OkoNOMiyaki Part 2!!

I got better pics this time around!

1. I sauteed shrimp, scallops, and mushrooms.



2. Onions, cabbage, and pancake batter (this time with eggs!!!) get mixed together in a bowl.



3. GREASE THE SKILLET. I didn't, and it stuck terribly. I had to put everything on a plate, spray with EVOO, and then dump everything back in. Ugh. Then, cook until all the batter is cooked! (You can see some of the burned stuff on the edges of the skillet haha!)



4. Top! Eat! Enjoy!!!

OkoNOMiyaki!

Okonomiyaki: a Japanese savoury pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked." It is often called a pizza for the way it is cut up after it is done, for everyone to enjoy.

Once again, I rushed when taking the pics and the last ones didn't come out! ARGH!



This is an okonomiyaki spatula! It was surprisingly sharp on the edge, to cut the okonomiyaki into slices like a pizza after its all done! It's very small, about 6 inches long total. Didn't help much when I was trying to flip it! I'm not sure if I made my okonomiyaki too big or if there are other size spatulas. *shrug*



My okonomiyaki was made with leftovers! Yay fridge cleaning! I had already started making everything when I realized... I'M OUT OF EGGS! So for the pancake batter, I just used milk and hoped for the best. Okonomiyaki is usually made on a grill/griddle, but I used a skillet as I didn't feel like cleaning my griddle. I started by sauteing cabbage (a must for okononiyaki! Apparently, you are supposed to mix the batter and cabbage together, grill, then put your toppings on top and flip it over and finish cooking.) and celery and onions, and then putting my pancake batter with only milk (lol!) on top and spreading it out. I let that cook for a while, then flipped it. After it was done cooking I added my NOMTASTIC okonami sauce that I had a VERY hard time finding, and topped that with some Kewpie mayo! NOM. In some parts of Japan, I guess they add bonito on top of that. But really, it's all up to you!

I give it a HUGE thumbs up! My batter tasted pretty good, as well! XD

Super 88!

The other Asian mart around here is the Super 88! It's a small chain supermarket with both Asian and American products that are veeeery cheap. I don't go there much because, at least the one in Allston, isn't that clean a lot of the time, and it is a bit of a trip to get to. (However the fresh dim sum at the little food market there is AMAZING. The lady who makes them is my hero.)



This is the one closest to me that is the newest one to open, as far as I know. It's a very large store, but inside it isn't all filled up, there are a lot of open spaces, and the produce selection is a LOT smaller than Kam Man. Actually, for such a large store, the overall selection is a lot smaller. Although I didn't check it, in the back there looked to be a large seafood section.



And I had another couple pics but they must not have transferred correctly to my Photobucket, and now they're gone! Agh!
All I got was some blueberry milk tea mix! I finally found someone who carries some! Unfortunately, I'm really not a fan of this flavor. At all. I need to experiment with it.



Instead, here's a seagull.




I threw food on our hood and it flew up and stayed there for a while haha!
Another bit of news! My fave tea, Ito En Green Jasmine Teas Tea is indeed available at Targets. It the big bottles!!! Yay!!!!!!

Lalalalaaa

First off....



If you can't read it, it's a cup from Boston Market that says:Please do not insert straw into nose. Thank you.

*shakes head* ok. now, today's bento!!



All nice and pretty in its matching thermal bag! 2 clementines, and some pudding!



Salad dressing is pretty darn hard to fit into those little sauce holders, even using the biggest ones. And then to clean it! Agh. lol! Some cucumber slices, and some carrots, and in the top tier is some leftover Hannaford's shells and sausage meat sauce! YUM. A bit of a bite in it, but very tasty.

St. Pattys Day parade

Kelley and my friend Dennis and I go to the parade!!



I'm not going to do a photo dump, but I will pick my faves! For all my photos, go to: My Photobucket Page

First in the parade was the Police part! There were the bike police, the mounted police, the ambulances, the firetrucks, the motorcycles, the communications trucks, etc., and my fave:



The spy truck!! It's hard to tell, but theres a guy all in black sitting on the top hatch waving. It was quite amusing.



Lots of horses!! Yay!
There were lots of trolleys, LOTS of marching bands, from military bands, to traditional bands, to school kids bands.





One of my fave parts was the Star Wars brigade. Heh.






Lots of Unions marched also. TONS of veterans. And of course good ol' St. Patrick himself. LOL It was a pretty long parade, we were at the end of the 22-mile route, and there were some gaps lol but none as bad as the initial 45-1 hour gap between the police and the rest of the parade! LOL We were so annoyed until it finally got to us.



There were lots of antique cars, most of which were old police/military cars. It seemed there were some from each major war.




There were also the Chinese represented there! There is a huuuuuge Asian population in Boston.

If I could figure out how to embed the video properly, I could show you! LOL, and also the guns firing every so often was a crowd favorite. Esp. the Revolutionary guns and such.
Here's at least a picture of just before one group fired.



Elvis.



From Toucher and Rich 104.1: ADOLPHO!!



And last, there were quite a few bands, this one was quite good.



More pics when Kelley sends them to my photobucket!!

WHEW!!

My weekend was busy!! On Saturday, we had the Chocolate Buffet at the Boston Langham Hotel, a ritzy place where I felt SO out of place! LOL. BUT! It was amazing!!!!!!!



My parents and Kelley and I went into Boston on the magical MBTA!








(I had 4 cotton candies!!! YUM!)



And last...



Made to order chocolate crepes! Ugh.... so good.

*passes out* Chocolate overload.

Pics!

First off, this was one of last weeks bentos I forgot to blog. Oops!



Fried rice, blueberry sausage, and root beer! Yay!



This is a horned melon. Kelley and I see them at Hannafords, and I call it the Mario fruit and threaten to throw it at her. It just reminds me of something from a video game! It's silly. I have yet to get one and try it LOL.

And last...



Kam Man is getting in new stuff. My fave bento section... is now a JAPANESE section!! It's awesome!! I was tearing into the not yet put away things, they got bento belts, the little bento sauce holders, new awesome bento boxes, bento box dividers (I'm getting some Friday and will blog about it), little packages of fork-spoon-chopsticks, Lilo and Stitch bento (so cute!!). OH. IT. IS. AMAZING. I was freaking out, Kelley just shook her head and walked away for a bit. It's glorious.

nomnomnom

Todays bento started off with a curry bun! Yay!



It was a mild curry, which is thankful, and was overall pretty good. Curry isn't my fave, but when I'm in a curry mood this could def hit the spot! Yum!

In the bento today is homemade fried rice with mushroom, cabbage, and egg. Also in it is the rest of my seaweed salad, and some leftover sweetened boba balls from last night!



Now, my boba was left soaking over night in sugar water, 2 cups water and 1 cup sugar and 1 cup brown sugar boiled, and so now are very sweet. Before eating them cold, they must be microwaved to heat them up, which in turn softens them up! Otherwise, they're icky and hard!!

Colorful!

Bento! I got up early to make this one!!



This is open faced rice burgers, with cheese and lettuce!



This is seaweed salad on the right, then some scrambled eggs and cheese, and some strawberry agar jelly that I made last night especially for bentos in the little aluminum wrapper! Now... I have SO much leftover jelly!! It's EVERYWHERE in my fridge!! That little box makes a LOT! AGH.



Last, my beef teriyaki onigiri!

Kotobukiya

Sunday Kelley and I were in Boston, so we made a trip (in the snow!!!) to the Japanese market, Kotobukiya!
Yayyy!
STILL couldn't find the powdered milk tea! AGH!



This is the American version of my fave jasmine green tea! Apparently, it can be found at Target, I got mine at Hannafords! It is usually in the healthy food section of supermarkets! Also, I got a UCC coffee of Eva fame to try! Havent tried it yet! Kotobukiya had it both chilled and heated!



I also got some more store made onigiri, bonito and special of the day: beef teriyaki flavors! And some seaweed salad!! Yum! Also in the picture is the stuff that I got from the bakery! A curry doughnut, a custard bun, and a melon pan, which is just bread with a sugary coating made to LOOK like a melon. Doesn't taste like one at all!



Last, I picked up some extra firm tofu (the only way I like mine, you can do more with it), some amazing furikake, and a half size Kewpie mayo container, just to try it! (It was still expensive! x_x)

All for $30!! XD