The Apartment Farm

The forum is now up and running! It’s still in the baby stage, but it’s got all the topics you like to read about here – cooking, crafting, farming/gardening, library and more. Feel free to register (it’s free of course!) and contribute to the existing topics, or create your own new ones.

I just thought it would be great to expand the Apartment Farm community and have a place where we can share things more directly. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Apartment Farm Forum

I fixed the text size finally – sorry about that! Writing in Word and pasting it here can be tricky sometimes.

I’ve been working like crazy since back from vacation this week. Stay tuned for vacation stories!

I’ve got four pints of sweet peppers preserved in olive oil in the panty, and I hope to do mushrooms in oil and tomato paste this weekend over the holiday.

I’ve also been learning a bit about wine, so I’ll share my new-found knowledge with you all soon as well.

It’s been a long hot summer. The work week goes by in a blur – 10 hours commuting/working then home for a simple dinner (pasta salad, burgers or pizza on the grill, barbecued chicken and potato salad, roasted sweet corn with everything) with a glass of wine or beer. Or a tall glass of water. It’s so hot you don’t want to do anything at all; I usually stretch out on the couch with a book (which I’ve been devouring at an alarming rate). Sometimes we have a walk out to the lake. I tend the herbs – several thymes and basils, parsley, oregano, rosemary, lemon verbena, and the bay tree. The red kalanchoe’s splash of color thrives even when I forget to water it. There is a giant ball jar of sun tea constantly working in the window. The little red fan blows earnestly from the windowsill, crowded out by plant pots. The breeze, when we can catch it, feels wonderful. Sometimes in the evenings, I’ll light up the votives that are nestled in milk glass across the apartment and our conversation will linger over the dinner table as we bask in their warm glow. The sky turns to an inky black and we listen to the night sounds of the city.

The weekends are a delightful rush to enjoy all of our free time. We’re up by seven on Saturdays to run up the farmer’s market – an ordeal due to construction on the train tracks north of us, but we wouldn’t skip it for the world. The smell of day lilies and yarrow, watermelon and tomatoes perfume the air. We smile and chat with our favorite vendors, gushing over the dinners planned and the surprises we find (like the late-season morels from a forest fire burn up in Michigan or the first peaches that were so ripe we nestled them like eggs all the way home). We delight in the novel – like the polite, eager eight year old boy who “rang me up” two weeks ago, running the table like an old pro. The folk musicians are a nice soundtrack to the market – so far this summer we’ve had a quartet singing Appalachian folk songs, an accordionist, and a harpist. Sometimes there will be a cooking demonstration, and there are always free samples – the guaranteed marketing trick that most of the vendors employ. It’s fun to notice how the stands and the farmers evolve each season – especially the shy first-timers who are still learning the ropes. And it seems like everyone has raised the bar this season – more signage, more color, more shade, better organization, well-marked prices and provenances and tons of helpers eager to bag you up.

After the market, I’ll preserve if I’ve bought anything in abundance – strawberry and blueberry jam so far this year, and we’ll have a fresh lunch of whatever looks the best of what we’ve hauled home. We always grill out on the weekends. Everything tastes better over a wood fire, and it’s nice to sit outside and enjoy the weather, even if we are downstairs in the parking lot. More laziness – books, hobbies (I’m working on a red-work sampler currently). Maybe we’ll head out and see what we can find at the thrift stores, or the used book places. Sundays we always have a nice spread for brunch, allowing ourselves to sleep in until eight or even almost nine. There will be pancakes with fresh blueberries or strawberries or maple syrup, blackberries or red raspberries for nibbling, and center-cut bacon with scrambled eggs, sometimes with some fresh green onion mixed in. If I’m feeling particularly insane and it’s cool enough to heat up the kitchen, maybe some muffins will make an appearance as well. I usually have tea and my husband tends to forgo hot coffee for plain old water in the summertime. We take an hour to eat. Then we’ll listen to a little PBS in the background (I like the cooking shows and Rick Steves) as we plan our projects for the afternoon – there is always laundry, and usually a “big” project like organizing the bookshelves or the office area, or sorting through the massive piles of magazines and catalogs I let accumulate every few months.

I’m getting to the point where I’m looking forward to autumn. The early mornings and evenings are ever so slightly cooler, though not yet crisp. Fall is my favorite season, so I know I’m jumping the gun a little bit. But I can’t wait for sweaters and the swish of walking through a kaleidoscope of falling leaves, and pumpkins and gourds piled up everywhere you look. And the fall foods – I realized this week when I passed up cherry tomatoes at the market that my tastes were starting to change. I want crock-pot stews and roasted meats. Hearty beer and deep burgundy wines. Crunchy apples and pumpkin bread.

I also can’t wait to sleep under the stars and cook over a campfire. In a few weeks we’re spending three days camping at Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin for our anniversary, then capping our trip with two days in Mt. Horeb. Outdoor living and small town life for five days – the perfect trip to close the summer with.

A lazy summer moving into autumn… it’s been a good year so far.

Taza Stone Ground Organic Chocolate – The concept of stone ground chocolate is an ancient one, though not one that most eaters get to experience today. Traditionally, the way to process cocoa pods was to grind them through stone burrs. Most mass-produced chocolate is not processed this way, so the texture of the finished bar is completely smooth. While a smooth texture can be wonderful, the novelty of texture in a chocolate bar should not be underrated. And while Taza bars have a delightful mouth feel, they also have an incredible flavor profile. Taza’s founders explain why their chocolate is so unique in the most succinct way: “1. We keep the bean in the bar – By minimally processing our chocolate, we are able to maintain all of the incredible flavors that are inherent in cacao beans. A great range of fruity and nutty flavors can be found in every bean and in every one of our chocolate bars .2. This chocolate is food, not candy – Taza Chocolate’s unique texture comes from our antique Mexican stone mills. Each millstone is hand dressed to bring out the maximum flavor potential from the cacao beans giving our chocolate the appeal of real food, not just candy. 3. Full Flavor Roasting – The light color of Taza chocolate is indicative of our gentle roasting and high quality beans. Our roasting process preserves the beans natural flavor and healthful properties.” Taza also operates on principles you can feel good about – they source their cocoa beans from fair trade small farm cooperatives in line with Slow Food sourcing principles, are committed to organic sustainability and are source verifiable. This is a chocolate bar meant to be savored—one or two squares are sufficient for a serving size because of the rich flavor and filling nature of the bar. While fantastic alone, the bars pair nicely with red wine or espresso – two squares and a glass of cabernet recently made a nice dessert for me one evening while I watched the sun set outside my window. The company is located in Somerville, MA and is the only artisinal producer of stone ground chocolate in the United States. While not exactly located in my Chicagoland food shed, this is a sustainable producer I feel good about supporting on an occasional basis for my chocolate treat. I prefer the 60% Dark bar, but they also offer 70% and 80% Dark. I’m lucky enough that my locally-owned grocer carries it, but you can also order online at www.tazachocolate.com Oh – and it’s worth mentioning – if you store your chocolate in the refrigerator so that it doesn’t melt in the hot summer weather, let it come up to room temperature before serving – you’ll appreciate the texture and flavor more if it’s not thoroughly chilled.

Charcuterie by Brian Polcyn – As far as meats are concerned, there is nothing better than the art of charcuterie – traditionally limited to pork preservation, but more widely accepted as the preservation of meat in general. If you’re looking for a beginner to advanced primer on creating your own sausages, terrines, confits, hams, etc., Charcuterie is the guide you’re looking for. It’s a lovely hard cover book with detailed, easy to understand instructions and diagrams. Personally, I’m looking forward to making my own pancetta, bacon and boudin noir this fall on the instructions found within.

Tupelo Honey – Mmmm- as regular readers know, I’m a honey addict. The complexity of flavor and the health benefits are the two main reasons I prefer honey to refined sugars. But I’m sure a lot of you think honey is just honey – and I used to as well. But there are many different varieties that can be had – orange blossom honey, lavender honey, and tupelo honey are just a few of the varieties available. Honey created from one type of blossom is created when hives are placed within reach of a primary type of flower at the right time of year – in a field of lavender or a grove of tupelo trees, for example. Tupelo honey is very special in that the blossoms of the tupelo gum tree are only in bloom for about a week or two every year, and they grow only in the bayou areas of the American south. But the flavor of this honey is really what makes it special. This will sound ridiculous, but tupelo honey tastes like spun gold. It’s rich yet light, with a spicy undertone that sparkles on your tongue. I like it in my tea, but it would truly shine spread on a piece of home made toast.

French Saveur – I’m just as committed to the French-language version as to the English-language edition. The photography is stunning, the articles are comprehensive and interesting and the recipes are solid. A nice feature is that the main recipes featured in each issue are printed on tear-out recipe cards at the back of the magazine, with photographs of the finished dish. If you’re fluent in French you’ll jump right out of the gate and into the kitchen, and if you’re (re)learning your French, this magazine will assist you in a practical way – just note that the measurements are in the metric system (so it will help you learn that as you go to!). I get my copies once a month at our local foreign-language bookstores, but I’ve also seen it on newsstands at places like Barnes & Noble as well.

Piedmontese Beef – Summer is the season of burgers on the grill, and when I have a burger, I want it to have serious beef flavor – we’ve all had burgers that don’t taste like anything, and we end up at the close of our meal unsatisfied and disappointed. With a Piedmontese burger, your palate will end up delighted – there’s no better way to describe it other than to say that it tastes like beef and it’s tender and lean. It’s not a meat dripping with tasteless fat. This breed of beef originally hails from the alpine region of Piedmont, Italy and was introduced to the United States back in the 1980s. It cooks up quick while at the same time being hard to overcook – a burger left on the grill a few minutes longer than it should be will still end up juicy and tender, never dry. I purchase mine at the Evanston farmer’s market from Heartland Meats. In addition to burger patties (we can purchase 3 for $6.00; they also sell four-packs), you can buy several cuts of steak, roasts, ribs and stew/stir fry meat as well as “exotic” items such as tongue, liver, ox tail and soup bones. If you can’t make it up to the market, check out Heartland’s website at www.heartlandmeats.com (where you can order online). And Chicago locals will be interested to know that the restaurants Flying Saucer, Rodan, Ida’s and Wishbone feature Heartland Meats on their menus!

Strawberry Pots – Have I mentioned this one before? Yes probably, but it’s worth mentioning again. Strawberry pots are fantastic for strawberries, and even better for herbs. It’s the way I grow my kitchen herbs – it’s compact in the windowsill and they really thrive – I’ve currently got rosemary, basil, lemon thyme and English thyme in mine. It would be equally fetching planted with flowers or succulents as well. And strawberry pots lend themselves well to theme plantings – medicinal herbs, a collection of thymes, plants with red flowers or a variety of different strawberries. If you’ve only got room in your garden or window or office for one planter, maximize your planting space with a strawberry pot – they range in size from a cute one-foot-tall model (like the one I have) to gargantuan models that take a bevy of friends to move across the patio.

Armchair Travel – there is nothing better than donning a backpack and hitting the road. Diner food on road trips, bistros in Europe, s’mores on a campfire… ah, the delights of travel. Unfortunately, money and time are not in overt abundance in my life, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the delights the world has to offer. Planning is half the fun, and sitting down with a library of travel guides to outline a fantasy trip allow the grounded traveler stuck inside us to find an outlet. Suddenly the road trip down Highway 1 on the West Coast or that 2 month backpacking tour of Western Europe can come to fruition right before your eyes. And it’s fun to challenge yourself with a budget – what would you splurge on if you only had a $1000 to hit the road with? And call me a dork (otherwise known as obsessive compulsive or anal retentive), but writing down a packing list has it highlights as well. And once you get your fill planning your own forays into the world, there’s always reading up on the adventures and misadventures of others – there are no shortage of travel narratives and memoirs in your local bookstore. One of my personal favorites is No Touch Monkey by Ayun Halliday. It’ll have you cracking up with stories that are too outrageous to possibly be made up two pages in.

The weather has been trying recently. Steamy, sunny mornings and what amount to monsoon rains in the afternoon. But it’s been a good summer nonetheless. One Saturday morning at the beginning of the summer we went to the farmer’s market as usual and we were shocked at the abundance. Out of nowhere, everything is harvestable. We came home with five pounds of Russian Banana fingerling potatoes, Russian kale, a pint of strawberries (love those June-bearing varieties!), a bunch of red scallions, a bag of Mesclun mix, three Piedmontese beef patties, and even a pint of greenhouse cherry tomatoes! All of the stands were packed – every kind of lettuce and green, herbs, onions, zucchini, asparagus, mushrooms… I really love summer. We had some of the Mesclun and cherry tomatoes in our first proper pasta salad of the season for lunch and it was good. Then for dinner we had leftover pasta salad and grilled the beef patties on our portable grill down in the parking lot. There is nothing like grass-fed Piedmontese beef – it tastes like what beef should taste like, and it stays juicy and firm no matter how you cook it. Grilled, it needs no additional flavoring other than a little salt and pepper – it’s truly superb.

On the apartment front, we’ve decided to stay in our current place for another year… I was really looking forward to some outdoor space and a slightly larger kitchen, but alas personal economies can interfere with the best of plans. However, I’m trying to look at the bright side and make the best of things. We’ll be in better financial situation a year from now, and that’s an important goal. In the meantime, I still plan on buying a small chest freezer (to stick in some unobtrusive corner and call it an end table J), and I’m devising plans for putting together my own meat smoker (the home made trash can variety) and preserving as much food as possible. In a few short weeks, we’ll have tomatoes on our hands, and I think I’ve got everything I need to get started canning them up. I’ve got to bring all of my supplies out of the closest and double-check my recipes and I’ll be all set. I just have to think of a good plan for hauling 35 pounds of tomatoes back to the apartment!

The herbs and bay tree are growing quite well. Later this summer I plan on propagating the basil and the two thymes so I can multiply how many plants I have. You can never have two much thyme in my opinion. I never did get around to starting anything else since the plan was to move, but I might put in a few containers of lettuce now that we’re staying. Since it’s gotten so hot, who knows how well it will grow, but we can see.

Not a whole lot of craftiness going on these days. I did make a few soy candles and some bath salts for a friend that needed a gift the other day. I’d like to make some soy candles in canning jars, but I’ve decided to wait until after I’m done with canning for the season. I’m on the lookout on Craigslist and whatnot for free or cheap canning jars, as well as stuff I can use for brewing supplies or my meat smoker. I’ll keep you all posted as to any good finds I come across.

That’s it for now I suppose… the lazy days of summer have arrived. J