The Apartment Farm

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.

I don’t usually refer people to big box stores (shop local!), but I do have to admit that mega home store Lowes does have a pretty good resource available for DIY-ers in their free Creative Ideas magazine. They have pdfs on their website, and you can also sign up to recieve them mailed to your home. They have an archive of most of last year’s issues up as well.

It’s a DIY magazine in the flair of the early days of Martha Stewart Living, which as Martha would say, is a “good thing”. The current issue includes some great projects, including designing a pantry, painting planters, building a basic box, etc. You should check it out - and why not? It’s free.

One extra day, every four years. Odd, isn’t it? Well I didn’t actually get to post yesterday (on our “extra” day) because we ended up celebrating it in an amazing way- we went to dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery (standard bar food- the pub tips are good) and then we went to a show. Embarrassingly, it’s been years, but what a show to come back into the music world with! We saw The Donnas and The Hives at the Riviera (right here in our neighborhood!) and it was probably the best show I’ve ever been too. It’s good stuff kids and it was a great way to celebrate Leap Year and kick off the weekend. Un-Apartment Farm- like? Maybe, but remember- you’ve got to have something good to listen to while you do all this stuff!

Well, I am still waiting for my seed order to arrive, on March 1st. That’s what I get for waiting so long to put it in! But what I can’t wait for is some fresh greenery around the apartment, so I’m starting seeds today (even though I said I was going to do it last week) from what I’ve got left over from the last few years. I have my windowsill trays filled with soil and watered, and now they’re resting so the water can distribute through the soil evenly. For seed starting, I like to water the soil first so it doesn’t displace the seeds. Once they’ve rested, I’ll plant. I’m doing some edamame, scallions, Lollo Rossa lettuce, Tom Thumb lettuce, chives, oregano, and thyme. I’ve also got to replant some parsley that could use it’s own space. And I’m going to pop in a few garlic cloves, because those will sprout super fast and be excellent on baked potatoes. I might take a few garlic to work to liven up my space too. So, after the long winter (which may never end), the greens are coming.

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…

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).

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

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.

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.