“Truffles” Austin, 2017
💕 Happy Valentine’s Day!
My wife is fond of Godiva chocolates, so I buy her some every year. 😊
Hope you had a nice day.
バロン
Happy 💕 Day
“Truffles” Austin, 2017
“Truffles” Austin, 2017
Work, Bread, and Travel Planning
“Fresh Bread” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。How was your Monday?
Mine was really good! At work, I was able to make progress on some projects that fell by the wayside, and that gave me a good, positive feeling of accomplishment. I find it so interesting that each time I complete a task that has been sitting on my mental list, a small weight is lifted off of my mind and I feel a sense of relief and freedom. I have gotten to the stage where I kind of enjoy having things on my mental list because I look forward to the feeling I’ll have when I finish the task.
Anyways, today’s photo is of a fresh loaf of bread that Mariko made today. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? And I had to steal a slice just to savor the taste. おいしかった！🍞❤️
Tonight I put together a Google Map that contains a bunch of info for our summer trip to Morroco and Spain – hotels, restaurants, and sightseeing locations. Bay had gathered a list of items, so I started with that and now I’ll start doing some serious research into activities I think everyone would be interested in. If you have any suggestions or tips for traveling to Morocco and/or Spain, let me know via comments or my contact form!
Have a nice evening, friends!
おやすみ
-B
🎶 KHAI – Do You Go Up
🎶 Hoping you are well!
Relaxing Sunday
“That Tongue” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Sunday is my sleep-in day. But I don’t really sleep much later than I do during the week. The main difference is that I don’t need to wake up, so there’s no stress on Sunday mornings. 😄 It’s great.
This evening I grilled burgers 🍔 for the family, and since I had time I decided to grind the meat for the patties using our Kitchenaid rather than buy pre-ground beef. I think it makes the burgers taste so much better, and it is supposedly less risky health-wise to eat beef from a single animal, rather than hundreds of different animals, which is the way regular ground beef is made.
Today I bought a chuck roast, with bone-in because it was a reasonable price and the amount of fat looked good. Before grinding it helps to cut the beef into 1-inch cubes and put them in the freezer for 20 minutes so they just start to freeze. It goes through the grinder easier this way. I also put the meat-grinding mixer attachment in the freezer.
“Essential” Cedar Park, 2017
I decided to use the charcoal grill instead of our gas grill to make sure we have the maximum flavor. The last time I made burgers, I didn’t press the patties together as tightly, and they sort of fell apart on the grill (and on the bun). This time I made them firmer, and also oiled the grill nicely using cooking spray. These two adjustments made a huge difference! The burgers held together nicely and didn’t stick at all to the grill. 😄
For toppings, we had the usual lettuce, tomato, and onion, but I also prepared jalapeño, habañero, avocado, Hatch chile bacon, pickle slices, ketchup, mayo, and mustard. For cheese, we had cheddar and Monterey jack. As you can see, there was a big variety of things to choose from to build your own burger!
I went for everything of course. 😝
“The Works” Cedar Park, 2017
Today’s first photo doesn’t need an explanation, does it. 🐱 BTW, the cats just turned 1 year old! Time flies.
I hope you had a nice weekend!
おやすみ
バロン
Wishing for times past
Whenever I return from a vacation, I have the same wishful thoughts for a few days.
“I wish it were 48 hours ago. We’d be on the boat ride to EPCOT.”
or
“I wish it were 72 hours ago. We’d be on the plane to Orlando.”
or
“I wish it were a week ago. We’d just be board the ship and starting our cruise.”
Although it makes me feel a little melancholy, it also means I enjoyed our vacation time. It wouldn’t be great if I was thinking, “Thank goodness I am back at work!” 😆
