Sculpting the Oven and First Plaster Layer

Once again, RAIN. But that didn't stop me from working on the oven. Before we went out for breakfast I added to the chimney, making it taller and wider in order to allow it to accept the stove pipe. Then we left for breakfast. While we were gone it actually dried...well a bit. The next step was to cook up some wheat/rice paste to add to the sand/clay/wood chip mix. This makes it "sticky" enough to sculpt it. I decided to make a Sun/Moon/Stars design. Wayne's an amateur astronomer, we are always aware of where the stars and planets are along with the equinox and solstice. Seemed fitting AND it I like it!

OK, the sculpting is done...adding the plaster

  So, you can kind of see what it looks like from here. I'm actually adding the first plaster layer here.

Further along in the plastering

The actual plaster layer consisted of VERY fine silica sand, clay, wheat paste, and of course water. I mixed it up with a drill mixer until the drill couldn't take it any more. :). Last step...adding poly fiber for added strength. The consistency is like POI. Yes, that gluey starch from Hawaii.

I took handfuls into my handled bowl and started smearing it on the layer before. It went on nicely! Perfectly sticky by hand. No gloves here...nothing but fingers and hands. Kind of like pudding.

Evening update: Even though it's raining....looks like it's drying.....S-L-O-W-L-Y....which again....it's a good thing.

Weather forecast is that the sun will come out tomorrow. Yaaaay! 
Tomorrow....second layer of plaster and then even possibly the third. WITH COLOR!

Top of the Oven

First Fires in the Oven

It's VERY important to not fire the oven very hot to begin with. In the first place, the oven is still quite wet. When you get it too hot too fast what do you get???? Steam! What does steam do under pressure? Explode!
The very first fire needs to be mostly paper with just a bit of small wood slivers right inside the door. This first fire is sooo exciting. All that hard work and you finally get to build a fire!
Believe me....all I wanted to do was LET IT GO! But....hold on....be patient, small fires. So I built the first little fire as soon as I emptied the sand form. Here's a pic of the smoke coming out of the chimney:

VERY FIRST FIRE IN THE OVEN

Why are there bricks in front of the door, you ask? Because I want to make sure the HEAT stays inside the oven. Remember, this is a DRYING fire...not a cooking fire.
The outside dome of the oven got nice and toasty warm. OOOO felt sooo nice! Wonderful for drying.....not so good for baking. Remember, you want the heat to stay IN the oven for baking.
The sun actually came out a bit on Sunday.

adding the insulation layer

The next step was the insulation layer:
Notice the blue canopy.....it was raining....again. See the grills and the bag of clay (Lincoln Fire Clay) and the level? Looks like I know what I'm doing....right? Sooo professional. Actually it's JUST like making mud pies.


The insulation layer consists of clay, sand, pearlite, water (of course) and wood shavings. (I got a large bale of pine shavings from PetCo....yeah....I know. But it works beautifully! Under $10.00). You can see the back of the oven and where the grill is going to be.

Me, coaxing the little fire to burn. Burn, baby, Burn!

Go...little fire....you can DO IT!

The next step was building a small fire....mostly paper and some wood sticks. NOT an easy job. Remember...everything is W-E-T. This is the little fire that COULD.....but it barely made it.
I pushed it back to the back of the stove once it got going and warmed/dried out the back.
Notice the bricks around the outside? Those are to support the wet insulation mix so it doesn't slump and keep the sides vertical. Plus, the bricks act as a good wick to evaporate water. They'll come off as the outside dries.

The good news, the chimney works, the oven is drying....although S-L-O-W-L-Y and by this weekend we should be cooking!

Built another fire (#3) tonight when we got home tonight. Bigger with bigger pieces of wood. Burned nicely! Pushed the coals to the back of the oven, placed some relatively wet but seasoned wood (remember...it RAINS here this time of year) near the door then blocked the entrance with brick. This will allow the wet wood to dry out overnight making it easier to start and maintain the fire tomorrow when I get home. Temperature goal for tomorrow....400 degrees F.

I'll also add to the chimney, widening the base and making it taller to accept a stove pipe in the future.

I went outside to check on it later.....guess what???? It was really going! There was very little smoke and the little fire that could had become the little fire that DID!. It was dark, no pictures. All was well....See, I just have to be patient. (life lesson for me?)
The last of the support bricks around the outside came off tonight....things are drying nicely. Cross your fingers for sun tomorrow.

Next Steps:
1. Earthen Plaster layer.....you know what this means.....?  Manure.......from cows or horses..... along with clay, very fine (sifted) sand, fiber of some kind, and wheat paste. This is made by cooking flour in water...about 6 cups. Some people call it GRAVY! Plasterers call it wheat paste. We'll see....this one is going to be hard for me. Pooo!
2. Building the grill. Design still undergoing modification in my head. Stay tuned. I'm thinking about expanding.
3. Cooking the first pizza! (this weekend?)

Door Arch is COMPLETE!

It is raining and raining and raining today. BUMMER! BUT... Because I have a canopy over the oven I can work on the arch. I built a sand arch to support the bricks and used my clay/sand mix as mortar. I also created a hole for the chimney using a plastic pot as a place holder. (that's the black thing at the top of the door. The bricks at the front of the door are just there to keep the wet sand form in place. They'll go away once things are dry those fire brick will be used to build the grill after the oven is done. The sand form stays until its dry. That might take a while due to the wet weather. BUT that's not a bad thing. Clay likes to dry slowly. It doesn't crack as much. So, I need to stop whining and let nature do its thing.
See pics:

The next steps for the oven...

The first layer is complete and the weather is cooperating to allow it to dry enough that I could cut the door out last night. I did not take it out since the very bottom of the oven was still a bit soft. The plan today is to take out the door when I get home and start taking out the sand form and then build the brick door arch.
Pics:

More on the Wood Oven:

OOO, I can hardly go to work! I just want to work on the oven. The fire brick is almost all down. Just need to cut the brick to fit in the small spaces left around the edge.
Today I pick up the refractory mortar to make the walls for the grill, another big bag of clay just to make sure I have enough, a large tarp to mix the clay/sand mix, and more sand for the some form.
I laid out the outline of the oven on the firebrick. All is good to go.
See the pics below:
:-)

Grilled Pineapple, Tenderloin, Sauté Carrots with Shallot

A PERFECT DINNERAgain....it's been a while since blogging has happened. I'be been gone at a conference for a week, NOT cooking, all eating out. Poor Wayne has had to fend for himself.BUT last night I got to cook again! I got a most beautiful pineapple in a gift bag (also from speaking at a conference) ripe, sweet and just waiting to be grilled along with steaks.I peeled it and then split into quarters, cutting out the core. Then concocted a marinade of honey, ground hazel nuts, orange juice and chili powder, oh...and butter.I had some tenderloin steaks, just the right size. Defrosted, dried, rubbed a mix of herbs from the garden that included chive, rosemary, lavender, and salt and pepper. Then I put them on a grate and put them in the freezer to dry just a bit. Why? Any meat will not get nice and brown-crispy with perfect grill marks if it wet in anyway. The wetness absorbs all the heat when it hits the grill by making steam. Steaks in particular need to be DRY. The slightly frozen outside is perfect because the freezing also drys the outside. It also allows the outside to heat up and cook/brown while the inside stays rare to medium rare. JUST PERFECT!Here's a pic of the grill.
I put the marinated pineapple on first, turning to brown all sides then put them up on the warming rack while I put on the steaks. Then went inside to sauté the carrots. Get a nice sizzle on the steaks, then turn 90 degrees for grill marks. Go inside, shake and stir the carrots, go outside... Flip the steaks... Go inside, stir the carrots....go outside rotate steaks 90 degrees (grill marks again).....go inside...add spinach leaves to Vegies....go outside...take off steaks...THEY ARE DONE. cover steaks with foil to rest 5 min. Retrieve pineapple from grill, plate. Plate the vegies, plate your steaks, pour wine (red), EAT! Ahhhhhhh, bliss!Ideally, outside on the deck....BUT it's still so freaking cool here we went inside to watch six Mariner pitchers throw a NO HITTER against the Dodgers!PRICELESS!