29 Friday Apr 2011
Posted in Backyard Garden, Local Markets, Special Events, Special Information
I thought that some of you may be interested in one or all of these classes. Even with the snow this morning, it is Spring and time to think about and dream about those “Victory Gardens”. Anyone remember those? Cheers!
16 Saturday Apr 2011
Posted in Special Events, Special Information, What's For Dinner?
Yea! It really must be Spring! Supposed to rain tomorrow, but I’m going any way to the Capital City Public Market in downtown Boise. I also heard where they want to expand to a building in the area and have specific booths for the vendors, education programs and cooking programs. That sounds great, but expensive. I hope they get the backing needed. In the meantime: See you at the Market!! Here is the link to the Capital City Public Market. Check it out.
From their web site we learn,
Welcome to the Capital City Public Market of Boise, Idaho. The Market is an on-going, centrally located gathering place where local farmers and producers can sell their products to community residents and visitors. The Market upholds the age-old tradition of allowing the consumer to meet the producer while encouraging the production and consumption of agricultural products in the Treasure Valley. Maintaining a diverse mix of products offered for sale at the Market will provide direct marketing opportunities for growers, specialty food vendors, and artisan vendors alike. The Market is more than just a place of business, it is a mutually beneficial and sustainable community activity.
As a bit of history of the Market also from their web site,
The Saturday market that is now known as the Capital City Public Market has lead a long and eventful life. The Market first started in 1994 when The S-16 Corporation united with Karen Ellis to start an open air market. Karen had been enamored by the vitality of Seattle’s Pike Street Market and had been researching the public market for some time. Under Karen’s supervision and with the help of the S-16 Corp. the Saturday Market was an instant success. Unfortunately for The Market, Karen had more interest in the project than her partners, and she was forced to move the market to a dirt lot on the corner of 8th & Main, what we now know as “The Hole” in 1996. During this move The Market and all of its 12 vendors became the member-owned, state non-profit organization that it is today.
In two years The Market became such a success that downtown businesses started to lobby the Capital City Development Corporation to allow The Market to shutdown and occupy 8th Street between Bannock and Idaho, where it flourished for two more years before expanding across the street to occupy two city blocks in 2000 with a vendor count of about 25.
In 2003, The Market made another big move across yet-another busy street and began to occupy The Grove. The addition of roughly two city blocks and the ambiance of The Grove allowed The Market to create an art-centric block where artists and performers could flourish in a nourishing environment. At this time The Market partnered with The Brick Oven Bistro, Boise Blue Art Supply, and Boise City Arts Commission to create the Emerging Artist program, as well as Arts for Kids.
In 2010, The Market moved one block north to occupy 8th Street from Bannock to Jefferson. While this block was very successful another move was needed. With the Market being in an urban area, pedestrian traffic has always been a safety concern. With help from the Boise City Police Department, ACHD, and ValleyRide the Market was able to relinquish the newly created north block and move those vendors onto Idaho Street which runs east and west. The new “T” layout has proved to be VERY successful for all involved. It has created a new feeling at the Market which is loved by customers and vendors alike.
In the following years The Market remained in its location, and has been able to grow steadily and mature into a market consisting of up to 150+ vendors a day in the peak of the season, and now consumes 6 blocks of Downtown Boise.
It takes a lot of hard work to achieve what has been done here. Tell the organizers “Thank-You” when you see them. It will be appreciated.
04 Monday Apr 2011
Posted in Recipe By: Robin Young, Recipes, Special Events
Bob and I were discussing some of our favorite healthy embellishments.
The gremlins?
Note: A condiment made from finely minced parsley, garlic and lemon zest. Traditionally served with lamb and veal, it is also an excellent accompaniment for fish and seafood dishes.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:•1 bunch Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
•1 clove garlic, peeled
•1 lemon
•Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation:
1.Wash and thoroughly dry the parsley.
2.Remove the leaves and finely mince until you have about 2 tablespoons worth.
3.Finely mince the garlic.
4.Use a lemon zester to remove about 1 teaspoon of lemon zest.
5.Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and season to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper. You can pound the ingredients together with a mortal and pestle or just use the back of a spoon or the bottom of a glass.
Makes about 3 tablespoons, or enough to garnish 6 servings of shellfish, fish, lamb or veal.
This perks up many other dishes as well – pastas, rice, salads – you may end up feeling as Springy as a Leprauchan, energetic as Gollum or as adventuresome as a Hobbit! This condiment won’t weigh you down.
17 Thursday Mar 2011
Last year, we were invited by friends Gail and Bob Parker to join them and their family at a St Patrick’s Day Dinner. All the trimmings – Corned Beef, Cabbage, Potatoes and a host of other things to eat and drink. We were asked to bring Irish Soda Bread. Evidently, it was OK, because this year, we have been invited to join them again. So here, again, is our offering.
Irish Soda Bread getting very happy in the oven. (It is 2:48pm MDT and this just came out of the oven. YUM-O!)
And this year, we are also bringing a wonderful slightly sweet Sally Lunn Bread from the Smitten Kitchen site – there is a hot link in the side bar to the site. And to quote the Smitten Kitchen, “… It tastes like a light brioche but involves less butter, fewer eggs and significantly less of a time commitment.
Like any food story worth tucking into, the story of Sally Lunn Bread comes with drama over its origins — Was it originally made by Protestant refugees, who called them “soleil et lune” or sun and moon cakes? Was it named for Solange Luyon, a pastry cook in Bath, England who for decades sold these buns on the street? Was knowing how to bake it truly essential to being a successful housekeeper, as this 1884 book, suggests?”
So there you have the starter of what will be a great evening with friends. We will tip one for you also! See you later with “… The rest of the story!” Cheers!
05 Saturday Mar 2011
So the day is quickly coming! Shrove Tuesday! 8 March! Fasnacht Day! So what is a fasnacht? Here is a recipe for Fasnachts Berliner. (03/07/11 – Sorry! I had to change the recipe.) Treat yourself and your family and your friends to a delightful, Off The Diet, delicious Pennsylvania Dutch (German) doughnut. The photo on the left is the way I remember them – covered in powdered sugar. And here is some information on fasnachts, gleened from http://unasked.com/question/view/id/15912:
“Fasnachts, Fastnachts or Faschnachts are a fatty doughnut treat served traditionally on Fastnacht Day, the day before Lent starts. Fasnachts were produced as a way to empty the pantry of lard, sugar, fat and butter, which were forbidden during Lent. Some English-speaking Protestants tend to refer to the day as Shrove Tuesday, and many consume pancakes as an alternative.
The German word Fasnacht literally translates as “chamfering night”. Authentic fasnachts are typically cut into squares or rectangles, producing a chamfered edge, as opposed to doughnuts which are round with holes in the center.
Basel, Switzerland conducts a fasnacht festival annually. The Pennsylvania Dutch territory surrounding Lancaster, Pennsylvania celebrates the custom, although it is largely unheard-of in Philadelphia, which is commuting distance away. Most chain supermarkets offer fasnachts, although WalMart offers Pączki instead. The pączki is traditionally eaten in Poland on the Thursday prior to Fasnacht Day, although in Polish communities of the US, the celebration is more commonly on Fasnacht Day. Commonly pączki are round, rather than having straight sides, and they are filled with jelly, or sometimes creme filling.
The term now is synonymous with the Carnival season in southern Germany, Switzerland, Alsass and Austria. Although usually written “Fastnacht”, there are many local spoken varieties: Fasnacht, Fassenacht, Fasnet etc.
Many churches in Pennsylvania feature Fastnacht sales as a fundraiser. The Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Columbia made 84,000 fasnacht in 2008 at $4.50/dozen, and was turning away potential customers; St. Cecilia Church in Lebanon earned $24,000 in 2006 by turning 3 tons of sugar, 720 pounds of margarine, 1,000 gallons of milk and more than 1,000 eggs into fasnachts.”
If you are really interested, you can find more information on the The Best American Poetry Blog, of all things. So there you go! Try these as they are a real treat. Labor intensive, but worth all of the time.
25 Friday Feb 2011
Posted in Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Special Dinners, Special Events
Another wonderful vignette dinner of wines and food parings from the Rhone Valley. And Le Café de Paris did another awesome job. Thank-You Matheiu and your excellent staff!
The photo to the left is one of the wines we had. A 2006 Hect and Bannier Cotes du Roussillon Villages that was rich and smooth. A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Carignon. Full of fruit and well balenced. It was superb with our meal. From the Costco Wine Blog, “… They really did an excellent job balancing the varieties – Grenache, Syrah and Carignan – to create an expressive, rich and velvety wine. It has a beautiful nose that’s smells of (French) quality, with great fruit flavors, and a mild spice on the finish.” Natalie MacLean agrees with this evaluation when she says, “… Terrific notes of cedar, black raspberry, cherry pit and smoke. Full-bodied with supple layers of lasting flavour.”
We also had a 2009 Château Miraval “Clara Lua” that went extremely well with the salad. From K&L Wine Merchant, “Château Miraval’s “Clara Lua” is composed of 95% rolle and 5% grenache blanc. Rolle, which is also know as vermentino in Italy, imparts vibrant citric and slightly leesy nuances, while a touch of grenache blanc provides hints white peach and fresh herb notes. Pairing: Fennel stuffed grilled Bronzino, brandade on crostini, rosemary roasted chicken. Produced from organically grown grapes.” This was a delight with our salad. Here was our great dinner last night. Cheers!
First Course
Salade Lyonnaise
field greens, chicken livers, poached duck egg, bacon, mustard vinaigrette
Second Course
Soupe a l’Oignon
classic French onion soup, calvados, gruyere
Main Course
Blanquette de Veau
(French Veal Ragout)
tender veal, root vegetables, cream sauce, wild rice
Dessert
Bugnes
Rhone Valley Style Beignets
Breakfast – The Next Day
Apple Tart
So there you have it. These Wine Dinners are a wonderful experience in eating here in Boise. You will learn a lot from the food selections – the menu – and the parings of wines that they select. Get on their mailing list by following the link in the sidebar.
07 Monday Feb 2011
Sunday evening found us at the Buzz for a great Super Bowl party! What a great place for family and friends to meet and just hang out and watch the game! Cristi and Tom supplied the bulk of the food buffet with brats, sauerkraut, pulled pork, cheese soup with popcorn, chips and dip and cup cakes. (I know I forgot something.) Then beer and wine were also available. The photo to the left is the buffet line.
Robin and I made some pickled cauliflower, string beans and carrot and some Super Bowl Tostados to add to the party. The tostados were different and really added to the menu. Easy to make. Here is the recipe. Enjoy!
Serves: 24
Oven Temp: 250 ºF
Ingredients:
½ lbs Sirloin steak
1 Lime
1 Lemon
1 Orange
Salt and Pepper to taste
16 Los Pericos Tostados, sodium free
8 oz Refried Beans
1 c Mexican Blend Grated Cheese
Embellishments:
Sliced Avocado Or Guacamole, Salsa, Pico de Gallo, Pickled Jalapeños, chopped Green Chiles, sliced Black Olives, shredded Lettuce and Sour Cream.
Directions:
Pound the steak to tenderize and thin. Salt and pepper to taste. Combine the juice of the lime, lemon and orange in a zip lock bag. Place the pounded steak in the bag and marinate for 2 – 8 hours in the refrigerator.
Bring the steak up to room temperature. Sear both sides of the steak and cook to medium rare, about 3 – 5 minutes on each side. Cool to room temperature before cutting. Slice thin and cut each slice into about 1” cubes.
Place 8 tostados on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Spread with refried beans and sprinkle about ⅛ cup of the Mexican cheese on top. Bake in the oven until cheese just melts. (We made two trays of these.)
Cut each tostado into quarters while still warm. They should not break if cut warm. Place a piece of beef on each tostado quarter. Serve on a platter with the embellishments listed above. Enjoy!
03 Thursday Feb 2011
I received this from Cristi and Tom. Looks like an interesting upcoming schedule. We will probably be there for the Super Bowl Party! Cory Hall – Glens Ferry, Idaho – will be playing for Green Bay. Here’s what Cristi and Tom had to say.
Winetasting and Event ScheduleHope January has been wonderful for everybody. It has been a very nice month for us. Lots of fun things planned for the month of February. Just a short note to let everyone know what is going on. As the festivities begin this weekend. Also stop in and see shat special treats we have for your valentine.
Sincerely,
Cristi and Tom Takeda
Buzz Coffee and Wine
Todd Palmer
Dr. Palmer will playing Friday and Saturday January 28th and 29th. He will be playing from 7 to 9 both days. Wine tasting will feature Syrah. Dinner specials both nights.
2999 N Lakeharbor Lane, Boise, Idaho 83703
Superbowl Sunday
Join us for a beer tasting Sunday February 6th starting at 2 PM. We will have the game on and be open during the game. We will have “teaser and proposition” games to entertain during the game. We will have a taco bar and baked potato bar during the game with other special tailgating foods. Please let us know if you plan on attending so we will have plenty of beer, food, and of course wine.
Wine Club
February 8th and 9th will be our wine club event this month. Both nights we will be hosting Indian Creek Winery from Kuna Idaho. This will continue our focus on family owned wineries from around the world. For $15.00 per person you will have a presentation from Indian Creek Wines, tasting of five different wines and a five course meal. This is a fun and educational event. Please make reservations early. Email us at Buzz Wine or call (208) 344-4321, Thanks. Seating is limited.
Hope to see you there. We will be there for the Super Bowl Party and the Indian Creek Winery tasting. Cheers!
12 Wednesday Jan 2011
Posted in Food, Food Prep, Special Events, Special Information, Things To Do
I received this information yesterday. This might be a good time to purchase some items for your kitchen.
“We’re saying Good-bye to all our devoted customers and friends who have supported us these last few years during economic difficulties. Our doors will close for good on Sat, January 29th. We gave it out best shot and now Steve and I have decided to go and do the things we never had time to do before. Thank you and be sure to come in and check out our remaining inventory. Everything is reduced 40 and 50 percent. We also have furniture and fixtures — everything must go!”
The Pottery Gourmet Kitchen is located at 811 W Bannock in Boise. The sale starts today, 12 January and runs through the end of the month. We are sorry to see them close. They have some awesome Polish pottery items. Cheers!
22 Wednesday Dec 2010
Robin and I take this opportunity to wish all of our readers of the blog
Seasons Greetings
And with that in mind, I thought it appropriate to add these articles to this page. Cheers and have a great season!
I received this information from Rudy’s – a cook’s paradise in Twin Falls, Idaho.
December 25: Merry Christmas!
Some interesting, not to mention downright gaudy meals that royal-types past have eaten on Christmas Day:
1213 King John of England ordered 3,000 capons, 1,000 salted eels, 400 hogs, 100 pounds of almonds and 24 casks of wine for his Christmas feasts.
1252 Henry III hosts 1,000 knights and nobles at York. 600 oxen are consumed.
1415 England’s Henry V orders food distributed to the citizens of Rouen who are trapped by his siege. Henry himself dines on roast porpoise.
1512 The Duke of Northumberland was served 5 swans for Christmas dinner.
1580 The Christmas feasts of Sir William Petrie includes 17 oxen, 14 steers, 29 calves, 5 hogs, 13 bucks, 54 lambs, 129 sheep and one ton of cheese.
1714 England’s King George I has his first Christmas pudding, made with 5 pounds of suet and 1 pound of plums.
1852 A 446 pound baron of beef was served to Queen Victoria and the royal family.
1805…and then we have American explorer Zebulon Pike. Pike celebrated Christmas by allowing “two pounds extra of meat, two pounds extra of flour, one gill of whiskey, and some tobacco, to each man, in order to distinguish Christmas Day.”
Here’s to hoping your Christmas meal is exactly what you want it to be.
December 26: Kwanzaa begins (December 26th- January 1)
December 27: National Fruitcake Day. (Either beloved or despised… still a reason to celebrate!)
——————————
Recipe of the Week:Coffee Fruit Cake
Gourmet Magazine, October 2005
3 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 lb dried currants (3 1/3 cups)
1 lb raisins (3 cups)
1 cup lukewarm strong coffee
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups packed light brown sugar4 large eggs
1 cup molasses (not robust or blackstrap)Special equipment: 2 (9- by 5- by 3-inch) loaf pans
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 250°F. Brush loaf pans lightly with oil, then line bottom and sides with foil, pressing corners to help adhere.
Sift together flour, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg into a large bowl.
Toss currants and raisins with 2 tablespoons flour mixture in a bowl. Stir together coffee and baking soda in a small bowl until dissolved.
Beat together with butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, 2 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in molasses. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and coffee mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until just smooth. Fold in dried fruit mixture.
Divide batter between loaf pans and smooth tops by gently rapping bottom of each pan against counter.
Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of each cake comes out clean, 2 3/4 to 3 1/4 hours (cakes may sink slightly in center). Cool pans on racks 10 minutes, then loosen foil from sides of pans with knife and turn out cakes onto racks. Peel off foil and cool cakes completely, about 3 hours.
Fruitcake, fruitcake, oh where have you been all my life?
Handmade maiden friend of a famed critic’s wife.
Golden and cunning with nuts barely tropical,
Aged in the juice of southern Caribbean,
Tender assortment of fruits once dried, now revived.
I know at last why I am glad to be alive!
So do enjoy these article and the holidays! Cheers!
Boise Foodie Guild 