Category: Food

New Kitchen Gadget

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"New Gadget" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
 “New Gadget” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today is my “WAH” or “work-at-home” day, and that means I get to sleep in an extra 10 minutes! Woohoo! I get that extra time because I can delay my shower until later in the morning. 😄 Also, I could probably stay in my pajamas until that time, since when I drop off Koa at school, I don’t need to get out of the car. But I’m not that lazy!

New pasta attachment

Tonight, Mariko got to use her newest kitchen gadget which she received as a birthday gift: a pasta-making attachment for the Kitchen-Aid mixer. It’s a nice little gadget, with a dial so you can adjust the thickness of the pasta. But just looking at it in action, I get an unsettling feeling that I would get my finger stuck in it and I’d end up with a crushed finger. 😱

Thankfully, Mariko was the one making the pasta tonight, which turned out to be delicious ravioli. I think they turned out great and everything was gobbled up in no time. 🍴

Mariko uses the Kitchen-Aid mixer quite a bit for baking, and I also use it occasionally to make hamburger using our meat-grinder attachment. It’s such a versatile kitchen appliance, I’d recommend getting one if you are into cooking at all. Plus it looks so cool!

I hope you had a nice Wednesday.

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Tuesday Bento and Donburi

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"Lunchtime" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/480 sec, ISO200
 “Lunchtime” Austin, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going? Today was another beautiful day, although the weatherman said a cold front was coming through this morning and we might have some rain. I don’t know if 70° F is considered a cold front, but whatever!

A Rare Lunch

So for a year or so now I’ve been eating 1.5 meals per day instead of the common 3 meals per day tradition. I estimate 1.5 because I don’t eat breakfast, but will often have a small snack in the afternoon, and then have a normal dinner. Oftentimes I skip the snack and just have one meal.

This week, though, I’ve eaten lunch both Monday and Tuesday, which is extremely rare. But yesterday the Banh Mi food truck was outside the office and I couldn’t resist. And today I wanted to finish up my oyakodon leftovers so I packed a small bento (actually a plain glass food container) to enjoy at lunchtime. 🍱

It was such a nice day that I decided to eat in one of the office park’s many courtyards, but of course I chose the one that has a PokéStop! Not only did I get to enjoy my bento, but I stocked up on Poké Balls and other goodies, as well as caught several Pokémon, including a new type for me.

Even though I only spent half an hour outside, it was refreshing and I went back to work with a clear mind. 😀

Korean Donburi

Tonight Mariko had to work again, but she prepared an easy dish for me to cook for myself and the kids: a Korean-style Donburi. As you may know, donburi is basically a bowl of rice with some kind of topping. Tonight’s donburi was onion, carrots, and spicy Korean pork, which Mariko bought from the Korean market.

"Korean Donburi" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
 “Korean Donburi” Cedar Park, 2017

We also enjoyed a fresh green salad, which went perfectly with the spicy pork. In fact, we wrapped the pork with lettuce just like we were at the Korean BBQ. おいしかった！

I hope you had a great Tuesday!

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Making Oyakodon

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"Oyakodon" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/45 sec, ISO3200
 “Oyakodon” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Another gray-day here, but the temperatures are in the 70s.

• Oyakodon

Tonight I was in charge of dinner for myself and the kids. We could have gone to our favorite burger place, but Mariko mentioned that I should try to add to my list of dishes I could prepare. So, I got out my “Quick & Easy Donburi Dishes” book and tried my hand at my favorite meal: Oyakodon. I’ve posted about oyakodon before, and how much I love it, but this is my first time ever making it by myself!

The recipe I used was very simple, with only a few ingredients, and it’s very hard to screw up. I think you’ll be able to make a delicious meal even if mistakes are made. However, there is a little bit of finesse involved if you want to get the eggs just right, which I wasn’t able to do. Basically, I overcooked the eggs a bit. 😒

I have to say, it tasted pretty good, and the kids liked it, but I’d have to say there is some room for improvement. 6.5 out of 10. Next time I’ll do better! 😄

• Not 100%

So, the past few days, something has been going around and a lot of people have been sick. I must have caught the bug as well because I haven’t been feeling well all weekend. I have some achy muscles, a little dizziness sometimes, and a yucky sinus condition. But, it’s not serious and I am still able to work and do normal stuff. Just not 100%. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be better!

I hope you had a nice day!

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Bread 🍞

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"Portuguese Bread" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO3200
 “Portuguese Bread” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。

Yesterday Mariko was going to the supermarket and asked what we needed. One of the things I asked for was Hawaiian bread since Bay likes it for breakfast and we sometimes make lunch sandwiches with it.

Well, I guess Mariko wanted to try to make it herself, but found a recipe for Portuguese sweet bread, which is like Hawaiian bread but uses pineapple juice in the recipe.

They look beautiful, don’t they? And they are delicious! Fluffy and sweet, just about perfect. I’m sure Bay is gonna love them!

I hope you had a nice day!

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Takoyaki Request

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"Making Takoyaki" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
 “Making Takoyaki” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

The other day Koa requested that we have takoyaki, and so tonight we made a few batches. Instead of octopus, we used a product described as “octopus-like squid pieces”. 😵 They actually tasted okay, but the texture was a bit different. Honestly, I don’t like the texture of octopus, but oddly enough, this squid product was just as strange, but in a different way. I can’t really explain it any more than that. 🐙

We also made a batch with cheese instead of the squid and it was yummy… sort of like a grilled cheese. And everyone loves grilled cheese!

I hope you had a wonderful Tuesday!

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