Tag: food

Carnitas Tacos

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/4.5, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
 “Carnitas Tacos” Cedar Park, 2020

Tonight we had carnitas tacos for dinner, which is one of my favorite foods. In fact, whenever carnitas is on the menu at the restaurant, it immediately jumps to the top spot among the other dishes. 😀

I used this Instant Pot Carnitas recipe today, which is a new one for me. It’s similar to others I’ve used, but it adds a decent amount of lime juice to the meat before cooking which was something that I hadn’t done before. The rest of the family said they didn’t taste the lime, but I think it added a little something extra which was good. Overall, I liked this recipe a lot, and will use it again. It’s not too heavily spiced, so the flavor of the pork comes through nicely. A previous recipe had me add a can of chipotle peppers to the meat, and while it tasted good, it overpowered the meat and is not what I was used to. So I prefer this simpler recipe. And the Instant Pot makes it incredibly easy to make!

We enjoyed the meat with corn tortillas, Serrano peppers, cilantro, onion, lime, and avocado. We also had a jar of homemade salsa from a friend, which complemented the dish perfectly. It was a yummy meal for sure. 🌮💗

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/4.5, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
 “Taco Dinner” Cedar Park, 2020

I hope you had a great day!

Brown Sugar Boba Ice Cream Bars

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/55 sec, ISO3200
 “Boba Ice Cream” Cedar Park, 2020

Mariko has been enjoying these brown sugar boba ice cream bars for a while now, but I had to jump on the bandwagon as well. I have to say, they are DELICIOUS! These things are very popular, so much so that I heard they are triple normal price in Hawai’i, and there is a limit to how many boxes you can buy. I am not surprised. They are soooooo good!

Social Night

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/120 sec, ISO200
 “Blue Bubbles” Cedar Park, 2020

Tonight Mariko had two friends over for a girls’ nite. We set up the table and spaced the benches on the deck apart enough to have a safe distance for the three of them, and they were able to catch up and enjoy some yummy drinks and food at their leisure. While they sat outside, the boys and I enjoyed the food indoors. And yes, I ate way too much. Especially the amazing sashimi. I love it!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
 “Party Spread” Cedar Park, 2020

I hope you had a nice, and safe, day!

またね～

Cool Veggies

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO1250
 “Green” Cedar Park, 2020

I made some sigumchi-namul today using Maangchi’s simple recipe and it turned out great. As always, I should have made twice as much since the spinach shrinks down so much! We also had leftover zucchini and asparagus which made for a trio of yummy cold veggie dishes. Great on a hot summer day, especially since I was outside grilling some chicken. 😀

Give the spinach recipe a try if you haven’t already. It’s super easy.

I hope you had a nice day!

Last-Minute Burger Request

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO1000
 “Burger Photo” Cedar Park, 2020

Bay had a last-minute request for burgers so we defrosted some ground beef and I fired up the ol’ grill. We didn’t have any lettuce or tomato, so we compensated by topping the burgers with fried eggs and peppers from the garden. Chips and a spinach salad (with salmon leftover from the previous day’s breakfast) and everyone was happy.

Here’s a gratuitous egg-yolk photo:

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO2500

Also, I don’t know how she did it, but Mariko baked up some fresh buns out of nowhere. Amazing!

I hope you had a good day!

またね～

Fancy Eggs

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
 “Fancy Eggs” Cedar Park, 2020

This morning, Mariko made one of Bay’s favorite breakfasts: Eggs Benedict with Salmon. It’s basically substituting the ham/Canadian bacon with smoked salmon. What made it extra special was that the English muffins were homemade… super delicious! (Mariko had hers on homemade sourdough) What a great way to start Father’s Day. 😄🍳

Roasted and Salted Nuts

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/25 sec, ISO1600
 “Roasted and Salted” Cedar Park, 2020

We’ve been enjoying eating raw almonds and pecans lately, but sometimes I get the craving for roasted and salted nuts, so I’ll roast a small batch in our toaster oven. Basically, I put the nuts in a bowl, sprinkle with a little olive oil (not too much) and a few generous pinches of salt, then mix it so the nuts are coated before putting them on a baking sheet. Roast at 350° F for 7 minutes, then cool for at least 10 minutes. After that, they’re ready to enjoy! 😀

One recipe I followed had the nuts roasting for 12 minutes, but that was way too long for our oven. So, just play with the timing until you get them dialed in to exactly how you like them. And always make sure to let them cool, because the oils in the nuts get very hot, and if they are not cooled down enough, they’ll be too soft for that satisfying crunch.