Happy St. Patrick's Day

I had a lot of problems falling asleep, but I finally did. I woke up at 6:30 AM, fixed a cup of coffee and finished the Blog entry. I stripped the bed and started the weekend wash.

Then, I started on my corned beef and cabbage. I peeled four carrots and cut them on the bias. Into the slow cooker they went! Then I peeled two smaller onions and put them in whole. I quartered some larger redskin potatoes and halved the smaller ones and put them in as well. Next I peeled the rutabagas (not as easy as you might think), cut that into big chunks and threw them in too. I added four cups of water and sprinkled the veggies with dried thyme.

Next came the corned beef. I scored the fat cap (so the spices would stay on top) and poured half a bottle of Guinness Stout on top of it. Then I added the spices and, as an afterthought, a little more dried thyme. I put the lid on, turned it on “High” per instructions and set the stove timer for eight hours. I’ll add in the cabbage then and cook it for an hour more.

Then I started the usual Sunday morning routines. I ate an English muffin for breakfast and took my pills. Then I refilled the pill box for the coming week. I wound the clock, added three ice cubes to the orchid and then put the bedding in the dryer. I started the second load of wash and refilled the cat’s water dishes.

Finally, I shaved. But the phone rang before I showered. It was B___, so I caught him up with all my medical adventures this week.

After we hung up, I showered. Then I swept the entire house to try and minimize the sawdust effect. I pulled the car out of the garage again, locked it and shut the door. The sun was out today, so I thought I would forego the heater (unless I got too cold).

So, I cut the first board at a 15 degree angle on either side. Already it was too cold to be comfortable (there was a strong NE wind). So, I fired up the heater.

Next problem was using the bandsaw to cut the marked curves in the boards. The blade kept hanging up. But, I finally got the first one done (one down, 11 to go). I got out the brad nailer and found another problem! No brads left that were long enough (sigh). So, I changed coats and went to Home Depot. I got some 1 1/4 inch brads (made for Porter Cable guns, but I hope they will work in my Craftsman one). I passed by the hot dog stand but, in a rare show of resolve, didn’t buy any.

I made it home, switched coats and got back to work. The house smells fantastic, BTW. Since the band saw didn’t work that well, I’ll have to use the jig saw. But, first I have to attach the first board with glue and brads. Note: I should have taken a photo of the process that I repeated 12 time, but I didn’t.  I was more interested in getting the dammed thing done!

But, here’s what I did: I cut the oversized boards on a 15 degree angle at each end. Then I clamped each one in place. I turned the assembly over and scribed the arc of the inside and outside circles with a pencil. I had to move the ones that went in front of the star down further to fill in the inside line.  I clamped the board to the sawhorse and cut it out with the jig saw. Then I applied a thin coat of wood glue and clamped it in place. I nailed it twice on the front (where it should be hidden by the hour markers), then flipped it and nailed it several time on the back side. I did that twelve times (I pitched the first board I did on the bandsaw – it was off a tad).

It was not without it challenges, though, as one section was a little shorter than all the other (WTF?)  So, alarmed, I got out that protractor, checked and the angles were right. I seriously don’t understand. 360 degrees divided by 12 is 30 degrees which translated to 15 degrees per piece. Why the hell would one be smaller???

I got over my bewilderment and moved on. I had six of the twelve done when I took a bathroom break. I checked the slow cooker and saw it was bubbling like mad.  That’s just wrong.  I decided that when the recipe said “High” for 8 hours, they were probably meant “LOW.” So, I turned it down to low. I hope the potatoes haven’t turned to mush!

I went back in the garage and continued on. [ Note to Jake. The requirements were a star “within” a wagon wheel. So, I was now making the “wheel.”]

There was an unbelievable amount of sawdust behind the miter saw. I took two pictures, but I don’t think you can see it all that well.

Finally, I was done (and done in, LOL). I gave the outside of the wheel a quick sanding with the belt sander and sanded the face of the wheel and the star with the palm sander. The true challenge will be to sand the inside of the wheel and edges of the star.

Back inside, the timer was going off. So, I rough chopped a half head of cabbage and added that to the slow cooker. I set the timer for another hour and made my Irish soda bread.

I sifted together four cups of AP flour, three tablespoons of sugar, two teaspoons of baking soda and 1 1/2 teaspoons each of cream of tartar and Kosher salt for my dry mix. Then I made my wet mix of 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk and three tablespoons of melted butter.

I mixed the wet and dry and added 1/2 cup of cranberries (should be currants, BTW). I put that on a floured surface and kneaded it just long enough to form it into a sic-inch ball (do not over-knead). I put that in my cast iron frying pan and cut an “X” in the top. I put it in the preheated 400 degrees F. oven.

I set the timer on the microwave to 40 minutes and went into the bedroom to watch a little TV while it baked…

Unfortunately, I fell asleep watching a DIY rerun. Of course, the little microwave timer didn’t wake me up. Finally the stove timer did, but not before the soda bread burnt (see Photos). Damn! I didn’t bother brushing the top with the remaining tablespoon of melted butter.

But, I took out the cabbage and put it in a bowl, the corned beef went on a platter and I put the veggies underneath on yet another platter. Then I plated my St. Patrick’s Day dinner.

It was excellent, especially the rutabagas. I’m afraid I didn’t allow for shrinkage and my idea of eating Rueben sandwiches all next week will not happen. There’s just not that much corned beef left.

When everything cooled, the put all the leftovers in the fridge, including the au jus. The soda bread went into the trash. I finished the evening in grand Irish style by watching “the Quiet Man” on the Turner Classic Movie channel.