Building Inspections

We are really not happy with our architect.  Before you hire an architect in Botetourt County, call me!  He took 6 months and every change we asked for showed up again in future drawings.  He really caused us some problems with the county.

One reason we went with an architect is that we had a large remodel (2600 square feet) and wanted to make sure we complied with all local regulations.  The last major remodel we did was in the 80s and in California.  Lot of things have changed since then and there.

We specifically asked if fire blocking was required.  NO, it wasn't.  So we had the rough plumbing done and the framing contractor in.  Lee spent months doing all the electrical and everything else that is inside the walls before we can plaster.  Then he called for an inspection.  He was really worried about the electrical, because it was so extensive.  Not a BIG deal, you just fix what they don't like, but it is a bit embarrassing.  And can be expensive when dealing with copper wiring.

The inspector came last week.  All of Lee's hard work paid off and the electrical passed inspection.  The framing and plumbing didn't.  WHAT?

   

The water lines needed some more securing.  Lee did that.  There is some question about a "T" in the drain pipe that the plumber and the inspector will work out between the two of them. 

   

The worst of it is that we DID need fire blocking.  If the architect had put that in the plans, it could have been done when the framing was being put up.  As it is, the framer had to come back and work around all that he had done to put up drywall and insulation as a fire block in the walls.  A big fat pain and expense that could have been avoided if the architect had been on the ball.

   

One thing that we did ourselves was to buy more fireproof foam to fill all the holes within the walls.  I already did the ones to the outside and big holes from the basement to the floor above.  We just had to add the ones within the walls.  We also had to have a fire block in the floor joists above every 1000 square feet.  That was a big pain with all the electrical, A/C and plumbing already there.  This should have been done when the house was built.  Not the FIRST time THAT has come up!

   

We were also told we have to add insulation on all the walls.  We knew we had to do the ones on the walk-out side, but it seems we have to do insulation on the walls underground and with a foot of concrete.  The architect said we didn't.  You already know how we feel about HIM!

What's an extra $1000 here or there!!!  Sheesh.

Dulce de Leche Apple Bread Part II

   

I made the Apple Bread last night and ate some for breakfast.  Here are my impressions.

 

As I expected, the bread was nice and moist.  I wrapped it in foil and kept it on the counter overnight.  Any bread I have ever made using fresh fruit is always more moist the second day.  Once again, it was hard to cut a slice through the Cheerios on top of the bread.  But now they are soggy and unappealing.  I cut one large slice and one skinny slice.  Because of the large amount of fresh apples, the skinny slice did not want to hold together.  It was nice and moist and delicious, though.  I did pick off the soggy Cheerios.

The large slice I toasted and it was great with butter and the soggy Cheerios because crunchy again.

Next time I make this, I would make changes. 

1.  It needs some more salt.  The recipe only called for 1/4 teaspoon.  If salt is an issue for you, it is not necessary to add more, but I would change it to 1/2 or even a full teaspoon.  This is not a lot and would improve the flavor.

2.  Leave off the Cheerios on the top of the bread.  It looks kind of silly, makes it harder to cut and unless you plan to eat it right away, they get soggy.  Unless you are cooking for children and they get a kick out of the Cheerios!

Dulce de Leche Apple Bread

   

The other day I was looking for healthy muffins and I remembered my bran muffin recipe using bran cereal.  I made those and then started thinking about using other cereals in baking.  We use a lot of Cheerios and they are considered healthy and good for your cholesterol, so I did a bit of Internet searching.  I found this recipe using Dulce de Leche Cheerios and it looked pretty good. (I changed it a wee bit).  And an apple a day keeps the doctor away, doesn't it?

Dulce de Leche Apple Bread

2 1/2 cups Dulce de Leche Cheerios, divided use
1/2 cup sugar, I used 1/4 cup Splenda brown sugar.   Healthy, remember?
1/4 cup oil  (That's not bad.)
1 cup buttermilk, try to find the low fat kind
1 egg
2 cups peeled and chopped apples, I used 2 Granny Smith
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.  That's what they thought I should use, but that's not enough so I used 1/2 teaspoon!
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.  The Cheerios people didn't call for nutmeg, but I went with the "if you use cinnamon, nutmeg works, too" rule...that I invented...I didn't really measure it, just grated a wee bit.

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray the bottom of a 9X5 loaf pan with Pam.

   

Put 2 cups of Dulce de Leche Cheerios in a Ziploc bag.  Squeeze the air out and seal.  Put the final 1/2 cup in a bowl and set aside. 

   

Use a rolling pin and crush the Cheerios.  Roll to the center of the bag.  I think if you roll a bubble of air to the seams, it might burst and then you would have a mess!  Set aside.

   

Wash, peel and dice the apples.  Small chunks are better than big ones.

   

I use a Kitchen Aid, but use any mixer and blend the oil and sugar.  I switched it to brown sugar and used the Splenda brown sugar.  I like the smoky flavor in baked goods.

Add the buttermilk.  I would have used low fat buttermilk, but didn't know I was going to make this until last night.  Lee was kind enough to go to the local (and close) Dollar General for me. They only have one kind of buttermilk and it is in a big container.  I told Lee we would use up the rest making some blueberry coffeecake I have been thinking about!

   

Add the egg and continue mixing.  Stir in the apples, the crushed cereal and all the rest of the ingredients, except for the reserved Cheerios.  Feel free to leave out the nutmeg.  I just thought of Rachel Ray saying, "Mmm.  What is that?", so I added it!

   

Spread the batter in the prepared pan.  It seemed kind of dry to me and next time I will probably add a bit more buttermilk, maybe a few Tablespoons.  Tomorrow the bread will be very moist from the apples, so maybe that is why they start kind of dry.  Sprinkle with the reserved cereal and gently press them down.  I used the side of a rubber spatula.

Bake one hour and then check to see if it is done with a toothpick.  If the toothpick comes out clean....done.  Mine took about 1 hour and 4 minutes.

 

   

Cool for 10 minutes.  Then turn out onto a cooling rack and let it finish cooling.  Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for 4 days or 10 days in the refrigerator.

Next time I may leave off the Cheerios on the outside.  They made it hard to cut a slice.

Please read Dulce de Leche Apple Bread Part II before making!

Lovely Lemon Bar Cookies

 

       

We are going to a newly found cousin's house at Smith Mountain Lake tomorrow, so I had to bake something.  I decided to look in my stash of Joanne Fluke Mystery/recipe books.  She is always good for a good cookie recipe and I ALWAYS buy and keep her mysteries because of that.

Lovely Lemon Bars sounds lovely, doesn't it?

Lovely Lemon Bar Cookies

4 cups flour
1 cup cold butter, 2 sticks
1/2 cup powdered sugar


4 beaten eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon or so of lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup flour


Heat oven to 350. Spray a 9X13 pan with Pam. I used a glass baking dish.

   

Cut up the butter and add it to the sugar and flour in a food processor. 

   

Pulse it 10 or so times until it looks like cornmeal and the butter is evenly distributed.  Carefully dump it into the prepared dish.

   

The recipe called for fingers, but I used a rubber spatula to press the flour mixture into the pan.  I figured it was faster and smoother and it was certainly cleaner!  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden around the edges.  It took 20 minutes for me.

   

While it is baking, prepare the topping/lemon part.  Crack 4 eggs into a bowl and whisk it all around.  Add the 2 cups sugar and whisk again until the sugar is dissolved.

   

Add the lemon juice and zest.  I always just zest a whole lemon if zest is called for.  I had 2 lemons and it wasn't enough juice.  Good thing I also had some Realemon to get the rest of the lemon juice needed.

   

I poured the whole thing through a strainer to make sure none of the lemon seeds got in by accident. 

   

Then add the salt, baking powder and flour and whisk it once more.

By now the dish should be ready to take out of the oven.  Pour the lemon mixture on top and put it back in the oven, still 350.  Bake it for 30 to 35 minutes.

 

    

When done, remove from the oven and sprinkle on some powdered sugar.  I used the strainer and moved the dish to the counter close to the sink.  I wanted to get the sugar in all the corners and didn't want the sugar all over the oven where it was cooling.  Clean it up and put it back to cool.

   

Let cool thoroughly and then cut into brownie-sized bars.

Meatloaf

   

 I crave comfort food when it is rainy days.  I particularly like meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  So that is what we are having.  Our son Travis,  called it Loaf Meat when he was a child, so naturally we still call it that.

Meatloaf

1 pound (or so) of ground beef
1/2 cup diced onion
1 egg
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
dash of fines herbes and dill (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 cup oatmeal
1 cup milk
1/4 cup ketchup (or catsup)
1/2 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

Preheat the oven to 350.

   

Dump the meat in a large bowl.  Dice the onions.Then add all the rest of the ingredients.

   

Use a fork to mix everything up  I like to let it sit for a bit so everything gets soaked through.

   

Put everything in a loaf pan.  I like to top it with a bit of ketchup (or catsup, whatever), but it is not required.  Bake for 1 1/2 hours. 

Let the finished meatloaf sit for a bit to firm up.  If you try to serve it now it will fall apart.  Tastes great, but doesn't look like a slice of meatloaf.  We couldn't wait for it to firm up.  Too hungry.   Tomorrow I will fry up a piece and make a sandwich on sourdough bread.  Can't wait...and I'm not even hungry.

I didn't show any vegetables or salad.  But you should really have something green with this meal.  We didn't, but you should.

One Stinkin' Border

I hate being sick.  I don't feel that bad, but I am so tired and my brain isn't running on all cylinders. Kinda foggy.

So I got up late and because I am old I can't stay in bed.  My back hurts.  I have to move around and I might as well do something.  Put the borders on the quilt, I thought to myself.  How hard can that be??  And this is why I should still be taking a class to finish my quilt...

   

I cut out strips of the fabric for the first border.  Then I sewed them together.  Because the fabric was a batik, there is no discernible pattern and no right or wrong side.  Both sides are the right side.

   

To sew the strips into one long strip, you place one horizontally and the next one vertically with the right sides together.  The ends overlap a bit. 

   

Sew a diagonal line from one corner to the other, cut off the excess and iron it open and you should have a straight line of the two pieces. 

   

Then trim the edge so it is straight.

   

Then sew a bunch more.

 

Because there was no right side I ended up twisting the fabric so that the seam on one of the pieces was upside down. If the right side was obvious this wouldn't have happened. If I wasn't sick, this wouldn't have happened. If I knew what I was doing, this wouldn't have happened. But it did, so I had to cut it out and resew. Not a big deal, but it is why I only got one border done and why I am not almost finished.

   

I pinned the strip to one edge. After sewing, I sewed one on the opposite side.  I like to cut them just a bit longer and then cut them even after sewing.  This way I don't have to measure exactly and I don't cut them off until I'm done, so the edges are perfect.  Or as perfect as I can make them.

Then he two other sides are sewn and that is one stinkin' border, done!

   


And only one, darn it all.

On the other hand, there is a new sewing machine I would really like to have when it comes time to do the quilting.  So if I take a really long time, the horses might sell and then I will get the machine I really want.  And there really is a Santa Claus, (girl living in) Virginia!

Most Of The Top

I finished the center of the quilt top and then had to construct the corners.  For this I had to cut a whole bunch of setting triangles.  When Carolyn at Trinity Quilt Shop explained it, I thought she was saying, "Set In Triangles."  But it is setting triangles and this is what you cut to make the squares fit flush to the borders.  They were the easiest thing to do so far.  Cut squares and cut them into triangles.  Done.

It may also amuse you to note that I completely missed the fact that the center was turned on end to make a diamond pattern.  I don't know why I didn't notice it, but I didn't.  I also don't know what I thought I was making these corners for, as that is what makes the whole thing square again.  I was blindly following the directions without really looking at the whole thing.  That is frequently my attention deficit.  I see what is front of me and not the whole picture.  It is why I can't write good book reviews and don't really care for most poetry.  I'm very literal and don't get nuances very well.

   

So, back to the amazing quilt that I didn't know I was making!  To make the corners, I put setting triangles on either side of a star block.  Make four for four corners.  Say that three times fast!

   

Then I put a framed block in between two star blocks.  I did remember to look at colors so that I didn't have the same ones in the same corner.  These blocks of three then had a setting triangle sewn on at each end.  Next I placed all the pieces on the floor to determine the best placement of colors and started more pinning.

   

After pinning the first one, I remembered to unpin it and check to make sure that the edges of the blocks in the new corners lined up with the edges of the blocks already sewn.  Shew!  That was a close one, because they were not lined up and I would have had to take out a huge row of stitches.

The four corners went together pretty fast and then I had to figure out where to place them on the center of the quilt. 

Now I have to trim the edges and cut the borders.  That should be fairly straightforward as it is just cutting long strips and sewing them together.  Then cutting the strips to size and sewing them on.  The problem is that every time I think I know what I am doing and get complacent, that is when I make a stupid mistake and end up taking out more stitches than I leave in.  So I will say that this next part is going to be very difficult and I must be very careful!