Zinc Saucier Edition 4 – Beef Cobbler
The Zinc Saucier [that's me by the way for those of us not paying attention] is hard at it again, but this time I’m making a childhood favourite of mine: Beef Cobbler.
As far as I know mema got this recipe from a cookbook she purchased somewhere in the 70’s or 80’s and she’s been making it ever since. I found my recipe here. But I’ll have to admit that I didn’t follow it religiously, mainly because I didn’t have all the ingredients.
After the jump there are details of what I did differently.
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Zinc Saucier Edition 3 – Sloppy Joes
A nice down home country, easy as… sloppy joes recipe for all you food fans out there.
Sloppy Joes are a fantastic twist on the regular old burger. The basic premise of the sloppy joe is that it’s a loose meat burger with ketchup mixed in. That’s it, the recipe is really simple, and if you put your chips on in good time, you can have a meal for the whole family in 30 minutes.
A picture of the results:
Recipe and details after the jump
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Zinc Saucier Edition 2 – Pierogi [Polish dumplings]
So anyone familiar with this blog will know that from time to time, that I like to cook.
(Here’s proof)
Now, on to the second Zinc Saucier post.
I had heard the name Pierogi thrown out on one of my favourite shows Corner Gas and after a little research I found out that Pierogi are dumplings from Poland. Generally the filling seems to be potato and cheese.
I love potato and cheese so I decided to whip up a batch using this recipe.
And here is the result.
Click after the jump for info about my cooking experience.
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Character Biography 1: Tin Star
Welcome to the first in what will hopefully be a medium sized line of original character biographies and details. Below is a picture of the first of these original characters and he is called Tin Star.
Just a little background information before I introduce Tin Star – He and all the other characters that I will introduce reside in Castlefinn City. This is my Gotham/Metropolis/San Angeles all rolled into one. I couldn’t manage to fit any of my crazy characters in any regular city I could think of, so I thought it best to create my own city and populate it with the craziest, weirdest, most evil bastards I could think of.
Without further ado – Tin Star.
His story after the jump.
Dieselpunk Draft 1
So the entire time I’ve had this blog, and there has been a writing category, and I have not posted any writing.
So here it is, the first few paragraphs of my as yet untitled Dieselpunk Novel.
The oil and grease didn’t wash off anymore, his fingertips were permanently blackened. Within a year he’d have black palms and wrists. Another year and he’d have black forearms and feet. It’s impossible to stop the progression and after it makes your hair fall out, it turns the whites of your eyes black.
Most men don’t even bother washing once it reaches the armpits, because it’s pointless. You can’t go back under the dome with the rest of the static folk; City Lords, Bucky followers and the tower residents. Most of them have never even seen a lifelong engineer with thick black skin and terrifying eyes. They didn’t even want to know about you once you stopped looking like them.
He put a hydro-tobacco cigar between his wet black fingertips and walked away from the engine room to one of the skeleton cars to feel the dirty air on his face. He lit his cigar and looked across the dry, crinkled earth. Danny was an engineer now, and he would never be getting off this train.
Men in sheds have all the answers
So these two lads came up with a solution to the oil spill that’s in the gulf right now.
Haven’t heard about this oil spill? Have a quick read and get back to me.
Caught up? Good.
Now on to my point. These Guys came up with an innovative solution to the problem.
Hay. Pure and simple.
If you don’t fancy heading over to the page to watch the video, here it is.
So it’s like I’ve been saying all along – Men in sheds will save the world, and they’ll get it done today with duct tape, hope, dollar store tools… and hay.
The deadline has passed and so have I
Now, bear with me here.
Both of the welding tests have to be evaluated before they are sent to the certification board so I can get my papers.
I was waiting for a phone call today, and if I did not receive a phone call, I was to assume that I had passed the evaluation and my pieces were winging their way to FETAC so they can send me my papers.
Man I am happy as hell. I love passing tests.
Welding by Gaslight 15
Welcome to the last post of The Gaslight Welder.
It’s been a fun ride, and it turns out that I love welding.
It’s hard on the back, it’s hot, it’s dirty, it requires a lot concentration…
However I have no desire to unlearn what I have learned and if it gets me a job; all the better.
Hit the jump for the picture of the second test piece.
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[Arc] Welding by Gaslight 14
This look familiar by any chance? If you’re a regular reader you’ll realize that this is the standard Arc welding test from Fas. And this time I’m happier with the outcome. Feeling good about it this time.
[Arc] Welding by Gaslight 13
So I did all of my exercises for the day so I started playing around.
I welded four piece together to make a box section, then I welder that to flat plate.
Unlike gas welding, you only get one shot at an arc weld.
I nailed every weld on the above picture. Water tight and everything.
[Arc] Welding by Gaslight 12
Doesn’t it look like I’m welding with pure silver?
Those are some fine welds there.
It’s just like riding a bike, you never forget. Just need a little practice.
Right back on that Iron Horse
Remember this?
Well The Mad Welder is back.
I’m back arc welding again. Man, I much prefer arc welding.
Tomorrow, some pics of my progress. Getting close to the end now.
Welding by Gaslight 11
These are the pieces that I made today. The were my mock pieces for the test. During the test I’ll be making pieces just like those. Wish me luck, I finish up on Friday week.
There’s a surprise between now and then, stay tuned.
Welding by Gaslight 10
I know this looks like things you can make with a “My first welder” kit, but these are examples of the three basic things that are done with gas welding.
On the left is a box section which is made by welding together four pieces of steel at the corners.
The middle is a butt weld, which I’ve talked about before.
On the right there is a T joint, which I talked about in the last post.
Everyone should try to learn one new skill every year. At least one per year.
Specialization is for insects.
Welding by Gaslight 9
The T-joint. So called, because it looks like a T.
Weld both sides, and make it look good.
I love acquiring new skills.
Welding by Gaslight 8
The latest thing is seamless welds. You have to achieve full penetration of molten steel right to the bottom of the joint. You can do a visual check for this, but to really be sure you have to cut the piece in half and inspect the weld.
I think that’s a pass.
Beard Update
Sadly, the last beard update. Click through for the results.
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Welding by Gaslight 7
Check it out. I welded a piece of pipe to a piece of plate, and the weld is water tight. It’s water tight, which generally means it’s gas-tight. And that’s what we’re looking for.
Tune in for more progress.
Welding by Gaslight 6
You know…. sometimes it’s just not going your way and you can’t seem to get it together.
So occasionally you make your own fun.
Welding by Gaslight 5
Here is the progression that I’ve been making since I started ths course.
The joint on the left is a lap joint: connection two offset pieces by welding the edge of one to the middle of the other while both are parallel.
The middle joint is a fillet weld: two pieces connected at the edges at a 90 degree angle, or whichever angle is necessary.
The right joint is a T-joint: the edge of one piece connected to the face of another at a 90 degree angle, welded on both sides. This is by far the trickiest to date because once you’ve welded one joint the nature of welding the second joint changes. There is extra metal on the other side of the joint, thus the torch has to work harder to heat the metal to make it liquid.
I shall continue to post when I make further progress. Or I may post every day, I’m not sure.
