The other day my FB status read: (My full name) is going to cook mee udang for today and she's going to cook it with THE special ingredient. Whenever she cooks with this special ingredient she always know that even without tasting the food it's going to be good. And no, it's not ajinomoto ;p

However corny it may sound, I must admit that the special ingredient is L.O.V.E. I once read a story in one of the Chicken Soups for the Soul books about a mother's secret ingredient stored away in a jar and kept away from all her children's reach. When this woman passed away, a daughter of hers finally had a peek in the jar. In the jar was a note, worn and looked like it had been passed down from one generation to another. The note said that everytime one cooks, one should cook with all his/her love. Only then the food taste good.

I truly believe in that story.

And I also believe in the theory of how positive energy and thoughts impact water and its molecular structure.

As a wife, I know that I'm definitely not a "trophy". But I want Mr. A to be proud to have a wife who can cook good food for him. One of the best things that he said to me was that even though he loves his mother home-cooked food, he eats mine with more selera (appetite). I was so happy to hear that. He loves my ketam masak lemak cili api, asam pedas ayam, ayam masak cili api (fried chicken with thick gravy based with oyster sauce and cili api) and sambal petai udang. On some weekends I would cook nasi lemak (i have yet to master this), nasi ayam, spaghetti, mee kari, mee rebus, mee bandung, mihun sup or (the latest) mee udang. Mr. A also has been pestering me to cook laksa and make traditional kueh which I don't think will happen so soon because they are too tedious for me.

As a mum, my only wish is that my children would say their favourite food is my home-cooked food!

I had to include some of my food pictures (taken by my beloved Mr. A) in this post. I have no intention of boasting. Err maybe just a need of some ego boost haha.

The ketam masak lemak cili api.

Ikan tiga rasa.

Ikan stim.

Nasi ayam.

Udang galah goreng kunyit.

Last weekend's mee udang.

PS: I'm a foodie married to another foodie =)

This has to be one of my favourite forwarded emails.

Recently, in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tanned woman appeared in the window of a gym.

It said: "THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?"

A middle aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

"To Whom It May Concern:
Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans). They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins, stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Barren Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia. Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don't exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex? Therefore they don't have kids either. Not to mention who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?
The choice is perfectly clear to me; I want to be a whale."

P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver and a good cup of coffee with my friends. With time we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, "Good gosh, look how smart I am!"

And looking at the size of my butt I guess I'm definitely one of the smartest! ;)