Summer Dining... part 2 (Boise)

Continuing on with our summer dining spots, I have had the extreme pleasure of enjoying the following meals and the even greater pleasure of sharing these with you.































These first 4 shots are of Rembrandts Coffee House in Eagle Idaho. This coffee house is a bakery and deli as well. They also have a great little shop up front with to-go mugs, books, aprons and coffee for sale. The building used to be a church and they have kept much of it in tact making a lovely little atmosphere. My daughters enjoyed a three layer red velvet cake while we sipped coffees. Everything is tasty, the service is super friendly and I love this place so much I could sit there all day.













This beauty is the bakery case at La Vie En Rose, in Boise Idaho. We enjoyed a lunch here of bacon avocado sandwiches, potato soup, pomegranate lemonade and lemon bars. This is in historic Boise and is beautiful. They were not very busy for lunch, which made me sad because the place is quite impressive but I do know they recently added the full menu and went from bakery to restaurant so maybe that had something to do with it. Don't you just want to sip on that lemonade? Delicious!


On our way out of town, we wanted to try another new place (although Flatbread is always tempting, as is Tavern) so we hit the city center to find something and came upon Bittercreek Ale House. It seemed like a simple pub so we were expecting simple pub food. We were pleasantly surprised by the food! Pictured here is my Green Goddess Tower. How pretty is that salad? It was as delicious as it is pretty too. They offer over 500 beers and have a very decent menu. Our table also enjoyed fish-n-chips, the house burger and mac-n-cheese.



I have been so blessed to vacation with my precious family as well as travel with my husband, while he is working this summer. I hope you are enjoying my little dining diary but more than that I hope you give these places a try if you are ever in the areas. They are all noteworthy.

Summer Berry Ice Cream

I love ice cream. It's such a childhood comfort, summer, fun treat and as an adult, I have learned how much fun it can be to not only eat... but make. It's fun to come up with new flavor combos for creams, sorbets, Italian ices, pops... it's endless. The following recipe is something I came up with last week when I happened upon a fabulous deal on berries. It's simple and creamy and fruity and makes a lovely summer dessert. Experiment with different berries and additions. I can assure you, you will love this ice cream.


Summer Berry Ice Cream

2 cups strawberries
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries
3/4 cup organic sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup half & half
1 cup heavy cream

Wash all berries and remove stems. Heat all berries in a large pot for about five minutes, or until they soften and start to release their juices. Add sugar and simmer another ten minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir and cool about 20 minutes. Puree' in a food processor or blender and cool completely in your refrigerator. Add both creams and pour into your ice cream maker. Freeze according to manufacturers directions. You can strain the fruit mixture to remove the seeds but i didn't... I think they add texture, so I leave them in.

Hapyp 4th of July

This dip is fantastic, simple and totally delicious. It will make a lovely addition to your 4th of July spread and will leave your friends and family asking for more... and begging you for the recipe! I made it this week and am making it again this weekend. It is perfect served with sliced french bread and salty crackers.

Happy 4th of July friends!

BLT Dip

1/2 pound bacon cooked crisp and then crumbled
1 cup mayo
3/4 cup sour cream
5 green onions sliced thin (white tips only)
good grinding of cracked pepper
3 fresh roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 head of iceberg lettuce, diced

Cook bacon to a crisp, crumble and set aside. Combine mayo, sour cream, green onion and cracked pepper in a bowl, add bacon and chill for at least 2 hours. Dice the fresh tomatoes and lettuce and add to the chilled dip. Serve when desired... it gets better as it rests and all of those flavors marry each other.