Category: Food

Taco Tuesday

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"Tacos" Austin, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/200 sec, ISO200
 “Tacos” Austin, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Yes, “Taco Tuesday” is really a thing… although it’s not like a holiday or super-special occasion. Here in Austin where tacos (especially breakfast tacos) are very popular, many of us “celebrate” Taco Tuesdays. I say that only semi-seriously because since we eat tacos so often, and since Tuesday comes once a week, it’s more like we’ll recognize the special day when we realize we are eating a taco and it is Tuesday. But it’s fun to say anyway… the phrase rolls off the tongue nicely, doesn’t it?

I’m lucky in that we have a taco trailer come by our office every week and the tacos are tasty and not too expensive. For non-breakfast tacos, I like to get corn tortillas, and here they serve each taco with two corn tortillas. I like it like this. And since I got two tacos, the quartet of tortillas makes it a filling and satisfying lunch. To me, the perfect taco consists of a simply seasoned protein, diced onion, cilantro, and a hot sauce or pico de gallo. Not too many flavors, but super tasty. 🌮

I hope you had a nice Tuesday!

またね～

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This post was prompted by The Daily Post from WordPress.

Saké Tasting and Rating

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"Rating the Saké" Austin, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.2, 1/50 sec, ISO6400
 “Rating the Saké” Austin, 2018

こんばんは。

Tonight Mariko, Kumiko, Matt, and I attended a “blind” saké tasting at the Texas Saké Company. The folks from Yummysake were visiting from Japan for SXSW, where they had a booth at the tradeshow, and then they held a few tastings in the evening. It was a lot of fun!

Basically, we tasted 10 different saké, and rated each one. Depending on the ratings, the Yummysake app would give you a taste profile. The idea is that you can go to restaurants who use the profile system, and they can serve you the saké that most suits your palette. I’m not sure how useful it will be unless a lot of restaurants participate, but it was interesting to try it and get assigned a profile.

"Saké Profile" Austin, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.2, 1/105 sec, ISO6400
 “Saké Profile” Austin, 2018

Honestly, I don’t know what each profile means, but Matt and I were both “Shara-shara”, and Mariko and Kumiko were also paired up, although I don’t remember which profile they were.

It was a fun evening, and after the tasting, we enjoyed another glass of saké and chatted with the Yummysaké rep. Good times!

"Relaxing" Austin, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.2, 1/40 sec, ISO6400
 “Relaxing” Austin, 2018

I hope you had a nice Wednesday!

またね～

Fajitas, Crema Mexicana, and Flour Tortillas

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"Fajita Spread" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
 “Fajita Spread” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Dinner tonight was beef fajitas, with onion, bell peppers, jalapeño, avocado, cilantro, cheese, lime, rice, and beans. I guess it’s a typical dinner here in Texas. But, what was new for us was that instead of plain sour cream, we had this:

"Crema Mexicana" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO4000
 “Crema Mexicana” Cedar Park, 2018

The crema Mexicana was so delicious and rich! Wow, what a difference. I loved it. I definitely prefer it over the regular old sour cream. If you pick some up, I highly recommend it!

One last tip if you are serving flour tortillas: use your gas stove top to toast them. Basically, turn the flame to medium-low, then, using a pair of metal tongs, put a tortilla on the grate. After several seconds, flip it over to warm the other side. I like it where the tortilla is just about to get scorched before flipping over/removing. Even a little burnt is how I like it. And it’s great when the tortilla puffs up at the end! Then put the tortillas onto a cloth-lined (cloth napkin) plate, then wrap in the cloth to keep warm. We actually line one of these tortilla warmers with a cloth napkin and it works great.

It only takes a minute or two to prepare all the tortillas, and you can finish even faster if you use multiple burners. FYI, I learned this technique from my sister-in-law years ago, and we warm our flour tortillas like this every time now. They are so fluffy and fresh this way. No more damp, microwaved, stuck-together flour tortillas!

Anyways, again I might have eaten a little too much. 😝

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Jerk Chicken and Timelapse

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"Jamaican Dinner" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO3200
 “Jamaican Dinner” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Tonight I fired up the barbecue to grill up some jerk chicken, and I decided to try out the timelapse feature on our new Victure 4K action camera. It’s actually just an intervalometer function which snaps a photo every few seconds, but the camera has a very wide lens on it and is so light and easy to set up that I thought I would have a little fun and see what it could do.

It took about 40 images, which I later imported into the free Sony Action Cam Movie Creator and compiled this little movie:

I’m happy with how it turned out! In general,I’m pleased with the Victure action camera, which so far is well worth the price (I found it for about $40). I’m sure I’ll write more about it in the future.

But let me tell you about the chicken – it was delicious! We like to use Walkerswood jerk rub, and cooking it on the grill adds even more flavor and crisps up the skin. Mariko made rice and peas in the rice cooker and it was pretty good too! All we needed was some Red Stripe, but we had to settle for Sapporo instead. 😝

I hope you had a nice Wednesday!

またね～

"Fire" Cedar Park, 2017
“Fire” Cedar Park, 2017
"Jerk Chicken" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
 “Jerk Chicken” Cedar Park, 2018

Yakiniku Nite

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"Yakiniku Nite" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
 “Yakiniku Nite” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Tonight we enjoyed yakiniku at home. It’s basically grilled meat and veggies, with dipping sauces. We had a variety of different meats (from the recently opened market) including an American wagyu-style beef. It’s super-delicious! For veggies, we had shiitake mushrooms, eggplant, onion, jalapeno, and kabocha, as well as a simple salad. Oh, and kimchee too! 🔥

If you’ve ever had yakiniku or Korean barbecue before, you know that there can be a fair amount of smoke produced, so ventilation is indispensable. In fact, at yakiniku restaurants, there are huge ventilation hoods over each table. If you are cooking at home, I suggest closing all the bedroom doors and open up some windows to circulate the air. Not that the smell is bad. It actually smells amazing, but you don’t want all your clothes smelling like grilled meat, do you? Speaking of that, I’d also suggest taking off your jacket and putting that in the closet or another room. 😄

Anyways, I ate too much of course, but it was worth it. I love yakiniku so much!

I hope you had a nice day.

またね～