Winter Root Soup Photos

08 Thursday Oct 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Photos, Things To Do

Here are some photos of the process for making the Fall Root Soup. If you want a full and printable recipe, Look Here.

The root vegetables after oven roasting.

The veggies being warmed and “buttered”.

The chicken stock added and the veggies getting “happy”.

After simmering for 30 minutes, an immersion blender is used to purée the veggies.

The finished product. This is a very good soup and good for a cold Fall or Winter day.

Try this soup. I really think you will like it if you like root vegetables. Cheers!

Fall Root Soup

07 Wednesday Oct 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Main Dish, Recipes, Things To Do

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Lots of fall root crops are in now – carrots, rutabaga, parsnips, leeks, etc. And from The Splendid Table and Lynne Rossetto Kasper, we get the following statement –

“A trio of fall root vegetables — carrots, leeks, and a rutabaga — forms the savory foundation of this soup. Puréed and enriched with Crème Fraîche, this potage, with its velvety, smooth texture and glorious orange hue, is always a hit — whether it’s a first course or the main attraction.

Rutabaga is an often-overlooked root vegetable member of the cabbage family. Its pale yellow flesh is slightly sweet. Choose ones with smooth skin and firm flesh that are heavy for their size.”

Fall Root Soup

Makes 8 servings
Adapted From: The Splendid Table

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2½ c Leeks, chopped, white and light green parts only (3 to 4 medium leeks)
1½ lbs Carrots, peeled and diced
1 lg Rutabaga, peeled and diced
2 lg Parsnips. Peeled and diced
10 c Chicken Stock
Kosher salt
1¼ c Crème Fraîche
3 T Flat-Leaf Parsley, fresh and finely chopped

Procedure:
1. Toss the chopped vegetables with a little olive oil, spread them out on a shallow pan and roast at 425 degrees F until they begin to soften and caramelize. Flavors will be more intense. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
2. Heat butter in a large, heavy pot (with a lid) over medium-high heat. When melted and hot, add roasted vegetables and mix until the veggies are warmed through. Add stock and bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, for about 30 minutes.
3. Purée the soup in batches in a food processor, blender, or food mill, and return soup to the pot. (Or use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot.) Whisk in ¾ cup of the Crème Fraîche. Taste soup and season with salt, as needed. (The soup can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cool, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat over medium heat.)
4. To serve, ladle soup into shallow soup bowls. Garnish each serving with a generous dollop of the remaining ½ cup Crème Fraîche and a sprinkling of parsley.

We have a pot going now. It should go good with a Sauerbraten I am making. Cheers!

Green Tomato Relish

04 Sunday Oct 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food Prep, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Side Dishes, Things To Do

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So it is 41 degrees outside. It’s been raining all day. Mac brought us green tomatoes – lots of ’em! And by the way, he has an excellent recipe for, of all things, Green Tomato Pie. Here’s what we did with them. Green Tomato Relish, if you want a better copy of the recipe. (There are two Green Tomato Relish recipes there. This is the best one.) Otherwise, here it is:

Green Tomato Relish

Author: Bob and Robin Young

Author Notes: This is a great way to use up all of those green tomatoes that you have at the end of the season. Sweet, yet with a touch of tartness.

Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Yield: 12 Pints

Ingredients:

4 qt Green tomatoes, diced fine or Green Zebra Tomatoes
6 lg Onions, diced fine
8 c Sweet Red Peppers, diced fine
1 bn Celery, diced fine
2 c Apple Cider Vinegar
1 c White Vinegar
1 c Brown Sugar
2 c Sugar
1½ c Water
1 t Turmeric
1 t Salt
1 T Mustard, ground
1 t Cinnamon
1 T Allspice
2 t Mustard Seeds
1 t Whole Cloves, ground

Procedure:

1. Dice all vegetables. Place all ingredients in a 12 quart pot and simmer for 20 minutes.

2. Place in sterilized canning jars and hot pack for 20 minutes.

Preparation Time: 2 hours
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours and 40 minutes

This really is not hard to do. It just takes some time and patience. Hope you enjoy it. Cheers!

Snake River AVA Saturday Events

03 Saturday Oct 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Local Markets, Things To Do, Wine Tasting

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I am truly sorry for the lateness of this post! For events like this a good practice is 3 – 5 days in advance. For wine dinners I would say at least 7 – 10 days. But here are the articles. Hope you make them before the BSU Football game. Maybe pick up some wine to help UC Davis make it through the evening? Oh well!!

3-Horse Ranch Vineyards
Invites you to join us at
“HarvestFest”
this Saturday Oct. 3rd

Location: 1065 Winding Creek Road (Old State St.), Eagle, ID
Time and Date: Saturday, October 3rd, 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
What to Bring: $20 along with a healthy thirst! (for adults over the age of 21, kids are free)
Attire: Seriously? It’s Idaho need I say more? (although it is outdoors so layer it up)
For More Information: 208.938.3010 or zach@willowcreekgrill.com

Willowcreek Grill and Eagle Magazine bring a signature event to Eagle. Bag Pipers will kick off the festivities, and the event will feature local food, beer, wine, music and fashion until 9:00 p.m. Some of the area’s favorite bands including Audio Moonshine, Tina and the Big Belt Buckle Band and Matt Hopper and the Roman Candles will get the crowd rocking to their own brands of blue grass, rock and folk.

There will be a fall feast of Brats, grilled onions, grinders, and of course Willowcreek’s signature Sweet Potato Fries with Chipotle Mayonnaise. The “Fest” food will be as fresh and local as they can make it. Seven breweries will be on hand pouring their signature fall brews and 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards will serve a selection of their finest wines.

A special twist that HarvestFest will bring is an element of fashion–models for local boutiques Coco Couture, Mimi Marie, Club and Ruby Lou will present the latest styles for fall in fashion shows that will run throughout the day and into the night.

Tickets are $20 and include tasting of each one of the featured beers and wines. Additional beverages are available for $3.00 each and food items range from $3.00 to $5.00. Raffle tickets for a variety of prizes will also be available for purchase.

And we also received this from Cinder Wines.

Harvest is here!
Come visit
Cinder Winery!

Don’t miss
the most exciting time of the year
to observe winemaking
with Cinder…

We’re right in the middle of harvest and would love for you to stop by and see the grapes being transformed into wine. Over the next 2-3 weeks there will be a lot to see as we bring grapes into the Urban Winemakers Cooperative. We have our tasting room open every Saturday from Noon-5pm, so please drop by and bring a friend. You can sample the wines of Cinder, Vale and Syringa….plus get a glimpse of the harvest or “Crush” activities. One of the coolest things to see are the red wines fermenting and it will only last a few weeks.

Here is a Map To Our Winery, The Urban Winemakers Cooperative

We hope to see you on a Saturday soon and enjoy some great wines from the Snake River Valley with you!

-Joe & Melanie

Our mailing address is: Cinder Wines 907 E. Washington St. Boise, Idaho 83712
Newsletter: Subscribe to Cinder Wines Newsletter.
Our telephone: (208) 433-9813

So there you have two Fall events that you can attend! Support Idaho Products!! Cheers!

One of the Last Boise Farmer’s Markets of 2009

28 Monday Sep 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bike Cam, Food, Local Farmers Markets, Things To Do

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I have been using Microsoft’s Movie Maker and I really don’t think it has kept pace with technology. It is very slow to make the movie after editing it and you are very limited on the available formats. I guess you get what you pay for. I found another video maker/editer called Pinnacle Studuo 12. This is my first attempt at Pinnacle, so let’s see what I did. I am also putting a copy on my FaceBook account.

Enjoy!! Let me know if this is any better. Video taken on the “Tryke Cam” (That’s an adult tricycle with a camera mounted on it).
Update:
OK. So snow is forcast for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week. But, thanks that Boise is in the Banana Belt, so the snow will stay in the mountains where it belongs. Snow level: 5000 feet. So this video may be the last for the Farmer’s Market this year. We’ll see!
Cheers!

Boise Farmer’s Market

26 Saturday Sep 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Local Farmers Markets, Things To Do

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The Farmer’s Market will be closed soon. I will miss the fresh produce and guess I will have to go back to that “cardboard” stuff they pass off as “fresh”. Go figure!! Enjoy the video and dream about the produce pictured here this winter.

Cheers!

German Spaetzle

25 Friday Sep 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Celebrations, Food Prep, Recipe By: Bob Young, Recipes, Things To Do

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Here is another recipe from allrecipes.com. This one is German Spaetzle.

Traditional German dumplings. You can also mince a few pieces of bacon in a pan, and heat the cooked spaetzle in the bacon drippings-only omit the butter, if preparing recipe with bacon.

German Spaetzle Dumplings

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch freshly ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 gallon hot water
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Procedure:
Mix together flour, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Beat eggs well, and add alternately with the milk to the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.

Press dough through spaetzle maker, or a large holed sieve or metal grater.
Drop a few at a time into simmering liquid. Cook 5 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
Saute cooked spaetzle in butter or margarine. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top, and serve.

——————

Here is a recipe for German Currywurst. Great for football Saturday and a good beer!

Currywurst is a popular ‘fast food’ in Germany. It’s quick and simple and everyone loves it!

German Currywurst

Ingredients:
3 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 pound kielbasa
2 tablespoons chili sauce
1/2 teaspoon onion salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pinch paprika
Curry powder to taste

Procedure:
Preheat oven to Broil/Grill.

Pour tomato sauce into a large saucepan, then stir in the chili sauce, onion salt, sugar and pepper. Let simmer over medium heat, occasionally stirring; bring to a gentle boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, broil/grill kielbasa sausage for 3 to 4 minutes each side, or until cooked through. Slice into pieces 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick.

Pour tomato sauce mixture over sausage, then sprinkle all with paprika and curry powder and serve.

Yields: 4 servings

——————

Cheers and enjoy Football Saturday!!

Elderberry Puff Pie

24 Thursday Sep 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Dessert, Food Prep, Recipe By: Robin Young, Recipes, Things To Do

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Elderberry Puff Pie before baking. Look at those berries!

Elderberry Puff Pies after baking. YUM-O!

How good do those look?? Here is the recipe.

Elderberry Puff Pie

Source: Robin and Bob Young
Author Notes: Try using huckleberries or blueberries instead of the elderberries. Use your imagination.

Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Oven Temperature: 350°F
Servings: 12

Ingredients:
2½ c Elderberries, fresh
½ c Sugar
1/8 t Salt
2 T Flour
3 T Lemon juice
½ pkg Puff Pastry, cut into 12 squares
12 T Cream cheese
½ c Walnuts, broken
4 T Butter

Procedure:
1. Mix elderberries, sugar, salt and lemon juice. Sprinkle with flour and mix.

2. Using a 12 section muffin pan, or 12 – ½ cup ramekin’s, place 1 square of the puff pastry in each section.

3. Place 1 T cream cheese in the bottom of each section. Fill each section about ¾ full of the elderberry mixture. Place 1 T walnuts on top then 1 tsp of butter.

4. Bake in the oven at 350°F until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit is bubbly. Let cool 10 minutes and serve warm.

Cooking Times:
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Inactive Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Cheers! Do enjoy this treat!

Idaho Style "Old Peoples Dinner"

23 Wednesday Sep 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Classic Sauces, Food, Food Prep, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Bob Young, Recipes, Things To Do

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Yes, there really is an Idaho Style Old Peoples Dinner! Chicken? Yes, but sauteed and with an Elderberry Sauce. Potatoes? Yes, but smashed and with garlic, not whipped smooth enough to sip through a straw and smooth enough so one may, if so desired, “gum masticate” them. Gravy? Can’t have smashed potatoes without gravy, and chicken gravy at that. Peas? You bet!! And just think, it’s not even Sunday afternoon. But the real clincher to this dinner is the Elderberry Sauce. Sweet yet tart. Smooth yet “chunky”. And fresh elderberries at that. Serve with a 2008 Dahlia Series Indian Creek Winery Pinot Gris. Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

Elderberry Sauce

5 c Elderberries, de-stamed and fresh
4 whole Cloves
1/2 c Sugar
1/2 c Plum Vodka (Koenig)

Add everything except the sugar to a 4 quart pot. Heat the berries over a low flame until the juices begin to run. Add the sugar and cook the combination until the liquid boils and the crystals dissolve. Use an immersible blender (Motor Boat) and lightly break the berries up – you want some texture. Pour the hot mixture into hot, sterilized jars and let seal. Enjoy with pork, chicken or turkey. Cheers!

Wapiti Meadows Ranch

22 Tuesday Sep 2009

Posted by Bob and Robin in Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipes, Things To Do

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On 17 September through 20 September, Robin and I took some time to celebrate her birthday, celebrate her recovery from surgery and leave the TV, radio, computer and telephone in Boise while we traveled north. It was an awesome time at Wapiti Meadows Ranch – see the sidebar for a link. Diana and Barry Bryant are gracious hosts and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. However, due to the destruction of the habitat and environment for the elk in a 650000 acres fire in 2007 and the introduction of Canis lupius canadensis (Canadian wolf), the elk were heard but not seen. Too bad. I was there in 1994 and the elk were extremely plentiful. (I found a cache of 15 biface ceremonial blades dated at between 6000 and 8000 years). Here are some photos of the trip. Do enjoy!