Viewing Category: Food
2008 Jun 09
Fast Food
Posted by Barron LivingFood • (3) CommentsPermalink

Before I stopped eating beef, pork, and chicken, I used to visit BK or McDonald’s quite often at lunchtime, and get something off of their value menu. It was so tasty and cheap. Nowadays, fast food for me is a Veggie Delite from Subway or fish tacos from La Salsa. But, last Friday I decided to stop by BK and get a fish sandwich and fries. It tasted pretty good, but that afternoon, I felt awful. That “food” was just sitting in my stomach… not digesting. I don’t think I’ll be visiting there again. But I have the craving for some fries again. I guess it’s time to pull out the deep fryer and make some homemade fries!

2008 May 05
Go Go Curry
Posted by Barron LivingFoodJapanPersonalI Like it! • (0) CommentsPermalink

Mariko sent me a link to a fantastic article by Chris Kohler about the opening of a Go Go Curry restaurant in NYC. It’s got me craving Japanese curry so badly! His description of J-curry is right on the money, and I was so glad he mentioned the practice of topping the curry with cheese. It’s my preferred method of eating kare-raisu (curry rice).

“Go Go Curry Brings Japan’s Authentic Comfort Food to NYC”

2008 Apr 03
Saltines vs Ritz
Posted by Barron LivingFoodShopping • (4) CommentsPermalink

I am addicted to Saltines. I can usually go through one of those bags in a single sitting, and a box of four will be gone in two days. Unfortunately, our Costco stopped carrying Premium saltines. But luckily, Target has their Market Pantry brand of saltines, which are at least as good as Premium. Plus, they are only $.97. They used to be $.87 a box, but the price went up recently.

Yesterday at Costco, while searching in vain for saltines yet again, I came across the mega-pack of Ritz crackers. I hadn’t had Ritz in a while, so I thought I would try them. Ritz are good crackers. But they are definitely not as “grindable” as saltines. They are a bit too rich and oily. I think they need to have something to compliment their taste, maybe a dip or cheese. Saltines, on the other hand, are more of a “eat them til there aren’t any more left” type of snack to me. I would have thought the opposite, that Ritz would be the cracker more suited to mass consumption, but to me, that would have to go to the venerable Saltine.

Maybe I should branch out and look for other snacks? I really don’t like anything that has powdered flavoring on it, though. I guess I will just have to have an open mind while I peruse the cracker section at the supermarket next time I go.

2008 Mar 06
At the Burger House
Posted by Barron LivingFood • (0) CommentsPermalink

Last night Bay and I went to Moonie’s Burger House for dinner. It was their monthly “Cox Elementary Night” where a portion of the money made from Cox Elementary students’ meals would go back to the school. As you might know, I quit eating beef, pork, and chicken a couple weeks ago, so I was wondering if going to a burger joint would be tough. Well, it wasn’t. I have pretty much lost all craving for meat, so seeing those big burgers didn’t do anything at all to me. And I used to love burgers! I mean, they would be right near the top of the list of favorites. Bay had a kids meal with Corn Dog bites and fries, and while I thought about getting a veggie burger, I just munched on some fries. I was planning on running later, so I didn’t want to fill myself up. Moonie’s is a nice, casual restaurant, with good service and a snack bar feel to it. The burgers looked pretty big, and the fries were tasty. If you are passing thru Cedar Park and want a burger, you might want to stop in and get one from Moonie’s.

2008 Feb 26
Going Semi-Veggie
Posted by Barron LivingFood • (2) CommentsPermalink

Actually, the term is Pescetarian. Meaning I am going on a veggie n fish diet. Plus I will have dairy, but I think I will eventually go without dairy. Several years ago I was ovo-lacto-vegetarian, which is veggies+eggs+dairy. That was for a year. I don’t remember why exactly I did it, but anyways, I am doing it again, and I think it might be for good. I’ve just started to come around to the idea that eating meat and supporting the livestock industry is extremely harmful to the environment. Plus, the more I research vegetarianism, the more I am seeing the issues of animal cruelty in the livestock industry. It’s actually a pretty easy choice when you read about it and see some of the videos. Just do a search on the Smithfield Hog farms article in Rolling Stone and also check out www.meetyourmeat.com.

Those reasons aside, I think the health benefits will be substantial. It’s only been a week since I stopped eating meat, but I feel so good physically, plus I feel good about doing something about the environment and reducing my carbon footprint, even if it just a drop in the bucket.

2008 Feb 25
Yardwork Weekend
Posted by Barron LivingFoodGardening • (0) CommentsPermalink

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Methley Plums; photo from Arborday.org

This past weekend we spent a lot of time in the yard, getting ready for spring planting. In the front, we trimmed the plants in our flower beds and weeded a bunch. I pulled out some plants that the builder had put in for us. Now there is a large open area with plants. I am thinking of planting a smaller roser shrub there. We used to have several rose plants in the yard of our old house, and they were very nice. I cut up my arms pretty good taking care of those, though, so I am thinking of just having one or two rose bushes in our new yard. Mariko also planted a bunch of Annuals in the garden bed, then I put down a nice layer of mulch to keep the soil moist.

In the backyard, we renewed the soil in our vegetable garden beds with organic soil mixed with compost. Mariko planted a tomato plant and transplanted some small Shiso plants. She also has some jalapeño and squash seeds that are going in soon. The thing I am most excited about is a new Methley Plum tree that we planted. It should take a couple years for it to bear fruit, but it’s going to be nice to eat homegrown plums.

It’s fun to work in the yard since the weather is so nice right now. But come summer, the Texas heat will make going outside tough, so it’s good to get most of the heavy-lifting done now.

2008 Feb 22
Shilla Korean Restaurant
Posted by Barron LivingFoodPersonalI Like it! • (0) CommentsPermalink

We went with another family to Shilla for some Korean BBQ. I had never been to Shilla before, but my wife and our friends had, and they love it, so I pretty much knew it would be good. We sat just off the main room in the raised area, where you sit on the wooden floor with small pillows to keep your bum from falling asleep. We were the only group in there, so the kids (4 of them) had lots of room to be rambunctious.

We ordered a variety of meats: pork, beef, beef tongue, kalbi ribs, plus a noodle dish. It was all served fairly quickly, probably around 5 minutes after ordering. Our server (cute girl!) prepared most of the food for us at the little grill in the table. She cut the meat with a big pair of scissors into smaller sized pieces (perfect for the kids) and let us know when each type of meat was ready to eat. I am not sure if this level of service is typical, since it wasn’t very busy at the time we were there, but I expect that it would be.

Besides the meat, which was all tasty and tender, there were lots of side dishes, typical of Korean BBQ restaurants. Also, large leafy greens were provided to wrap the meat in. I also like the fact that they serve sliced jalapeño and garlic so you can spice it up even more. I had a couple slices of garlic, which was great, but I feel sorry for anyone who comes near me today…

I’d definitely go back to Shilla. It’s going to be tough to choose between Shilla and Korea House, but I think I might have to give the edge to Shilla.

Read more reviews of Shilla at Yelp!

2008 Feb 15
Valentine’s Day
Posted by Barron LivingFood • (2) CommentsPermalink

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Our Valentine’s Day was pretty fun. At Bay’s school, they had a great party, with lots of goodies and a fun bingo game. The room mothers did a great job decorating the classroom, and all the kids had a good time. That evening, Mariko prepared an awesome dinner for us. We feasted on cheese fondue for our main course, and chocolate fondue for dessert. I love cheese fondue so much. This time, we dipped crusty French bread cubes, sausages, cauliflower, and apples into the winey, cheesy fondue. The kids had a different cheese fondue, without the wine. For the chocolate fondue dessert, we had marshmallows, kiwi, banana, strawberries, and cheesecake. Needless to say, we were all stuffed!

Check out a few more photos at the Valentine’s Day photo set at Flickr.

2008 Feb 14
Yuri Ebihara Makudonarudo CM
Posted by Barron LivingFoodJapanPersonalI Like it! • (0) CommentsPermalink

Here is a CM (commercial) for an Ebi Filet-O Basil sandwich. When I visited, I had to get an Ebi Filet-O. But not with basil. That was a special edition I guess. Maybe next time! And I didn’t see Ebihara Yuri in any McDonald’s I have visited. :( But the sandwich was tasty. I’ll definitely get it again.

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