daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
The before and after. This beautiful eggplant turned into a seriously delicious donburi. Mariko is a wizard in the kitchen! 🍆✨
We wanted to grill some fish for dinner, but didn’t want the house smelling like it afterward, so I broke out the portable burner and grilled out back instead. The evening was surprisingly warm, which made it a really pleasant way to cook and unwind. The saba turned out great, though I should have taken the photo after flipping it so you could see that beautifully grilled skin. Oh well, it looks better in the photo below anyway.
Do you ever take the cooking outside just to enjoy the weather, or to save your kitchen from lingering smells? It kind of feels like camping. So fun!
One of the things I would like to learn in 2026 is how to make decent latte art. This was my very first attempt. As you can see, I have a long way to go, but everyone has to start somewhere!
We started 2026 off on the right foot with a yummy osechi feast, followed by an afternoon run around the neighborhood. It felt like the perfect way to begin the year, good food and a little movement to balance it all out.
Our holiday break in SoCal came to an end today and we returned home to Texas. It was such a fun trip filled with good food and fun. Cheers until next time!
