Partly Sunny with a Chance of Sprinklers

Perhaps you'll understand my high level of giddiness when the time came to activate my front yard sprinklers for the first time, and they worked gloriously.

That means we now arrive at what amounts to the concluding post on my do-it-yourself build-an-irrigation-system endeavor. In my last post on this unending topic, I talked about tying in the last of the main lines and connecting to the copper source pipe from the new second meter.

Back on Friday, August 7th, I found myself unable to wait any longer to see if I've done this right, or bungled it beyond reason. After dinner and dessert, I changed into work clothes and headed out into the fading evening light. I turned on my main manual valve. I opened up my secondary drain valves to begin flushing out the main lines; these are the ones that empty into the drain outlets onto the front sidewalk. I turned on the rear yard hydrant and was pretty happy once the water flow established itself and showed it was going to be more than adequate.

I moved on to what I call Irrigation Zone B3, where my third yard hydrant is, and opened it up. Then I pulled up my irrigation controller app and activated the zone...and waited...and waited...and nothing happened. I thought I'd better go to the valve box and see if I could hear the valve activate when I signaled for the zone to do a run...which is when I was reminded I had a manual valve for the back yard that was still closed off! Once I turned it on, I went back to my irrigation controller app and signaled for Zone B3 to run...and run it did! As long as I was at it, I went ahead and pulled the four nozzles from the lawn zone in the back yard, used the app to run that zone, and flushed out those lines successfully. Finally, I also flushed out the rear planting bed drip zone lines. So, the first hurdle was overcome: the water lines are functional. Two of the yard hydrants are functional. And I was especially relieved to see that my automatic valves have been wired correctly and are responsive to being controlled by my smart app on my phone. Hallelujah!

In the front yard, I still had to cement some lateral endline connections for drip irrigation zones, and that was my chore the next day, on Saturday. I also connected the lateral line to the front yard hydrant I'd installed (I held off on it so that I'd be able to connect it to a clean-and-flushed mainline). I let it all sit and solidify overnight so that I could focus Sunday on flushing these front lines and testing it out.

Sunday, August 9th, in the heat and humidity that settled on Winston-Salem from the breaking of dawn and persisting throughout the day: I activated all my manual control valves. I turned on the front yard hydrant and, after the spits and sputters and release of air, was rewarded with a good steady stream of cool clear water. I uncapped the drip line connection points in the planting beds in the front yard and hooked hoses up to two of them (where I didn't want the flushing to wash out around them). I activated my second and third zones in turn, and was glad to see those lines respond and flush out.

As mid-day approached, I was baking in the bright sunshine and sweating up a storm, but I pulled up the sprinkler head risers in the front lawn zone and clamped them, removed the nozzles, and activated the automatic valve to flush those lines. The water didn't shoot up especially high, so my fears and nerves were not much allayed yet. I cleaned all the nozzles and replaced them and removed the clamps from the risers. Then I activated Zone 1 in the front yard using my app...and I got to see some fine rotary sprinkler action. Later that afternoon, I went through and adjusted their arcs and distances to a pretty close approximation of the finished set-up. And yes, a few more times later that day, I turned on that zone just to feast my eyes on the wonderful display of success.

The moment has been quite a long time coming, my friends. It's been a lot of hours, a lot of elements and components, and a weighty overloaded trainload of "unknowns." So I hope I can be forgiven at the irrational glee I was left with at the sight of 12 functioning sprinkler heads gently tossing water out onto my ravaged and scarred clay-filled front yard.

With the irrigation system in place and functioning, I finished filling in the last trenches but also ordered the first of two truckloads of topsoil mix.

The first delivery came Tuesday a week ago and I promptly hauled 14 wheelbarrow loads into the front yard.

Wednesday and Thursday were each a 22-wheelbarrow-load day.

By Friday I had to have a second order because the first pile of topsoil was depleted after I'd run with six more loads.

Pope Sand and Gravel brought that resupply of topsoil by lunchtime last Friday, and I took another nine loads of topsoil into the front yard. (Remember: I'd gone pretty deep when I was removing the old yard out front, so it took a lot to rebuild it all.)

We finally got a much-needed break in the roughly five weeks of hot-humid-stormy days on Saturday, August 14th...it was pretty awesome to get up to a morning where it was 64°F instead of 74°F. And the weekend proved perfect for me to spread and rake and pack the new topsoil.

I wanted to build up but also bring out the front yard while also being mindful that it had to slope down as it approaches the front retaining wall.

In hopes of preventing erosion disasters with the sloping portions, I pounded down every layer of topsoil I spread and brutalized my palms and my back in the process!

As of this writing, I've got the new grass seed spread and topped with a combination mulch and tackifier. I've got the zone set to automatically run three times during the heat of the day in order to keep the seed moist as it contemplates whether it will germinate and sprout and root and grow for me.

It has all so far withstood a few thunderstorms coming through without any noticeable erosion or serious washouts.

Still to do: prepping, filling, grading, and seeding the back yard. But those rear sprinklers are mostly set and ready to help the new grass grow. Then I want to do a small bit of dripline set-up for my other zones, but most of that is going to be held off until next spring, since we are approaching the end of summer. At this point, I've only set up short-range full-arc dripline sprays for the broccoli and watermelon in the kitchen garden, with automatic scheduled watering times.

Plenty remains to be done, but I'm definitely happy and relieved as of this writing. Given the location of the house, my labors last summer and this have been a very public spectacle. Since I completed the rebuilding and finishing off of the front yard, it has been both gratifying and a bit mortifying the range of both strangers and neighbors who've made a point of complimenting me on getting it finished. "Looking good!" and "It turned out great!" and just a passing thumbs-up were potential indicators that the many regular passers-by were not always confident about my eventual success.

Meal No. 2647: Sweet Pork Quesadillas

After grabbing two Boston Butt pork shoulders on a great special on a recent grocery run, I had to figure out what I wanted to do with the second one. When the City advised the neighborhood that there was going to be another day-time shut-down of our drinking water so that they could do street valve replacements, which occurred Tuesday of last week, I decided to go with something in the slow-cooker so it could cook without me messing with it...and that ended up being Cafe Rio Pork that I then turned into quesadillas with sautéed onions, corn, and black beans. Well, and cheese. Lots of cheese.

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Preparation and cooking based on "Quesadillas for a Crowd," by Morgan Bolling. In Cook's Country, August/September 2015, p. 18.

Shredded Pork based on "Cafe Rio Sweet Pork," from Holly of Life in the Lofthouse. [Published 30 October 2014] See also "Sweet Pork Nachos," from Holly as well. [Published 01 August 2017]

Meal No. 2646: Deviled Chicken Thighs

It would be fine with me to have this meal at least once a month, although I suppose it occurs with slightly less frequency than that. The Monday night meal last week that more than satisfied: deviled chicken thighs, with easy stovetop stuffing and buttered garden peas.

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"Deviled Chicken Drumsticks," by Ian Knauer. In Gourmet, August 2008.

Meal No. 2645: Southwestern Caesar Salad

A week ago just seemed right for another salad supper on a Sunday night, and a great time to bring back my homemade Southwestern Caesar dressing to go on top of hearts of romaine, with corn and black beans and roasted sunflower seeds.

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Southwestern Caesar Dressing was my creation but was based on:

• "Southwest Caesar Dressing," by CookingONtheSide. From GeniusKitchen.com
• "Southwestern Caesar Salad with Chipotle Dressing," from the Hyatt Regency at Gainy Ranch (Scottsdale, AZ). Published in Bon Appétit, March 1997.

CluedUpp Game Day: Witchcraft & Wizardry

In the heat and humidity Saturday a week ago, as I was securing the last fittings and endcaps to seal off the remaining elements of the new irrigation system, a heretofore unexperienced phenomenon occurred. A happy group of four folks came 'round the corner of Holly Avenue and Spring Street and worked their way up to the front of the house, as if it were their intended destination. Turns out: it was their destination, thanks to their participation in the UK-based CluedUpp Games app that involves mysteries and searches and clues all over whatever city it's targeted. For the people who paid $48 per six-person-team to participate (it was sold out, too!), one of the places they had to find and check in at (in order to receive their next set of clues) was none other than the Roediger House. I have no idea how we were so lucky to be included, but as the day went on, I bet 75 folks sought out the house and then lingered in front of it while they read and digested the unlocked clues.

It seems the house was designated as the site of The Mystery Mirror, or so I understood, so after a few groups had come through and it looked like it was going to be "a thing" that day, I fetched a mirror from the cellar and set up incense sticks on either side of it on the front steps leading up from the sidewalk. That made for a fine portrait setting for some of the teams. Lots of folks were dressed in their wizarding caps and capes, some with wands, lots of kids made up like Harry Potter, plus tons of Harry Potter t-shirts and such. Sumner loved mingling with a lot of 'em and it looked like people had a pretty good time. I chatted with a lot of them, too, but I was shy about asking to photograph any of the groups, so this pic at a distance will have to do: one group is working out the next place to go, and on up the sidewalk towards Fourth Street, you can see another group that had just departed.

Look: there are tons of cool old houses within easy striking distance of here. But maybe because I've given the Roediger House a pretty extensive web presence, and also because it seems to have been picked up by Google and others as a recommended historical sight (with a high star rating, even!), and also because it really is right close to lots of the other places and features that a scavenger hunt-mystery clue game taking place downtown is likely to include, I suppose it makes sense that some folks in Great Britain included us in the game. I'm adding this to the things that a cool house like this seems to, well, conjure up, we might say.

Meal No. 2644: Roasted Salmon

A week ago today, we finally had a fully clear day but boy-howdy was it somewhat of a scorcher with seriously oppressive humidity. But with my irrigation system being ready to operationalize, I knew I had to tackle the loose ends that were still left, particularly sealing off a few final lateral lines for drip irrigation, plus connecting up the line for the front yard hydrant I'd installed. I worked through the morning and about halfway through the afternoon before coming in to shower, hit the grocery store, and then prepare dinner. On the plates, the much-loved healthier choice of roasted salmon and roasted broccoli. I was craving that grub by supper time, for sure.

Homemade Klondike Bars

For a third time now, I have endeavored to produce homemade Klondike bars. It's a terrific way to put to use extra egg whites, which I ended up with from making a recent batch of ice cream, but I also have to smartly plan for pulling these Klondike bars together, since it's an involved and time-sensitive process. Let's be clear, though: they are well worth any trouble and aggravation, these delicious little buggers.

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"Homemade Klondike Bars," by Stella Parks, the Pastry Wizard at SeriousEats.com. [Published 06 September 2018 / Updated 15 April 2020]

Meal No. 2643: Pasta with Sausage, Basil, and Mustard

For Friday night's supper at the Roediger House, I found myself drawn to one of my simply delicious and deliciously simple recipes from a long-ago clipping from an issue of Food & Wine. Although it was published in 2002, I didn't even try it out until 2014, and since then I've made it between zero and one time per year ever since. This will be the first year where it's been made more than once, in fact. Why is this, I wonder? Because it's actually quite tasty and worth having more often.

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"Pasta with Sausage, Basil, and Mustard," by Nigel Slater and published in Food & Wine, September 2002.

Meal No. 2642: Grilled Filet Mignon

I've had trouble getting a recent meal, from a few weeks ago, out of my mind. With an overdose of self-congratulation at the persistence and dedication that's marked my recent grand finishing flourishes in the final big stages of the irrigation system, I decided I deserved a steak. Last Thursday evening, with the last two minutes of grilling under a lightning-streaked sky, and getting pelted by huge chilly raindrops, I was able to bring in perfectly-cooked filet mignon.

But wait: there's more! I returned to the garlic-and-rosemary-infused-duck-fat super crispy roasted potatoes recipe that's just recently found its way into the Roediger House recipe collection, yet again with tremendous results. And with a nod to something healthy, the plates were finished out with hoisin-glazed roasted whole green beans. I mean, why not?

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"Super Crispy Roasted Potatoes," from Christin Mahrlig of SpicySouthernKitchen.com. [Published 16 September 2014]

Irrigation System: Rough Completion

Back in April, one of the major projects of 2020 was to rework and expand the gutter and downspout drain system on the south side of the house, along the parking area and through the Grove and across the edge of the front yard to the outlet in the front wall. With the trenches I had to dig, it just made sense to also begin laying lines that would be part of my future irrigation system. In fact, this was not only the trigger to simultaneously begin work on the sprinkler system, but this was also the moment when I made the wiser choice of including lines to service the rear of the property (see photo above), rather than just the front yard. I've offered updates along the way and am glad to now be able to summarize what amounts to the final stages of the bulk of the project. But I'd also like to include a few tidbits of the project that I haven't talked about much yet.

Folks in the neighborhood have watched with interest, amusement, empathy, and horror while I've labored for many, many hours on this irrigation system. A married couple that did a marvelous job of fixing up an old house on Second Street has occasionally paused on their neighborhood strolls to ask a variety of questions. I always felt like there was a tinge of concern at my lack of knowledge and expertise, though. For instance, they chided me for "digging to China," with the husband adding: "I've never seen irrigation trenches that deep before." And yes: it's true that I dug many of the trenches much deeper than might have been necessary, but I thought I had a couple of reasonable explanations. A key motivator was getting the lines under the front flagstone landing at the halfway point of the stairs coming up from the street (see top portion of the photo above). It's about 9 feet wide, and the PVC pipes are 10 feet. I had to dig down far enough to pound aluminum conduit underneath (creating a small tunnel, one might say) to then run the PVC lines, and I had to dig out a long enough run to be able to work a 10-foot conduit in battering ram fashion.  It also allowed a more level layout of the main lines and the laterals to the sprinklers, given the sharp slope down as you approach the front wall. Finally, I definitely don't mind having the extra protection from freezing weather...I'm well below the frost line for this part of North Carolina! Speaking of this part of the state, please note the hard-packed clay in the picture below:

I ran three lines underneath, planning either to have three front yard zones (if the City water connection was on the south end) or to have two zones plus a main line from a north end City connection. It's the latter that carried the day.

To get water for the backyard irrigation zones, I laid the main water line under the gutter/downspout drain line which is under a gutter drain for the porch sidewalk from the parking lot. But the concrete sidewalk going to the rear kitchen door was a much more difficult proposition. It took me a day and a half just to get a single line underneath it, because of how hard-packed the clay and gravel were. That led me to put the rear valve box on the back side of that sidewalk, since I could not manage multiple lines under that sidewalk, and decided to have a seventh valve and zone just for the kitchen herb garden:

That meant ordering an additional valve, which was the last one to be set up and wired. But that was completed by July 25th.

With that last valve in place, I felt ready to also finish wiring up my smart controller in the cellar (above and below)...

...and that's my own messy conduit job!

I've mentioned the yard hydrant that I installed on the south property line in order to have a point of connection for drip lines to service the narrow strip of azaleas along the main driveway entrance. But I also installed two other yard hydrants while I was putting this system in. There is now a faucet for the front yard:

...and another for the back yard:

Here at the end of the main installation process, I had to consider a couple of key elements of the front-end design for the system: a filter and a blow-out access point (in order to winterize the system each fall). Crouched in the rear hallway, I put together this simple scheme to fit in the in-ground valve box I had set aside for this very purpose:

It allows me to have an additional manual main system shutoff separate from the backflow preventer valves and the meter in the street. I created a lateral element with hose-thread adaptors so that I could attach either a simple pressure gauge (as shown here) or to attach an air hose adaptor (for an air compressor connection). On that side "maintenance" line, I put in another manual valve to prevent any unnecessary leaking.

On Wednesday, the City installed the new water meter, and on Thursday, the backflow preventer was tested and certified, meaning the water connection was turned on. The last "external" element was paving the streetcut where the new water main connection occurred...that also took place last Thursday as well.

As of the first week of August, the irrigation system is now essentially completed and will involve no other outside parties. Now, it's simply up to me to finish things out, and I hope I feel free to take my time and to wrap up the project smartly and carefully.

By the way, when I was tying together the last of the main and zone lines and connecting them to the City water supply line, it was during a very stormy and rainy week. Unfortunately, each day's storm threat sort of forced me to work quickly...and I failed horribly at taking pictures of most of these last system elements. That's not just a matter of adorning this blog post, but it is now a missing record of where the lines are and how I routed them and how the connections were made, because I was in too much of a hurry to get them covered over before the storms.

Speculoos Ice Cream

Early last week, after coming across a sizable cache of great new ice cream recipes to try (mostly from SeriousEats.com), I opted to tackle a preliminary step for a number of them and toasted a big batch of sugar. Why toast it? To see if it indeed enriches the flavors and develops a compelling complexity from the hints of caramel infused in the non-melted sugar. The first batch I experimented with was speculoos ice cream, made with those classic Biscoff cookies that used to be the best thing about flying on Delta. And boy howdy was it ever fantastic! Strangely, each bite of this ice cream offered a flavor profile reminiscent of getting to the end of an ice cream sandwich. Which is rather odd, since the ice cream has no cocoa or chocolate. I guess there's something special about the wafers of ice cream sandwiches that parallels the speculoos sensations when they are deeply infused in ice cream.

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"Homemade Speculoos Ice Cream," by Stella Parks of SeriousEats.com. [Published 29 June 2017; Updated 22 May 2020]

Toasted Sugar, based on "How To Make Rich, Flavorful Caramel without Melting Sugar," by Stella Parks of SeriousEats.com. [Published 16 May 2016; Updated 30 October 2019]

Meal No. 2641: Sheet Pan Beef Nachos

This past Tuesday seemed a great time to bring back another pan of beef nachos that always hit the spot. I had a fresh tomato on hand and went ahead and bulked things up with the addition of black beans and shoepeg corn, plus tons of Mexican cheese so that there'd be an overabundance of temptation when the leftovers were lurking for the next few days.

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Taco-Style Meat Based on "Crispy Beef Tacos," by Hilah Johnson. From HilahCooking.com.

Seasoning was based on "Taco Seasoning I," from Bill Echols on AllRecipes.com.

Meal No. 2640: Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Like I recently said: bag of salad, big container of homemade dressing, plump grilled chicken breast portion tucked away in the fridge...easy instant supper last Sunday when the work day on the irrigation system ran way too long.

Meal No. 2639: Succulent Braised Pork Shoulder

Once again, a great special at my Cloverdale Harris Teeter led me to bring home two Boston Butt pork shoulders this past weekend, and the first of those was carved and trimmed and cut up for a second go at a marvelous succulent braised pork stew.

That was the Saturday night meal, and it was pretty terrific, albeit I was heavy-handed with the pepper.

Instead of potatoes or egg noodles, I decided to balance it out with homemade buttermilk biscuits, using also for only a second time my latest biscuit recipe discovery.

And boy howdy, were those biscuits also really delicious and all too tempting!

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"Succulent Braised Pork Recipe," from Melissa D'Arabian on FoodNetwork.com.

"The Food Lab's Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe," from J. Kenji López-Alt, Chief Culinary Consultant of SeriousEats.com. [Published 07 August 2015]

Watermelon Wonder

Not sure that I ever expected that this would be what's found in my kitchen garden, but there it is. And it's kind of an exciting prospect (and incredibly fast-growing, at that!).

There are a few things I've planted this summer after promising my neighbor Anthony that we'd dedicate some space to some seeds and shoots he had. This is all new territory for both of us, and we thought maybe this was going to be squash...but clearly it is a different fruit of the vine!

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

Last Friday's approximation of a reunion of the most regular RoHo regulars, with a focus on distanced socializing, was more than a chili gathering. It was also the impetus for me to try out a cool summer treat for dessert, that in the end was only somewhat decent: Japanese strawberry shortcake. I've no doubt that my stumbles with this may have been from a combination of impatience and limited proficiency with the accompanying techniques to get it right...but it was a cooling salve on our chili-spiced tongues and a worthy tribute to summertime, while it yet lasts.

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"Japanese Strawberry Shortcake Recipe," from Holly Phuong Le of the Rice 'N Flour blog. [Published 08 June 2016]

Meal No. 2638: Simple Beef Chili with Beans

For the duration of this coronavirus pandemic and accompanying shut-down thus far, the Roediger House—so long accustomed to frequent entertaining—has been a quiet and unvisited space. You might count on one hand the number of driveway visits there have been, with camp chairs appropriately spaced, and the only meal-focused gathering occurred in early July, with a careful set-up for portioning out barbecue and slaw. Last Friday, with confidence we could gather safely and smartly, the most regular regulars were on hand and I didn't want to leave them meal-less. It might be hot weather and my menu was an odd choice, but it lent itself to the circumstances: simple beef chili with beans. I was extra vigilant about hand-washing from prep to serving, and I even put the cheese and sour cream into plastic ramekins so that we could avoid common serving items and utensils. The chili hasn't been on the menu since before last Christmas, and it was good enough even for a steamy summer evening.

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"Simple Beef Chili with Kidney Beans," from Cook's Illustrated, Number Sixty-One [March-April 2003], p. 10-11.

Meal No. 2637: Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

I guess one of the things about having a bag of salad on hand, and making a big batch of some kind of dressing, is you're gonna have to have salad again in reasonably quick succession. That's what happened Thursday night, which allowed a quick return to the bag of power greens and homemade Caesar dressing that were cooling it in the fridge. For this meal, though, I tossed a couple of frozen chicken breasts into the sous vide immersion circulator for a couple of hours, but then I took them out, seasoned them well on top of an olive oil rub, and finished them out on the grill. Turns out that's not a bad way to handle the dilemma of frozen chicken that I didn't take time to thaw in advance.

Meal No. 2636: Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Last Wednesday night felt like a good soup night, in spite of the heat and humidity of this July, and I turned to the Panera-style broccoli cheese soup that I hadn't made since last November. I've toyed around with my techniques for these cheesy creamy soups (like the recent batch of potato cheddar soup), trying to achieve a desirable thickness without subtracting from the good taste. It was closer to what I like that night and more than sufficient to fill my belly...but still leaving room for a bit more homemade vanilla bean ice cream (and yes: with another spoonful of edible brownie batter).

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Based on "Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup," by ChefNini and posted to GeniusKitchen.com.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Brownie Batter Topping

Enough time has passed since I last made some homemade ice cream (late April, it appears), so that's what I got up to starting on Monday night and continuing over into Tuesday. Initially, I charted a path toward creamy super vanilla ice cream, thinking it would be good with something substantial like a chocolate cake, or something goofy and easy like hot fudge sauce or brownie batter dip. It was the last of those that won out, with a trial run of a newly-discovered recipe for edible brownie batter (no eggs, heat-treated flour) that was a scrumptious accompaniment to the remarkable vanilla bean ice cream. It was all too much for the Tuesday night dessert, and all too good.

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"Vanilla Ice Cream" (p. 35-36), from Bi-Rite Creamery's Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones, by Kris Hoogerhyde, Anne Walker, and Dabney Gough. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press (2012).

"Edible Brownie Batter," from Chelsea Lords of ChelseasMessyApron.com. [Published 09 April 2020]