Hairy likes to sleep in what seems like awkward positions. This particular one from this afternoon is the strangest of them all. I think I'm going to call it "The Dead Deer".

Dinner: We had creamed chicken again (apparently, I made enough for 3 meals), and I had to made new biscuits because I wasn't happy with yesterday's. I made sure I didn't roll it out to thin this time and and they came out great.

We also tried three different kinds of yams and sweet potatoes. I baked a (from left to right) Garnet Yam, Jersey Sweet Potato, and Japanese Sweet Potato. The Jersey was Tina's favorite (I thought it had the cleanest sweet flavor) while the Japanese was mine (sweet, but with a hint of natural saltiness - it was also very dry and dense compared to the other two). The Garnet Yam was very watery (but not watered down - it was just wet, but strongly flavored) and the taste was sweet but with some acidity.

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What I Ate: April 20, 2010 (Central Market Cafe)

Lunch: Tina made egg fried rice and sauteed some collard greens for lunch.

Dinner: I made creamed chicken with carrots and peas and served it over fresh baked biscuits. I rolled out the biscuits a little too thin, so they came out mostly flat. Pretty good if you like crust, but I like a balance of crust and fluffy interior.

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What I Ate: April 19, 2010

We had our first restaurant meal with Hairy on Sunday. Hairy got to have lunch at Red Robin in Northeast San Antonio.

We ate our lunch first (as befits our status as pack leaders).

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Hairy Eats at Red Robin

Lunch: We drove down to Northeast San Antonio to have Hairy meet a couple of dogs up for adoption (to see if he wants to have a friend) and, after meeting a bunch of dogs (and getting lots of praise and petting from humans), we walked him over to Red Robin (8227 Agora Parkway, Selma, TX‎ - (210) 659-9229‎) where they were extremely accommodating. We sat outside in the covered patio area where I ate the Shrimp and Cod Duo. The restaurant provided Hairy with a bowl of water and I ordered him a ground beef patty (which they couldn't provide raw, so we had them cook it without seasoning as rare as possible - which was more along the lines of medium-well).

Dinner: We had leftover pork, broccoli, and eggs over rice for dinner.

Lunch: Our local supermarket had live crawfish, so I picked up a couple of pounds and I boiled them in seasoning. Then I finished them off on the grill to dry off the shells and give it a little of that grilled shellfish smell (that smell that shrimp shells get when you grill them and they get all crisp).

Dinner: Tina cooked some soy sauce pork with bamboo shoots, broccoli, and eggs scrambled with scallions.

Tina stands next to Hairy as they watch the rain start from our backyard patio.

Lunch: Throughout the afternoon, I ate several bowls of corn soup with brioche.

Dinner: By dinnertime, I was craving a burger, so we went to Mighty Fine Burgers. I had a Jr. Cheeseburger with Bacon.

We celebrated the completion of our tax return by going out to dinner at Ryu of Japan (11101 Burnet Road, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 973-9498‎). I had eaten there once before with the Fearless Critic Austin Council, but Tina missed out on that occasion because she was taking care of Hairy. I ordered some items I had before and some new ones. We started with a seaweed salad.

Followed by miso soup.

Nama Kaki (Raw oysters) - these were HUGE oysters which were sweet with a creamy meatiness.

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What I Ate: April 15, 2010 (Ryu of Japan)

Today's dinner was a bit of a failure. I had been cooking oxtails sous vide at 55°C for 40 hours - but the controller I have was registering the wrong temperature (it was reporting a higher temperature than what the water actually was when I checked with my Thermapen). So, I think the oxtails were heating in 49°C for most of that time (which isn't hot enough to break down collagen into gelatin or pasteurize). I prepared pan fried garlic-sage polenta (made polenta first, set it in a mold, cut it, and then pan fried for texture), and Tina sauteed some spinach to go with the oxtails which turned out to be a bust. I tossed the oxtails into a pot, added some water and beef broth and started it simmering on the range. Meanwhile, we ate polenta and spinach for dinner.

Later… much, much later, I ate some of the oxtail that had been cooking for 3.5 hours.

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What I Ate: April 14, 2010 (Failed Sous Vide Oxtails)