Gyoza, Clouds, and the Search for Grey

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…

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. 🙂☁️

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!

I hope you had a nice day.

またね～