The Apartment Farm

Wow. What a year it’s been since I first started this last summer. Thanks everybody! I’m flattered that you all stop by the Apartment Farm so much!

If you’ve never had sun tea, you’re missing out! We had sun tea nearly every day when I was a kid, and it was great. All you need is a gallon-sized glass container (don’t use plastic) and five or six tea bags. I found a great gallon-sized Ball Jar with a wire-bale lid and metal spigot for only $20 (available at Linens N Things: http://www.lnt.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1763602&cp&sr=1&origkw=ball+jar&kw=ball+jar&parentPage=search). Fill the jar with water, toss in the teabags, and set the jar in the sun for a day. Halfway through the day, throw in some lemon slices or mint leaves if you like, and add as much sugar or honey as you prefer. By evening, your tea will be fully steeped and ready to drink. Serve it over ice in a tall glass and enjoy your evening!

There is nothing better than a quick, delicious lunch in the summertime. Sloppy Joes fit the bill perfectly, and can be made in no time.

1 pound ground beef

1 cup ketchup

4 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon dry mustard

It’s simple– cook the ground beef in a skillet until browned and cook through. While the ground beef is cooking, mix together the remaining ingredients. Once the beef is cooked, add the sauce and cook for a few more minutes to thicken. Serve on whole wheat hamburger buns. It goes great with potato salad and lemonade!

I came across a fantastic online book today while browsing the internet– it’s called Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT), edited by Gary Paul Nabhan and Ashley Rood (http://www.slowfoodusa.org/raft/Renewing_Americas_Food_Traditions.pdf). Nabhan has long been a leader in the local/native food movement, and he founded RAFT in conjunction with Slow Food USA. Specifics about the project can be found at http://www.slowfoodusa.org/raft/.

I always find it interesting to hear about what people use for cosmetics and bath products. It can get you into new products, and word of mouth is great way to learn about new stuff. I focus on organic/natural products. I get the results I want, and feel good about knowing I’m not unneccesarily polluting my body or the planet with petroleum by-products and filler ingredients. Here’s a peek inside my bathroom.

Shampoo: Burt’s Bees Very Volumizing Pomegranate & Soy

Conditioner: Burt’s Bees Very Volumizing Pomegrante & Soy

Bar Soap: Kirk’s Castille or handmade by me

Facial Cleanser: Avalon Organics Lavender Facial Cleansing Gel

Shaving Cream: Avalon Organics Aloe Unscented Moisturing Shave Cream

Toothpaste: Tom’s of Maine Natural Antiplaque Tarter Control Whitening (Spearmint or Peppermint) or Jason Powersmile + CoQ10 Gel

Mouthwash: Tom’s of Maine Natural Cleansing (Spearmint)

Body Lotion: Burt’s Bees Naturally Nourishing Milk & Honey

Facial Moisturizer: Kiss My Face Vitamin A&E

Sunscreen: Kiss My Face Sunspray SPF 30

Facial Mask: Burt’s Bees Pore-Refining Clay Mask

Bath Salts: Handmade by (usually epsom salts with my choice of herbs and essential oil)

Facial Toner: Witch Hazel

Cosmetics: Burt’s Bees Dr. Burt’s Herbal Blemish Stick, Burt’s Bees Tinted Facial Moisturizer, Burt’s Bees Vanishing Facial Powder, Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmers (Watermelon or Merlot), Kiss My Face 3-Way Color (Manilla– I use it as eyeshadow, but it can also be used as blush or lipgloss), Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm or Honey Lip Balm

Well, the farm isn’t as prolific as last year. I guess my growing power this season is only at 50%! But I still have a few things going, and besides, quality trumps quantity! I have the four cherry tomato plants coming along quite nicely. They are almost two feet tall now, and need to be staked with bamboo poles. Husband has taken quite the interest in their welfare, cutting the poles to size and making sure they’re staked right. He also waters them quite a bit as they need it. They are certainly responding to all this care by flowering. Each plant has about ten flower buds so far. We also still have the thymes, the creeping and lemon. They’re both doing well and growing prolifically in the living room window.

In other news, this weekend is a cooking one. I’ll be making a couple of batches of madeleines as well as some snickerdoodle cookies. Husband is planning on making some bread. He’s taken an interest in it as of late. I’ll also be putting some 15 bean soup in the freezer. I’m also working on uploading the rest of the honeymoon photos and working on the Route 66 blog (at http://historyinthemaking.wordpress.com). And I have two years worth of Cooking Light magazines to cull recipes from, then I’ll have to find a new home for them. Need to make more space for my cookbook collection!

Sometime this summer, I’d like to design some recipe card “wallpaper” for my kitchen. I figure I’d use some of my recipes more often if they were visible, and I have ugly gray cupboards in my kitchen. So I thought I would design some recipe pages in red ink with neat retro cooking graphics to cover the cabinet doors with. But that will be an ongoing work-in-progress. 

Although I participated in the graduation ceremony a month ago, I still had to take my final exams (scheduled after the ceremony) to make it all official and trade up the post-in note in my diploma folder for the real thing. Well yesterday I got word that I did, in fact, PASS my final comprehensive exams and I am officially a college GRADUATE!

I feel so many things– it’s taken me a total of seven years to finish my undergraduate degree (I took several semester-long breaks along the way), and I went through a rigorous Great Books program with a thesis requirement. And let me tell you what a long road writing that thesis was! But I feel relieved, excited and proud of myself. I also feel a little let-down, like the morning after Christmas. I’ve defined myself as a student for my entire adult life, and a little piece of me misses that. But mostly I feel great– I finally get to sleep again! And my weekends are my own– no more scrambling to finish six books a weekend and write papers all the time. I’m also the first person in my immediate family to finish a college degree, and I’m pleased to make that accomplishment (though my little sister isn’t far behind). So all in all things are looking pretty decent at the moment, and I’m looking forward to life after college.

Well, I worked my very first farmer’s market today. I was up at 4:00 this morning, and was surprised to notice that daylight was creeping over the edges of the horizon at the lake. The sky had that beautiful, electric light blue hue just before dawn. And it was warm, with a refreshing summer breeze coming through the windows. So it wasn’t all that difficult to drag myself out of bed when I had a morning like that waiting for me. The market I worked is a busy, bustling suburban market with a lot of vendors. Nothing like a trial by fire initiation! I arrived a little later than I had planned due to the perils of public transit, but had enough time to get acquainted with my co-workers and the amazing produce we were offering. Our stand had 5 varieties of lettuce, rainbow chard, pea shoots, kale, green onions, red green onions, mustard greens, dill, oregano, chives, sage and small and large flower bouquets. Window shoppers show up well before the opening at 7:00, so there is a rush as soon as 7:00 rolls around with eager shoppers filling their baskets. It’s been quite some time since I’ve done cash handling and math in my head on the spot, but I’m glad to say that I didn’t make incorrect change or undersell anything. I had a really good time interacting with everyone. It was nice to talk to the customers, sharing recipes and answering questions.

As the new girl, when things slowed down after 10:00 (we’d sold over half our produce by then!) I was the first to go home (there were four of us working a small stand). A half shift on my first day was a good initiation though. I came home bone tired, but it was tired in a good, new way. It definitely wasn’t the comatose exhaustion I feel after a day at the office and a long commute during rush hour. It was a satisfied tired, with muscles feeling like I’d been active and working all morning instead of glued into an office chair. It was a great feeling. So I got home and had some pasta salad for lunch and settled in for a nap (I’ll get used to 4:00 a.m. eventually!).

They invited me back to work additional markets with them, so I guess I didn’t do too bad. I enjoyed it, and I’m glad to have the affirmation that I actually enjoy the work and am capable enough of doing it (though it definitely couldn’t hurt to continue to practice making change). So, it’s just the very beginning, but I’m glad and excited to be on the path to having my own farm one of these years.

I’m very excited to announce the creation of a new blog devoted to another my passions– travelling Historic Route 66! Please be sure to check it out at http://historyinthemaking.wordpress.com. It’s a work in progress, but I hope to add lots of content over the summer. The primary function of this new blog is to showcase photos and trip notes from our two week Route 66 road trip honeymoon back in 2005. But the site will also feature current Route 66 info and goodies. Stay tuned; hope you like it!

Ah books… my recent additions:

 Market What You Grow: A Practical Manual for Home Gardeners Market Gardeners & Small Farmers by Ralph J. Hills

Women’s Life in Colonial Days by Carl Holliday

Underground Guide to San Francisco

Balsamico: A Balsamic Vinegar Cookbook

From Kitchen to Market: Selling Your Gourmet Food Specialty by Stephen F. Hall

A Lost Lady by Willa Cather

Eleanor Rigby by Doulgas Coupland

Moving to a Small Town: A Guidebook for Moving from Urban to Rural America by Wanda Urbanska