The Apartment Farm

We had a nice low-key Halloween at Apartment Farm again this year. We had pumpkin ale pot roast with root veggies for dinner (cooked in the crockpot all day) and chocolate chip muffins, garlic and red pepper spiced pumpkin seeds and cinnamon sugar pastry stars for dessert. I also baked a small pumpkin pie, but it didn’t turn out right– the crust and consistency were perfect, but flavor was lacking. I used my home-made pumpkin puree, and I’m still perfecting the recipe. I’ll have another go at it before Thanksgiving, and hopefully I’ll get it right. After dinner, we carved tiny pie pumpkins together, as is our custom. We usually do larger jack-o-lanterns, but we forget to get them at our last farmer’s market, so we had to settle with the pie pumpkins we found at the supermarket last night. But they turned out cute!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday!

Autumn brings a flurry of activity at Apartment Farm– days are shorter and the evenings are cool, so I’m much more inclined to occupy my time indoors, within close reach of a cup of tea. This is what’s keeping me busy lately:

- knitting a scarf for husband

- crocheting potholders for myself

- sewing felt play food for my niece’s Christmas gift

- planning next year’s garden

- planning next year’s preserving

- drying gourds

- preserving (more frozen cider, pumpkin puree, and applesauce)

- making bath salts (for me) and hand-milled soaps (for Christmas gifts)

- assembling jar gifts (for Christmas gifts)

I spent most of the weekend at my sisters house, but I still managed to find some time Sunday afternoon to do a little preserving. I made another tray of tomato paste (using the tomatoes meant for canning– my awful half-busted electric apartment stove cannot support the weight of my water bath canner!!). I also froze some apple cider to drink and use in cooking over the winter. So the freezer is slowly getting full of good things to eat this winter. I’d like to do up some cookies and mini bread loaves for the freezer this week- perhaps one batch per evening this week? If you’re interested in freezing cider, tomato paste, pumpkin puree, etc. remember that the average ice cube tray holds two tablespoons per well, and the average muffin tin holds a half cup per well. Once frozen, pop out the “cubes” and store them in freezer bags.

I have to credit my sister for giving me the idea and the recipe for this one. But the assembly instructions are all my own.

3 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 12 ounce bottle of beer (Any type works, but Guinness and Pumpkin Ale are great)

1 quart-sized zip-top bag
1 recipe card
1 paper lunch bag
1 blank sticker label
decorative scissors
1 loaf pan

To Assemble for Gift:
Mix dry ingredients together in a quart-sized plastic zip-top bag. Use the decorative scissors to cut a nice edge along the top of the paper bag. Either draw or use your computer to create a sticker label for the bag, and affix to front. Put the bagged mix inside the paper bag and seal the top closed (you can use a sticker, ribbon, colored staples, etc.). Write baking instructions on the recipe card, and affix to bag. Nestle the bagged mix and the bottle of beer into a nice loaf pan, and it’s ready for gift-giving!

Baking Instructions:
1.) Mix the dry ingredients with the bottle of beer. Stir until well combined.
2.) Pour the batter into an ungreased loaf pan, gently smoothing to the top of the batter with a spatula or spoon.
3.) Bake in a 400 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.

One of my favorite local resources is the Illinois Cooperative Extension. Every state has one, and it’s a great resource for gardening, farming, cooking and other topics. And they’ve got some great pages up for fall that are worth checking out:

Pumpkins & More

Apples & More

The Miracle of Fall

Thanksgiving- one of the most anticipated meals of the year. We’re having a decent-sized gathering this year- eight plus a toddler. I want to do something extra special this year, and I want to make sure this meal conforms to our values. Naturally, everything will be organic, and we’re going a step further by trying to serve as many heirloom and heritage foods as possible. Our turkey will be a heritage breed- Bourbon Red, grown and raised right here in Illinois. I’m trying to find a local producer of Berkshire pigs for our ham. I’ve got Illinois-grown chestnuts for the stuffing, as well as an heirloom Kubota pumpkin for the pumpkin pies. An interesting tidbit about the Kubota– it’s a variety originally grown by the Native Americans that once populated this region. I’m still trying to source heirloom/heritage ingredients for the remaining dishes, but so far I feel really great about how our meal is developing. Here is the “official” menu:

- Honey Riesling Bourbon Red Turkey (Caveny Farm)

- Honey Ham with Cloves (I’m trying to locate a locally-raised Berkshire ham)

- Garlic Mashed Kennebec Potatoes (Green Acres Farm) with Truffle Oil

- Wilted Black Russian Kale (Green Acres Farm) with Shallots and Balsamic Drizzle

- Fire-Roasted Georgia Jet Sweet Potatoes (Henry’s Farm)

- Illinois Chestnut Stuffing

- Egg Noodles in Home-Made Chicken Stock

- Heirloom Kubota Pumpkin Pie (Henry’s Farm)

- Cranberry Sauce (Wisconsin Cranberries)

- Ligonberry Preserves

- Norwegian Almond Cake

The lingonberry preserves and almond cake are in regard to my husband’s Norwegian heritage- it’s important to both of us to honor that at this meal. And hand-made egg noodles are in regard to my heritage- we always had them on the holiday table growing up. I’m having so much fun planning, that I can’t wait to start cooking! Stay tuned for the prep list to see how Apartment Farms puts it all together!

There’s nothing sweeter than sharing a fantastic meal with someone you love. Husband and I both enjoy cooking (and eating), and recently we shared two excellent meals together. The first evening we decided to try something new and do venison loin chops. We’ve both had venison jerky before, but we’d never tried it as an entree. So we prepared the venison very simply– we seared it well on the stovetop, then put it in the oven to finish cooking through. Then we prepared a simple red wine reduction with shallots to serve on top of it. Roasted rosemary potatoes were served on the side. It plated up beautifully and tasted extraordinary!

The second special meal we prepared with rigotoni with a classic bolognese sauce– it was so tasty, and made such a large batch that we had enough sauce for dinner, two lunches and some for the freezer. And there’s nothing better than bolognese!

We went to our last outdoor farmer’s market this weekend. The actual last market day is on Novemeber 3rd, but we will be out of town, so this weekend was the weekend for us to stock up– and stock up we did!

 All told, we got 15 pounds of honey, half a gallon of maple syprup, and 15 jars of pickles, jams and preserves to see us through the winter months. We’ll see if we can make it last! The Kubota pumpkin and the chestnuts are for Thanksgiving, the tomatoes are for pasta sauce and salsa, the apples for pie, and the leeks, potatoes, broccoli, lettuce, kale and shallots are for meals for the next couple of weeks. I picked up the two smaller pie pumpkins for decoration on our Thanksgiving table, and I plan to turn them into pumpkin puree after the fact. We had fun stocking up and are certainly looking forward to good eating!

Fall is the perfect time for hearty soups and stews, and there’s nothing easier than a simple beef stew. And it’s tasty!

1 1/2 pounds of cubed beef stew meat

2 large shallots, diced

4 tablespoons butter

6 ounces tomato paste

4 tablesoons herbs de provence

4 cups beef stock

1 cup red wine

2 cups water

3 potatoes, diced

2 carrots, diced

salt and pepper

cooked macaroni (optional)

1.) Saute the shallot in the butter until just translucent.

2.) Add the beef, and brown well.

3.) Add the tomato paste and herbs de provence and cook for a few minutes.

4.) Add the stock, wine and water. Bring to a simmer.

5.) Add the carrots and potatoes. Cook until everything is just tender, 20-25 minutes.

6. ) Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you are using the cooked macaroni, add it now and heat through.

This is so good with a crusty French bread and the rest of the bottle of wine!

The links section has been reorganized so you can find stuff you want to check out more easily– instead of the old “Links”, you’ll now find sections for “Good Reads - Food”, “Good Reads - Farming & Gardening”, “Good Reads - Other” and “Forums”. Happy navigating!