For the past couple of months, Koa has been rehearsing (as a percussionist) with the Austin Youth Orchestra every week, and today they had their Spring concert. It was really fun to listen to the music today because most of the time, Koa doesn’t perform with strings. It’s a really nice change of pace!
There were three orchestras playing today, and Koa is listed as a member of the top group, but he was asked to play in the middle group as well. He said he had to do a lot of sight reading today since he didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for the middle band. But to me, he sounded great. I’m so proud of him!
Percussion is a fun discipline in the band/orchestra because they have to learn many different instruments, such as marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, bells, triangle, cymbals, snare drum, and timpani. Then there are a few other specialty instruments like the rain stick. And today, Koa said he had to switch between bass drum, snare, and cymbals in one of the pieces. Some pieces, he’s very active, and some pieces he doesn’t even have a part in. It’s very interesting.
Anyway, it was great to listen to the Austin Youth Orchestra. All the kids work so hard, and it’s impressive to hear the fruits of their labor come to life in a live concert.
This evening I had to fend for myself, as the saying goes, since my wife and kids were all out. I thought it would a nice night for some pho, but then I decided to check out the local Yelp listings for noodles. I almost went to try a ramen restaurant that recently opened, but decided on Chinese noodles at Xian Sushi and Noodle. Despite the name listing on Yelp, the restaurant no longer serves sushi (and the menu just said Xian Noodles on the cover), which is fine since they can devote their efforts on the signature hand-pulled noodles. There were a couple items on the menu that I wanted to try but ultimately went with the Red Braised Beef Noodles, which was highly recommended by Chinese reviewers.
The broth was flavorful and the noodles were chewy and substantial. You can actually choose from perhaps six different types of noodles, but I asked the Chinese waitress what she recommends, and she said she likes the “thick spaghetti”. That sounds like a description that someone might use to describe the noodles to Western diners actually. They were really good, and I would choose them again. There was a good amount of beef in the soup as well, although the noodles were definitely the star of the show, at least for me.
Years ago I lived in Monterey Park, California, which has a sizable first-generation Chinese population and therefore a huge number of authentice Chinese restaurants to choose from. My roommate, who was from Hong Kong, and I used to go out to eat quite often, and the noodles that I had tonight at Xian were reminiscent of the beef noodle soup that I used to enjoy in Monterey Park. That’s definitely a good thing!
The other item on the menu at Xian is the Dan Dan Noodles, so I will need to go back in the future. Maybe next time I can convince my family to join. 😀
I have to admit that I got sidetracked a bit with my Instagram posting. Basically what happened was that I started focusing on travel photography during my China trip last year, and lost focus of my original intention of posting photos on Instagram. But when I look at my Instagram profile, it says “My Life in Snapshots”. So I am starting to post just regular snaps from my daily life. One thing I do every day is to take at least one photo, and share it on my Flickr stream (I’ve been part of a Project 365 group for a couple of years now), but I think I’ll start posting some of those to my Instagram as well.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO2500 “Writing” Cedar Park, 2019
Have you ever noticed that your handwriting is neater and letters are more elegantly formed when you are in a good mood? Or is it just me?
When I am having a normal day, my writing is just regular, which is to say, not particularly even nor uneven, mostly adhering to the lines of the paper although it takes some effort. But if I have less stress, or am in a really good mood, I make fewer mistakes and the words look much nicer. I also can write faster without giving it much thought or effort. It’s kind of like I am in the zone, and it feels great.
Sometimes, when I am writing or taking notes, and I notice that my lettering is extra sloppy or I have to cross out a lot of things, I take a step back know that something is bothering me and then try to identify what is causing my stress or bad mood. Usually, it’s a small worry or concern about a task that I have to do. And just by identifying what is causing me that mild distress, it becomes less of an issue. Maybe not knowing the cause of the stress actually causes more stress, if that makes sense.
Hmm… I wonder how much truth there is to that theory. 🤔
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/75 sec, ISO3200 “Burger and Chips” Cedar Park, 2019
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Although this meal prep is probably typical of American households, I thought I’d write about how we do a hamburger dinner at our house. Who knows, someone might find this post 50 years from now, and it will be a fascinating read! 😄
For the hamburger patties, we’ll go for and 80-20 mix of ground chuck, and I’ll sometimes mix in some seasonings, for instance, tonight I put in some Japanese Worchestershire and Dijon mustard. Some burger purists would say you should just go with salt and pepper (which I usually do), but my family really likes the extra flavor so I went with the sauce and mustard.
These days I will make a total of six patties, at 1/3-lb. per patty. One burger each for Mariko and I, then two each for the kids. Since Mariko has the food scale handy for her baking, I can measure out exact amounts. I’ve come to rely more on measurement tools rather than eyeballing everything!
To cook, we’ll put them on the outside grill (I used the gas grill for convenience last night) seasoning each side with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic powder. When the juices start to form on top of the patty (usually around the four-minute mark), I’ll flip them over and season the other side.
Instead of relying on time or firmness to indicate when the burgers are at our preferred medium-rare, I’ll use an instant-read food thermometer to make sure I pull the burgers off the grill at 145° F. It’s often dark outside at the time I grill and hard to tell visually if the burgers are done, so the thermometer is great.
We love our burgers with cheese but I don’t put the cheese onto the patty while it’s on the grill. Instead, I will put the patties straight from the grill into a warm casserole dish, then put the cheese on and cover the dish with foil to let the burgers rest and the cheese melt. This is great because the grill doesn’t get all cheesy and messy.
Speaking of cheese, the kids prefer American cheese, I would go for cheddar, and Mariko likes anything except American. On this evening, the kids and I all went for double American cheese and Mariko went with shredded Mozzarella. Yum!!!
For condiments, we like the basic lettuce (Iceberg or Romaine), tomato, onion, and pickles (I never liked pickles on my burgers until a couple of years ago). Not as common are jalapeños, but I will always add them if I have them on hand. And lastly, ketchup, mustard, mayo, and sometimes samourai sauce to round it all out.
All of this is assembled onto buns, which are frequently homemade since Mariko is an amazing baker. Just look!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/90 sec, ISO6400 “Homemade Buns” Cedar Park, 2019
For sides, we’ll at least have potato chips (plain salted is the best) but potato or macaroni salad would be a definite upgrade. Sometimes we’ll have oven fries, but that’s very rare.
Anyway, that’s our typical burger evening. 🍔
I hope you had a nice day!
またね～
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/50 sec, ISO3200 “Burger Dinner” Cedar Park, 2019
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