Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/100 sec, ISO2000 “Gyoza Dinner” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Tonight’s post will be a bit scattered, but whatever. I’m not writing to win any awards. 😁
For dinner, Koa and I had gyoza, which I am getting pretty good at preparing. We usually buy pre-made, frozen gyoza and so I just have to heat them up… not really cooking, just preparing. Anyway, the method I use it so arrange them into a circle in the skillet, with the flat side down. Next, add some vegetable oil and sesame oil to the bottom and fry over medium-high heat. After a few minutes, I add in about 1/3 cup of water, then cover the pan with a lid and steam for another 4 or 5 minutes over medium heat. Then, remove the cover and cook until the liquid disappears.
Finally, I take a large plate (that is wider than the gyoza circle), place it over the gyoza, then flip the pan, plate, and gyoza over. That way, the crispy golden part is facing up for serving.
Serve with a dipping sauce of ponzu and rayu, and bowls of white rice and you have a nice meal! I only wish we had miso soup to go with it…
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/3000 sec, ISO200 “Today’s Clouds” Cedar Park, 2017
Lately there have been some pretty cool cloud formations in the sky, so of course, I had to take photos of them. I think the clouds in Texas can get pretty huge and impressive and I am always amazed at the natural beauty. I still don’t fully understand how clouds form, and frankly, I’d rather not know and keep the mystery alive. 🙂☁️
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/100 sec, ISO2500 “Looking for Grey” Cedar Park, 2017
Lastly, I did a little bit of research on how to create a nice grey color using the paints I currently have in my watercolor palette and I think I found a good combination. It’s basically pthalo blue mixed with a bit of orange, and a touch of red. It’s easy to make it warmer or cooler just by varying the ratio. I also produced a nice grey using the prima blue that came with the watercolor set I bought.
Next, I want to try to make some dark colors for shadows. I am not sure I can produce that with the colors I have now, but I read that pthalo green is needed to make the color I want. We’ll see!
Hi there! So today, Koa and I treated ourselves to a Japanese lunch of sushi and ramen! It was so good… we haven’t had Japanese food in a while since Mariko and Bay left for Japan. In the photo above, you can see the “tamago transfer” where Koa gives me his hard-boiled egg. He doesn’t like them in his ramen, so I get double. 😁
In other news, I was eagerly expecting a new fountain pen to use with some blue ink I ordered. When I opened the package, the ink was there, but there was another strange-looking box. I knew I was buying a cheap Chinese pen from a suspicious Amazon.com seller, but I didn’t expect them to package it in box that says “MissKiss Eyelash”.
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/30 sec, ISO250 “Strange Box” Cedar Park, 2017
And when I opened the box, sure enough, it was a pair of fake eyelashes… 😠
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/30 sec, ISO320 “Fake Lashes” Cedar Park, 2017
So I left a poor rating for the seller on Amazon.com and returned the eyelashes. That Chinese pen non-transaction left a bad taste in my mouth… consequently, I’ll not be trying to reorder it, but instead go with another more reputable brand, from a less-suspicious seller.
Today I dropped off my wife and 15-year-old son at the airport for their month-long trip to Japan. Then, I worked the day at the office before meeting my visiting brother and 13-year-old son at Pinballz for some fun arcade games. It was great playing pinball and some old consoles like Tempest! Had a great time and enjoyed a nice beer as well.
After that, it was time for dinner and my brother wanted some southern food, so we went to Mouton’s Southern Bistro. I’ve wanted to try this restaurant for several years now, so this was a good chance. The food was delicious and the portions were generous as you can see below! So stuffed… ☺
Today we took it easy and slept in. We were pretty tired from yesterday’s travels, and my brother is still on West Coast time, so it worked out nicely. We pretty much just hung out at the house all day, watched the Dodger game, and then went out for a yummy dinner.
My brother wanted to sample some Austin Barbecue, so we headed to Freedmen’s for some brisket, ribs, pork belly, slaw, and potato salad. We also got salmon and pit-chili, and it was all so good! Austin has so many great BBQ places, but Freedmen’s flies a bit under the radar. However, it’s some of the best BBQ in town!
One of the major sights we wanted to see is La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s amazing cathedral which has been under construction for well over a hundred years and won’t be completed for another 10 or so. As I mentioned before, I don’t care too much for cathedrals and churches, but this one is truly awe-inspiring. It’s got a modern take, is colorful and the design is intruiguing. That being said, my interest is purely about the design and construction, since I am not religious. Still, there’s enough here for the non-believer to be inspired by the human will to achieve. Amazing.
Next up on the list was to do a bit of shopping – specifically to pick up a suitcase that we saw the night before so we could haul our loot back home. This included the food we would be buying from the Spanish supermarket, the paella pans, and non-breakable souvenirs. Plus our dirty laundy. I that gross to keep that with our canned goods? I wonder… oh well, too late now, right? 😛
Anyways, we bought the suitcase, dropped it off at the hotel, and made our way to lunch, which was on the way to MACBA: Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, or the Museum of Contemporary Art. For our third paella of the trip, we visited Paelleria. We learned that paella is not as crispy on the bottom as we always thought, but that it was moister. The first paella we got was moist and we thought it was odd. But after the second and third one, we figured that is the way it is supposed to be. Anyways, the paella at Paelleria was delicious, and we also had to order a few other tapas. And beer. And sangria. 🍺🍷
After MACBA, we strolled to the nearby art supply store to check it out, then caught a taxi to Barceloneta Beach for another one the highlights of our trip: touching the Mediterranean Sea. I was so stoked to dip my feet in! The water was cool, but not too cold, and very clear even though it was a pretty crowded beach. Maybe it is silly, but walking barefoot in the waters was something I was looking forward to the whole trip! 🌊
Near the beach were a lot of really nice-looking restaurants, and by this time, we were getting pretty hungry. We checked Yelp and found a restaurant that looked good, but when we got there, it didn’t seem like our kind of place. So, we tried a nearby restaurant which normally you need a reservation for, but we got lucky (and we were early) so we got a table. The menu at Somorrostro was pretty fancy seafood, and we took advantage of our last night in Barcelona to have a nice, upscale feast. We had skipjack with pistachio and sour cream, black rice with smoked sardine and rabbit, shrimp taco with spring onion and avocado, zucchini flowers stuffed with cheese, and octopus with potato and chorizo. Plus beer, cava, and water, of course! It was kind of funny, but lots of the agua that the kids ordered at the different tapas bars come in uniquely fancy bottles. Never saw the same glass water bottle twice!
We were pretty tired after dinner, but of course we had to have our second dinner, and that would mean taking a taxi back to Tapa Tapa (thanks, Bay!) for drinks and tapas. 😄
