Pizza Class

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
“Pizza Hands” Cedar Park, 2021

Today we had two families over for an in-person pizza lesson. Usually, Mariko teaches via Zoom but today it was a special visit with friends. Lots of fun! And of course, the pizza was yummy. 😀🍕

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO320
“Pizza” Cedar Park, 2021
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO640
“Pizza” Cedar Park, 2021

Yakiniku

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

Tonight’s dinner was yakiniku with Japanese wagyu beef, sliced pork belly, sausage, mushrooms, cheese, and homegrown nasubi and jalapeño peppers. The beef was amazing, and the peppers were off-the-chart spicy! We also had some store-bought peppers which were very mild, thankfully.

I love spicy food, but these peppers were almost too much. I’d say these were almost as hot as habaneros! 🔥🌶 I loved them though. 😂

Fourth of July Dinner Brisket and Jalapeño Poppers

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/40 sec, ISO320
“Fourth of July Dinner” Cedar Park, 2021

I made a beef brisket for our holiday meal using a slow-baking method as I have done in the past. However, this time it took a couple of hours longer than usual for some reason. The delay was okay, however, as the family was in full relax-mode, and we snack on the smoked sausage and drank margaritas (just Mariko and I!) while we waited. I also made jalapeño poppers, Bay made mashed potatoes, Mariko made a salad, and Koa set the table.

It was a yummy meal, and easy to make.

FYI, the traditional way of preparing jalapeño poppers is to wrap the cheese-filled peppers with bacon strips, and then pop them into the oven. But what we do is to fry up the bacon, cut into bits, and then just add them with the cheese stuffing. This method is so much easier, not nearly as messy, and it’s simpler to get the jalapeños to the right done-ness. It’s also way easier to eat. 😀🌶

I hope you had a nice day!

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/260 sec, ISO32
“American Flag” Cedar Park, 2021

Brouwerij West Visit

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 1.55mm, f/2.4, 1/60 sec, ISO800
“Brouwerij West” San Pedro, 2021

Today we visited Brouwerij West in San Pedro to enjoy some cold beer under the warm sun with my brother and sister-in-law and their good friend. The food trucks at the brewery were really good too! We enjoyed a huge portion of Rendang from the Malaysian food truck and traditional BBQ brisket and ribs from the bbq trailer. Mmmmmm… I’m kicking myself because I didn’t take any photos.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/7.1, 1/1800 sec, ISO2000
“Family and Friends” San Pedro, 2021
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/5.6, 1/240 sec, ISO2000
“Pop Shop” San Pedro, 2021

After that, we went back to Torrance to relax a bit before picking up my auntie and bringing her to the house for a dinner of Coco Ichibanya Japanese curry, followed by several games of mahjong. I also failed to take any photos the rest of any of this! 😮

But it was a fun day, and wonderful to see my auntie who is in her late 80s. She’s still pretty sharp at mahjong, and loves good food. ❤