Thinking of Japanese Food

Posted on January 8, 2020 by vanbraman

Today I had some Japanese food in our cafeteria. The food tasted good, but it really did not seem too Japanese. So, tonight I am thinking about some real Japanese food.

okonomiyaki, savory pancake, osaka, japanese foodI am thinking of this meal I had in Osaka last year. I had okonomiyaki which are savory pancakes. These were really good. They are sprinkled with bonito flakes which are moved around by the steam coming off the pancakes. It was quite interesting.

Shabu-Shabu - Vegetables - Mushrooms - Japanese CuisineI am also thinking of some Shabu-Shabu which I had during another trip to Tokyo. Shabu-Shabu is cooked in a hot pot filled with broth. Above you see the vegetables that will be cooked. There are several types of mushrooms, vegetables and noodles.

udon noodles, tempura, Japanese Food, Cuisine Here was a nice simple meal of udon noodles and tempura. A simple meal but beautifully presented.

Soba Noodles, Soba Soup, Noodles, slurping noodlesHow about some nice soup. The soba noodles are made with buckwheat flour. The noodles are high in thiamine so are a good preventative against beriberi.

Japanes Food - Osaka, Japan - Hot Pot - Japanese Cuisine - MemoriesI also remember a nice hot-pot we had for a class dinner in Osaka on one of my trips there.

Now I am hungry for some real Japanese food.

Steven

Posted in Food, Japan, Memories, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

First Fill Up for Bluey

Posted on January 7, 2020 by vanbraman

Tonight I stopped at the gas station to fill up Bluey for the first time.

first fill up, bluey, gas station, gas tankWhen I picked up Bluey the car had a full tank of gas. Now after almost two months it was time to fill up the tank again.

Bluey, driving range, EV, Plug-in HybridI still had a range of 71 miles which would probably last me to the weekend, but decided that tonight would be the time to visit the gas station.

power gauge, ev, plug-in hybrid, 98.3 mpgHere you can see that the fuel gauge is nearing empty.

I don’t remember exactly how many miles Bluey had at delivery, but here you can see that I am at 1,212.6 miles at the first fill-up. After getting less than 300 miles on a tank of gas with Old Blue this is a big improvement. I could only dream of getting 98.3 mpg. Of course, this is mostly because of charging Bluey’s batteries each night.

easy fill, capless fuel tank, filling tank, Ford FusionIt was also a bit interesting to fill up the tank as it has a ‘Capless’ fueling system. Of course, I had seen this before in the Ford Fusion that I rented while back in Nebraska and Iowa for my niece’s wedding.

First fill up, ford fusion, 1200 milesSince I bought Bluey I have spent two weeks in Germany and also spent a lot of time at home over the holidays. If I am not traveling I think that I will be filling the gas tank about once a month, which is much better than four times a month with Old Blue.

Now to see how long this tank will last. The display says that have a range of 712 miles. These are the hybrid mode miles, so it depends on how many times I charge Bluey before the next fill up.

Steven

 

Posted in California, Culture, transportation | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments