The Apartment Farm

Well, it’s officially autumn. It’s definitely time to start thinking about those cold winter days when nothing fresh is coming out of the garden or the farmer’s market. Granted, I should’ve been thinking about this long before now, but alas… I have to admit that city living distracts me sometimes from the bigger picture. And because of that, there’s no way I’m putting up as much as I should. And this leaves me, frankly, in a panic. I’m in the process of developing a healthy fear (a strong word, I know) of over-produced, non-local food. Summer is a time of bounty– farmer’s markets every weekend. Fortunately, our local markets don’t end until November, but the tomato season is definitely on it’s way out. And as any cook knows, tomatoes happen to form the cornerstone of good food. What to do!? Buy up and preserve! Because I am going to do my best to avoid buying little cans of corn-syruped and salted tomato products shipped in from god knows where. And not only tomato products– there are other things I think I still have time to make so I don’t have to buy them. With the limited time I have left in the preserving season, this is what The Apartment Farm plans to put up for winter:

- Freezer Tomato Paste

- Freezer Salsa

- Worchestershire Sauce

- Freezer Pumpkin Butter

- Freezer Pumpkin Puree (for bread and pie)

- Kosher Dill Pickles (if I can find suitable cucumbers at the market- it might be too late)

- Freezer Applesauce

You’ll notice that everything is for the freezer (except the pickles and Worchestershire sauce). I still haven’t spent the money to get my canning setup in place, as I just haven’t had the time and access to canning the amount of produce that would make the expenditure worthwhile (it’s expensive living in the city!). But, I have a firm goal of purchasing everything I need for canning by June of next year, so that I can start canning things as they come in during the next season. I’m hoping we’ll have a proper garden space of our own next season, but only time will tell. At any rate, I have every desire to purchase things to put up next season if that doesn’t come to fruition. I’ve done a fair amount of comparison shopping with this in mind, and I’ve decided to purchase my canning setup from Lehman’s. It’s affordable, and it’s from a company I’m willing to support. They’re about 365 miles from Chicago in Kidron, OH, which is a little further than the 300 mile radius I consider to be my “local” area, but I make an allowance for Lehman’s because they sell quality items that are impossible to get elsewhere. This is what I hope to have in place for next year:

This is Lehman’s Beginner Home Canning Kit. It includes a 21 1/2 quart canner with rack (holds 7 quart jars), a metal funner, jar lifter, Ball Blue Book of Canning, and 12 Ball quart jars with lids and bands. It costs $58, which I think is reasonable for all that you’re getting. The nice thing about the stockpot is that it can, of course, be used to cooking when you’re done canning for the year. It’s large enough to do up stocks, stews, soups, etc. I also plan to get a lid sterilizing rack:

This will make the process infinitely easier– no burnt fingers lifting lids out of hot water. I’d also like to get a food dehydrator to make jerkies, dried tomatoes, fruit leathers and such.

Tomato paste is indispensable in any kitchen. You can use it in soups and stews, casseroles and roasts and as a base for pasta and pizza sauces. There’s really little reason to purchase pre-made tomato paste with all of its unwanted additives (such as high fructose corn syrup and added salt) when it’s so simple to make it yourself. The recipe I use is from the bible of home preserving Stocking Up III and the only “special” equipment you’ll need are an 8 quart stockpot and a food mill. This is a Saturday project– the tomato paste will have to thicken over several hours, so it’s a good day to be in the kitchen doing other things, like you’re weekly baking or putting up other preserves. This recipe makes one and a half pints of paste.

15 pounds of tomatoes

3/4 cup cider vinegar

1.) Peel the tomatoes by dropping them into a pot of boiling water for a minute. Let them cool to the touch, then rub off their skins.

2.) Chop the tomatoes, then bring them to a boil in the stockpot. Cook uncovered for one hour.

3.) Put tomatoes through the food mill, discarding seeds and any remaining skin. Put the tomatoes and juice back into the stockpot, and bring to a boil. Boil until the pulp is thick and stays on a spoon (about six hours). Stir occasionally to prevent it from sticking.

4.) Stir in the vinegar, and remove from heat.

5.) When the tomatoes are cool, spoon them into ice cube trays and freeze. When frozen, transfer the cubes to an airtight freezer container.

It seems like there are few meals that can be had these days for under $5, but Tuna Noodle Casserole is one of them. On top of that, it’s tasty, quick to prepare and if you have any left over, makes a great work or school lunch as it can be eaten at room temperature or warmed.

1 box of elbow macaroni

1 can of tuna

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup of soymilk

1 cup of chicken stock

2 tablespoons parsley

salt and pepper

1.) Cook the elbow macaroni in salted water until just tender (about 5 minutes). Drain and set aside.

2.) Brown the flour in the butter, and stir in the soy milk and chicken stock. Continue stirring until just thickened. Stir in tuna and warm through. Add parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

3.) Stir in macaroni and toss to coat. Serve hot.

Well, it may not feel like fall, but there’s nothing better this time of year than a good roasted chicken with root vegetables. The honey in this recipes keeps the chicken succulent, and gives it a nice carmelized, crispy skin. The drippings off the bird give the vegetables a subtley sweet, complexly rich flavor– the perfect combination.

1 roasting chicken (organic and free-range/pastured)

2 large potatoes, cubed

2 carrots, largely diced

half a red onion, largely diced

2 celery stalks, largely diced

1 cup of water

1 cup of riesling

1 cup of honey

3 tablespoons oregano

3 tablespoons thyme

salt and pepper

1.) Spread the veggies in the bottom of a roasting pan. Season with oregano, thyme, salt and pepper.

2.) Remove the innards from the chicken and cut the wing tips off. Reserve for making stock (can be frozen until ready to use). Put the chicken into a v-rack that is set on top of the vegetables. If you don’t have a v-rack, just put the chicken on top of the veggies, though the skin won’t get quite as crispy this way.

3. ) Mix the water, riesling and honey together in a large measuring cup. Pour about a quarter cup over the chicken, then season the chicken with salt and pepper.

4.) Roast the chicken at 350 for 45 minutes, then increase the heat for 425 for another 30-40 minutes. Baste the chicken periodically with the remaining honey mixture.

5.) Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before carving, then serve with the roasted vegetables.

Don’t forget to use the chicken carcass (along with the reserved innards and wing tips) to make home made stock. As mentioned, if you are not making stock at the same time you are roasting the chicken, they can be frozen until ready to use. Also, feel free to substitute any root vegetables you like into this dish– parsnips, celery root, turnips, etc. would all be delicious.

Mmmm, tapas. One of our favorite types of cuisine, husband and I decided to put together an impromptu tapas dinner this evening with farm-fresh ingredients he picked up at the Daley Plaza downtown farmer’s market on his lunch hour today.

We had bacon-wrapped dates (fantastic– salty and sweet/crunchy and smooth), roasted sweet peppers with sardines (good, but it needed something more than the olive oil, salt and pepper we tossed it with), tomato bread (one of my favorite things in the world to eat– see the recipe below) with pickled asparagus (Stover’s “Fire Stix”) and garlic-stuffed green olives, tomato-basil rice and… edamame. Okay, so I know edamame isn’t tapas food, but I had a craving! And we’re proud to say that everything (save the beer) on our dinner table tonight was organic, and a decent portion of it was local (the peppers, tomatoes and asparagus). It was so good, I’m glad we have a few (though not much!) leftovers for work lunches tomorrow. The tomato bread is so simple to throw together, and if you have some proscuitto, definitely serve it with the tomato bread– it goes amazingly well together.

Tomato Bread Tapas

4-6 slices of your favorite bread, toasted and quartered into triangles

1 pint of cherry tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

small capers (optional)

1.) Dice half of the cherry tomatoes very finely, then put them through a food mill to puree slightly. We actually did ours in a blender since I got rid of my old food mill (it was in awful condition and I need an upgrade) and that made our puree too liquidy. You want to keep some texture, and a food mill will do that for you.

2.) Dice the other half of the cherry tomatoes into slightly larger pieces, and add these to the puree. It will give a nice textural contrast to the smoother pureed tomatoes.

3.) Dice the garlic and stir it in.

4.) Stir in the olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

5.) Serve on the toast points, and top with capers if you wish. Be careful not to assemble them to far in advance of serving as you don’t want the bread to become soggy.

All in all, this meal took less than 30 minutes to prepare (even with cooking the rice, roasting the peppers ourselves, etc.) and we had a good time while we did it together. And it tasted good! So, happy eating!