2015, the year of finishing the forno!

Well spring has sprung in Manitoba and I'm itching to get back to work on my forno. I fired it at least three times this winter, even when it was colder than -20C! It still worked like a charm and I didn't have any issues with structural damage, regardless of the cold.

Today I decided to start a bit of work on the slab. When I poured it, I didn't do a great job on the form so I wanted to add some character to the slab. I used a charcoal release powder/colouring when I poured the concrete, but it really lacked lustre in my opinion. For the past couple of months I've been thinking of finishing options and I opted to use concrete stain.

To prep the surface, I first rinsed off the leaves and dirt that accumulated over winter. Then I purchased some 120 grit sanding discs for my angle grinder (same grinder I used to cut all my brick!) and sanded down the slab. I didn't push too hard as I only wanted a bit of the aggregate to show. The trick with concrete stain is that it reacts to the lime in the concrete, so the aggregate in the concrete (being pebbles etc) will not colour. Once I sanded all the surfaces and smoothed the edges, I hosed the whole slab down with water and then dried it with a towel.

I purchased a stain that is made by W.R. Meadows and is called Spectrum 930 Patina Acid Stain. I chose to use the "Cinnamon" colour. To apply it, I poured about .5 litre into a plastic container and used a synthetic paint brush to apply it. I would've taken pictures of the application, but you need to brush the acid well or it applies unevenly causing dark spots etc. The acid is hydrochloric acid, so it does require PPE such as acid resistant gloves, goggles etc. Once the acid stain was all applied, I left it on for about 4 hours.

As the picture indicate, the stain was very dark to start. Once it dries and is rinsed, it leaves a slightly lighter, but nice colour with a patina look to it.

The next step is going to be sealing it. Well that is once I'm happy with the slab colour. I'm going to be using a "green" epoxy sealer called Ecopoxy to seal the colour in. I'm anxious to use this product as it is completely safe for the environment and also made right here in Manitoba!

Before I get too far, there is that large section on the dome that requires some stucco. That will be this weekends project, so I can continue on with the rest of the cosmetics.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Frenchy

Closed in and ready to fire!

Many days of hard work paid off. I managed to get 6 chains up without use of a yoga ball and also with the help of my eldest son. 

After the opening was set, I figured it was time to get a ball to use. And to start to close the Forno up. 

The closing went well however the bricks I laid weren't perfect, so unfortunately the ceiling is a mix of crappy cut bricks and globs of mortar.  Oh well it's still functional!! 

I built the archway with a 10"x8" opening for the flue. I used all firebricks and fire mortar to keep the heat resistance all the way out. 

Once the archway was mortared and set, the next step was to insulate. I used Roxul ComfortBat insulation.  It's a stone fiber insulation that I made myself believe would work the best for my price range. I covered the insulation with chicken wire to prep the dome for the final stucco coats. 

After I believed the dome was set naturally enough (about a week) I started to set small fires to cure the mortar.  These were used firebricks, so the bricks are mostly all cured. 

Finally this past Sunday we fired the oven to around 650F at the floor and 700F at the dome.  We made 7 pizzas at around 7 mins per to cook. 

 I also made buns the following day at around 400F. Everything came out wonderfully. 

Next steps are to finish the facade of the archway and complete the stucco work. The plan is for a terracotta coloured stucco on the dome with a combination of charcoal and medium grey brick on the land and archway. Stay tuned...

Frenchy

Starting the forno dome

Today I started the actual dome for my forno. Feels like it's taken forever to get here. I started off by settin the insulation down to position the soldier course of bricks down. Those were set on a 1.5" thick insulation board. 

Once I had that all figured out, I mixed some mortar and started to mortar the soldier course. Once it was setting. I started to cut and lay down the floor tiles on 3" of insulation board. I used a 4.5" angle grinder with a turbo diamond wheel to cut the bricks. It was like a hot knife through butter!

I figured since I wasn't tired enough yet, I would start the first chain. I used the indispensable tool for the first couple bricks, but used a measuring tape after to stay level as the mortar held very well. 

I'll continue the next chains when I have some more time. Pleased with the results so far!!

Forno build continuation...

So tonight I got to cutting the insulation for the floor and measuring out my bricks. I'm using Roxul ComfortBoard IS as the under floor insulation. It's 1.5" thick so I'm going to double it and also put cement board over top of that. Here's the insulation after it was cut to shape.  

After that was done, I set my floor bricks in the herringbone pattern on my garage floor and laid the insulation over top to mark my bricks. 

Yes my bricks are used, but honestly after a few firings, new ones would be dirty anyway! 

Once that was complete, I decided to make my brick holder for my indispensable tool. It's simply a Irwin squeeze clamp welded to a eye bolt then screwed into the "IT". This will enable me to have the tool hole my brick at the perfect angle while I mortar them in place. I didn't come up with that idea, but it certainly is brilliant!! 

That's all for now. Saturday is floor laying and dome building time!!

Build of my backyard Forno (Wood Fired Oven)

First off i'm going to explain that pizza to me is more than a food. It is a passion. It is such a versatile food in the sense of the variables that make it whatever you want it to be. My first real job was at my step-mom's pizza restaurant. I was a delivery driver, but soon ended up cooking. I developed my first interests in different toppings then, but then my culinary prowess grew after I moved out on my own.

Fast forward to the past few years and I'm making my own dough and have pizza at least once a week. I can crank out a dough recipe that yields 4x 12" thin crusts in about 15 mins. Not bad... So after using my BBQ to make pizzas in summer I started to research how to make outdoor ovens. My first idea was to use a steel barrel and line it with fire bricks and use PL Premium adhesive to cling it all... not good enough so I said screw it, let's go for broke.

A few months ago I decided it's go time. Time to start sourcing materials. I went to a used brick place and put 200 4.5"x4.25"x9" fire bricks in the box of my 2009 Toyota Tacoma (bad idea). I also put some raw chunks of Tyndall Stone (limestone) to use for my arch way. Here are some pics of that venture.

 These slabs of wood are from my dad's yard. They are Manitoba Maple. The plan for these bad boys is to plane them and laminate them for my door. I'll likely steel line it as well, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

For my foundation, I dug out a 72"x72" space in my yard about 4" deep at the shallowest and approx 10" at the most. My yard isn't very level, but this needed to be. As you can see in the pics, I filled and packed the space with 1/4" down crushed lime stone and then set in sidewalk stones.

Once I completed that part (some of the hardest physical work i've done in awhile) I sourced some cinder blocks from a good friend of mine for my base and wood storage. The plan, make a 54"x54" enclosure to hold up a concrete slab and also to store my fuel wood in.

There are several ways of putting the cinder blocks together. I used mortar between each chain. You can stack all the blocks and fill every second hole with concrete. At the time that seemed like too much work, in hindsight I would do it that way if I ever did this again. 

Once the foundation was built, concrete time. I made my form with OSB and spruce 2x4s. I set a piece of OSB in the middle of the block wall up with cinder blocks and jack stands. This made pouring nice and easy out of the back of my truck with a cement mixer!

Next, I started to build my template for the brick chains.  Note the hinged design so the form can come out after the dome is built.

To be continued for now.... next post will highlight the dome build!

Lamb meatballs with Tzatziki

I was fortunate enough to purchase a beautiful grass fed, free range lamb from a farm not farm from where I work in Southern Manitoba. After butchering this animal myself, I was only left with a total of 6 lbs of ground meat.

I needed to whip up something for my the potluck Christmas dinner at my new workplace, so I decided to make Lamb meatballs and serve them with Tzatziki. I copped out and purchased the Tzatziki, but the meatballs were made with fresh ground lamb. Here's my recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground lamb
• ¼-1/2 cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs
• ¼ cup broken up feta cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon greek spice (I used Clubhouse Greek Spice)
• 1 egg

Setup your oven rack to the middle level. Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix all the ingredients together in a steel bowl. If you don't have a broiler, use a cookie sheet with a rack over top. Roll the meatballs about an inch in diameter each and place them on the rack or boiler about 1/2 an inch apart. Broil the meatballs until the tops are light brown and roll them over and do the same if that's the effect you want. Serve impaled with a toothpick and with a bowl of quality Tzatziki sauce.

Mussels al Diablo

I know, I know... I haven't blogged in awhile. I was busy with putting an addition on my house and really haven't had a lot of time to cook. I've been getting back in the game though and as my first recipe back from hiatus, i'm going to write about my recipe for Mussels al Diablo.

Mussels al Diablo is traditionally a dish from Spain and I didn't really want to mess with it too much so I stuck by the general guidelines. Here's how I put this awesome dish together...

- 2 lbs PEI Mussels
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup of white wine (I used a chardonnay)
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 1 cup chopped chorizo sausage (as spicy as you like, I used mild so my kids would eat it)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 baguette of Parisienne bread
- 400 grams of angel hair pasta

Clean and debeard the mussels under cold water and set aside. Heat a pan with the olive oil at medium heat. Chop the garlic roughly and sautee in the oil until slightly brown. Start to get your stock pot of water boiling to cook the pasta. In the pan of garlic and oil, add the whole can of tomatoes including all the liquid in the can. Place the chopped chorizo, chili flakes, salt and half of the chopped parsley in the pan and stir to mix. Cover the pan and let simmer for 10 - 15 mins to let everything soften slightly. Start cooking the pasta at this point, the mussels won't take long to cook.

Put the mussles and the cup of wine into the pan and stir everything. Leave simmer uncovered to cook out some of the alcohol from the wine. Slice the baguette of bread on the diagonal and place in a bread basket. These are going to be dippers for the awesome Diablo sauce. Once the pasta is cooked, strain and plate in deep pasta bowls. Place health ladles of mussels and sauce over the angel hair pasta then garnish with parsley. Serve with the slices of bread and a glass of white wine.

This is a great and inexpensive dish that can easily feed four adults or in my case, two adults and two kids and still have some left over! You can also skip the pasta and just serve the mussels and bread as an appetizer!

Bon appetit!

Frenchy