Saturday's Story

I woke up at 6:00 AM on Saturday. My haircut wasn’t until 10:00, so I had plenty of time to putz around. I filled out the Blog entries and posted them. I made up my shopping list and then I made a weekend breakfast: soft boiled eggs.

After I finished breakfast and took my pills, I tackled the WetJet. I got the cover off (finally!) when I saw it was also held in by two hidden screws. But, the batter cover removal was impossible. I thought the last one I had contained replaceable batteries. This one apparently doesn’t (so you have to keep buying them, I suppose). So, I penciled a Swiffer WetJet onto the printed Home Depot shopping list.

I watched the morning news until 9:00 AM, then shaved and showered. I got dressed and left for a busy morning!

I got my haircut, then I went to Kroger with a medium-sized list.  The only problem was they didn’t have any knockwurst and I need knockwurst! So, I popped into Westborn and got my knockwurst. Since I was there, I grabbed a loaf of that Rustic Italian Bread. I got out of there and raced home to put the meat in the fridge (my fallback position was to leave it in the car if necessary – it’s cold out and snowing).

I got that done and then raced to make my revised massage appointment. It was supposed to be at 12:30 PM, but she called and left a message yesterday that somebody had cancelled and could I come in at 11:30 instead. I made it just in time.

After an hour of being beaten up, I got dressed, paid my money and went to Home Depot. I had forgotten to take my list for there so I tried to remember what I needed. I had paid and was loading up the car when I remembered the WetJet. Damn! So, I went back inside and got one.

I left the car in the driveway and unloaded it there. I need the garage space for working. I did lock it (of course) but its snowing still and I hate that I will have to clean it off (maybe) just to pull it in 20 feet.

I had a call from B___,  so I changed clothes, started the last load of weekend wash and then called him back. I just got his voicemail, so I moved on…

I put together the new WetJet (this time with an instruction book) and had to laugh when I realized how I’d screwed up. But, I had thoroughly trashed the old one by now. Oh well, its just a $20.00 mistake. I’ve made a lot bigger ones in my life…

I swept and wet-mopped the bedroom, office, hall and main bath. Then I went out to the garage to work on the magazine rack.

I used my belt sander and my sanding jig to smooth out the rough pallet wood. I was wearing a sanding mask, so my glasses kept fogging up.  Then I ripped the boards to size. I had to stop and hang up laundry at that point.

Back in the garage, I assembled the magazine rack using the air compressor and a nail gun with carpenter’s glue.

I went back inside when I got cold  to get a cup of coffee. Just then, the phone rang. It was B___ and we talked for a while. When we hung up, I realized it was almost 5:30 PM and I still had to finish the magazine rack and start my supper.

So, I cut a piece of Visqueen and covered my washer (I often use the washer top and/or the dryer as an indoor work surface. That’s why there are globs of yellow paint from when we redid the kitchen cupboards way back when still on it, lol). I finish-sanded the magazine rack with the orbital sander in the garage and then blew it off with compressed air. I unplugged the air compressor, pushed the saw horses back into place and pulled the car in.

[Sidebar, the car was covered with ice from the snow that had melted and then refroze. I didn’t bother to clean it off, preferring to let it drip-dry in the garage. I’ll deal with the puddles tomorrow.]

I took the naked magazine rack in and, using rubber gloves and an old sock, applied Minwax Wood-Sheen Stain and Finish in “Plantain Walnut.” I had it on hand and have used it before. It’s sort of a goopy stain and, despite the “Finish” in the name, you still have to polyurethane it when you’re done.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I opened up the small window next to the washer and the big window that I put the security bars on about two inches each. I don’t want the furnace igniting to set off an explosion and blow me and the house up! Ventilation, baby! You have been warned!!

I rubbed the stain in and then pulled off my glove and washed both hands and arms (I am not the neatest stainer) with mineral spirits.  Then I washed my hands with soap inside. I set the timer for five minutes, at which time I wiped the excess off (using Q-tips in the cracks). This is something I learned the hard way. You ALWAYS wipe off any excess stain that the wood wouldn’t take. If not, you end up like all the bedroom furniture I built on the River Road after Luanne had left: Dark, almost black.

Then I left it to dry for two hours and got started on dinner.

Now, I know my readers are a savvy bunch and will recognize right off that this is just a riff on the old hot dogs with pork and beans we all ate as children. But, it didn’t dawn on me until about halfway through. (Duh!?!)

It’s a Rachel Ray recipe called Knocks and Beans Supreme. So, I simmered the six knockwurst, cut into thirds (about two-inch pieces) in a skillet with a little water until they were heated through. I pulled them out and set them on a plate. I wiped out the skillet, added a drizzle of olive oil and heated it up to medium-high heat. I put the knockwurst back in and seared them on all the edges (not as easy as it sounds, BTW).

I pulled out the sausage and added in four strips of thick-cut bacon (the recipes calls for eight thin slices, but I never use thin-sliced bacon for anything) cut into 1/2-inch lardons (she calls them batons, but I have never heard of that term used in cooking – probably my bad).

I rendered them until they were “almost crispy, but not-quite” (Rachel can be a bit obtuse at times). I pulled them off with a slotted spoon and set them on some paper towels to drain.

Meanwhile, I put two cans of Bush’s Grillin’ Beans in my casserole dish. To that, I added in one large shallot, finely chopped, two cloves of garlic, minced, and a lot of coarse ground pepper. I stirred that in, smoothed it out and then wiped the sides of the casserole dish clean.

I nestled in the chunks of knockwurst, gave it a splash of Worcestershire sauce and then topped them with a small bunch of scallions I sliced, a fine-diced Jalapeno pepper (the recipe calls for red chili peppers, but I couldn’t find any that weren’t “hot” so I went with a deseeded Jalapeno. I think the red chili peppers were for both heat and color, anyway) and some finely chopped thyme leaves. I made sure I washed my hands after handling the Jalapeno pepper, having messed up with that before. Then I sprinkled the bacon bits on top of that and stuck the casserole dish in a preheated 375 degree oven.

Here’s where Rach let me down: she didn’t give a time, just said to bake until the top surface was “crispy in spots and bubbly all over.” That meant I had to keep checking it, which p*ssed me off.

But, in about an hour, it looked right. Unfortunately, there was only 10 minutes left until I had to apply the next coat of stain. So, I just shut the oven off and went back to work.

I applied the second coat of stain, then waited the required five minutes and wiped it all off. I went in the garage and washed off with mineral spirits again (my hands are taking a beating today).

I came back inside and washed my hands repeatedly and then took out the casserole. I cut off two big chunks of bread and dished up a large bowl of the casserole.

Now, it may have been because it was almost 9:00 PM and I was starving or maybe she’s just that good. But in spite of the semi-homemade elements of this dish, it was excellent! You did need a knife to cut the knockwurst into edible sizes, BTW.

I shut and locked the two windows downstairs that I had opened for ventilation, checked the front, back and garage doors and then brushed my teeth.

I watched a couple of tapped DIY shows that have built up in my cue. When the casserole dish was cool, I put the lid on it and stuck it in the fridge. I went to bed just before 11:00 PM, satisfied with the day…

Until I remembered I hadn’t called my Brother Jim to wish him a Happy Birthday! Damn!!