The Apartment Farm

I thought, I really thought that we were doing pretty good about eating locally and organically. And then I ran the numbers on what we eat and where it’s from. In my pantry, I cataloged 152 items. 27 of those items were organic. Only 10 were local (and that’s using a fairly broad radius—about 300 miles). The harsh reality is the fact that the majority of the food my husband and I consume has a high probability of being chemically treated, genetically modified, and had to travel over 1500 miles to get to our plates. This is disappointing and disheartening. I’m ashamed.

But, despair is not the answer. There’s an important distinction between saying you believe in living a certain way, and actually living it. Now I can be sure that as I move toward a more sustainable diet and lifestyle, I am doing it with all of the facts about where I started and what my hang ups are. I (and others before me, I’m sure) have always said that being educated is one of the greatest burdens an individual can take on. I can no longer turn a blind eye to the way my habits and choices affect the rest of the world. I can see it, and if I choose to ignore it, or ignore it by default, I must take that guilt and shame with me to my grave.

So, as I move forward in this new chapter of walking the sustainability talk, I’m optimistic. I’m not saying I’m going to be able to buy 100% organic and 100% local all of the time, and that this is going to happen over night. But I’m going to strive for that. It’s all about weighing the choices we make. For example, I’m a tea drinker. And despite the fact that I can’t purchase it locally because tea isn’t produced in the United States, I’m still going to consume it. I think a certain amount of cross-country and even global trade is okay, even healthy. But what I am going to do, about the tea in particular, is make sure I purchase organically grown tea from a Fair Trade Certified co-op (that pays their workers a living wage and farms sustainably) so that I’m still making a responsible choice. I’m going to think about what I can do without. Like prepackaged Jello pudding. Chocolate pudding from scratch isn’t difficult to make with Fair Trade cocoa and organic soymilk. All it takes is a recipe and a little time. And I certainly want to make more room for both of those things in my life. I’m also going to think about things I can make myself. I enjoy being in the kitchen, cooking, baking and preserving food. Why purchase a can of pumpkin puree from Nestle or a can of bean sprouts from ConAgra when I can puree the pumpkin and sprout the beans myself? It seems too ridiculous to make purchases like that when you start to think about it that way.

I still have to assess the state of my Refrigerated items and tally the assessment for the entire household. I expect the results to be slightly better in this category, but I’ve got my eyes wide open to the fact that they may not be. And that’s okay. I’m taking a vow to learn to be better, to live better, and to teach better. I hope you’ll think about the choices you have when you’re in the kitchen, the supermarket, or the corner co-op. We all only have one chance on this one planet, and the way we choose to live really does make a difference. Hopefully, we’ll all choose to make the right one.

I came across a really neat feature I haven’t used before on www.localharvest.org today. It’s an events calendar that lets you type in your zip code and a radius of how many miles you’d like to search (10, 50, 100, 500) and it will show you a lot of what’s going on with local food. Some of the events listed are opening days for CSAs and farmer’s markets, sales, demonstrations, and other events. This is what’s happening within 50 miles of Chicago currently: http://www.localharvest.org/events.jsp?t=0&rad=50&zip=60660&send=go.

You can also sign up for an email newsletter and participate in their forums, so be sure to check it out!

It occurs to me that if I am going to run my own organic family farm, two key things have to happen. #1 is I have to fully utilize organics. #2 is I have to fully support local family farms. Not that I don’t already do these things—I just need to get serious about it. Because how can I ask my community to support my organic family farm if I’m not practicing what I preach?

I recently re-read Coming Home to Eat by Gary Paul Nabhan, a food historian and local food activist in the Southwest. I read the book in 2002 when it first came out, and I credit Nabhan with really opening my eyes for the first time to sustainability. In his book, he makes a concerted effort to seek out foods that are not only local to his community, but native to his environment, or foodshed. It goes almost without saying that these types of foods are organic and natural. If I could select one book that changed my entire outlook on life, it would be Coming Home to Eat. Reading it was one of the best things to happen to me at 18—I was on my own for the first time, away at college, and open to new ideas. I’m grateful that local food, organic food, slow food; local economy; heritage breeds and heirloom seed were the ideas to take root.

But it’s time to really put those ideas into action, and be the person I am. So I decided to do a food audit. Where does my food really come from? What percentage of it is organic? What percentage local? In order to find out where I need to improve, I need an accurate gauge of where I am starting from. The first step is inventorying everything in our kitchen. I separated the kitchen into two categories—Pantry and Refrigerated (which includes freezer items). A manual inventory of all of our food seemed daunting at first, but cataloguing the pantry items only took an hour. I expect the Refrigerated items will take another hour. The next step is inputting all of that information into a spreadsheet. I wrote down product name, brand name company, parent company, and quantity information for each item.

After all of this “data” is in spreadsheet form, I need to find a way to evaluate it. I think a points system will be the easiest. +1 for everything organic. +1 for everything local. -1 for everything not local. -1 for everything not organic. So each item will get two points scores, multiplied but the quantity. I then add up the scores in each category overall. That will create a simple ratio or percentage of how much of my food is local and organic versus how much isn’t. Then I can make a list of things I want to avoid, and things that are acceptable to purchase. This list will help me be diligent as I shop. It will also allow me to set goals to reach. I’d like to strive for a 95% organic and at least 75% local household to start with. Of course, exceeding those goals won’t be a bad thing. J

Stay tuned for the tallied results and evaluation of the Apartment Farm kitchen!

There’s nothing better than enjoying a hot, home cooked meal when out on the trail. Just because you’re carrying everything you need on your back doesn’t mean you have to skimp on flavor. And you don’t have to spend big bucks outfitting your portable kitchen with freeze dried this and that. With ingredients readily available at your local supermarket (or foraged from your corner fast food joint—you can find honey, ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, lemon, mayonnaise, etc. in single-serving packets) you can put together some excellent meals in minutes. I’ve included my favorite dishes below.

Breakfast:

– Farina or oatmeal with brown sugar

– Granola or granola bars

– Home made peanut butter cookies

– Pancakes with maple syrup (The pancake recipe listed in another post on this site can be modified to be a just-add-water batter by replacing the egg with an additional two tablespoons of water. Serve warm with maple syrup packets.)

– Scrambled Egg Whites (Add water to dehydrated egg whites and scramble.)

Lunch or Dinner:

– Honey Mustard Chicken (One package of vacuum-sealed chicken mixed with a couple of honey packets and mustard packets and heated through.)

–Turkey with Gravy and Stuffing (Heat one package of vacuum-sealed turkey in one package of just-add-water gravy mix. Then cook the stuffing.)

– Macaroni with Mariana Sauce (Macaroni cooks the quickest; then cook just-add-water powdered marinara sauce.)

– Rice Noodles or Ramen Noodles (They are both available in several different flavors.)

– Bean and Rice Burritos (Cook some just-add-water refried beans and then spread on a tortilla. Then cook some quick-cooking rice and mix with the beans in the tortilla. You can season your burrito as you wish, but I like it just salted.)

It’s worth noting that instead of using single serving size packets of condiments, you can buy a set of mini plastic bottles that you can refill as needed. This will also allow you take a wider variety of condiments with you if you wish. In addition to the above basic meals, our camp kitchen is also outfitted with salt, pepper, sugar, tea, instant coffee, nuts, powdered lemon Gatorade and beef jerky. For cooking and cleaning up, we have two mess kits (which include a plate, frying pan with handle, small pot with lid, cup with measurements marked onto it, and cutlery), one large pot, two travel mugs with lids, a small slotted spoon, a small spatula (the cookie-sized one), biodegradable dish soap, a small sponge (a regular-size one cut in half) in a plastic baggie, a small towel (a hand towel cut in half- it’s useful as a pot holder or drying dishes), plus a backpacker’s stove with fuel cartridge. When you’re packing for your trip, it’s a good idea to portion out each meal and put all the ingredients together. This will minimize surprises due to forgotten ingredients on the trail. So, make up some menus and plan your next hiking trip—it’s more exciting when you know you’ve got some excellent trail food to keep you energized!

While I opt for minimalism when camping and hiking, there are some places where car camping is fun, necessary, and has its benefits. At the more popular national parks, for example, car camping is the most accessible option for spending time at the park. Backcountry permits are required for all areas away from an established campground, and the waiting list can be long. One of the benefits from car camping is the fact that it enables you to bring along heavy food items (like bottles and cans) or perishable items that can be kept in a cooler, thus making your cuisine that much more interesting. Here are a couple of my favorite dishes.

–Beans & Franks (A large can of baked beans with cut-up hot dogs from the cooler mixed in. It tastes pretty good in the great outdoors.)

– “Hobos” (We used to make these when I was a kid, camping out most summer weekends at RockCut State Park. In a foil packet, mix up some ground beef from the cooler and largely chopped carrots, potatoes and onions. Season with salt and pepper and cook in the coals of your campfire for about an hour.)

– Hot Sandwiches (You’ll need a sandwich iron for these- they can found at most camping-supply stores. You can make these either sweet or savory. My favorites were ham and cheese and baked apple filling. Just open the iron and lay in a slice of white bread, then your filling, then another slice of white bread. Close the iron then hold over the hot fire for about 15 minutes to heat through.)

The items listed below are a few things I really love and I think are fantastic additions to any home.

Vintage Jelly Jars: They make charming tea light holders, or containers in a craft area or bathroom.

Lavender Linen Water: Wonderful to spray on sheets or towels to keep everything fresh and sweet. A good recipe to make your own (as well as other home and bath/beauty products) can be found at http://www.recipezaar.com/61051.

Wine Crates: There are so many excellent uses for these– as planters, pantry shelf bins and HGTV has instructions for turning a few into a very useful and cute vegetable bin at http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_organizing_kitchen/article/0,1801,HGTV_3136_1383619,00.html.

Enamelware: It comes in so many different incarnations– pots and pans, home accents, dishes. My favorites are the wash basin with pitcher and kitchen storage bins and canisters, with black lettering.

Bib Aprons: Nothing keeps you clean and sweet looking during a cooking marathon better than an old fashioned bib apron. Mine is an exciting cherry print on white fabric, with red ribbon trim and bows on the two front pockets. CeCe Marie has some flirty, retro aprons at her Etsy shop– http://cecemarie.etsy.com.

Mugwort Maggie’s: I’m a big fan of Etsy, and a fellow MJF farm girl has set up an excellent shop there. She offers an amazing laundry soap that is worth checking into, and it comes in a variety of scents. Samples are only $1.75! Check out her site at http://mugwortmaggies.etsy.com.

Copper Teapots with Porcelain Handles: My Great Grandmother used one of these for years. They are lovely and heat well. My favorites have a curved spout and the white porcelain handle has a blue painted design. An essential accessory in any farmhouse kitchen.

Terrariums: A charming way to have plants in any environment, Smith & Hawken offers several Victorian-style tabletop models as well as cloches with trays. http://smithandhawken.com/catalog/category.jsp?categoryId=cat220039p

Scented Thymes: Thyme is an incredibly versatile herb, and is relatively easy to grow (even for herb-challenged people such as myself). There are many different varieties, including lemon, orange, lavender, caraway and rose scented. The Mulberry Creek Herb Farm website has information about many of the different cultivars available– you’ll be surprised at the selection! http://mulberrycreek.com/cgi-bin/herbman/search.cgi?Botanical=Thymus

Farm: A Year in the Life of an American Farmer by Richard Rhodes

Coming Home to Eat by Gary Paul Nabhan

The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection by Michael Ruhlman

Country Living’s Bread & Muffins by Rachel Newman

Country Living’s Pie & Tarts by Rachel Newman

As I mentioned earlier, the seed from 2006 didn’t fare so well. I stored my seeds in what I thought was an okay spot– in a cigar box in the top drawer of a dresser in my bedroom. Turns out, this wasn’t the best spot, and for a few key reasons.

According to Suzanne Ashworth in her essential book Seed to Seed: Seed Saving & Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners, seeds should be stored an airtight location where there is a constant temperature and humidity. Ashworth says that “as a rule of thumb, the sum of the temperature (degrees F.) and relative humidity should not exceed 100″ (29).

My seeds definitely didn’t have these conditions. They were not in airtight storage, and both the temperature and humidity fluctuated greatly over the year they were in the drawer. So what will I do differently next time?

I’ll use mason jars to hold my seed envelopes. That will provide an air tight seal. Then I’ll store the jar in a cool, dark and dry place where the temperature remains constant. Root cellars are ideal, but lacking one, I’ll probably put them on the floor in one of my storage closets.

Ashworth also says that for longer term storage, seeds can be frozen. The trick to maintaining viability in frozen seeds is reducing their moisture content to below 8% before freezing. You can do this by placing the seed envelopes in a mason jar with about half a pound of silica gel, which will absorb the excess moisture from the jar. It takes about a week, and you’ll know when the seeds are “done” because the silica gel will turn from dark blue to pink, indicating that is absorbed moisture. Then, transfer the seeds to a new jar (quickly, to reduce exposure to moisture) without silica gel and place in the freezer.

Ashworth’s book has much more detailed information regarding the processes described above, and I would recommend it for anyone saving seed from year to year, especially those who are growing their own seed at home.

Humble Pie: Musings on What Lies Beneath the Crust by Anne Dimock

Slow Food by Carlo Pettrini

Complete Techniques by Jacques Pepin (combined re-issue of his earlier books, La Technique and La Methode)

Roadfood by Jane Stern

Young Pioneers by Rose Wilder Lane (originally published as Let the Hurricane Roar)

The Country Year: Living the Questions by Sue Hubbell

Bean Blossom Dreams: A City Family’s Search for a Simple Country Life by Sallyann J. Murphy

Gooseberry Patch Christmas Books I-III

Country Decorating Through the Seasons by Deborah Schneebelli-Morrell

On the plus side, my thesis is completely done and I never have to do that again. Only six weeks left of college before it’s all over and graduation is behind me. It’s a pretty major accomplishment. On the negative side though, is the fact the every single one of my plants is suffering from thesis neglect. Except the creeping thyme… it’s really taking off and filling out nicely since it got settled. The edamame is the worst. I have to start the entire crop over. They grew up big and luscious– strong, healthy seedlings. I cared for my babies diligently, until deadlines started approaching. I didn’t touch the garden for a week. So happens deadline week was also transplant week. The poor things choked themselves out in their little seedling tray, and are now laying in tangled, withered mess. This weekend I will start from scratch. I think I can save some of the lettuce and sunflowers, and perhaps a cucumber or two. But for the most part, the entire farm has to be started anew. Good thing I started “early” this year…