Well, I finally placed my seed order today! I was able to get everything I wanted except for the peas and potatoes – they were actually sold out! But in a few weeks I’ll be seed starting officially for 2008. But I plan to kick off the season tonight by starting some garlic from the few cloves remaining from what we purchased at the Dane County Winter market last November and a few leftover seeds from last year. I am so looking forward to the green of sprintime…
Archive for February, 2008
Apartment Farm 2008 To-Do List
I’m sure I’ll add to this list as the year progresses, but this is what I’m starting with:
- Make my own pancetta.
- Convert an ‘old-fashioned’ mailbox into a bread box.
- Make six months worth of soy tealight and jar candles.
- Purchase a chest freezer (finally!) and fill it with a beef quarter, a side of pork, 2 turkeys and several chickens.
- Can jams, jellies, and tomatoes.
- Purchase a meat grinder and sausage stuffer.
- Join a foraging/wild foods group.
- Learn to knit a hat (aka learn to knit something that isn’t a square or rectangle).
- Make goat’s milk soap.
- Learn homebrewing (should I start with beer or wine?)
- Perfect my chicken and beef stock recipes, and freeze in quantity.
- Master basic bread baking (sandwich loaves as well as French bread).
- Purchase a food dehydrator and make dried tomatoes, meat jerkies and fruit leathers.
- Sew a few tote bags (because you can never have too many, and also for gifts!).
- Start embroidery (I have all the supplies I need – what am I waiting for!); redwork kitchen towels (some for me, some for gifts) are on the agenda for this year.
- Make rolled beeswax candles (for the ubiquitous gift box).
February Book Additions
Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn
This Common Ground: Seasons on an Organic Farm by Scott Chaskey
Abundantly Wild: Collecting & Cooking Wild Edibles in the Upper Midwest by Teresa Marrone
Breweries of Wisconsin by Jerry Apps
Best of Good Reads – Farming & Gardening
Favorite posts from farming and gardening blogs I love:
City Bees is talking about getting started with beekeeping.
Dirt is talking about chicken-friendly plants.
Farmgirl Fare is showing off blue skies.
Growing Food is Power is reminding us to act out about NAIS.
Guerrilla Gardening is getting busy this year!
Half Acre Homestead has baby bunnies!
I Heart Farms is talking about the battle for raw milk.
Mini Farm Homestead is starting seeds indoors.
Mulch is educating us about the 2007 Farm Bill.
My Tiny Plot gives us 10 things to do in February.
Wolfie & the Sneak is getting recharged before the gardening season.
Plant in a Pot mentions some cheap container ideas.
Playing in the Dirt is dreaming about planning the spring garden.
Reading Dirt ate a 100-foot meal.
The Garden Plog recalls the summer garlic harvest.
Tiny Farm is lettuce watching!
Tiny Farm Gear is showing us how to make a peat pot maker.
To Farm Again talks about how to find and finance a farm.
Best of Good Reads – Food
Good stuff from my favorite food blogs:
Baking Delights is musing about red velvet cake.
Cogito Ergo Creo is talking about excellent beer.
Eat Local Challenge is talking about the ethics of local celery.
FoodShed Planet is talking about being transformed by brussels sprouts.
Ruhlman is talking about the art of “doneness”.
Sustainable Food Blog is talking about sustainable food gifting. (scroll down; this page has an awkward header)
Taste the Seasons is roasting chiles.
The Ethicurean is talking about the latest conventional beef recall.
The Old Foodie now has a recipe archive.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks is making a killer steak sandwhich.
The Seasonal Cook is back to blogging and learning to cook for someone with a food disorder.
The Slow Cook is getting fresh goods from the garden in February.
Toast is talking about mushrooms.
Best of Good Reads – Other
As you all know, I read a lot of blogs, so it’s hard to keep up with them all sometimes. But on my last day off before my mini-vacation ends, I’m catching up on all of the goings-on. So I thought I’d share with you all some of my favorite posts from the sites I love the best.
Jane’s Apron is repurposing a Craiglist find - very cool!
Come the Revolution is spreading the word about Smart Cars - I love the Smart Car and I’m glad it’s finally here in the States! If you’re going to own a car, do it responsibly and as eco-friendly as you can.
Free Range Living is making graham crackers - DIY is great!
Homespun Living is showing off the laundry room - if I had a room like that I’d actually do the laundry, instead of encouraging husband to!
Living Small is pruning the fruit trees - reminding us that there is gardening to do, even in the winter.
Not Martha is making bacon curls - which I just think is cool.
Small Space Style is showing off open shelving in the kitchen - yes, I’m anti-cabinet!
The Cottage Nest is highlighting charming Valentine’s decor - there’s plenty of time to make some for next year!
This Vintage Chica is talking about happy things - pay special attention to the awesome faux bois lunchbags she bought on Etsy and the adorable pic of her son all spiffed up.
Tie One On is sharing free apron patterns - free is great and aprons are awesome!
Populuxe is returning to blogland - welcome back in advance!
I Ache For You is sharing a pic - I think it looks better in person 
February Greetings
Has it really been two weeks since I last posted here? How neglectful of me! So much has been going on lately. We just got back from a nice long weekend in Door County, WI. We stayed at the Scandinavian Lodge in Sister Bay, which for the most part, was a really good experience. We stayed in a studio suite, which had an electric fireplace, in-room jacuzzi, and kitchenette which contained a mini fridge, microwave, and coffee maker. We decided to get the “Romantic Getaway” package, which included a slightly discounted rate and a welcome basket containing a Door County fruit wine, candles, dark chocolate covered cherries (which we could eat!), bath salts, and a $30 gift card to Al Johnson’s (which was nicely kitchsy, but only mediocre – see my husband’s detailed Yelp review here). Also notice the review he wrote for the Inn at Kristofer’s which was, quite simply, the best meal we’ve ever eaten at a restaurant. It rivals the best restaurants here in Chicago, and if you ever have occassion to be in Door County, it’s a must-stop. It’s definitely a splurge, but if you’ve got it in your budget don’t miss it. The rest of the weekend we spent enjoying some nice country drives (the scenery there is phenomenal), some light shopping (many places are closed during the winter months – do your homework before going in the off-season), and relaxing at the lodge – in additional to the in-room jacuzzi, they also have a pool, whirlpool, sauna, game room, and fitness center. And cable tv! I admit, I indulged in HGTV and the Food Channel a bit too much!
In other news, I still need to get my seed order in (it’s getting late, how does time always get away from me!?) and I’m excited about trying my first recipe out of the The French Laundry Cookbook soon – we’ve chosen “Fish & Chips” as our inaugeral recipe – it’s red mullet with garlic chips. Step one will be finding out if I can even get red mullet – I don’t recall seeing at the grocer, but I don’t spend a lot of time in the fishmarket section of the store, so we’ll see. And who knew it’s a leap year this year? 29 days this month, isn’t that crazy? I feel like I should do something special to celebrate this extra day in the year, though I don’t know what. A special dinner perhaps? Crafting has been a little slow lately, but I just purchased some new red wool yarn to make a scarf for myself after husband loved the one I made for him. And the wedding/honeymoon album project is coming along – I’ve got one page done! And I picked up some new scrapbook papers this weekend to keep the project moving along. That’s all in recent news, stay tuned for more goodness!
Home Made Chocolate Lava Cakes
Mmmm, what’s better than chocolate lava cake? The nice thing about this recipe is that it’s versatile– you can make it in either a large bundt cake pan, or in individual cake or muffin tins. You can bake it as a lava cake- with a warm, gooey center, or if you prefer a traditional chocolate cake, you bake it longer as well.
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups butter
6 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
1.) Cream sugar and butter, then add eggs one at a time until well combined.
2.) Stir in powdered sugar.
3.) Add flour and cocoa.
4.) Pour into buttered and floured pan. It’s important to have a buttered and floured pan, even if you are using nonstick bakeware– these cakes are delicate and need the extra help to come out of the pan cleanly.
5.) For a large bundt cake (which will serve 20- perfect for a potluck!) bake the cake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. For individual cakes (6 mini-bundt or 12 muffin) bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. For the individual cakes, it’s okay if the top centers look a little under-done. Both types of cakes need to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 45 minutes (to let the insides set slightly) before unmolding.
You can serve these plain, but you can also sift powered sugar over the top, serve with thinned raspberry jam (warm it on the stovetop with a little water to thin it slightly into a glaze) or make a simple chocolate glaze by mixing 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa and 2-3 tablespoons of soymilk or water to spoon over the top.
Fruit Preserves Demystified
Most of us know the difference between jams and jellies- jams are pulpy while jellies are clear. But what about the rest of it– conserves, marmalades, chutneys, etc.? There are a wide variety of preserves to keep track of, and in searching for a concrete definition I came across a very helpful post on the Cooking Light message boards:
Difference between jam vs. jelly vs. preserves, etc.
I got an email from “thenibble.com” and it had this handy refernce that I thought I’d share:
The difference among these spreads is largely one of consistency, and for the first three, standards are established by the Food and Drug Administration so consumers will know what they’re buying.
Jelly is a clear, bright product. It is generally made by cooking fruit juice and sugar with pectin as a jelling agent and lemon juice as an acid to maintain a consistent texture. Jelly is firm and will hold its shape (it “shakes”). Generally, jelly contains no pieces of fruit, although specialty jellies, like pepper jelly, may include pieces of jalapeño or other pepper.
Jam is made from crushed or chopped fruit cooked with sugar, and often pectin and lemon juice. Jam can be a purée of fruit or have a soft pulp, but it does not contain chunks of fruit.
Preserves are fruit cooked with sugar to the point where large chunks of fruit or whole fruit, such as berries, are suspended in a syrup base. The texture of preserves is not smooth like jelly or jam.
Marmalade is a soft jelly, often citrus-based, that includes both the flesh and peel of the fruit suspended throughout the jelly base. The bitterness of the peel offsets the sweetness of the jelly.
Conserve is a mixture of more than one fruit, often with added nuts and raisins, that is cooked until it becomes thick. It is used as a spread for breads, pastries and meats, and in the latter use is closest to chutney.
Chutney is a spiced condiment of Indian origin (chatni is the Hindi word for strongly spiced) made of fruit or vegetables. It is typically served as an accompaniment to food, not as a spread. The spice level can range from mild to hot, and the consistency from a fine relish to a preserve or conserve. Fruit chutney consists of chopped fruit, vinegar, spices and sugar cooked into a chunky sweet-tart-spicy mix: according to one explanation, it “blurs the Western distinction between preserves and pickles.”
Fruit Butter, such as apple butter or prune butter, is fruit purée or pulp combined with sugar, lemon juice and spices, slowly cooked down to a smooth consistency. The “butter” refers to its spreadability: there is no actual butter in the product.
Fruit Curd is a creamy spread made with sugar, eggs and butter, generally flavored with citrus juice and zest.
Fruit Spread is generally a reduced-calorie product made with fruit juice concentrate and low-calorie sweeteners replacing all or part of the sugar.
The post can be found in it’s original form here.
