Fajitas, Crema Mexicana, and Flour Tortillas

"Fajita Spread" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
“Fajita Spread” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Dinner tonight was beef fajitas, with onion, bell peppers, jalapeño, avocado, cilantro, cheese, lime, rice, and beans. I guess it’s a typical dinner here in Texas. But, what was new for us was that instead of plain sour cream, we had this:

"Crema Mexicana" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO4000
“Crema Mexicana” Cedar Park, 2018

The crema Mexicana was so delicious and rich! Wow, what a difference. I loved it. I definitely prefer it over the regular old sour cream. If you pick some up, I highly recommend it!

One last tip if you are serving flour tortillas: use your gas stove top to toast them. Basically, turn the flame to medium-low, then, using a pair of metal tongs, put a tortilla on the grate. After several seconds, flip it over to warm the other side. I like it where the tortilla is just about to get scorched before flipping over/removing. Even a little burnt is how I like it. And it’s great when the tortilla puffs up at the end! Then put the tortillas onto a cloth-lined (cloth napkin) plate, then wrap in the cloth to keep warm. We actually line one of these tortilla warmers with a cloth napkin and it works great.

It only takes a minute or two to prepare all the tortillas, and you can finish even faster if you use multiple burners. FYI, I learned this technique from my sister-in-law years ago, and we warm our flour tortillas like this every time now. They are so fluffy and fresh this way. No more damp, microwaved, stuck-together flour tortillas!

Anyways, again I might have eaten a little too much. 😝

I hope you had a nice day!

またね~

Jerk Chicken and Timelapse

"Jamaican Dinner" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO3200
“Jamaican Dinner” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Tonight I fired up the barbecue to grill up some jerk chicken, and I decided to try out the timelapse feature on our new Victure 4K action camera. It’s actually just an intervalometer function which snaps a photo every few seconds, but the camera has a very wide lens on it and is so light and easy to set up that I thought I would have a little fun and see what it could do.

It took about 40 images, which I later imported into the free Sony Action Cam Movie Creator and compiled this little movie:

I’m happy with how it turned out! In general,I’m pleased with the Victure action camera, which so far is well worth the price (I found it for about $40). I’m sure I’ll write more about it in the future.

But let me tell you about the chicken – it was delicious! We like to use Walkerswood jerk rub, and cooking it on the grill adds even more flavor and crisps up the skin. Mariko made rice and peas in the rice cooker and it was pretty good too! All we needed was some Red Stripe, but we had to settle for Sapporo instead. 😝

I hope you had a nice Wednesday!

またね~

"Fire" Cedar Park, 2017
“Fire” Cedar Park, 2017
"Jerk Chicken" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
“Jerk Chicken” Cedar Park, 2018

Yakiniku Nite

"Yakiniku Nite" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
“Yakiniku Nite” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Tonight we enjoyed yakiniku at home. It’s basically grilled meat and veggies, with dipping sauces. We had a variety of different meats (from the recently opened market) including an American wagyu-style beef. It’s super-delicious! For veggies, we had shiitake mushrooms, eggplant, onion, jalapeno, and kabocha, as well as a simple salad. Oh, and kimchee too! 🔥

If you’ve ever had yakiniku or Korean barbecue before, you know that there can be a fair amount of smoke produced, so ventilation is indispensable. In fact, at yakiniku restaurants, there are huge ventilation hoods over each table. If you are cooking at home, I suggest closing all the bedroom doors and open up some windows to circulate the air. Not that the smell is bad. It actually smells amazing, but you don’t want all your clothes smelling like grilled meat, do you? Speaking of that, I’d also suggest taking off your jacket and putting that in the closet or another room. 😄

Anyways, I ate too much of course, but it was worth it. I love yakiniku so much!

I hope you had a nice day.

またね~

VIews from the Trail

"Wobbly Cairn" Leander, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/250 sec, ISO200
“Wobbly Cairn” Leander, 2018

I went on a short hike today on a nearby trail. Here are some of the photos I took. I hope you had a nice day!

"Tiny Flowers" Leander, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/170 sec, ISO200
“Tiny Flowers” Leander, 2018
"Hiking Boots" Leander, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO500
“Hiking Boots” Leander, 2018
"Spring Growth" Leander, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.2, 1/900 sec, ISO200
“Spring Growth” Leander, 2018
"On the Trail" Leander, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/240 sec, ISO200
“On the Trail” Leander, 2018
"Mossy" Leander, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/1000 sec, ISO200
“Mossy” Leander, 2018