Kürbiskernweckerl (Pumpkin seed rolls)

16 Friday Jul 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Bread, Photos, Recipes, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

Now here is a bread that really sounds interesting. Give this one a try. Try this variation: Change the seeds to sunflower seeds and call the rolls Sonnenblumenkerne Rolls. Just a thought. Thanks Gary for passing this recipe along. Might be good with rabbit! It might also be wise to use a scale that is calibrated in grams/ounces, as suggested by Maria below. Cheers!

Kürbiskernweckerl
(Pumpkin seed rolls)

Source: The Inverse Cook, via Gary Payne
Yield: 10 round rolls

Pâte Fermentée
50g (1¾ oz) (3½ T) Flour, Type 700 (strong white flour)
30g (1 oz) (2 T) Cool Water
2g (¾ oz) (1½ T) Fresh Yeast
1g (¼ oz) (½ T) Salt
Mix together and let rest for 12 hours in a cool place, or 1 hour at room temperature and in the fridge overnight, 12-16 hours.

Soaker:
25g (⅔ oz) (1⅓ T) coarse Rye Meal
50g (1¾ oz) (3½ T) Pumpkin Seeds
25g (⅔ oz) (1⅓ T) Flaxseeds (linseed)
100g (3½ oz) (7 T) Warm Water
Stir the ingredients of the soaker together and let stand covered for about 12 hours.

Dough:
250g (8½ oz) (2 c) Flour, Type 700 (strong white flour)
50g (1¾ oz) (3½ T) light Rye Flour, Type 960
140g (5 oz) (⅔ c) Cool Water
10g (⅓ oz) (⅔ T) Barley Malt
15g (½ oz) (1 T) Pumpkin Seed Oil or Vegetable Oil
10g (⅓ oz) (⅔ T) Salt
10g (⅓ oz) (⅔ T) fresh Yeast
Soaker ingredients
Additional pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds

Directions:
Combine all ingredients to a shaggy mass and let stand for 10 minutes. Knead for 10 seconds, either on an oiled surface or drag the dough in circles with a strong fork in the bowl. Let stand for another 10 minutes, then knead again for 10 seconds. Let stand for 10 minutes, then tip the dough onto an oiled surface and fold it onto itself a couple of times. It will be sticky, although not excessively wet like ciabatta dough.
Let stand for 40 minutes at room temperature. Agitate / Fold the dough after 20 minutes.

Divide dough into ten pieces weighing roughly 73g (2⅔ oz) (⅓ c) each, shape round, moisten the surface and press with the wet top into a bowl of pumpkin and sesame seeds (I omitted the sesame).

Proof for 50 minutes.

Bake at 240°C (465°F) for 20-25 minutes reducing the heat to 200°C (390°F) after 10 minutes.

How To Grill A Steak

15 Thursday Jul 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food Prep, Grillin' and Chillin', Interesting Information, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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I am a subscriber to an email newsletter from Sizzle On The Grill from Char-Broil. [The photo to the left is from them, not me. )-;] I really think this is a good article and think you should read it. It is informative! Here is an excerpt of the article.

It’s all about temperature
According to the cookbooks I’ve used to research the standard cooking temperatures at which specific methods are most effective, here are some thing I’ve come to learn and use in all of my cooking adventures.

Basics
Water boils at 212F degrees at sea level. The temperature needed to make it “boil” goes down as the altitude goes up. BUT 212F is the temperature needed for cooking. So if I’m at a higher altitude and trying to boil water for pasta, that’s what I’m going to be looking for. The temperature of the water. I know that sounds pretty silly to start out with in a post about grilling steaks, but that simple knowledge is really the basis for just about everything you will ever do in the kitchen – outdoors or indoors.

Read the rest of the article by CB at Grilling Steaks: It’s All About Temperature. Cheers and Happy Grilling!

The World of Mushrooms

12 Monday Jul 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Mushrooms, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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I know, everyone doesn’t like mushrooms. But you should! Full of vitamins and “good stuff” and can be prepared in a variety of ways. Here is a link to Mushroom Recipes. There are literally hundreds of recipes at this source. At least take a look and see what is available. If you click the Header, you can go directly to their web page. From the recipe page of the Mushroom Council,

This collection of recipes highlights the versatility of mushrooms. A delicious and nutritious ingredient, mushrooms can be added to many different types of cuisine. Whether adding a touch of class with delicate enokis or heartier texture with white buttons, mushrooms are your go-to ingredient. Browse our selection to find a way you can use mushrooms today … Mushrooms are low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free and very low in sodium, and they provide several nutrients, including riboflavin, niacin and selenium. No wonder we call them Nature’s Hidden Treasure! Mushrooms are the leading source of the essential nutrient selenium in the produce aisle and are also a source of ergotheioneine – both are important antioxidants that help protect the body’s cells from damage.

And lastly from the Mushroom Council, some interesting folklore.

Folklore
Mushrooms, the plant of immortality? That’s what ancient Egyptians believed according to the hieroglyphics of 4600 years ago. The delicious flavor of mushrooms intrigued the pharaohs of Egypt so much that they decreed mushrooms were food for royalty and that no commoner could ever touch them. This assured themselves the entire supply of mushrooms. In various other civilizations throughout the world, including Russia, China, Greece, Mexico and Latin America, mushroom rituals were practiced. Many believed that mushrooms had properties that could produce super-human strength, help in finding lost objects and lead the soul to the realm of the gods.

There you are. Interesting information and great recipes. Enjoy!

From Cupcakes To Soup

11 Sunday Jul 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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We have had some requests for these two recipes, so here are the two links that go directly to our recipe “book”. Do enjoy these and please let us know how much you enjoy them. The soup is made from fresh garden goodies and is a good way to “eat your greens” without all the fuss. We start with the cupcakes – “Life Is To Short, Eat Dessert First!” Cheers!

1. Black Bottom Cupcakes – These are an awesome cupcake that Robin has modified by using fresh cherries to make something like Black Forest Cherry Cake.

2. Mac’s Leafy Green Soup – Marnie’s boyfriend, Mac McNeil, came up with this recipe. It is really a very good soup. Add whatever herbs and spices you like. This has no cream in it, so it will probably keep for a while. Eat it hot or chilled!

Buddy’s Peanut Butter Cookies

10 Saturday Jul 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Boise Adventures, Buddy, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By Buddy, Thought For The Day, What's For Dinner?

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OK. I know what you are saying. “Buddy, the American Eskie, has a recipe for cookies? What’s this got to do with Roasted Root Vegetables and Poached Kokanee?” Actually a lot. The roasted vegies and kokanee are awesome and we tried his cookies. Like the old Buster Brown Shoe ad, “My name is Buster. I live in a shoe. My dog is Tag. He lives there too”. Buster lived in a shoe and Tag liked the shoe. Buddy likes these cookies and so will you!! These are his cookies, not yours! You eat the Chocolate Chip cookies and Buddy will eat his Peanut Butter Cookies. (Better than dog bisquits!)

Buddy’s Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:
1 c All-Purpose flour
2 c Rolled Quick Oats
½ c Adams peanut butter
1 T Garlic granules (no salt or sugar)
1 lg Banana, ripe and mashed
1 t pure Vanilla
½ c Applesauce, unsweetened

Directions:
Pre-Heat oven to 350°F

Mix together by hand the flour, oats, peanut butter and garlic.

In a separate bowl, combine the mashed banana, vanilla and applesauce. Add this
mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix to combine by hand.

Roll out on a piece of parchment paper to about ¼” thick. Score to the desired size with a pizza knife. Lay on a cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Break the cookie apart at the score lines. Buddy loves these cookies and, by the way, we ate one also and they are not bad.

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There you have it. Try one! Cheers!

Meals From CSG Gardens

10 Saturday Jul 2010

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

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It is always nice to have access to some absolutely wonderful fresh – and I mean fresh – produce! Yea for summer! Yea for the Idaho Refugees – Community Supported Garden (CSG) and the work the folks do to keep us supplied in these fresh vegetables. Thank-You! That’s not to say that I, we, don’t appreciate the work and the products available from the Boise Saturday Market. This is greatly appreciated too, proven by the longevity of the market. There are several CSG gardens in the Boise area, and maybe in your home town, too. I urge you to support their efforts. Here are some photos of the CSG that we belong to. Enjoy.

The people and the produce of the Idaho Refugee – Community Supported Garden. We do get our monies worth of produce. I have even put in an order for a large supply of red/pink/green tomatoes at the first frost. Great to make Green Tomato Relish.

So here is what we did with some of the CSG produce: Potato Salad with Garden Lettuce – made with fresh potatoes, carrots, garlic, onion, chive and fresh lettuce. A side of Green Peas. Herbs for the Kokanee Poached in 2009 Indian Creek Viognier (an awesomely fruity and great wine): parsley, lemon thyme and chives.

And finally, the same Potato Salad as pictured above, Infused BBQ Pork Chops and Fresh Sliced Tomatoes!! Yea, finally …. fresh tomatoes.

Well, there you have it. Cheers and Happy Fresh Vegetables!

Common Ground Farm, Surprise Valley, Boise

08 Thursday Jul 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Boise Adventures, Common Ground Farm, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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So Wednesday July 7 was a busy day for us. Falcon Watch in downtown Boise all morning, blog photos to work on, Fox TV interview and the Common Ground Farm opening in East Boise in Surprise Valley. This is one more in a growing community garden theme for the refugees coming into Boise. They grow the produce and make these picnics and we attend and buy dinner and fresh vegetables. They are productive and earn an income and we get to eat some fantastic cultural food. Look at these photos for a sampling of the event.

Rice Pilaf and Kabob. Made right here in the picnic grounds and it was very good.

I’m sorry, but I don’t know the name of this dish, but it too, was prepared fresh at the picnic.

Here is Michael Boss, Behind The Menu, tasting fresh honey right off of the comb. It was delicious!

Some of the crowd that was there. You can see the garden in the background and it is very large. They are going to put in another 5(?) acres across the street.

Michael Boss and his wife, Patrick and Barbara Mahre and Robin. I’m taking the blurry (Oops) photo!

Cheers and maybe we will see you at the next one. Every Wednesday from 4:00pm to 7:00pm.

Wine Dinner With Joe Dewey

08 Thursday Jul 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Party Time, Restaurants, What's For Dinner?, Wine Dinners

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We received this from Joe Dewey. A wine tasting at the 36th Street Bistro in Boise. Hope you can make it! “Here are some attachments and info about the Arbor Crest Dinner on July 21st from 5 – 8 pm. $40.00 per person includes the wines”. For more information contact Joe Dewey.

Arbor Crest Wine Dinner Menu

1st course
Summer tomato salad with parmesan crisp and basil vinaigrette
(07’ Sauvignon Blanc)

2nd course
Sweet potato and duck egg ravioli with brown sugar buerre blanc
(09’ Chardonnay)

3rd course
“Fish and Chips” sautéed salmon atop parsley risotto, Burgundy-
raspberry sauce and elephant garlic chips
(07’ Cabernet Sauvignon)

or

Braised Highland cattle short ribs with polenta “croutons” and summer
peas
(05’ Dionysus)

or

Wild pheasant breast with braised cabbage and butternut squash puree
(Cliff House Red)

Dessert
Vanilla pillow cake with candied strawberries and crème anglaise
(07’ Riesling)

Dark chocolate flourless chocolate cake with white chocolate dipped
cherries
(07’ Merlot)

There you go! Hope to can make it! Cheers!

Another Community Garden

06 Tuesday Jul 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Alley Gardens, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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Before we look at Another Community Garden, lets look at another Alley Garden. Here on Madison Ave we have an ingenious garden setup. They even have a greenhouse. This garden is constructed in the parking lot of a business in one of the islands within the lot. Really looks nice!

Here from Facebook and Behind The Menu, we have –

Looking to support a good cause AND have a good time tomorrow? How about making the grand opening of Common Ground Farm in SE Boise’s Surprise Valley. Here are the details from the CG folks. See you there!

Who: YOU!

What: A Grand Opening Party to Thank YOU all and to announce that the “CG farm stand is open to the public” and we…’ve got loads of great produce (and great people).
Live Reggae Music from Candread & RiZing ReZistance (above), food, fun – bring your families and some food or a picnic. Or taste food here from a few refugee vendors cooking some of their specialties. Bring some, taste some, will be great. Nigmat will have fried rice and kebabs for sale. Devi may make momos. And our bakers may make some pastries….bring something you love and share.

When: Wednesday, July 7th from 4pm – 8pm.
Why: Because we like you (most of you) and we think it will be great fun. AND, we want to send a huge shout out to all of those who have helped give Common Ground the wings to fly.

Where: 4750 S. Surprise Way in Surprise Valley (SE Boise) – next to Eastwind Community Church on the lawn / at the Common Ground farm.
This event is open to the public, anyone is welcome!

Thank you all for all that you do to make this community a far better place to live.
Bike over, walk over, drive over or stroller over if you’re one of the smaller CG family members – stay for a bit or hang the whole time – we hope you all feel welcome and as excited as we do – going to be a blast!

Maybe we’ll see you there. Who knows. But if we do show up, look for the guy carrying the camera. Cheers!

"the Buzz" Bistro Opens

06 Tuesday Jul 2010

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

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On July 5, 2010 the Buzz started their new menu and style. Monday through Saturday after 4:00pm they will be serving Bistro Style dinners. Monday – Thursday: 4pm – 9pm; Friday and Saturday: 4pm – 10pm. Closed Sunday. Their menu is displayed below. Along with the bistro, they are also serving a wide variety of affordable wines. Here are some photos of the first night. Cheers!

Here is the menu for the bistro. (Left Click to see a larger picture) You can see that the prices are great and there is a wide variety of choices. Robin and I spent $32 which also included a very good $12 bottle of Rosé.

Robin is enjoying the relaxing atmosphere of the Buzz. On the weekends (Friday and Saturday), they usually have live music from 7 – 9.

Cristi suggested this fine bottle of French Rosé. She was right. The wine went very well with the food selections we made. Light and fruity and not expensive.

Crab Nachos. A delightful change from your standard nachos. These come with tortilla chips topped with crab, blend of cheeses and black olives. Big enough for two!

Flat Iron Steak Salad with Thai Dressing. I really liked this. (Robin and I shared each others selections) The steak was done just perfect – slightly pink as you can see. This is served with chopped romaine, red onion, cucumber and tomato tossed in a Thai dressing. This is an excellent salad.

Tuna Salad with Fennel. Again, not your everyday style of tuna salad. The fennel gives it an extra boost. Served on romaine leaves and the tuna has been blended with fennel and cucumber and seasoned with tarragon. Wonderful!

Unusual Lemon Meringue Pie. Yes … yes … yes! The pie was made with puff pastry. Cristi – You have a winner here!

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If you want a relaxing and fun evening out, the Buzz Coffee and Wine and Bistro is a good place to go. Take your friends. Hope to see you there sometime. And don’t forget their 2nd Tueaday and Wednesday wine dinners. Awesome!