I made a so-so okonomiyaki this week and burnt my pinky. I mean, I literally had my pinky up against a hot frying pan and didn't feel the pain until too late. It's gonna get ugly because it throbs like a mother and I've never been burnt this bad in my life! And what's worse? No Neo-Sporin or aloe vera at home either. :(

Anyway, as I was saying, I made this okonomiyaki at home with the little ingredients I had in the fridge -- cabbage. That's all. Talk about a poor Asian girl's okonomiyaki right? Usually in okonomiyaki, you put in pork, beef, shrimp, squid, octopus or whatever you want but I really didn't want to open a can of tuna and dump it on there. No no no. So I made a real simple one using cabbage, eggs, some batter and fried it up in its most basic form. Then on top, you put some aonori, katsuo bushi, mayo and a japanese style worcestershire sauce. It really hit the spot because I was craving for it like a mad woman! Here's a cross-section view of it:

I liken it to those comfort foods that we have in America where all those fattening flavors fuse together and oozes in your mouth. Mashed potatoes, country fried steak, yams with marshmallow topping, lasagna and so on. It always surprises me that Asian countries do use mayonnaise to a certain degree because we always think "oh, those fat americans only eat mayo, cheese and milk" when in reality, mayo is everywhere - just discreetly oozing about. I have this love/hate relationship with it -- sometimes I am repulsed by it but other times I can "get it down" without any problems. I guess it all depends on how I'm eating it. And don't some of you call it "devil's sperm"? ;D

For those who don't know what an okonomiyaki is - it's a cross between a pancake and a pizza. And it's name means "as you like" which pretty much dictates whatever you want to throw in there, you can and it's all good as long as you like it. I either make mine extremely plain or completely loaded with lots of toppings. I think it's the cold weather that's making me want to eat all these fattening foods!

Nah, come to think of it, I eat fattening foods regardless of the weather. :P

:::

Look who came over to see Auntie Aiyah today?

Jasmine's parents needed a break to go eat Sushi today, so the lil munchkin [i call her lang mui - little girl] came over for a few hours of babysitting. It was her first time over at our house and it took a lil while for her to get adjusted to the unfamiliar surroundings. Although I'm getting the hang of taking care of her, it's really tiring and requires so much attention and constant care. This is where I usually segue into the "that's why I don't want to have a kid" speech. But I'll save you the torture and move on.

The princess in the house,

= her

wasn't too thrilled at the new noises she was hearing and was really overly excited and barked alot. I had to make sure I was giving her enough attention as well so that she wouldn't feel neglected and left out. The last thing we wanted was to create a sense of this baby coming over equalling to her getting left out in the future. Dogs are so perceptive but she seemed to be "ok" with it so far. Not much sulking.

But the baby, the baby is getting so big! And so alert that she doesn't even like to be carried like a baby anymore - she wants to be facing outward, so she can see everything. And she loves being outdoors because she calmed down immediately when I took her for a walk. But I'm so jealous of her eyes - huge with double lids *snicker* and long long long lashes! Now I know why some of us Asian girls get so jealous of hapa chicks!

I'm out.