06 Monday Sep 2010
OK. So here is the BSU Game Dinner. Go Broncos!
Bob and Robin
Robin and Margaret
Marnie and Mac
Virginia Wine on the left and Idaho Wine on the right
Margaret’s BSU Potato Salad
BSU Mesquite Smoked Corn
The Dinner plated.
Pulled Pork
BSU Corn
BSU Potato Salad
Baked Beans
BSU MJ’s Cake
It was a great dinner. We are still watching the Pre-Game hype! Cheers and Good Luck!
05 Sunday Sep 2010
Posted in East Indian Food, Things To Do
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!
04 Saturday Sep 2010
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:
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!
03 Friday Sep 2010
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”
02 Thursday Sep 2010
Posted in Classics, Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?
Yea! The Tillamook Baby Loaf Van at Albertson’s at 16th and State in Boise – the site of the original Albertson’s – the bank is on the actual location now. Even though it was 7:00pm and they were closing down the display, I did get to tell the Tillamook representative that I am the one who blogged their trip to Boise, see Tillamook Cheese Baby Loaf In Boise. I’m not so sure that they were prepared for me to show up, but they did give me some coupons, and I did use them. It would be nice to see where they will be tomorrow. Maybe I will show up again. Anyway, it was fun to see the Baby Loaf van and to visit, albeit a short time. Cheers and hope I can catch them again. Thanks Mac for stopping by and telling me that they were at Albertson’s – only a block away. And Geno and Debra, it was really great to see and talk to you two again. (How was the frozen yogurt?) I didn’t know you knew how to sail, Geno. Cheers!
31 Tuesday Aug 2010
This recipe is from one of the Facebook cooking groups I belong to and from the Life Style Food (Australia) online group. This is a recipe for Sfiha – Arabian Meat Filled Pastry. I looks interesting. I altered the recipe to use lamb, but you can also use beef. And I suppose, that if you really want to be non-traditional, try using ground pork or chicken or turkey. I really think the variations are unlimited. But here is the original recipe, Sfiha – Arabian Meat Filled Pastry. Enjoy and let us know how you like it. Cheers!
28 Saturday Aug 2010
Actually this was an awesome dinner that Robin made.
Massaged Kale Salad
(Mango and Oil)
Cous Cous
(Tomato and Herbs)
Sautéed Chard
(Baby Onions and Lemon)
So how good was that? I’d say, “Awesome and full of surprise flavors.” Look at the recipe for the Massaged Kale Salad. That is a real surprise for being a raw salad. The kale is not tough or sharp or bitter. It is very good. We served the entire dinner with a 2008 Root:1 Chardonnay. A Chilean wine from the Cassablanca Valley, that is outstanding. Look for the “… melon, honey and toasted hazelnut” flavors. A powerful, but not overpowering, Chardonnay. Even at this age! Good balance of acid and alcohol – 13.8%. Cheers!
25 Wednesday Aug 2010
Posted in Food Trivia, Rudy's Twin Falls, Things To Do, Thought For The Day
Here is the latest Food Trivia from Rudy’s. By the way, we will be in Twin Falls later this week and are planning to stop in at Rudy’s. This could be fun and dangerous. Enjoy the trivia!
August 23, 1902: Fannie Merrit Farmer opened Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery in Boston, Massachusetts and now you can take a cooking class right here in Twin Falls!
August 24, 1869: Cornelius Swarthout received the first U.S. patent for an electric waffle iron. Today is also National Waffle Day!
August 25: National Banana Split Day
August 26, 1728: Johann Heinrich Lambert was born. He proved that pie was irrational. Oops – never mind – that was ‘pi’ that he proved was an irrational number.
My Note: Brother Dave, who always liked to sit in the shadow of a pyramid at high noon always said, “Pie R Round, Cornbread R Square!” Think about it, but not for long. (I will probably never be allowed back in Rudy’s again.)
August 27, 1970: ‘Spill The Wine’ by Eric Burdon & War is #1 on the charts.
August 28, 1798: The first American vineyard was planted in Lexington, Kentucky.
August 29, 1896: Supposedly, the Chinese-American dish, chop suey, was created in New York City by the Cantonese chef of Chinese Ambassador Li Hung-Chang.
24 Tuesday Aug 2010
Posted in Dessert, Food, MJ's Cakes, Photos, Photos By: MJ's Cakes, Things To Do
Whoa! Am I glad MJ got the Baker’s Genes, because they certainly by-passed me. I’d say she got them from her Mother. Now I won’t have to worry about desserts anymore at the Family Gathering Meals on Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Birthdays, Weddings, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July and whatever else we can come up with. Maybe just declare tomorrow the 4th Tuesday Holiday. Just look at what she has done. Mac is sooooo lucky!
23 Monday Aug 2010
Posted in Food Prep, Help Needed, Interesting Information, Things To Do
I received this question from Brooke Scoville via email.
Hi there-
I have recently been reading the recipes on the Boise Foodie Blog and would like to try some of them. I noticed that they required “fresh yeast”. Do you know where I can buy fresh yeast in Boise?Thank you,
Brooke
My response to her was,
Hi Brook,
“Fresh Yeast” is the same as Fleischman’s Active Dry or Red Star also makes some. Usually the yeast will come in a jar and should be refrigerated after opening. Watch the expiration date printed on the top. Albertsons or any of the major food stores will carry it. You can buy bulk at the Boise Coop. Hope this helps.
Cheers!
I suppose Winco, Fred Meyer and several others that I can not think of just now, carry the yeast. It’s a pretty basic product for baking. I hope this helps.
Boise Foodie Guild 