Relaxing Sunday

"That Tongue" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
“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
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
“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
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/90 sec, ISO3200
“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

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🍕 Happy Pizza Day!

"Pepperoni Please" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO4000
“Pepperoni Please” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

I don’t know how long this has been a tradition, but today is National Pizza Day! Perhaps it is the brainchild of Pizza Hut or Dominos, but whatever the origin, it’s time to celebrate! 🍕🎉

Tonight we had two pizzas, both pepperoni, but one was thin crust, and the other was a rising crust (both from frozen). Koa and I preferred the thin, while Mariko and Bay went with the traditional crust. But I’m pretty much a fan of all types of pizza. 😝

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In other news, I was listening to ZARD today, which is one of my favorite bands/singers. It has been almost 10 years since Sakai Izumi passed away, so it’s a sad occasion, but I still enjoy her music a lot.

One of my favorite tunes is “今日はゆっくり話そう”. Please give it a listen, preferably loud 🎸🔉🎵, and check out my favorite songs page! 🎶

I hope you had a nice day!

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Easy Cooking

"Egg on Rice" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/45 sec, ISO3200
“Egg on Rice” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

This evening, Mariko had to work. but she prepped some food for me to cook up for myself and the kids. Thankfully the dish just involved cooking some eggs in the pan, and pouring over rice to make a simple but delicious donburi.

The egg mixture had some sugar, shoyu, surimi, and peas in it. We also put a little Sriracha on the final dish to taste. おいしかった!

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By the way, in my regular blog posts, I don’t write about politics too often, but today I wanted to say that I actually called my Representative’s office and voiced my displeasure about Trump using his office to comment on his daughter’s business. These things get me so riled up! I don’t want my tax money to go towards his bank account, but that’s what is happening. Just like I don’t want my tax money to pay for religious schools (ugh DeVos!), I don’t want my money used to fill Trump’s family coffers.

Give “Building An Autocracy” with David Frum on Think a listen to find out more.

Anyways, I usually try to keep my politics to my Twitter feed, and if you are interested at all, you can find me at @barron.

Sushi for Setsubun

"Ehoumaki Waiting" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
“Ehoumaki Waiting” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。

Today is Setsubun 🎌, which means that it is time to eat our lucky-direction sushi, or ehoumaki. As you can see in the photo, there were three large sushi rolls wrapped up (and extra sushi cut and ready for eating). Mariko had to work this evening, so she made the sushi earlier for us so we could enjoy it for dinner, while following the traditional way of eating it.

The tradition is to eat the entire sushi roll, while facing a certain direction depending on the year. This year’s direction was pretty much north, but just a tiny bit to the west. You might be able to see, but Mariko wrote the direction on my sushi roll so I wouldn’t forget. 😊

In addition to facing the certain direction, you are not allowed to speak until you finish your entire sushi roll! By following these two rules, you ensure the upcoming year is a prosperous one. 😄

I hope you enjoyed your day!

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Sukiyaki Surprise

"Sukiyaki Dinner" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
“Sukiyaki Dinner” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going tonight?

This evening when I picked up my kids from school, they both said they were really hungry and asked me what was for dinner. I replied that I didn’t know, but that I saw that Mariko had set the rice cooker so I figured we’d be having Japanese food tonight. And when we got home, the house smelled so good!

In the kitchen, there was a nice pan of sukiyaki (すき焼き) on the stove bubbling and ready to eat. Usually, sukiyaki is made with beef, but tonight’s was a chicken sukiyaki, with tofu, greens, konyaku noodles, and udon noodles. And we had farm-fresh egg to dip it in. It was delicious! The combination of chicken and egg reminded me of my favorite food, oyakodon (親子丼).

🐓🍳❤️ うれしかった

I hope you had a nice day.

おやすみ

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