE …… BOISE …… STATE!”
But tonight, we need dinner. I remember a Lobster Stuffed Whitefish from somewhere. No lobster in our refrig. But we have Prawns! And we have Cod! So make a shrimp paste – shrimp, bread crumbs, lemon thyme, cream and salt and pepper. Run through a food processor until in paste form. Cut a pocket in the fish and stuff with the shrimp paste. Bake at 375 degrees F until browned on top. And a fresh and local vegetable saute – tomato, Zebra tomato, summer squash, kohlrabi, leek. Here was the menu:

Shrimp Stuffed Cod

Garden Fresh Sauteed Vegetables

Potato Salad

So the Little Guys can’t play with the Big Guys, eh? Why not ask Oklahoma and TCU. See what they say. Cheers! And enjoy the Shrimp Stuffed Cod!

Boise Urban Market News

03 Friday Sep 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Special Information, Things To Do, Thought For The Day

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I received this the other day from Hallie of the Boise Urban Market and thought some of you might be interested. Cheers!

“A team of food enthusiasts and I put on the Boise Urban Market once a month. We provide people a starting point or launching pad into a food-related career by accommodating them as vendors at our monthly markets. This allows product development opportunities to our vendors before having to pay many of the expenses that come with selling food at a traditional farmers market, restaurant, or store. To give you an idea of some of the products enjoyed at our markets, here is a list of a few of the items our vendors have brought since the Boise Urban Market’s inception in April: Artisan jalapeno cheddar bread made in dutch ovens, Dandelion-Mint Jam, Goat Cheese, Ginger-Peach Chutney, Chocolate Tofu Cheesecake, chilled Gazpacho, Kombucha Tea, Andouille Sausage, Falafel and Tzatziki sauce served hot, Walla Walla Onion Marmalade, and Vegan Lemon Bar Cupcakes.

The market has an ever evolving list of vendors, so we definitely keep things interesting by having new foods every month. Our market is only open to members of our club, which allows us flexibility and makes sure everyone who comes, knows that they are getting homemade food, not food that has been made in a commercial kitchen. If this sounds like something you’d like to be a part of, please Become A Member!

The Community Gardens website (a program of the Idaho Foodbank) is the first thing that comes to mind as far as an “all in one” website. I find the community calendar on that site especially useful. I also highly recommend Behind the Menu, Northwest Food News and would keep an eye out for the Treasure Valley Food Coalition (their website isn’t up yet but they are functioning). Aside from these, the North End Organic Nursery has an urban farmers market on Tuesday evenings from 4:00 – 6:30 where people can go to buy (or sell) produce from local gardens. Idaho’s Bounty co-op networks with the sustainable farms in primarily southern Idaho and is a really great non-profit. They are currently re-vamping their Boise drop-off schedule, but Idaho’s Bounty is a wonderful resource for sustainably grown meats, produce of all kinds and they even have many products made from all Idaho grown foods. I hope this helps!

Best,
Hallie / the BUM team”

Fresh Made "Cream of Tomato Basil Soup"

01 Wednesday Sep 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Local Harvests, Main Dish, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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On this past Sunday, we all – Robin, myself, Mac and Marnie – went to Berryhill and Co for brunch. They had a wonderful Tomato Basil Soup. Since we have a lot of tomatoes on the vines that are ready to pick and a lot of fresh basil growing, I made some Cream of Tomato Basil Soup out of our fresh tomatoes, our basil and Half-and-Half. It is wonderful! I also made some fresh Blue Potato Salad with Tomato Slivers out of some fresh red potatoes, fresh blue potatoes, fresh kohlrabi, fresh onion – the potatoes, onion and kohlrabi are from the Refugee Garden subscription we have – , fresh parsley and tomatoes – both from our garden – and celery. That was great with the soup! This is not hard to do. You can make this from what I have listed or adapt to your own liking. The tomatoes though, will need a little raw sugar and a little sea salt. Cook this slow and do not boil. Temper the cream before you add it to the soup. Add a little basil to the soup just before serving. Enjoy!

Lunch Menu

Fresh Made Cream of Tomato and Basil Soup

Fresh Made Blue Potato Salad with Tomato Slivers

Toasts

Osso Buco Dinner

29 Sunday Aug 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Lamb, Local Harvests, Main Dish, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

≈ 2 Comments

This was one of “those” dinners. The weather is cool, almost Fall like and we have some lamb in the freezer. I though I was getting lamb steaks out for dinner. Instead, I got out Osso Buco – Lamb Shanks. So, I guess I should make Lamb Shanks – Osso Buco. (Check out the recipe) Hmmm! My goodness. It was awesome! Here is the complete menu.

Lamb Shanks – Osso Bucco
with
Fresh Tomatoes and Wild Mushrooms

Carrots in Pomegranate Molasses

Cous Cous with Fresh Mint and Tomatoes

2008 Parma Ridge Syrah

The lamb was from Meadowlark Farms, the tomatoes and carrots from the Refrugee Gardens, the wine was an Idaho wine and the bread from Le Cafe De Paris. Cheers!

Dinner – Corn Pie!!

22 Sunday Aug 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Local Harvests, Main Dish, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Vegetables

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There are certain things that we all remember from, our childhoods. I will submit that most of them have to do with food. In my case, one of several food items that I remember and cherish is Corn Pie among other things such as liver, which, Like Johnny Carson said, “Cook it any way you want. It’s still liver!” But that is another discussion. For now, it’s Corn Pie and Sliced Tomatoes for dinner. Here are some photos of the process. The recipe is listed above.

The Corn Pie getting ready for the oven.

Here it is just out of the oven. Notice the succulent golden brown crust.

And now, the dinner is plated.

Corn Pie

Sliced Green Zebra Tomato and Red Tomato
with
Basil Strips and Nasturtium Blossom

2007 Indian Creek Star Garnet Reserve
(This wine just tops off the dinner and goes fantastically well with the acid of the tomatoes)
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Please note that the corn was local grown, the pie crust is locally produced, the tomato and basil is from our garden. That makes this a Locovore Dinner. Enjoy! And as it has been said before, Keep a song in your heart, Keep looking up and Cheers!

Sunday Dinner? How About Lamb?

08 Sunday Aug 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Local Harvests, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners

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Every once in a while, I say, “Let’s not have chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and peas for Sunday dinner.” And Robin will usually say, “OK. What do you want?” So today – actually yesterday I said, “How about a leg of lamb, some Swiss chard, fresh bread and a fresh salad?” “OK”, says, Robin. Marnie and Mac are away for the weekend, so I asked Robin if we could ask Chris and Maddie for dinner. They accepted!! Maddie has never eaten lamb, though. I let her know that it is OK to say you don’t like something …. You just have to say what it is you don’t like and why. So now I have to make sure that there is no “wild and gamey” taste in the lamb, but still not cooked to death! 160 degrees off the grill will be fine. Hmmmm. “Off the grill.” Maddie said she liked it and took another slice. So here we go! Enjoy the dinner … Chris and Maddie did! But then, so did we!

Grandson Chris and Maddie.

Grilled Lamb
Marinated 24 hours in
Olive oil, Crushed Mint, Whole Grain Mustard, Gin and Herbs

Nasturtium Salad with Fresh Greens, Tomato and Nasturtium Blossom
with
Nasturtium Infused Vinaigrette

Fresh Grain Bread
Oat Flour and Organic Oregon Whole Wheat Flour

Fresh Swiss Chard with Onion, Garlic, Basil and Young Turnip

Grilled Lamb with Mustard Gravy Reduction

Parsley Potatoes

So there you have our not-so-traditional Sunday Dinner. Serve this with a lucious 2004 Koenig Vineyards Couvée Amelia and you have an awesome dinner! Sorry you missed it! Cheers.