uber-clean sink

People always ask me at the shop, "what do you clean with?"

(this is it: baking soda, lemon juice, scrubber/old toothbrush, Modern Mermaids, vinegar & dish soap)

i think i have written about this in the past but just recently I was reading the popular LA-based Urban Homestead/DIY living blog Root Simple about sink cleaning.  Normally I have had a stainless steel sink, where I have only used baking soda and water to make a homemade "soft scrub", with a few drops of tea tree for added smelly/antiseptic goodness.
Now that we are in our new apartment Homestead, the sink is a bit older and it is porcelain-you can for sure see a lot more stains! I was inspired by the Root Simple post on the "soft scrub" mix but with lemon-brills! Baking soda combo is great on its own, but with lemon juice-talk about hit of natural bleach power!

(sink before: cute but worn)

 (after: pearly white!)

(look at the stains being lifted by some small elbow grease on my part)

I decided to take this on our new-but-getting-a-beating stove...check-check.
Just wipe with a wet cloth and DONE, so cheap and so simple!

cheap ways to stay warm

Our little apartment homestead is located in a 1907 farmhouse that has been cut up into a few apartments with lots of character and cuteness abound. What we don't have in our place is decent heating...homes in those days didn't have double-pane windows, foam insulation or some of the other cool things that are out on the market.
We do have a heater, but i must admit, i am a little scared to use it...

(if you know how to fix this, come on over-i will pay you back in jam!)

I am a spoiled Southern Californian-I know that already, but i am telling you it has been seriously COLD a few nights (like 30 degrees!!) and I have to wear 2 pairs of leggings, fuzzy socks, and a long scarf that i wrap around my neck and then over my head...and i sleep with all of this on hugging Marge for warmth.
Part of the problem with our house being so cold is that the windows are not the best (but they look cute!) and each of our doors have HUGE gaps on the bottom.

(the kitchen-you should see the other door!)

Our wonderful neighbor Lea saw us freezing our a$$es off and she made these cute draft dodgers for us-her place is covered in them, she even has them on the windows-believe me this simple project made a huge difference.

(check out the FABRIC!!!)

(Lea's window-cute right!)

Our other neighbors Jack and August also gave us this great heater (about $30 @ your local hardware store) and we set it up by the living room door so if any cold air came in, it got zapped with the heater.  The oil-filled heater is actually pretty great-it is inexpensive, uses little energy (compared to some of the electric ones-they end up costing you big time), you can roll it around easily (i have it right in front of me when at my desk), and having one at each entrance of our living room heats our home nicely.

I am going to do a you-tube of Lea making a draft dodger next week, but in the meantime, here are 2 links to making one of your own.
of course Martha making a draft dodger-and it probably matches everything!
Simple Green Frugal Co-op's version

ABOUT OIL-FILLED HEATERS: according to one site, the oil never needs to be replaced.  If your heater is no longer working, there might have been a leak in the heater.  the link above also has a number of heaters to choose from.

Shiitake Happens

(ready to shroom!)

with the move and catch-up with work i have had to delay my time with the my new little toy that i recently acquired in Oakland-a Shiitake mushroom brick!

i have been wanting to get something going in the ole root cellar and over the past month i had been doing random research on how to start, maintain and grown my own little edible fungi garden.  well the foodie gods were listening to my pleas because when i was in Oakland talking kimchi, i happened to find Far West Fungi, a retailer of delectable shrooms and more importantly-kits!


with a little over a week after bringing it home, i finally brought it out and started my garden-which happens to be about a 1 ft block of fungi goodness...although not too appetizing at first.

the plastic bag acted as a great miniature damp environment-perfect for the babies to start growing. i kept my "shroom bag" on top of the fridge where i could check on it everyday (too much moisture creates the blue-green-grey fungus, otherwise known as "no es bueno") and it was a great topic of conversation to people visiting.
nothing really happened the first few weeks, and honestly i was starting to think that i had a dud, when all of a sudden-little shiitake bumps started to form!

(week 2)

(week 3)

literally within the week, those "bumps" grew into a dozen shiitake shrooms that i harvested and put into a paper bag so they wouldnt get moldy.

i tried to start another batch right after but i guess the shiitake gods where finished with me and the "no es bueno" gods infested my kit and i had to say goodbye....you don't want to mess with them!

(see that blue-green stuff? time to go bye-bye)

with the dozen or so mushrooms, i ended up making this incredible soup, which was kind of like a super-sized miso soup with all the fixin's (very similar to my Sick Soup recipe) and it was INCREDIBLE!

i did eat the mushrooms first before anyone else-heck it was my first mushroom experience and i didnt want to poison anyone!  but i am now totally into growing my own and will be doing this a lot more!

the new, slightly bigger apartment homestead

(one of my niece Nicole's pieces and a photo my father took of me-happy baby!)

dang.
the nice thing about moving: everything is nice and "orderly", a feeling of starting over, total inspiration everywhere you turn, a reason to have people over...
the bad thing about moving: being behind on everything else that DOESNT have to do with the move-like blogging for starters...

yes it is quite apparent that i have taken a quasi-break from writing-i actually have several snippets of posts, but i havent managed to hit the "publish" button for a few weeks. the new place has literally zapped some much needed blogging time, along with some other things that i will be sharing over the next week-i am now back in the game as they say.

(before: living and bedroom)

(after: living room)

(before: kitchen)

(after: this is the first thing people compliment on-the fact that more than 3 people can be in here at the same time!)

without a doubt, i absolutely LOVE our new place, just across the way in another 100 year-old farmhouse. unlike our last place, it is about double the size and only a few steps up instead of 20...great for moving!
i have finally situated the last of our things-the larger space has given us many bonuses but also some challenges that on a budget of extreme proportions has come out quite nicely.
i will be taking the next few months to talk about cheap solutions to challenges (like my soda crate light) in the new place as well as the new garden and food projects that are already happening.

(Sweet Pea testing out the new bedroom-yep, it's comfy)

(after many years, i finally get to use my father's desk-my fave spot in the house)

one of the best things about the move however was that our apartment has become this sort of "hangout" for our little neighborhood. almost every day, we will have spontaneous visits from friends & neighbors for dinner, cocktails and on certain nights, really bad TV-moving has really brought our little community together.  we also receive a number of compliments from the neighbors on the "life" in the area-something as simple as plants and happy curtains have made a difference and encouraged interest in starting gardens...can't wait to see what happens next!

our little place gets a little bigger

(the new kitchen: perfect for the person who is getting more and more into food!) 

 so instead of talking about my garden expansion plans and where next to find a square inch to plant something we have made the decision to move-about 50ft way.

(before the move: let's see how we fit 8+ bookshelves in here!)

now i know that this blog is all about small: small space living/gardening, local cooking, cheap but tasty eating, etc...why am i moving into a bigger place?  Currently, we live in about 500 sqft, which is actually quite perfect for us, i really love our little homestead and the privacy that allows having the corner, upstairs apartment...people are quite amazed that i have taught a number of canning classes and even had over 10 people over for dinner (still trying to find out how we fit them all!)

(i will miss sunlight in the morning here-the new one will have less light)

(can you believe that we fit 12 people for our LOST dinners in here?!?)

Moving for sure is not going to be easy, this week in particular is going to be very tough. We basically have to complete our move in the next week, but there are a number of "non-typical workweek" things. not only do i have to do my normal work at the shop (thank goodness we are only open noon-5 for august-this has saved my sanity), i have been asked to visit the Glen Ivy Spa for a consultation, canning class in Irvine, OC Foodie Fest-where we will be running a mini-patchwork (and selling), AND i will be flying to Oakland for a demo on kimchi at the Eat Real Festival....yeah just a little busy this week.

so why are we making life harder for ourselves?

despite the bad timing, we felt that we should take advantage of the fact that a slightly large place is open right next to us.  we have spent the past 2 years building on our little community of businesses and friends (several have now moved onto the block/building) and it would be a shame to have to leave it b/c we need a little more room-preparing ahead of time means that we can stay in one area for several years-putting more time and energy helping it grow.

another big incentive has to do with all of the canning, preserving and classes that have been taking off. while i still can do everything that i normally do in the shoebox, it would be nice to have actual space to work on recipes, class ideas and other food ideas without having to do a massive reorganization project with pots and canners hanging out on the porch until it is their time at the stove.

(one of 2 wooden prep areas-and i am getting a prep counter for dining!)

this kitchen also has 3 special things: 

-a massive closet, which i think used to be the old laundry room (like the other place, it was once a farmhouse from the early 1900's), this is going to be my new canning closet where i can keep all of my books, canners and cases of jars.

-the space is also enclosed form the rest of the apt with a separate entrance, which means a little privacy when i need it.

-there are 2 large wooden prep stations which is PERFECT for bread making and pastas, something that i have been working on a little bit, but has been difficult because i have a tiny amount of space to work.

i will post the after pictures next wed-wish me luck!

root cellar decor-what the heck is that??

now most people wouldn't think about how to decorate a cellar. thinking back to when root cellars were a real necessity (not something that a food preserver junkie makes when her 5ft kitchen is maxed-out), they were basically a room, like some of the images below:

functional with a hint of scary? yes
cute? oh hells no!
just because it is a storage room doesn't mean that it has to look boring-i mean you are going to spend a little bit of time there, you might as well make it look kind of cool right?
the nice thing about a project like this is that you can get all kinds of crazy decorating and making things fun-its not like you are entertaining royalty in there!
my friend Diana, had the great idea of making a chalkboard to keep track of stuff in there-SO much cuter than a clipboard and pen!!  i had a thin piece of wood in the storage room at the shop, i slapped on a few coats of chalkboard paint and DONE-we attached it to the door....how cute it that.

(looking at this makes me realize that i forgot to date the cabbage!)

color was really important too-who wants to look at dirty old wood and concrete?  i had some zero-VOC bright green paint from AFM Safecoat in enamel that was a mis-tint, talk about perfect for the door!  i used some bright red paint (that i was going to use for our couch, but was too lazy to sand) to paint a huge heart on the door-you know, because food is all about love.
i also had these old window frames-some in our bedroom, but i still had a few extra.  we painted one with the bright green paint and hung it up on the entrance to remind you to duck your head when entering.  at first we were going to paint it red, but that seemed too much like a, "don't enter" sign...green seemed like a better choice.

the chalkboard idea led to another decoration: root-cellar graffiti! the upper part of the cellar is old dark wood.  i used the while chalk to make these cute wheat leaves  on the corners and to label the sections of the area-SO MUCH CUTER than the Sharpie i was using before!

lastly, i used old frames that my neighbor was going to throw out to decorate some of the areas. in the center of the frame i either chalked a picture or nailed canning items in.

(always got to have a little Marge representin'-thanks Bonnin Designs!)

the last thing that i need to do is weather-strip the doors for the "uninvited guests" and then you have what i like to call :

 "easy, breezy, beautiful...root cellar" 

(yes i watch WAY TOO much ANTM)

an afternoon with Evan Kleiman ?!?!

just last week i had a private canning class with culinary "mera mera" Chef Evan Kleiman of Angeli Caffe but you also might know her for her popular show on KCRW Good Food. this class, with Harriet from the show (who i met a few months back) was going to take place in my home on what i hoped would be a not too hot of a day (Summer's are brutal in the apartment homestead!)
i have to admit, i was a little nervous at first about how the class was going to turn out-what do i say, "Evan: cut this, prep that, now wash dishes???..." -i should be doing that! all of this in my shoebox apartment, where the occasional sound of the tire shop next door or lord knows what else would be filtering in.

the first time i met Evan was at a lecture and signing for Alice Water's book on the Edible Garden in Santa Monica. both Ernie and i braved the traffic and crowds for a chance to talk to both Alice and Evan and perhaps give them a jar of loquat goodness.  we were able to say a short hello but both were among a huge crowd of people (of course!!!) so it's not like we shared tales of canning adventures and our favorite restaurants.
but this was different.
Evan and Harriet met me and Courtney (of C-Salt fame, who was is a HUGE fan of Evan's) at the store where we took the short walk to our home.  i proudly showed both ladies my finished root cellar, packed with boozes and dried chilies from New Mexico and my little veggie garden and for the next 3 hours we made jam, jelly and pickles.

(peach-habanero jam bubbling)

(Evan fills the jars with hot basil jelly)

(the afternoon breeze felt great while cooking)

i can't tell you how much fun this class was-it was more like a vacation!  with the faint sound of Loretta Lynn in the background, we talked of food, relationships, pies, jokes, travels, the 127 yard sale and our own personal stories and drank cocktails made from the kumquat vodka from the root cellar. the afternoon reminded me of what food preservation is all about-connecting with people and the world around you- we ended our class with hugs and singing Joni Mitchell songs. our class has turned into new friends!
and more...Evan and I talked about a few ideas and i will be posting them soon!!

update on the root cellar

with everything going on, i totally forgot to mention how the root cellar was going!  this week i will have a special guest coming over to the house (a blog post soon-so excited about this!!) and she wants to see the root cellar-which made me realize that i hadnt posted my progress-and boy is it great!

(produce and some supplies)

what was once a dirty, smelly, scary and trash infested basement it now a fully functioning  food storage area.  although the room is small (about 5x5'), creativity and good organization made the space hold just about everything.

i split the room into 4 main sections which i wrote on the walls for easy organization: supplies, produce, dried goods and booze/fermented products. washed the walls vacuumed the floors and ceiling and installed shelving and hooks that were basically items that were left over from other projects at the store. paints were leftover mis-tints that were just sitting in the back-talk about affordable and efficient!  i have about 6 different kinds of vodkas going: limoncello, grapfruitcello, loquat, cherry, kumquat and pepper.  hopefully i can work on the vinegars after patchwork Long Beach.  but i do have a few new items in there: vanilla extract and bitters!!...but more on that later.

 (most of my canning items are on the opposite wall from the produce)

(booze and fermented stuffs!)

(dried chilies from New Mexico & dill from Morning Song Farm)

have a few more things to do for it to be finished-so you will be hearing about the cellar again soon.

little-big garden

(my squash plant sportin' a chub)

yesterday evening, i went out to clean and water my little apartment garden when it hit me: this is about to bust out!
our garden, a mixture of hydroponic boxes from Harvest to Home, whiskey barrels and various pots of all sizes was about to produce a nice little summertime bounty-not too bad for a small space.
Our "apartment homestead" garden is separated into a few sections:
- The upstairs, where our front door is has most of the herbs-i try to keep them closest b/c they are in the smallest containers and dry out fast...i try to reuse my water for these plants, so they get water everyday. i am going to move the agave next and and add some grape or passion fruit vine for a little privacy and shade.

(have to trim the spikes off the agave before moving those suckas)

-downstairs: we have the veggies. next to the root cellar i have a few items (i have to leave room for my neighbor!), like those taters from a while back...they are doing pretty good!

(next to the root cellar: nopales & taters)

-under the stairs: the largest part of the garden. i had 2 tomato plants that i got from h.depot a year ago, one of them died and the other one was just barely hanging on...but now it is 4xs bigger than ever-i can see that the little yellow tomatoes are just about to ripen-YUM!
-next to it are our 2 boxes from Harvest to Home which are GOING OFF! dark kate, oregano, banana and jalapenos, cucumbers, squash and a crazy big parsley (seriously, if you pass by our place, please take some parsley).

(hydroponics and whiskey barrel tomatoes)

-in front of the boxes: i have fava beans, geranium another tomato from Adriana @ anarchy in the garden and more cucumbers.

(fava beans still remind be of Silence of the Lambs...)

-the other side of the stairs: passion fruit, fennel and lemongrass.
-next: the roof. we have access to the roof from the bedroom and i am trying to figure out how we can grow at least from items there and eventually each side of the stairs will have some food vine.

(my passion vine had no fruit!)

i am thinking once everything is done, we can do tours on living in apts/small spaces and having and apartment farm!