Happy Fish Sushi, Boise

03 Friday Dec 2010

Posted by in Happy Fish Sushi, Main Dish, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Seafood, What's For Dinner?

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So the snow is melting – quickly. It is raining – steady. And in between making a Challah and a Boise Sourdough Bread, Robin says, “Are you ready to eat sushi?” “Only if we leave now. The bread has an hour and a half for the first rise. The sourdough is getting happy,” I said. Now that’s the fastest I think she has gotten ready to leave to eat. We were out of the house in 10 minutes and on our way to Happy Fish Sushi in downtown Boise and it was well worth the slushy, wet, drizzly drive. Check the link for their menu and other information. And by all means, visit them – several times! But in the meantime, check out what we had below. It was delicious!

From their webpage,
“Sushi Dishes – From the Finest Fish Markets
At Happy Fish Sushi we take equal pride in our sushi offerings, putting forth a great deal of effort and energy to secure our ingredients from the finest fish markets on the west coast. Whether you are an old pro at the sushi game or you still have trouble with the chopsticks, our menu is chock full of sushi dishes to appeal to everyone.

Sushi and Martinis – Downtown Boise
And finally, we have paid serious heed to the old business adage, “location, location, location” by setting up shop in Downtown Boise’s Entertainment District BoDo. Situated just a short walk from downtown theatres, museums, Boise concert venues, and the Funny Bone Comedy Club, Happy Fish Sushi is the perfect place to meet and centrally located to all the great things there are to do in Boise.”

Lights over the serving bar.

Seared Scallops
seasoned scallops served with wasabi aioli and ginger soy aioli – $10.95

Watoosie
tempura fried portabello, avocado and green onion served with a sweet and spicy sauce, futto style – $9.00

unagi maki
unagi and avocado, topped with a sweet teriyaki sauce – $4.75

Obama Maki
king crab, tuna, daikon sprouts, asparagus and tobiko, futto style – $11.50

Obama Maki

Green Tea Ice Cream
ice cream served with tempura crumbles and ohba leaf – $3.95

Asian Pear Flambe
asian pears flamed in brown sugar and butter, served on vanilla ice cream with tempura crumbles and ohba leaf – $5.75

The Buddha watches!

We thoroughly enjoyed the dinner and the conversations. Thanks to Cameron Gunn, one of the Sushi Chefs, for letting us know about the Happy Fish Sushi. Hope to see you there sometime.

More On Taste #5 Umami Paste™

01 Wednesday Dec 2010

Posted by in Hard To Find Foods, Herbs, Things To Do

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Sorry that it has taken a while to get this information. But I think it is worth the wait. Here is some really good information on the Taste #5 Umami Paste™.
1) The source for purchasing is Cardullos in Cambridge, MA and they are good to work with.
2) The website for direct information and recipes is Laura Santtini. It is an interesting site.
3) From her web site, the ingredients are “Taste #5 Umami Paste™ is a combination of everyday Mediterranean ingredients packed with umami, ripe tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, Porcini mushrooms, salted anchovies, black olives and balsamic vinegar.”
4) The product originated in England, London I believe. The web site comes from England and, therefore, the measurements in the recipe listed below are in metric measures. I have tried to translate the measurements to degrees F, pounds and cups where necessary. The US really should go to the metric system. It’s so much easier.
5) Here is a recipe from the web site using Taste #5 Umami Paste™ with a leg of lamb. There are many more recipes available on the web site.

Leg Over Lamb

Called so because, with a cooking time of 6 hours you have plenty of time to do all sorts of things, like drink coffee and read the Sunday papers!
Ingredients:
2kg (4.4 lbs) leg of lamb
4 garlic cloves cut into 3
2 sprigs rosemary cut into 1” lengths
1 good squeeze of TASTE #5 UMAMI PASTE™
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 red onions cut into quarters
350ml (1½ cups) red wine
125ml (½ cup) port (if you do not have, increase wine to 475ml)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (thick sort)
1-2 tbsp of jelly (mint, rosemary, red currant, sage)
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

Directions:
Pre heat the oven to 120°C (250ºF).
Randomly make slits in the lamb, and stuff each hole with a piece of garlic and rosemary using your finger to push them right in.
Heat olive oil in a large casserole, add lamb and brown well on all sides. Season with salt & freshly ground black pepper and add the onions, red wine a good squeeze of TASTE #5 UMAMI PASTE™ and port. Mix jelly, balsamic vinegar and herbs together and spoon over the lamb. Cover with tight fitting lid and cook in the oven for around 5-6 hours until falling off the bone. (Source: Laura Santtini)

I must say that ordering online was easy, although I had made a mistake. A Cardullos representative was on the phone to me – initially by email – within 24 hours of placing the order and everything was straightened out. They were polite and extremely helpful. Now ….. To the kitchen!!! Cheers!

Duck Soup and Veal Stock

28 Sunday Nov 2010

Posted by in Party Time, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Robin Young, Stocks and Soups, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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I can’t say there is a whole lot to do on this very lazy Sunday afternoon. The walks are all shoveled from the snow last night, and now, with the sun on them, they are melting off quite well.

But we had a duck the other night and now we have the carcass left over. So Robin found this recipe for duck soup.

Homemade Duck Soup to be exact. The top photo is the soup after cooking for hours. The photo to the left is the soup plated. By the way. The larger green bowl is one of the bowls we bought at the Empty Bowls event by the Idaho Foodbank. It is fitting that there is a bowl of soup in it.

The other thing we had was Veal Osso Buco the other night. Remember from a previous post? Where Robin said she wanted to make veal stock? The photo to the right is the beginning simmer. This just fills the house with the aroma of roasted veal bones and a fragrance of spices and roasted vegetables.

The photo to the right is the veal stock almost done after some 10 hours on a low simmer. Here is the recipe for the Brown Veal Stock.

I think tomorrow I will can most of these two items. Just one note: Both of these recipes take some time to create the end product. But neither one is very difficult, just time consuming. The soup is very hearty and will go well with a Garlic Bread or Dilly Casserole Bread. But then, you don’t have to wait around while it is cooking. Set your heat to a low simmer, and do the laundry or something. The other thing is that these are both awesome dishes and can be kept for a while. The Brown Veal Stock will be great in soup or Osso Buco or something similar. Do enjoy these recipes. Cheers!

"Empty Bowls" – A Program of the Idaho Foodbank

27 Saturday Nov 2010

Posted by in Boise Adventures, Photos, Photos By: Bob Young, Pottery Dishware, Special Dinners, Special Events, Things To Do, What's For Dinner?

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On the Friday after Thanksgiving, The Idaho Foodbank holds it annual affair, Empty Bowls. You purchase a pottery bowl for $10.00 and receive a bowl of soup and, of course, the bowl you purchased. Here is some information from their website, Empty Bowls, about the event.

“On the Friday after Thanksgiving, The Idaho Foodbank hosts its annual Empty Bowls event in downtown Boise on the Grove Plaza.

Throughout the year, we collect handcrafted and handpainted bowls from professional and amateur artisans, students, and studios. The event gives you the opportunity to select a unique bowl from these thousands of options, and then enjoy a hot bowl of soup, generously donated by several of our finest local restaurants. While guests enjoy their meal, we encourage them to remember that not all of our Idaho neighbors are able to meet this basic need and their financial support at the event helps us to provide free, emergency food to those in need.”

13th Street Pub/Vegetarian option
Arid Club/Southwest sweet potato & chorizo
Asiago’s/Salmon Chowder
Boise Centre/Lobster Bisque
Bonefish Grill/Seafood Chowder
Brick Oven Bistro/TBD
Cottonwood Grille/Banana Squash
Cucina di Paulo/Cream of Roasted Butternut Squash
Doubletree Riverside/Chicken Noodle
Dry Creek Merc/Chicken Tortilla

Emilio’s/Chicken and Wild Rice
Goldy’s/TBD
Highlands Hollow/Roasted Red Pepper Bisque
Locavore/Pumpkin Sage
Parilla Grill/Vegetarian option
Shaka Shak/TBD
Sizzler/TBD
The Basque Market/Turkey noodle
The Flicks/Minestrone
Westside Drive In/Baked Potato
Zee Catering/Butternut Squash

——————————

As you can see, it takes a lot of hard work and soup to make this event happen. It was a cold, breezy day and sometimes breathing into a Kleenex helps one to keep warm. Enjoy the photos of the event, and if you are in Boise next year the day after Thanksgiving between 11:00am and 2:00pm, plan to attend the event. Cheers!

Some of the people getting their pottery bowls.

Some people we met in line.

The Pottery Bowls all decorated by local artists.

One of the two bowls we purchased and some soup and bread.

Contemplating the Empty Bowls situation.

Heirloom Tomato Seeds

26 Friday Nov 2010

Posted by in Hard To Find Foods, Heirloom Tomatoes, Things To Do

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Someone – I forget who, now – asked me where to purchase Heirloom Tomato seeds. Well, here is the place. All kinds!! Try The Tomato Fest and they will be able to help you. Here is more information that I received today. Good luck and happy gardening.

Announcing Our
Annual Heirloom Tomato Seed Sale for 2011!

From our online tomato seed catalog of more than 600 tomato seed varieties, we are currently offering you 120 of our most favored heirloom tomato varieties on Sale through January 11, 2011.

Most of the Heirloom Tomato Varieties on sale have been discounted to $2 per pack. That’s almost a 50% discount for most varieties. The sale price for some of our other varieties offers a 30% savings.

This is a perfect time, at the best price, to get your favorite tomato varieties and to try some new varieties too!

The organic tomato seeds on sale are tomato varieties we harvested for the 2011 season.

This year we’ve added more sale items than we have in the past, to respond to difficult times, and to make it easier for folks who are choosing to grow more of their own food.

We recently made the choice to downsize the number of tomato varieties we will be offering in future years, so we harvested as much seed as we could physically manage this year. Consequently, we have more seed than we usually do for some tomato varieties. We want to pass this opportunity on to you.

We suggest that you take advantage of our Tomato Seed Sale to acquire tomato seed for varieties that you will want to grow, even if you do not have the space to grow them this year, because many items may not be offered in the future. Also, we may sell out of some varieties that are very limited or RARE.

If you have a farm or you are associated with a Community Garden, Purchase Heirloom Tomato Seeds In Bulk.

Tomato seeds will last 3-5 years if stored properly. We guarantee the quality of TomatoFest® Garden Seeds.

(Note: The balance of our 600 tomato varieties will be at our regular price and we still require a $15 minimum order. Your order may mix sale items with regularly priced items)

Heirloom Tomato Seed Collections
THE PERFECT GIFT!

Give a gift of seeds to your favorite gardeners and would be gardeners to expand their pleasure and sensory delights, in the garden and in the kitchen.

Choose from our selection of 12 Heirloom Tomato Seed Collections!

· Giant Tomato Collection
· Patio Tomato Collection
· Children’s Tomato Collection
· Gourmet Tomato Collection
· Short Season Collection
· Sauce Tomato Collection
· Rainbow Tomato Collection
· Gary’s Favorite’s Tomato Collection
· Cherry Tomato Collection

NEW Cooler Coastal Tomato Collection
NEW Tropical Hot/Humid Collection

TomatoFest – Leaders in Organic Seed

TomatoFest Tomato Seeds have been organic from the start…
when there were only a very few seed sources providing organic seeds.

As consumer attention and demand for healthier treatment of our land and bodies has grown, so too has the movement of many seed providers to offer a selection, if not a complete inventory, of organic seeds for gardeners and commercial farmers.

The world will likely be facing a food crisis in the future. Many of the foods we currently enjoy are disappearing. By choosing to garden and grow some of your own foods you are assuming an important role in an evolving, transformative world consciousness toward a more responsible stewardship of the planet.

Dagma and I encourage you to support the sustainability of our Earth and our crops by supporting individuals and businesses that support this vital movement.

Please encourage your children, family and friends to enjoy the pleasures of seed saving. A healthy food source for our children is asking this of us.

With Gratitude to you, our wonderful customers. Thank You for your ongoing support throughout the years. We are blessed with joy by your notes of appreciation and gardening passion!

Wishing you an abundant harvest! Every Seed A Possibility!

Your Gardening Friends,
Dagma Lacey and Gary Ibsen
http://www.tomatofest.com

——————————

Robin and I went to the Tomato Festival in Carmel, CA a few years ago and it was fantastic. They had over 600 varieties of tomatoes for you to try. I made it to about 300. They also had tables set up where the Chefs prepared their dishes solely from tomatoes. So here is your source for tomato seeds. And not at all expensive. Enjoy!!

“…There’s only two things in life that money can’t buy,
True love and Homegrown tomatoes.” (Guy Clark)

It’s Starting!!

25 Thursday Nov 2010

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

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What’s starting? The Holiday Season and with that, some really good meals. Here are two items for tomorrows Thanksgiving Dinner. Notice the use of a Bundt Pan for this bread. Enjoy.

The Dried Corn is on soaking. (It’s even good now!!) And here is Dilly Casserole Bread. Nothing better than fresh bread for dinner. An this bread goes so very well with turkey. It’s one of Robin’s favorites.

And here is a cookie that Robin found that reminds me of Old Fashion Ginger Snaps. It’s the fresh ingredients and not the packaged simulation.

From Eatingwell.com –

Cynthia Farr-Weinfeld, a hypnotherapist and writer, started improving the nutritional profile of a friends mothers ginger cookie recipe by substituting whole-wheat pastry flour for all-purpose flour and canola oil for shortening. “Experiment with these cookies,” she advises, “as they taste great either slightly underdone or crispy.” She calls them “the quickest cookies you’ll ever bake.”

Easy and healthy… for Maddy and Tessa [Ginger]

Ginger Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients:
2/3 cup(s) canola oil
1 1/2 cup(s) turbinado sugar, divided (see Tip)
1 large egg
4 tablespoon(s) molasses
2 cup(s) sifted whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon(s) sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix oil and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl until combined. Beat in egg until combined. Stir in molasses until evenly incorporated. Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt over the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.

Put the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and roll each ball in the sugar before placing 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Do not flatten.

Bake the cookies until set, but still soft when gently touched, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Try not to sample these cookies – see the photo above! Cheers!

Veal Osso Buco With Roasted Vegetables

23 Tuesday Nov 2010

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

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A couple of days ago, Robin asked me to see if I could get some veal bones for stock at the market. They did not have any plain bones, but they had some veal shanks. So I bought the shanks and decided that we could have some Veal Osso Buco tonight. Great choice. It was awesome. The photo to the right is the plated dinner. We found a good recipe for some oven roasted vegetables that went extremely well with the dinner. Here are the recipes and some photos. Enjoy!

Veal Osso Buco

Recipe Adapted From: Giada De Laurntiis

Ingredients:
1 sprig fresh Rosemary
1 sprig fresh Thyme
2 dry Bay Leaf
4 whole Cloves
Cheesecloth
Kitchen twine, for bouquet garni and tying the veal shanks
4 whole Veal Shanks (about 1 pound per shank), trimmed
Sea salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
All-Purpose Flour, for dredging
½ c Vegetable oil
1 med Onion, diced into ½ inch cubes
6 Cipolline Onions
1 med Carrot, diced into ½ inch cubes
1 stalk Celery, diced into ½ inch cubes
2 Tomato Paste
1¼ c dry White Wine
2 c Chicken Stock
3 T fresh flat-leaf Italian Parsley, chopped
1 T Lemon Zest

Directions:
Place the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and cloves into cheesecloth and secure with twine. This will be your bouquet garni.

For the veal shanks, pat dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Veal shanks will brown better when they are dry. Secure the meat to the bone with the kitchen twine. Season each shank with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge the shanks in flour, shaking off excess.

In a large Dutch Oven pot, heat vegetable oil until smoking. Add tied veal shanks to the hot pan and brown all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove browned shanks and reserve.

In the same pot, add the onion, carrot and celery. Season with salt at this point to help draw out the moisture from the vegetables. Saute until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Return browned shanks to the pan and add the white wine and reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and 2 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the cipolline onions. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for about 1½ hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Check every 15 minutes, turning shanks and adding more chicken stock as necessary. The level of cooking liquid should always be about ¾ the way up the shank.

Carefully remove the cooked shanks from the pot and place in decorative serving platter. Cut off the kitchen twine and discard.

Remove and discard bouquet garni from the pot. Pour all the juices and sauce from the pot over the shanks. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest.

Roasted Potatoes, Carrots, Parsnips and Brussels Sprouts

Recipe Adapted From: Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:
1/3 c Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
3 med Carrots (about ¾ pound), cut into 1½ inch thick circles
1½ c Brussels Sprouts, halved
4 c Petite Mixed Fingerling Potatoes, cut into 1½ inch thick slices
3 med Parsnips, cut into 1½ inch thick slices
2 med Sweet Potatoes, cut into 1½ inch thick slices
1 T Oregano, dried
2 t Rosemary, dried
1 t Thyme, dried
1 t Basil, dried
¼ t Sea Salt
2 T freshly ground Black Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 ºF

Grease an 11 by 17-inch baking sheet pan with extra-virgin olive oil. Place vegetables in baking sheet and add the dried herbs, salt and pepper. Toss well, evenly coating all the vegetables with the seasonings and oil. Add more oil if the vegetables seem dry

Spread the vegetables evenly on a large baking sheet. Place on middle rack in oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

And here is the finished product ready to be enjoyed. We served it with a 2003 Ravenswood Dickerson Vineyard Zinfandel. The dinner and the wine were awesome!

Dinner Tonight – Canard à l’Orange

21 Sunday Nov 2010

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

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Ahhhh! Such a delightful dinner, Canard à l’Orange, French Roast Duck with Orange Sauce. And with ours we had Wild Rice with Mushrooms and Brussels Sprouts in a Browned Butter and Horseradish Sauce. So much fun to do, although it does take some time. If you like duck, try the recipe. Good luck and Cheers!

Taste #5 Umami Re-Visited

20 Saturday Nov 2010

Posted by in Condiments, Hard To Find Foods, Herbs, Interesting Information, Thought For The Day

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I have come across some more interesting information about the condiment called Taste #5 Umami and it has to do with the ingredients and where to purchase. For those of you the Cambridge, MA area, the choice is easy as it can be found at Cardullos, 6 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. It is available from them online.

Also, here are the ingredients, which Do Not include MSG.

“Umami Paste, Taste # 5

Umami Spiced Tomato Puree, The Ultimate Flavor Bomb to Enhance any Savory Dish. Can Be Used Raw or Cooked.

Ingredients: Tomato Paste, Anchovy Paste, Black Olives, Balsamic Vinegar, Porcini Mushroom, Parmesan Cheese, Citric Acid, Olive Oil, Wine Vinegar, Sugar, Salt.( Contains Milk). Produced in Italy” (Aimee Bianca, YC Media, 212-609-5009, Aimee Bianca)

So there you are with some more information. I still have not located any in the Boise area and I may have to get some via online sales. Thank-You Ms Bianca for this information and link. Cheers!

Game Day Pizza

20 Saturday Nov 2010

Posted by in BSU, Photos By: Bob Young, What's For Dinner?

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We don’t really eat a lot of pizza, unless it comes from Flying Pie Pizza in Boise. It was Game Day with BSU playing Fresno State on a cold, rainy night. BSU was victorious with a 51-0 score and a very slow 1st quarter. Along with the game we had this pizza.

TRADITIONAL COMBINATIONS
#1 CONTEST COMBO

The Combo is undeniably our most popular pizza; it gets reams of fan mail and makes the other pies jealous! This delectable combination has a brilliant blend of 6 meats and 4 veggies: Mozzarella, Pepperoni, sliced Ham that we changed to Canadian Bacon, Italian Sausage, Italian Salami, Ground Beef, Linguica, sliced Mushrooms, We Left The Green Pepper Off, Onions, and Black Olives. We also added Sundried Tomatoes. Yum-O!!!

It was a delicious pizza and went very well with a 2003 Ravenswood Zinfandel Dickerson Vineyard and a blow-out football game. Cheers!