The Apartment Farm

I’ve always wished that I was one of those people that had three hours in the morning before work (or no work at all) to have a leisurely morning that included a few cups of high-quality tea or coffee and an elaborately prepared multi-item breakfast – you know, the freshly baked rolls or muffins, omelets made to order with lobster or shrimp and seasonal vegetables, handmade breakfast sausages, just-squeezed juice. But I’m not. To be perfectly honest, I usually crawl out of bed a half hour before I have to leave the house to catch the train. Between showering, dressing, blow drying my hair and applying makeup (so I even look presentable to be in public in the first place) I’m lucky if I have time to grab my lunch (if I was smart enough to pack it the night before- if not, it will be an ATM-funded fast-food nightmare) and bag, that hopefully has the big four already in it – transit card, ATM card, cell phone and keys. And I god help me if I don’t have my book and mp3 player. Every thing else is peripheral. But, I digress. The topic at hand is breakfast.

I used to be a breakfast skipper. Actually, in highschool and my early college days (ah, the nostalgia) I used to down a can of Coca-Cola around 8:00 am and call that breakfast. But somewhere along the line, skipping breakfast lost its luster. I’m hungry when I wake up. My body demands food, and my brain agrees – I actually do want to eat, and preferably before 10:00 am. And recently I discovered a wonderful thing. Warm buttered French bread and an espresso. Filling, caffeinated and the absolute perfect combination. It’s always the simple things, no? The great thing is the bread is made in advance. You can make two loaves on Sunday afternoon, and stored properly, they will stay fresh for 3-4 days (if you don’t eat it all immediately). Espresso takes a few minutes to brew. We start it before the shower. We also pop the bread in the oven to warm at 350 for about 10 minutes, so the butter just melts into it. And if you don’t have a leisurely hour or two to enjoy it, you can certainly be satisfied in five minutes with two slices and a cup. And if I can fit an extra five minutes into my morning, anyone can.

Admittedly, I am not the baker in the family. Now, I can do decent cakes and cookies, but when it comes to bread product, husband reigns supreme. He’s just got a natural knack for it that it’s going to take me a lot of time and effort to learn. This is the basic French loaf recipe that he favors:

Baguettes

1 ¾ cups water

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

1.) Proof the yeast in the water with the salt until the yeast is bubbly (5-10 minutes).

2.) Add the flour and mix until thoroughly combined. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, 10-12 minutes.

3.) Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a towel and set in warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

4.) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, punch down, and divide into two equal portions. Round each piece into a smooth ball, cover with the towel and let rise for another 30 minutes.

5.) Shape each round into a rectangle about 8 inches long on a baking sheet. Cover with a towel and let rise again, for 1 hour.

6.) Preheat oven to 425. Score each loaf 5-7 times with a sharp blade. Brush each baguette lightly with water. Bake for 30 minutes. During the first 5 minutes, baste each loaf with a little more water. When done, they should be golden brown on top and sound hollow when you tap their bottoms. Cool slightly on wire racks before slicing.

Ah, cooking. One of my most ardent passions. In a moment of inspired boredom during my day acting out my office gnome responsibilities recently, I jotted down five three-course menus that I think are worth a mention to you all. For the ones I haven’t cooked, recipes will be forthcoming as soon as I do.

Menu A

Pancetta-wrapped dates with a balsamic vinegar drizzle

Palette de porc a la biere (pork shoulder braised in beer with a bread crumb/Dijon mustard crust)

Vanilla crepes with strawberry filling

Menu B

Salade Lyonnaise with lardons (basically thick center-cut bacon)

Coq au Vin  with wild mushroom couscous

Chocolate mille crepes (crepe cake with chocolate cream filling)

Menu C

Risotto croquettes

Boullabaise

Apple tart with cognac

Menu D

Heirloom cherry tomato salad with basil

Perch buerre blanc

Walnut custard

Menu E

Brussels sprouts with duck confit and a honey mustard vinaigrette

Braised lamb shoulder with rosemary and roasted root vegetables

Chocolate lava cakes

YUM! Food is a beautiful, wonderful thing.

I forgot to mention that a few weeks ago at our first picnic that we saw a red fox! We were sitting on the grass in front of the breakers by the lake, and all of sudden, it charges up through the rocks, barking at a dog that was passing by. It stood its ground and barked at the dog until it passed then scurried back into the rocks. She must have a den down there (which seems like a pretty good location). She was beautiful, still with her thick red winter fur, and just sleek and fearless. All these years in the city seeing nothing bigger than garbage squirrels and we’ve got wildlife right outside our door. Who knew?

Friday night, husband and I made a nice French-inspired meal together, and it turned out pretty good. We did an onion tart, a simple salad with a red-wine vinaigrette and French bread with espresso for dessert. Husband made the French bread, and though it didn’t rise quite as much as he would’ve liked, the flavor and texture were fantastic. The onion tart came out decently, though I’ll do a few things differently next time. We used 5 small red onions and diced them – next time I think leaving them in longer julienne would be better texturally. The onion filling was quite simple – I diced three bacon slices and fried them until just crispy, then added the onions. I seasoned with salt, pepper and thyme and cooked them down for about 10 minutes until they were slightly caramelized and translucent. Next time I’ll let them caramelize more because they still had a little bite to them, instead of being wholly sweet. Still good though. We used a standard pie crust recipe, which we baked blind (without the filling) for about 10 minutes at 400 in the oven. Next time I’ll extend that time to 15-20 minutes just to get it a little more done. After that we added the filling to the crust, reduced the oven to 350 and baked it for another 20 minutes. It came out quite good, and with the variations I just mentioned above, I feel like it will be perfect next time. The salad was simple also – mixed greens and big pieces of center-cut bacon (four slices) fried until just chewy with a red wine vinaigrette. No matter what type of vinegar you use, making vinaigrettes from scratch is simple – it’s just a 3-to-1 ration – 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. So I used 3 tablespoons olive oil to 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Simple and good, yes. So we had the salad and tart with a bottle of red wine for dinner, and had warm buttered French bread and espresso a little later for dessert. Isn’t it delightful how life’s simple pleasures are more often than not sharing a good bite of food with someone fantastic?

Speaking of food, this spring and summer I’m going to take a few cooking classes, to hone my skills and learn new things. The first class I’m going to take (in May) is a knife skills class. I can hold my own with a knife, but I know I could learn to do it more safely and efficiently if I have someone show me. I’m definitely a visual learner. I’m going to do the classes at The Chopping Block. They have a location near my job downtown and a second location in the neighborhood we’re looking to move into this summer, so it’s convenient. They do wine tastings that husband and I would like to go to, and they also have date night classes we’re interested in. In May, there are three that we’d like to go to (although we’re likely only going to do one per month – it can get pricey!) – Slow Food: Roman Cuisine, Tuscan Olive Harvest and Basque in the Food of France. The first two classes are hands on, meaning you get to participate in the cooking, while the last class is demonstration, so you watch the chef prepare the meal and then you get to eat. We’ll probably do Slow Food: Roman Cuisine, because we both know absolutely nothing about it and the menu sounds tasty – bruschetta with veal caponata, veal and spinach-stuffed manicotti with tomato sauce and a ricotta and pine nut tart. Okay, so dairy products aren’t great for us, but you can’t avoid them entirely and just having them every now and again doesn’t wreak too much havoc on our respective systems. I’m excited – I love to cook (as if you didn’t notice) and getting out and doing it amongst others will be fun.

I’m still on my quest to re-learn French – I’m going to do a language lesson with my book and dvd this afternoon! I’ve also joined a Francophile group and am going to start going to their meetings, which are on Wednesdays I think. And I try to buy printed things that are French or bilingual. I was pleasantly surprised to find out the most of my sewing patterns have bilingual French instructions, so I can kill two birds with one stone in that regard. And I found a bookshop that sells foreign language everything, and I’m hooked on the French version of Saveur magazine now. Immersion is the key to success!

It’s chilly again. Actually, it’s downright cold. There’s a rumor circulating that it’s going to snow tonight after raining all day. I can’t deal with more winter. But, as always, the cold does especially put me in the mind to cook. This afternoon for a late lunch, I made a pot of leek and potato soup drizzled with balsamic vinegar. For a late dinner tonight we are having a salad composed of refrigerator leftovers - mixed baby greens, button mushrooms, carrots, sweet peppers, ham cubes, artichoke hearts and capers accompanied by some croissant rolls. I crave the greens after a winter without them! Tomorrow will be a big cooking day though - I’m going to bake like crazy so we have good breakfast food for the work week. Apple cider doughnuts (using my new-old doughnut cutter that I haven’t tried out yet), snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookies and some type of muffin - probably pumpkin spice mini muffins. I love the bite-sized! For dinner tomorrow I plan on making my standard fare pasta bolognese, which I eat with alarming regularity. It’s just so good. And if I get more ambitious than all that, I’ll have more dirty dishes than I know what to do with!

These are excellent for picnics because they’re portable and they’re good both hot and at room temp. And they’re great for either weekday dinners or dinner parties - puff pastry seems to have that effect. They’re one of my favorite things to eat in the whole world.

1 package of frozen puff pastry

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 red onion, diced

1 pound beef, cubed

1 cup beef stock

1/2 cup red wine

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter

1.) Thaw the puff pastry at room temp for an hour.

2.) Cook the onion in the oil until just translucent. Add the beef and brown well.

3.) Add the wine, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

4.) While the beef is simmering, make a beurre manie by smooshing the flour into the butter with a fork until the butter absorbs all the flour. This will thicken your sauce.

5.) When the beef is finished cooking, remove from the heat and whisk in the beurre manie.

6.) For a standard box of frozen puff pastry, you should get 6 individual beef pies. Seperate each section, and cut these in half short-ways. Spoon a dollop of beef on a layer of pastry, top with a second layer, and then seal the edges with a fork .

7.) Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400.

I’ve raved about it enough - it’s time I shared the recipe with you. This is a household standard at Apartment Farm - we usually eat it at least twice a month. It takes about an hour to make, but what’s more relaxing than enjoying a glass of wine and doing a little cooking after a long day at work? And it’s a one-pot meal, so you can enjoy the process and not worry about a pile of dishes to clean up later.

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork

1 package of pancetta, diced

2 carrots, finely diced

3 celery ribs, finely diced

1/2 red onion, finely diced

6 ounces tomato paste

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup red wine

1 cup beef stock

1 cup water

2 teaspoons thyme

salt and pepper to taste

1. ) First, you’ll need to make a mire poix, which is a finely diced mix of carrot, celery and onion. You’ll want to saute the mire poix in the olive oil until the vegetables are translucent and lightly browned. Once cooked, set the mire poix aside in a bowl.

2.) In the empty saute pan, brown the pork, beef and pancetta, mixing well to combine. Once the meat is cooked through, drain off most of the fat. Add the tomato paste and mix well.

 3.) Return the mire poix to the pan with the meat, mixing to combine. Stir in the thyme. Carefully add the water, wine and beef stock. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes until some of the liquid has reduced and it has a “saucy” texture.

4.) While the sauce is simmering, boil water for you pasta and cook according to package directions. I recommend rigatoni because the sauce adheres to it well and it looks great in the bowl.

Ever wanted to make your own mead, vinegar, mustard, or such things? Does it seem to intimidating to learn it all yourself and get together all of those “special” supplies? Why not get a kit? I came across a website that sells kits for all manner or DIY foodstuffs, and I think it’s great. Pretty affordable too. This stuff would also make good gifts. Check out the goods at Leeners and see for yourself.

Everyone has attended or is at least familiar with the wine tasting party or event. Good friends (or perfect strangers) get together to sample a variety of wines to see what they like or dislike. It’s a great way to explore a new varietal or region, and it’s fun. But why stop at wines? You can have tasting parties for all sorts of things - craft beers, espressos or artisan liquors would be fun too. But how about going a step further, and host a non-beverage tasting?

I got the idea the other week when husband and I stopped in at Fox & Obel to pick up a new olive oil. We’ve spent too much time in our lives buying mediocre olive oil, and we wanted to take it up a step. We figured we’d go in and buy a small bottle blind, and try a few here and there until we found something we liked. But we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the store had set up a tasting station. They had about 20 bottles open, with a container of bread slices, toothpicks and paper napkins. What a fantastic idea! I mean, if you’re going to spend $40 on an 8 ounce bottle, you should get to try it first (one of the many reasons we love Fox & Obel - I also rave because they sell fresh demi-glace).

So, why not have a tasting at home? Olive oils would be perfect, as would vinegars and salts. Or you could do olives, proscuittos, sausages… anything really. You only need a few things to get your event together - tasting scorecards with pencils, small glasses/dishes for each sample, and some appetizers. I think Italian antipasto is a great thing to serve at tasting parties - and Epicurious has a great recipe for Mixed Antipasto. Add some breads/crackers and charcuterie and you’re all set. If you’d like to serve a meal after your tasting, Italian is perfect as well- pasta bolognese or a garlic-lemon spaghetti would both be good choices.

You can make your own tasting cards, or there a lot of resources for printable cards online. The Aroma Dictionary site has a lot of good olive oil resources and printables, as well as page for wines. It’s also nice to send invitations for an event like this; it’s supposed to be classy and fun. And it seems like no one sends proper invitations to anything except weddings these days, which is a shame. Design or get something that complements your tasting cards. You can also make or get tasting placements- which are simply paper sheets with the name and pertinent info of each oil/wine/whatever written in it’s own spot- you then set the sample glasses/containers on the placement, and that makes it easy for each taster to remember what’s what. For small parties, I recommend trying no more than six, any more than that and it gets cumbersome. If you’d like to send your guests home with samples of their favorites, buy larger bottles and decant the leftovers into small glass bottles, and label them.

So, what are you waiting for? Spring is the perfect time to try new things, so why not host a tasting for your friends? Plus, it’s just another good reason to have a dinner party.

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.

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.