apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Here at The Kitchn, we're big fans of incorporating homemade food into wedding celebrations, and some of us have first-hand experience doing that to different degrees. But we were blown away by Forkable's Andrea, who catered an entire meal for 150+ people on a budget of under $1500, for her own wedding!

Her solution? A gourmet sandwich buffet.

We've suggested turning off the TV while you eat, and it's not bad advice. But, come on, admit it – sometimes you leave it on. It's OK, we do too. And we're not embarrassed to say it. Here's why ...

Summer fruit always leaves us with the same dilemma – we long for pies, cobblers and crumbles, but we hate to turn on the oven when we're already struggling to keep cool. Enter the stovetop fruit dumpling, one of our new favorite summer desserts.

This week's roundup includes crab sliders, a recipe for cattails and fortune cookies to honor a small, sweet treat provided during a dark period in U.S. history.

Name: Bruce
Location: Wicker Park, Chicago
Type of space: Garage rooftop vegetable garden
Last week, we profiled Heidi and Art's rooftop garden, and today, we're touring the garden of their neighbor and fellow Green Roof Grower, Bruce.

Renegade Handmade is the brick and mortar extension of the popular Renegade Craft Fair, which is held annually in Chicago, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Their Wicker Park storefront features items from more than 300 artists. We found some great dishes, linens and food-related accessories on a recent visit, including an adorable – and seasonal! – strawberry pie charm.

400 North Water Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
(414) 336-1111
www.milwaukeepublicmarket.com

If you think Milwaukee's culinary offerings are limited to cheese, sausage and beer, you haven't been to the Milwaukee Public Market. The vendors at this permanent indoor market offer a wide range of specialty ingredients, prepared food and cookware.

If there were an official Father's Day dish, it would probably involve steak, on the grill. We've got several ways to prepare it below, plus some salad ideas and recipes to balance out dad's meal.

Name: Heidi and Art
Location: Wicker Park, Chicago
Type of space: Backyard and rooftop
Some 20 years ago, Heidi and Art pulled their Airstream trailer right into their new home: a former disco in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. Today, the Airstream is still there, but they've transformed the building into a truly unique living and work space. Heidi was kind enough to give us a tour of their backyard hideaway and impressive DIY rooftop vegetable garden – complete with homemade Earthbox-type containers, greenhouse and beehive.

The Fruit Slinger blog, one of our favorite summertime reads, is back for another season of commentary from the front lines of the Chicago farmers' markets.

But the Fruit Slinger doesn't just sell the fruit – he knows a thing or two about preparing it, too. Below, he's shared a salad recipe that highlights our current favorite ingredient: Strawberries!

This week's roundup is a mixed bag of tasty recipes: milkshakes with a twist, smoked potato salad, Turkish pizza on the grill, and more.

Bannock, noun: A flat bread, popular in Canada and the northern United States, often made of oatmeal, barley flour or corn meal.

We're all about cooking and eating outdoors this month, so we perked up when we saw this rustic bread being prepared on an episode of Bobby Flay's Grill It! It was, of course, baked right on the grill.

We've been talking about personal porches, yards and gardens, and earlier today, we asked about your favorite public picnic spots. But what about that gray area in between: the shared outdoor space? Are you an apartment dweller in this situation? Is it communal bliss? Or something a little less idyllic?

Eating outdoors this weekend? This week's papers have lots of great ideas for fresh, seasonal cooking, with a bit of a twist. How about a strawberry tart with chocolate, mascarpone, and oatmeal crust? Or maybe a BLT Panzanella?