Tag: food

The Return of (Good) Dinner

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"Fresh Bread" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO1600
 “Fresh Bread” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today the house was filled with the smell of fresh-baked bread. 😊 As you can see in the photo above, the bread that Mariko made came out looking perfect, but I haven’t had a chance to taste it yet. 🍞 While she was away, I’ve missed the yummy bread that she usually makes.

The next photo is of a paella dinner which Koa requested. “I want seafood… that dish we had in Spain,” is what he said. 🦑🦐 As you might have noticed, the rice is not the typical color. Mariko decided to use a squid-ink broth to cook the rice in. A fun spin on paella for sure, and our lips and teeth turned an interesting tint of grey. 😱

"Paella Dinner" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4.5, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
 “Paella Dinner” Cedar Park, 2018

I think both Koa and I were tired of the “bachelor food” we’ve been eating for the past couple weeks. Pizza, burgers, etc. can get tiresome really quick when you are used to home-cooking. Never underestimate how much a home-cooked meal can do for your wellbeing! 😀

またね～

Three at Home

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"Salt Collection" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
 “Salt Collection” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。So, Mariko returned from Europe on Monday, Koa is back from band/orchestra camp, so now there are three at home! It’s nice to have a fuller house, and yay that yummy home-cooking has returned as well. This evening we had a spicy dry curry and it was soooo delicious!

"Dry Curry" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
 “Dry Curry” Cedar Park, 2018

Mariko brought back a lot of culinary goodies from Europe, and she now has a pretty sizeable collection of salt. Yes, salt! I don’t know if we have any of the plain iodized salt in our house, but we have plenty of exotics all the way down to simple sea salt and kosher salt. Today’s photo shows several kinds, although that’s not all of them. 😀

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Sunday Relaxation

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"New Water Fountain" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO320
 “New Water Fountain” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Another nice Sunday! The big thing Koa and I got accomplished was replacing our old kitchen faucet with a brand new one. The old one, an eBay purchase from a few years ago, was leaking a little bit and also the aerator nozzle was broken so the stream didn’t come out straight. I think it was pretty good, but the replacement faucet (a Kohler from Costco.com) is so much nicer! Of course, being brand new, the stream is nice, smooth, and well-aerated. But what’s really cool is that the pull-out nozzle has a magnet in it, so it snaps back into place when you are done using it as a hose. Really neat! And as you can see from the photo above, the kitties approve as well.

After that, I went grocery shopping and then prepared carnitas burritos for dinner. I used the Instant Pot again, and the meat turned out great – I cooked it for 35 minutes, but it wasn’t as tender as we’d like it, so I cooked it for 20 more minutes, and it was perfect! The meat shredded easily, and then I put some under the broiler to crisp up.

Instead of the usual tacos, we made burritos using extra-large flour tortillas, with beans, rice, avocado, lettuce, onion, jalapeño, salsa, crema Mexicana, and cheese. They were really good!

"Burrito Time" Cedar park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO800
 “Burrito Time” Cedar park, 2018

After dinner, Koa and I watched Paddington 2, which I had seen before and absolutely loved. Koa enjoyed it as well, and it was a perfect way to end a very nice Sunday.

I hope you had a nice weekend!

またね～

Poké Dinner

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"Poké" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1000
 “Poké” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today after work I went to Costco to buy some butter and pizza but came across some poké! I knew the other Costco location sold poké but this is the first time I’d seen it in our store. So I had to buy some and have it for dinner. It was pretty good! I haven’t had poké and rice in a while now so it really hit the spot. 😊

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Early Father’s Day

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"Oyster Appetizer" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO1000
 “Oyster Appetizer” Cedar Park, 2018

So Father’s Day is actually next Sunday, but Mariko will be in Europe, Bay will be in Los Angeles, and I am taking Koa up to Baylor for Band Camp. Which means I’ll be alone that evening so… we decided to celebrate Father’s Day today. And of course, that means I get to choose the dinner (or brunch). 😀

So after much thinking (I am so indecisive), I decided on a local casual restaurant, CR Surf & Turf. This place is neither fancy, nor expensive, but it’s popular and they have some delicious seafood. It’s a lot of Southern-style food, which means plenty of fried goodies, but what Koa and I like to get is the surf & turf: a meat choice and a seafood choice. I opted for the flat-iron steak and grilled scallops, while Koa got the steak kabobs and bacon-wrapped shrimp. Meanwhile, Bay decided on the shrimp brochette. Mariko didn’t order anything but shared what we had. In addition to the entrees, we ordered a basket of fried oysters, six oysters on the half-shell, and jalapeño shrimp. It was all delicious, but so much fried food leaves you feeling a little uncomfortable later.

"Scallops and Steak" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO1250
 “Scallops and Steak” Cedar Park, 2018
"Beef and Shrimp" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO2000
 “Beef and Shrimp” Cedar Park, 2018
"Shrimp Brochette" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO1250
 “Shrimp Brochette” Cedar Park, 2018

I really like CR Surf & Turf and so do lots of other people. We arrived shortly after they opened at 4:30 pm and the place was already half filled up! The prices are reasonable, the food is good, and the service is solid. Plus it’s close to our house so it’s very convenient. If you’re in the mood for some Southern-style seafood like crawfish, po-boys, oysters, and even frog legs, give CR Surf & Turf a try.

"Appetizers" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO640
 “Appetizers” Cedar Park, 2018

I hope you had a nice Sunday!

またね～