9/13/19
(Above: Close-up of the kitchen flooring in Jacobhouse. The angle-cuts actually went quite easily, because the exterior side of Wall #4 – the spice cupboard wall – is almost an exact 45 degree angle.)
Preface: Today I’m writing this blog post as Apple Flaugnarde cooks in the oven (more in TIL). At this moment, I have 35 minutes to write a building summary, TIL, and commentary.
Building Summary: This morning’s Jacobhouse activities began with a rat-check. I found that the bait surrounding the entry point had been tossed about, but on the inside of my dwelling, there was no evidence of movement. To follow up the exterior findings, I applied a little bit more silicone-caulked hardware cloth to a couple places that looked a little bit weak (on the outside).
After rat activities, I spent the remainder of the morning laying grip-strip flooring. To make the situation even more productive, I listened to quite a lot of my textbook from school whilst doing so. I finished off the morning over half-way done with the kitchen flooring*.
TIL: Today I learned how to make Apple Flaugnarde. It is classified as a baked French Dessert, which is fortunate, because it is much lighter and contains much less sugar than many American desserts. Flaugnarde consists of three main parts: fruit, nuts, and batter. The recipe called for pears and almonds, but I had neither, so I instead used some old apples (3 cups) and pistachios ( ½ cup). As for the batter, it consisted of 3 eggs, 2/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, ¾ cup sour cream, ½ cup water**, 2 tsp vanilla, and 1 tsp kosher salt. To assemble it, all I had to do was lay almost all of the fruit in a 9 inch baking dish, toss on the nuts, pour over the batter, and then lay a few pieces of reserve fruit on top (not necessary, but makes it look even more delicious).
Here is the video where I learned how to make Flaugnarde / Clafoutis (picture of result on Twitter tomorrow, most like).
Commentary: It was a pleasant morning at Jacobhouse today, and that is primarily because I was productive and performing that productivity in a comfortable environment. Grip-strip flooring always seems to boost my morale due to its simplicity, laid back nature, and to its being a sure display of progress. To add to this, laying such flooring does possess a certain artistic aspect, because I get choose how long to cut the offsetting planks and what variation of plank-pattern to utilize.
So, to paint a brief image. This morning consisted mainly of sitting on an old milk crate in my air-conditioned abode, listening to some late 1800’s history while performing a task of straightforward and satisfying*** nature. If that isn’t a highlight, I don’t know what is.
Final Note: Tomorrow I intend to continue monitoring the rat situation, resume flooring, and venture to the Harbison Farmers’ Market. At noon, I will also be tending to Master Blend customer.
*Laid flooring all the way from the end of the bathroom-to-bedroom hallway to just past the southern outlet in the kitchen.
**This is the combination I used instead of 1 ¼ cup whole milk (no whole milk in the house). It simultaneously adds a little bit of sour flavor, and grants the texture imbued by milk-fat.
***Satisfaction achieved via the explanation in the former paragraph and because it really is a pleasure to measure, slice, and then snap the planks to the appropriate lengths.