Tag: food

Deck Tomatoes

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"Deck Tomatoes" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/40 sec, ISO3200
 “Deck Tomatoes” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

Today’s photo is of some cherry tomatoes 🍅 that we grew on our backyard deck. Every spring we plant tomatoes and peppers 🌶 in our garden, but this year we also filled a couple of large pots with soil and grew a tomato plant and a jalapeño plant. The plants flourished and we harvested lots of goodies! Especially the peppers.

We have a pretty good-sized yard, with three container gardens into which we plant other veggies and herbs, but they are somewhat inconvenient because there are so many mosquitos flying around. I usually have to put on long pants and long sleeves (jacket) and frantically gather peppers while doing a little dance to keep the mosquitos away. It’s terrifying to be leaning in, cutting peppers and hearing multiple mosquitos buzzing around my ears!

So, we’ve been enjoying having the container plants on the deck. The deck is about 10 feet above the ground, so there are a lot less mosquitos, and it’s only a few feet away from the back door, so cutting some jalapeños or gathering tomatoes just takes a few seconds. I can monitor how dry the soil gets from the comfort of our breakfast room and watering them is as easy as dumping a jug of water in each pot. Also I can enjoy watching the peppers grow and ripen day by day. 😊

"Easy Access" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/100 sec, ISO3200
 “Easy Access” Cedar Park, 2016

Next year I think we’ll plant more on the deck. I love spicy 🔥 food, so having fresh hot peppers at-the-ready is awesome!

I hope you had a nice day, and see you tomorrow!

おやすみなさい！ – B Barron Fujimoto

Dinner ideas

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"Japanese Fish Fry" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
 “Japanese Fish Fry” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

Today’s photo is of a delicious Japanese dinner that Mariko prepared. I’ve posted in the past about how fortunate the kids and I are that Mariko is an awesome cook, who can make so many different kinds of foods.

I was thinking how I am incapable of thinking of a wide variety of food to prepare. My brain just stops at sandwiches, burgers, enchiladas, or spaghetti. I have a mental block and have a difficult time of thinking of other possible dishes. It’s really weird! But Mariko can decide on something from a huge repertoire seemingly last-minute, and it always comes out amazing! And it’s not just one dish, but it’s a main dish, plus soup, salad, a couple fresh veggie dishes, rice, pickled vegetables, etc. I don’t know how she does it. My prepared meal, on the other hand, consists of a main dish, and a side dish… 😜

Anyways, I’m thankful for all the yummy foods and gladly help out (which most times means cleaning up, then just getting out of the way). My main job is doing the dishes which is a small price to pay for eating like a king every night. 🍴

I hope you had a nice weekend!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Natural Beauty

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"Fresh Fruit" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/105 sec, ISO6400
 “Fresh Fruit” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going? Surviving the summer-like heat?

Tonight’s photo is of some fresh pears in our kitchen. I think they looked beautiful in the evening light. The shapes are so perfect in their “pearness”, aren’t they? 😊 I think nature is amazing. Even though most fruits and vegetable varieties have been guided by farmers, scientists, and botanists, it’s still incredible that our planet can give birth to such delicious things.

I often wonder how much life exists on other planets in the universe, and what kinds of fruits and veggies exist there. I wonder how many more types of flavors are out there that we’ll never know about. Or maybe our human physiology wouldn’t allow us to perceive these new flavors? Have we tasted all that we are able to taste? These are the questions that keep me awake at night… 😜

Hope you had a nice Tuesday!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Undoukai 2016

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"Obstacle Race" Austin, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/10, 1/450 sec, ISO400
 “Obstacle Race” Austin, 2016

こんばんは！Hi, how’s it going?

Today was the last Undoukai, or Sports Day, for our kids as they wrap up their Japanese school careers at Austin Japanese School. Bay will be graduating this year, and Koa has decided not to continue. I can’t believe we’ve gone to 11 undoukais, going back to 2006! Time sure flies!

My oldest son and his classmates decided to have some fun this year by holding their arms behind them as they did the obstacle course and the 100 meter dash. It was pretty funny, although one of the kids fell twice. He was okay.

"Stretch" Austin, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/10, 1/340 sec, ISO400
 “Stretch” Austin, 2016

Besides the sporting events, we enjoyed a delicious bento lunch 🍱 which I mentioned in my previous post. There was karaage (fried chicken), mini-sausages, onigiri (rice balls), edamame, tomatoes, broccoli, potato salad, and tamagoyaki (scrambled egg). It was delicious!

"Bento" Austin, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO250
 “Bento” Austin, 2016

I’m going to miss Undoukai, but at the same time, it will be nice to not have to go… it can be a lot of work, especially when we have to help set up the different events. But I am glad we all got to experience an important part of Japanese culture. 🇯🇵 FYI, the White team won this year… 😫

I hope you had a nice weekend! I’ll leave you with some videos I took of today’s events.

Goodnight!

-B