When it comes to Japanese cuisine, most people will encounter it at their local Japanese restaurant. Serving up the classics like sushi, ramen, gyoza, miso soup, and edamame, most of these “Westernized” restaurants aren’t actually all that good.
Which is too bad, because Japanese cuisine is actually way WAY better than that.
Unfortunately traveling to Japan for some good eats isn’t possible, due to COVID-19…
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While I’m not normally a nostalgic person, October marked something of a major milestone in the life of Mr. Tako. This was my fifth year of freedom from the corporate world!
Although my blog was started back in December of 2015, my last day of work at a “corporate” job was September 30th, 2015. It took me a few months of unemployment before I finally decided to start writing the blog you see here today.
It’s been an interesting 5-year journey to say the least. Filled with all the ups and downs, and strange fluids you might expect from raising two kids…
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When it comes to Japanese cuisine, most people are pretty familiar with what you can find in restaurants — Sushi, ramen, tempura, miso soup, and perhaps (if you’re really adventurous) sukiyaki.
It’s too bad, because many delicious Japanese dishes just aren’t very popular here in the States. Udon in particular gets very little love. Maybe it’s the wide chewy noodles that turn people off…
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If I had to pick my favorite kind of restaurant on this planet, I would probably pick an Izakaya. Not the smoky drinking-dens of yesteryear, but the newer and more vibrant version that serves delicious food at reasonable prices.
Izakaya’s are a form of Japanese restaurant that serve up small plates of delicious food to be shared. In addition to the food, they serve also alcohol and other drinks to patrons in need of refreshment…
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Have you tried a “Impossible Burger” yet? It’s a burger made from a new plant-based meat substitute that’s been taking the world by storm this year. The ingredients are mostly soy and potato proteins. Apparently there’s over 9,000 restaurants in the U.S. that now serve some form of the “Impossible Burger”. Pretty neat, right?
Plant based meat substitutes have been the stuff of science fiction for years…
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When it comes to cooking meals at home, absolutely no-one wants to cook a separate meal for the kids and a separate meal for adults. Yet adults often prefer bolder, spicier flavors with more exotic ingredients. Kids tend to enjoy simpler fare — carb heavy dishes with much milder flavors. At least my kids do — pizza, spaghetti, macaroni & cheese, sandwiches and so on.
It definitely puts smiles on their little faces, but I can only eat so much of it before I’m craving something more exciting…
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As the author of a blog, I get a lot of feedback about our lifestyle. Some people say terrible things, but the vast majority of commenters are kind, well-adjusted humans that don’t mind taking a peek into the life of a family that lives a little differently…
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It’s been several years since I first posted my roasted salsa recipe, but what’s worth doing once is worth doing again. Especially when it saves money!
For the next five days I’m going to be completely offline — The Tako family is going camping in the mountains without access to the internet. So, I won’t be posting to Mr. Tako Escapes on my regular schedule …
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It’s summer and the weather is HOT. The Pacific Northwest has been setting record temperatures for the last couple of days, with highs in the low 90’s Fahrenheit (roughly 32C).
After a long hot commute home from work and school, I can imagine most families don’t feel like firing up a stove or oven to make dinner. I frequently see my friends and neighbors hopping into their air conditioned lazy-mobile and driving to a nice air conditioned eatery of their choice…
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