Because Inquiring Minds Need to Know

23 Saturday Feb 2019

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food - Japanese, Japanese Food, Recipes, Recipes - Japanese, Sake, Salmon, Seafood, Soup, Special Events, Special Information, Sushi, What's For Dinner?

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Hina Matsuri, Japanese recipes

I found this to be interesting. That’s probably because of my Cultural Anthropology background.

Hina Matsuri in Japan

Source: https://matcha-jp.com/en/753
Although it is not a national holiday, March 3rd is a special day for girls. Families who don’t have young daughters might not do anything special on this day.
March 3rd is Japanese Girls’ Day or Hinamatsuri. Ornate dolls are displayed in the family home to mark the beginning of spring and to wish good health and good fortune for all of the girls in the family.
However, a tradition of this festival is still passed down until now. Actually, how people celebrate Hina Matsuri is different from place to place. We will introduce here what the Japanese people usually do on this day.
Hina Dolls represent what the imperial family was like in the ancient times. The dolls on the top tire of the platforms represent the emperor and the empress. The rest of the dolls are three court ladies, five musicians and the minister of the Right and Left who used to support the government in the old days. There are some decorations such as Gissha (oxcarts), small cupboards, Japanese paper lamps called “Bonbori”, and orange and peach tree branches displayed on the tire of platforms.
The facial expressions and costumes of each doll are also different depending on their personality and position.
The special meals for Hina Matsuri are Amazake (sweet drink), Chirashizushi (a style of sushi) and Hina Arare (sweet colorful rice crackers).
Amazake is a traditional Japanese sweet and thick drink made from fermented glutinous rice. Amazake literally means “sweet alcohol” but it has less than 1 percent of Shirozake alcohol in it. So children are also able to drink it.

Shirozake

Drinking Shirozake, which is a traditional sweet sake, was one of the customs to get rid of bad things out from your body. But Shirozake is an alcoholic drink, so Amazake was made with the children in mind.
Hina Arare are colorful and cute small rice crackers. The colors of these rice crackers have meanings. White represents the earth of the winter, pink and red represent life, while green represents the green shoots in the spring. Hina Arare is a snack showing our expectations toward the arrival of spring after the long cold winter. People also say that you will live healthy for this coming year if you eat each color of Hina Arare.
Chirashizushi is a type of Sushi which has lotus roots, shrimp and thinly shredded egg omelet on the top of vinegar rice. It has been a dish enjoyed widely at celebrations.
The ingredients in Chirashizushi have meanings as well. The lotus root is said to give one the power to see what will happen in the future, shrimps are a symbol of longevity and so on.

Source: https://www.thespruceeats.com/japanese-girls-day-hinamatsuri-party-dishes-2031057
As with almost all holidays, food and drink play a role on Girls’ Day, with rice wine and rice cakes taking center stage, along with flower blossoms. Hinamatsuri is also called Momo no Sekku, which means a festival of peach blossoms. Peach blossoms, shiro-zake (white fermented rice wine) and hishi-mochi (diamond-shaped rice cakes) are placed on the stand with the hina dolls. Hishi-mochi are colored pink representing peach flowers, white representing snow, and green representing new growth.
Traditionally, girls in Japan invited their friends to a home party to celebrate this festival. Many people prepare a special meal for girls on this day, including savory dishes such as chirashi, which is sugar-flavored, vinegared sushi rice with raw fish on top; clam soup served in the shell; and edamame maze-gohan, mixed rice usually consisting of brown rice and soybeans.
Other popular dishes to serve at a Girl’s Day celebration are inari sushi—rice-stuffed tofu pockets—with miso grilled salmon and cabbage ramen salad. Sweets are on the menu as well, incorporating a feminine shade of pink, like chi chi dango, which are pink pillows of mochi (glutinous rice flour and coconut milk), a favorite among children, and sakura-mochi, a pink, sweet rice cake. Some families include an impressive edible centerpiece, such as the layered chirashi sushi cake.

Some recipes for Hina Matsuri
(The recipes listed below can be found at the link above.)

Chirashizuchi

Easy Seafood Chirashizushi: Use a shortcut of packaged sushi seasoning to quickly season steamed rice and add pre-cooked gomoku vegetables for this delectable dish. Add your favorite toppings of choice.
Edamame Maze-Gohan (Mixed Rice): Is easy to prepare, especially for large crowds. Steamed rice is mixed with furikake seasoning, bottled nametake (seasoned mushrooms), and shelled edamame for a delicious rice dish.
Inari Sushi: Preparing a dish for a large crowd doesn’t need to be complicated. Find out the secrets of making quick inari sushi with impressive results.
Cabbage Ramen Salad: This spin on the traditional Chinese chicken salad recipe uses crunchy dried ramen noodles, cabbage, and shredded chicken to create a zesty Japanese-fusion salad.
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wings: Let your slow cooker do all the work to whip-up a batch of delicious teriyaki chicken wings with just a few ingredients, and use the free time to prepare a few other dishes.

Miso Ginger Marinated Grilled Salmon

Miso Grilled Salmon: Miso-grilled salmon can easily be prepared by making the marinade ahead of time and then letting the salmon marinade for a few days in the fridge. All you need is an oven or a grill to cook up delicious fillets in under 40 minutes.
Clam Soup: A traditional soup that is often enjoyed on Hinamatsuri is clam soup. This clear style soup is known as sumashijiru and is simply seasoned from the broth of the clams.
Chi Chi Dango: These pillowy soft bites of mochi are made of glutinous rice flour and coconut milk. These pink, soft mochi are an absolute favorite among children.
Sakura Mochi: Sakura mochi is a glutinous rice dish that is often enjoyed during Hinamatsuri. This slightly sweetened, pink mochi is filled with sweet red beans (koshian) and wrapped in a salted sakura (young cherry blossom) leaf.

After Thanksgiving

29 Tuesday Nov 2016

Posted by Bob and Robin in 5-Stars, Acme Bake Shop Breads, Acme Bake Shop Sourdough, Asparagus, Blueberries, Boise Artisan Bakery's, Boise Farmers Market, Breakfast, Breakfast At The Captains Shack, Breakfast With Robin, Captain's Shack, Eggs, Eggs Poached, Food Photos, Idaho Eggs, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Recipe - Soup, Recipe By: Captain's Shack, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipes - Breakfast, Recipes - Dinner, Scrapple, Slow Cooking, Soup, Sourdough Bread, Special Dinners, Special Events, Tetrazzini, What's For Dinner?

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Rappa Brand Scrapple, scrapple, Tetrazzini, turkey tetrazzini

So much fun to make some of these. And not difficult at all. The Creamy Turkey Tetrazzini may be the most difficult, although you probably have most of the ingredients left-over from Thanksgiving in the refrigerator, except maybe for the mushrooms. If you don’t have Cream Sherry, use a good white wine that is slightly sweet, yet bold.

Creamy Turkey Tetrazzini

Crumbled Scrapple with Meadowlark Farms Poached Eggs
Acme Bakeshop Toasted Sourdough
Fresh Raspberries and Blueberries

Split Pea and Ham Soup

And here is the recipe for the Split Pea and Ham Soup that we made for the Williamson Orchards and Vineyards New Tasting Room Open House. It was superb and made from Idaho products – Ham Hock, Split Peas, Heirloom Carrots, Onions, Celery, stock and herbs.

Meal Variations and Other Things

01 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by Bob and Robin in Apricots, Baking, Biscuits and Gravy, Breakfast, Breakfast At The Captains Shack, Breakfast With Robin, Captain's Shack, Chicken, Chutney, Comfort Food, Cooking Styles, Copper River Salmon, Crème fraîche, Cultural Differences, Curry, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner For Robin, Eggs, Eggs Benedict, Eggs Poached, Ethnic Foods, Food of India, Ham, Hard To Find Recipes, Housemade Hollandaise Sauce, Housemade Sauces, Housemade Soup, Idaho Eggs, Idaho Pork, Idaho's Bounty, Indian Food, Mirepoix, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes - Sauces, Salmon, Sausage, Seafood, Sofritto, Soup, Special Information, What's For Dinner?

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biscuits, country gravy, Hollandaise Sauce, recipes

Such a great weekend again working in the kitchen. Warm enough outside to keep the kitchen door open. We can still find fresh, as such, asparagus but watch the prices. I saw prices vary here in Boise from $2.99 a pound for medium sized spears – which I bought – to $8.99 a pound for the skinny little spears, which I did not buy. It’s either $8.99 a pound for skinny little asparagus spears or my meds for this month. I chose my meds. (This is week #6 past open heart surgery for me. Go Team!) So with that introduction, here are some photos, and recipes, for our culinary endeavors for this past weekend. Enjoy!

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Such a good and rather easy soup to make. Here is the Recipe. Enjoy! It is really a good soup.

Homemade, absolutely superb biscuits! And bake them in a waffle iron for different effects. Just don’t cut them much thicker than about 1/2″. They will rise!

Waffle Biscuits

Here is the recipe for these Angel Biscuits. The original recipe came from Trisha Yearwood.

Salmon Benedict on Waffle Biscuits and Country Sausage Patty

Salmon and Ham Benedict on Waffle Biscuit and Country Sausage Patty

Cut those biscuits out. These are thicker – about 3/4″ – than the waffle biscuits.

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits
Scrambled Eggs with Hollandaise Sauce

Oh yes! The easiest Hollandaise ever. 5 minutes to make and no double boiler. Here is the Recipe – It is also in the recipe file above. And do you need a basic white gravy recipe? Here is my variation – White Gravy. Just add crumbled sausage for Sausage Gravy or sauteed dried beef for Creamed Dried Beef. Or try it over steamed asparagus. There’s a hundred thousand uses for this gravy. Be inventive. And daring.

I don’t have any photos for these recipes, but the plates were delicious. We made a chicken and then prepared a Chicken Curry Salad with some of the left-overs. (The rest are used in chicken stock!) But for the dressing we used this recipe, and it is superb! Chicken Curry Salad Dressing The curry dressing calls for a chutney. We don’t have any in the house. Don’t fret! Here is our own recipe for the Apricot and Cranberry Chutney.

Chutneys, by nature are, “Chutney (Hindi/ Nepali – “चटनी” also transliterated chatney or chatni, Sindhi: چٽڻي‎) is a side dish in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent that can vary from a tomato relish to a ground peanut garnish or a yoghurt, cucumber and mint dip…Major Grey’s Chutney is a type of sweet and spicy chutney popular in the United Kingdom and the United States. The recipe was reportedly created by a 19th-century British Army officer of the same name (likely apocryphal) who presumably lived in Colonial India. Its characteristic ingredients are mango, raisins, vinegar, lime juice, onion, tamarind extract, sweetening and spices. Several companies produce a Major Grey’s Chutney, in India, the UK and the US…The word “chutney” is derived from the Hindi word chatṭnī, meaning to lick. It is written differently in North and South Indian languages (Nepali: चटनी, Gujarati: ચટણી, Bengali: চাটনি, Marathi: चटणी, Punjabi: ਚਟਣੀ, Tamil: சட்டினி chaṭṭiṉi, காரத் துவையல் karathuvaiyal, Kannada: ಚಟ್ನಿ, Hindi: चटनी, Urdu: چٹنی‎, Sindhi: چٽڻي‎, Malayalam: ചട്ടിണി, chattin̩i, ചമ്മന്തി, Telugu: పచ్చడి). Pacchadi, as written in Telugu script, refers specifically to pickled fruits, whilst chutney refers to minced foods, usually made out of coconuts.
In India, “chutney” refers to fresh and pickled preparations indiscriminately. Several Indian languages use the word for fresh preparations only. A different word achār (Hindi: अचार) applies to pickles that often contain oil and are rarely sweet.” [Wikipedia]

Our chutney, is but one of many variations of chutney. Ours is not cooked. Think of chutney as jerk sauce or sofrito, “…Italian soffritto, the Spanish sofrito, from Portuguese-speaking nations refogado (braised onions, garlic and tomato), the German Suppengrün (leeks, carrots and celeriac), the Polish włoszczyzna (leeks, carrots, celery root and parsley root), the U.S. Cajun and Creole holy trinity (onions, celery and bell peppers), and the French duxelles (onions, shallots, and mushrooms, sauteed in butter). Or Cajun Trinity – they can all vary from kitchen to kitchen. Fun stuff!

Wonderful “White Velvet Soup”

18 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop Sourdough, Bacon, Captain's Shack, Comfort Food, Dinner For Robin, Food Photos, Idaho's Bounty, Photos By: Bob Young, Rutabaga, Soup, Sourdough Bread, What's For Dinner?, Whats For Lunch?

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Bacon, pomegranate gremolata, rutabaga

This White Velvet Soup is wonderful! Smooth. Slightly sweet. Creamy. It takes a little time, but well worth it on a cold and snowy winter evening – no not snowing in Boise! But if it were ………… And then add some crumbled bacon (everything is always better with bacon!) and the Pomegranate Gremolata at the end, it is wonderful. It makes one feel joyful. Happy. And just think, it’s just some vegetables cooked together. Look at this soup. Then make it and enjoy! Add some toasted sourdough to serve with it.

White Velvet Soup
with
pomegranate gremolata and crumbled bacon

Thailand Express by Chef Pong

19 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by Bob and Robin in 4-Stars, Asian Food, Brocolli, Buy Idaho, Dinner With Robin, Duck, Ethnic Foods, New Restaurant Trial, Oriental Food, Photos By: Bob Young, Pork, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Recipes - Sauces, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Restaurants To Try, Rice, Seafood, Shrimp, Singha, Soup, Special Dinners, Spring Rolls, Thai Food, Thailand Express, Vegetables, Vegetarian Foods, What's For Dinner?

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Asian - Thailand Express, Chef Pong, Thailand, Thailand Express

Located at 2025 12th Ave Nampa, Idaho 83686. This was a very good surprise! Super food. Great Waite Staff. Ambiance was OK – open and more like a country cafe, not formal like Mai Thai in Boise. From their website, “Looking for mouthwatering Thai restaurants in Nampa, ID? Call Thailand Express at (208) 501-7975 and ask all about our menu that is chock-full of delicious Thai Food. Our chef has years of experience working in top tier restaurants and provides some of the best Asian food in the area. Whether you are looking for quick and easy lunch specials to share with coworkers or something a little fancier for dinner, you will find it here. We have both spicy and mild dishes for the whole family.” Here is a link to Thailand Express.
We found their food to be deliciously intriguing. Not spicy hot, unless you want it that way. Very large servings – Robin and I could have shared a bowl of the soup – no telling how large the pot size of soup was. Probably good for a family. Presentations were good. Prices were good for the quality and serving sizes. Watch their opening times as they are open twice daily, with a break in the afternoon when they are not open. “NEW BUSINESS HOURS – LUNCH —Tuesday-Friday–11:00a.m.2:30p.m., Saturday-Sunday–12:00p.m.-3:00p.m., Dinner –Tuesday-Thursday 4:30p.m.-9:00p.m., Friday-Saturday 4:30p.m.-9:30p.m., Sunday 4:30pm – 9:00pm. Monday Closed”
We rate this 4-Stars out of 5-Stars – on their FB site and their website they have a rating of 4 1/2-Stars. We will return to Thailand Express by Chef Pong. Enjoy these photos of the evening. Left-Click any of the photos to see enlarged.

Wall decorations.

Table Appetizer

Marinated roasted duck and fresh veggies wrapped rice paper and served with special brown sauce. 4 pieces, $6.95

Peking Duck Roll
Marinated roasted duck and fresh veggies wrapped in rice paper and served with special brown sauce.
4 pieces, $6.95 (Well presented and delicious!)

Thai Brown Sauce. This recipe is what we came up with after trying theirs. It is very close.

Coconut Soup (Tom Kah) Coconut milk, chicken and mushroom in lime juice and fish sauce served mildly. Bowl $3.95, Popt $8.95

Coconut Soup (Tom Kah)
Coconut milk, chicken and mushroom in lime juice and fish sauce served mildly.
Bowl $3.95, Pot $8.95 (Robin had a bowl. Delicious!))

Wonton Soup
A traditional Chinese soup with homemade wontons and veggies, mixture of seasoned ground pork, minced shrimp, chicken and water chestnuts.
Bowl $4.95, Pot $9.95 (I had the bowl. Delicious!)

Chef's Special Honey Crispy Duck Half duck marinated sauce and then roasted. Served with special honey sauce on top a bed of vegetables and jalapeno soy on the side. $13.95

Chef’s Special Honey Crispy Duck
Half duck marinated in sauce and then roasted. Served with special honey sauce on top a bed of vegetables and jalapeno soy on the side. $13.95
(Robin made a really good choice with this.)

Praram Long Song Your choice of meat (Pork) stir fried in Thai peanut sauce and served atop a bed of stir fried broccoli. Jasmine rice on the side. $9.95 and worth every penny. There was none to take home!

Praram Long Song
Your choice of pork, beef, chicken, veggie, tofu, shrimp or duck (Pork) stir fried in Thai peanut sauce and served atop a bed of stir fried broccoli. Jasmine rice on the side. $9.95 and worth every penny. There was none to take home!

Glad I tried this Thailand beer. Light and a refreshing lager that was a perfect match to the food. After a language lesson, it is pronounced “sing-ha” with a slight inflection on the “sing”. Our Waite Person was delighted that we asked how to pronounce this. She was very helpful throughout the meal. Thank-You!

Happily, Healthy Wine Tasting

10 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Carrots, Chicken, Dill, Ginger, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipes, Salads, Soup, Special Events, What's For Dinner?, Wine and Food, Wine Dinners

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lentils, the Buzz, The Buzz Coffee and Wine, wine club dinner, Wine Dinners

Cristi, in her Queen of Wine Crown, led us through a wonderfully different Wine Club Dinner last night at The Buzz here in Boise. (Her recipes for these dinners can be found at Buzz Wine Blog.) Several interesting points that she made. (1) “Superfood is a marketing term used to describe foods with supposed health benefits. [The term ‘superfood’ is] not commonly used by dieticians.” She also pointed out that there is no evidence to support that 8 – 8oz glasses of water a day is beneficial. However, soaking in water relaxes us; cleanses us; sounds of running water are soothing and swimming is good exercise to name a few. Best rule of thumb for water consumption is thirst! The amount of water intake varies on size and activity and general overall health.
As for wine: There is a 16 year Harvard study showing that drinking wine reduces heart attack. That does not mean a gallon a day of wine – 2 oz a day would be a better target. A French study showed that wine reduces the risk of heart disease. A 12 year study in Amsterdam shows that limited amounts of wine reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes.
And to balance out the wine, here is what we had for dinner. Enjoy the photos; check out the link above for recipes from some of the wine dinners and Left-Click any of the photos to see them larger. Cheers!

Some of the 7 wines we had.

Chicken Satay with Kale Chips 2011 Tapiz Chardonnay 13.9% alc. well rounded and went very well with the kale and the yogurt sauce. [18] $20.00

Chicken Satay with Kale Chips and Yogurt and Honey Mustard Sauce
2011 Tapiz Chardonnay
13.9% alc. well rounded and went very well with the kale and the yogurt sauce. [18] $20.00

Ginger Lentil Soup (delicious!) 2012 Revelry Merlot 13.6% alc. this was a superb match with the spiciness of the ginger in the soup. perfect paring! [18] $17.00

Ginger Lentil Soup
(delicious! Robin enjoyed this.)
2012 Revelry Merlot
13.6% alc. this was a superb match with the spiciness of the ginger in the soup. perfect paring! [18] $17.00

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
(Delicious!)
2012 Tangent Albarino
13.5% alc super paring. went especially well with the dressing and the oxalic acid of the spinach. another great paring! [19] $16.00

Beef Stroganoff Dill Carrots Cauliflower with Peas 2012 Vistalba 14.0% alc it was surprising how well this plate went with the wine. even the fresh dill pared well. [18] $22.00

Beef Stroganoff and Noodles
Dill Carrots
Cauliflower with Peas
2012 Vistalba
14.0% alc it was surprising how well this plate went with the wine. even the fresh dill pared well. [18] $22.00

Chess Pie with Raspberries
Henkell Brut
11.5% alc. good paring with the pie, even for this non-sparkling wine enthusiast. it did go well with the berries. (We purchased 2 bottles.) [17] $16.00

A good – great healthy meal! Great wine parings. Overall a great food preparation. Cheers and hope to see you at the Wine Dinner in January.

Holiday Season Wine Dinner

12 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Beef, Buy Idaho, Cheese, Coffee, Dinner With Friends, Friends, Green Beans, Hamburger, Koenig Vineyards, Meatloaf, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Food Network, Recipes, Soup, What's For Dinner?, Wine Dinners

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Baked Alaska Meatloaf, Dill Pickle Soup, Mediterranean Green Olive Soup, recipe meatloaf, recipes

The Holiday Season was started last night at The Buzz and their monthly wine dinner. Many seasonal ideas were presented: Wrapping, fun gifts, culturally correct gift giving: Brazil – avoid giving gifts of black or purple or in South Korea – never anything made in Japan or North Korea. Just a few of the suggestions.
Good job in paring the wines with the dinner. The dinner was a surprise. Things we have never thought of or tried before, Dill Pickle Soup for instance. Actually, it was surprisingly good. (Here is but one recipe for Dill Pickle Soup.) Much like a Mediterranean Green Olive Soup, which is very good, but a Dill Pickle Soup is more of a Polish soup! And the Baked Alaska Meatloaf was a surprise. (Meatloaf baked, then cooled and mashed potatoes all over then broiled. Here is a Recipe for one variation. There are several.) Here is what we had and the wines to accompany the meal. Enjoy!

Wrapped Meatballs Quick Crackers A strange appetizer. I don't know what the cheese was. 2012 Koenig Cabernet Sauvignon 15.7% alc. high alcohol sometimes is a distraction. this is not. great with the main course and the meatballs. [19]

Wrapped Meatballs
Quick Crackers
2012 Koenig Cabernet Sauvignon
15.7% alc. high alcohol sometimes is a distraction. this is not. great with the main course and the meatballs. [19]
A strange appetizer. I don’t know what the cheese was.

Dill Pickle Soup 2010 Bastile use de Beauvert 13.5% alc. good sparkling wine and pared well with the soup. [17] This is a strange soup, but surprisingly good.

Dill Pickle Soup
2010 Bastille use de Beauvert
13.5% alc. good sparkling wine and pared well with the soup. [17]
This is a strange soup, but surprisingly good.

Orzo Squash Salad
NV Cruzat nu Brut Classico
12.5% alc. good, refreshing wine. went well with the salad. [19]

Baked Alaska Meatloaf
Green Beans
Twice Baked Potatoes
2012 Pinnacoli Primitivo
14% alc. good paring but the Koenig Cabernet Sauvignon went much better. [19]
We found the green beans under cooked and the potato was slightly under cooked, too. The meatloaf was strange.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Loaf
2008 Quinta Do Noval Port
19.5% alc. went well with the chocolate [18]
Good dessert.

And then there is always a good cup of coffee, if you so desire!

And here are some events that are coming to the Buzz. December 19 and 20: Buzz Wine Dinners – New Year’s Resolutions (get your reservations in!). Then on January 9, 2015, the return of Classical Jam Night! Do you play a string or wind instrument? Bring it and join in. This is always an awesome evening of some really great music. Order dinner at the counter – they usually have something special. Cheers and see you there at The Buzz, 2999 N Lakeharbor Ln., Boise (208) 344-4321!

Awesome Dinner For The Boise Farmers Market

06 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Appetizers, Beef, Beets, Boise Adventures, Boise Farmers Market, Bread, Butternut Squash, Buy Idaho, Cheese, Classic Cuisines, Coffee, Dinner With Friends, Dinner With Robin, Healthy Eating, Heirloom Squash, Heirloom Tomatoes, Idaho Beef, Idaho Breweries, Idaho Chefs, Idaho Wine, Interesting Information, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Locavore, Organic Foods, Party Time, Peaceful Belly Farms, Photos By: Bob Young, Purple Sage Farms, Restaurants, Restaurants To Try, Rice Family Farms, Saint Lawrence Gridiron, Salad, Soup, Special Information, Vegetables, What's For Dessert?, What's For Dinner?, Wines - Idaho

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beef short ribs, eat local, micro greens, neckar coffee

Yes it was! And many thanks to all of the Boise Farmers Market producers for supplying the awesome meal items and the Saint Lawrence Gridiron, at 703 W Bannock in Boise (208) 433-5598, for supplying the space, the Waite Staff and an awesome Chef! Just a super, super night!
I do believe that this was the first of dinners like this to raise funds for the Boise Farmers Market. And I do hope that they continue to do this Fund Raising Dinner next year and many years to follow. When you look at the menu and photos below, you will see the superb meal that we had. Congratulations to all who worked so hard to make this a success! Left-Click any of these photos to see them enlarged.

The flyer for this year’s event.

Delightful table center pieces added to the Fall theme.

The wonderful menu!

Butternut Agnolotti with Sage Beurre Monté

Fraiche Tartine open faced gougere chipotle fraiche cucumber

Fraîche Tartine
open faced gougére, chipotle fraîche and cucumber

Yellow Tomato Gazpacho heirloom tomatoes brown butter crouton

Yellow Tomato Gazpacho
heirloom tomatoes and brown butter crouton

Harvest Vegetable Salad seasonal root vegetables candied walnuts local greens

Harvest Vegetable Salad
seasonal root vegetables, candied walnuts and local greens

Short Ribs
smoked and braised short ribs, Carolina grits, salt roasted carrots, braised leeks and pan jus

Apple Galette cinnamon custard brulee with fresh grated nutmeg whipped cream

Apple Galette
cinnamon custard brûlée with fresh grated nutmeg whipped cream

Neckar Coffee added some delightful coffee to our dinner. Thank-You!

Snake River Winery offered wines with the dinner and beer was also available from Woodland Empire Brewery.

The Check-In table

The Chef for the meal and on the right owner Brian Garrett. Thank-You both for this delightful evening.

Robin enjoys some Neckar Coffee.

Thank-You everyone for this event. It takes a lot of hard work to arrange this. Karen Ellis – Thank-You!

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!

Two Awesome Dinners

09 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by Bob and Robin in Acme Bake Shop, Acme Bake Shop Breads, Acme Bake Shop Red Wheat Bread, Avocado, Boise Artisan Bakery's, Boise Farmers Market, Bruchetta, Captain's Shack, Classic Cuisines, Dinner At The Captains Shack, Dinner With Robin, Grillin' and Chillin', Grilling, Idaho Lamb, Local Farmers Markets, Local Harvests, Local Markets, Locavore, Main Dish, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe by: Robin and Bob Young, Recipes, Red Wheat, Salad, Seafood, Shrimp, Soup, Tapas, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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bruschetta, hollandaise, lamb, recipes, shrimp, tapas

We had two awesome dinners over the weekend. Grilled Lamb Chops marinated in fresh rosemary, fresh mint and fresh oregano, olive oil and salt and pepper. (That’s pretty much our standard marinade for lamb chops!) They were awesome. And then we made a bruschetta with an avocado and garlic spread. (The bruschetta was toasted Acme Bake Shop Red Wheat bread) Mash two cloves of garlic and mix with 1/2 avocado mashed. This makes a great tapas selection. Served that with a wonderful bowl of Coconut Shrimp Soup. Great dinners! Here, look at the photos. Enjoy!