9/15/19
(Above: Jacobhouse, as viewed across a late summer’s pasture. )
Building Summary: This morning began with some pre-Jacobhouse farm activities consisting of Padre and I working a hefty number of heifers at the haybarn. After that, I performed a rat inspection whereupon I found no signs of movement outdoors nor indoors. These findings allowed me to continue with the plans I mentioned in the final note of yesterday’s post.
I remeasured / marked / cut strips of wainscoting to the lengths and widths needed to cover the base of the raised kitchen area. This was ensued by a test-fitting where I found that the portion in front of the counterspace needed a little bit of cutting (was about 3/16″ too tall). This trimming was followed by cleaning up all scrapwood, putting away all the cutting implements, and transporting the freshly cut lumber* to the haybarn where I proceeded to set up a painting station.
To conclude the morning, I sanded**, brushed off, and primed the wainscoting.
(5:30 PM Update): Just returned from the farm where I helped out for a couple hours and applied the first layer of turquoise to the beadboard I primed earlier today.
TIL: Stir-fry is an excellent use for round-steak, an admittedly tough cut of beef. I first steam / brown the vegetables on the cast iron skillet for about 20 minutes. Today’s vegetables were: green beans, purple onion, red bell pepper, shallot, garlic, grated ginger, summer squash, and zucchini (placed in the order that they were added to the skillet) . As they steamed, I cut the beef into small cubes, and prepared the sauce – a mixture of coco aminos, Worcestershire, white vinegar, and mirin. Then, when the vegetables were all suitably soft and browned (with plenty of fond*** in the bottom of the pan), I poured in the sauce. After fully incorporating the sauce into the vegetables and scraping the bottom of the pan to obtain all the delicious flavoring, I dumped in the beef and cooked it all for about 1 minute before removing the pan from the heat. The result can be seen in the Twitter Post to the right.
To summarize, when making use of round-steak, cut it into small pieces and cook it for as short a time as possible****.
Commentary: Between the building summary and the TIL section, my day has been pretty much summarized. I do believe I have a couple small highlights to share, though. The first occurred when I stepped into Jacobhouse this morning. Even though I knew the entire abode was floored, my brain was not expecting it, and once again, I was struck by how close Jacobhouse is to being inhabited.
The second highlight occurred when I test-fitted the trim. A few pieces were cut slightly too wide, but I was able to observe a preview of my kitchen molding idea. Needless to say (I’ve already stated how I went on to fix/paint those boards in the building summary above), I was impressed.
Final Note: Later today, I may paint on the first coat of turquoise which will allow me to apply the second coat / install the wainscoting tomorrow.
*I say freshly cut, but the wood is by no means fresh. It has been laying around for many years now, which probably accounts for its incredibly splintery nature. The lumber was leftover from a bedroom furniture project Madre worked on a long while back (the beds in Oldhouse where my brother and I presently sleep).
** Padre prompted me to obtain the sander, and I am quite glad he did so. It would have taken me a full hour or two to use a file to take off all the splinters from the beadboard’s edges.
*** Fond is the official name for the residue of protein and spices that adhere to the base of the pan whilst cooking meat.
**** Alternatively, one could probably marinate and/or roast this cut of beef for a long time on a low temperature. My favorite temperature-to-time combination when it comes to slow cooking beef is: 300 F for 4 hours. I am not sure if this would work for round-steak, so I’ll have to try it at some point in the near future.