Category: Food

Alcatraz, Pier 39, and Sweet Maple

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec, ISO640
 “Alcatraz” San Francisco, 2021

This morning we did a very touristy thing: we visited Alcatraz Island. It was a quick ferry ride from Pier 33 to the windy former prison, and there we toured the many buildings, listened to an audio tour of the cellblock, and learned about the Native American occupation. It was fascinating!

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/5000 sec, ISO32
 “Approaching Alcatraz” San Francisco, 2021

The island was also a fort in the 1800s and then a military prison, before becoming a Federal Penitentiary. It also brought back memories of watching the 1996 movie The Rock, so we put that on our list of films to rent and watch with the kids.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/4, 1/170 sec, ISO640
 “Broadway” San Francisco, 2021

After returning to the city, we spent the rest of the day people- and sea-lion-watching at Pier 39.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/7.1, 1/1700 sec, ISO640
 “Lazy Day” San Francisco, 2021

I need to mention the breakfast we had at Sweet Maple in the morning. It was awesome! I had the Savory Soufflegg Skillet, which had shrimp scampi on an egg soufflé. Delicious! We also tried some of their “Millionaire’s Bacon” which was also tasty, but bordered a bit too closely to beef-jerky to me to be truly amazing.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO800
 “Savory Soufflegg Skillet” San Francisco, 2021

I hope you had a nice day as well!

Burger and Bicycle

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/5, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
 “Big Burger” Cedar Park, 2021

Big burgers were on the menu at the Fujimoto house today, and the toppings were grilled jalapeño peppers and red onion, American and Havarti cheeses, and the usual condiments. Plus, I bought a bag of frozen crinkle-cut fries, which were a nice change from potato chips!

Happily, I only got two mosquito bites while grilling outside, which I consider a win. These days, I don’t mind getting bitten so much because Zap It works great for me. No more itching (after the initial bite). I even took my Zap It to China when I went on vacation, where it almost got taken away by the Chinese TSA… I would have been so sad.

Anyways, the burgers were delicious, but I felt guilty about eating so many calories so I went for a ride with Sophie around the neighborhood. Bicycling brings a huge smile to my face, so I try to do it (or go running) as much as I can.

In the video below, you can hear the super-loud brake squeal. Sorry about that… I’ll try to fix it in the future. It’s really embarrassing. 🙃

Sous Vide Chicken

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
 “Sous Vide Chicken” Cedar Park, 2021

We cooked our first Sous Vide meal, which was a chicken dish with green onion and spicy chili oil. The chicken was moist and tender, and delicious! Because of the cooking method, the meat actually looked semi-raw, but it was at the correct temperature so it’s perfectly safe.

We ate it with rice, which made for a simple but delicious dinner.

Dinner Request: Ribs

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO3200
 “Baby Back Ribs” Cedar Park 2021

Koa requested ribs for dinner so I made a rack of baby backs using the tried and true parboiling method. They turned out excellent! I am proud of the job I did putting them under the broiler to finish them off. The color and slight charring of the sugary Stubb’s Hickory Bourbon barbecue sauce was better than I have ever done before.

We had a little bit of fun putting our bones on Mariko’s plate… it made it look she ate a dozen ribs! 😄

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
 “Bones” Cedar Park, 2021

I hope you had a good day! またね～

Yakiniku Heaven

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Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/60 sec, ISO400
 “Yakiniku” Cedar Park, 2021

Yakiniku must be one of the top meals for meat-eaters. Grilling right at the table is such a treat! In addition to the beef, pork belly, and sausage, we had mozzarella cheese, haloumi cheese, onion, kimchee, salad, and Sigeumchi-namul (spinach). So yummy!

Sri Lankan Chicken Curry

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO640
 “Curry Dinner” Cedar Park, 2021

We made one of our favorite curries tonight to share with some dinner guests. It’s so nice to have (fully vaccinated) friends at our house again! The Sri Lankan Chicken Curry recipe is from The Flavor Blender, and tastes great, but what is really remarkable is that the aroma after you add the curry powder and curry leaves is incredible! If you weren’t hungry before, you are guaranteed to start craving dinner once the fragrant smells start to fill the kitchen. ☺

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1250
 “Making Curry” Cedar Park, 2021

Our guests brought over a salad, samosas, and pani puri to round out the meal. It was awesome and of course yours truly ate way too much! It was just too good.