Preface...
I have decided to share this story with you because I think that it is absolutely necessary for all to read, and will absolutely be adored by anyone! I fell out of my chair reading it! My daughter recently had an assignment in which she was required to submit a creative memoir for an English assignment. She decided that her topic would be the beginning of 'Cooking With Jasp'. I only read it a couple of days ago, but completely fell in love with the text. The intense humour combined with the cute details reminded me of the significance of literature in modern society. Enjoy reading!
8 December, 2020
All Following Words by My Daughter
I once read “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” To me, this meant that my entire family had always thought well, loved well, and slept well, because an Indian ancestry meant that food flowed in our blood.
When you think about Indian cooking, you think about sweets with sugary skin or spicy spices with strong scents. My mother grew up in a society where food was religion. Her parents owned many acres of land which compensated for the small, serene village. Servants would carry her bags to school and clean the home when she got back. Gardeners would be hand-raking the garden and watering the white rose beds. However, she would always cook. How do I know that she cooked instead of the servants? My mum can make my personal favourite; spinach dal, which is yellow instead of green because green food doesn’t appeal to me. She can make cute cupcakes in the shape of shoes, or Ferrero Rocher, which melts until you’re left with an Indian laddu caged inside. Every afternoon when my dad, brother, and I come home, there is a different type of curry on the dining table. Rotis are stacked neatly on a Tupperware plate. On Tuesdays, there are black bean tacos, and on Thursdays and Fridays; penne arrabbiata is the tradition.
Last year, my mum and I were discussing our usual absurd, utopian dreams for her future. This was much easier than discussing my future because that always concludes in an argument about me wanting to leave Darwin because of the lack of resources (such as Disney World and Michael Kors). However, this time my dad remarked something that he was just joking about. “Why don’t you start a YouTube channel? At least, then maybe Avni might learn to cook.” Instead of my usual eye roll at his jokes, adrenaline rushed to my head. I instantly opened my laptop and searched up How to start a YouTube channel.
I franticly opened a maximum number of tabs on Chrome and began reading a handful of articles Should we just show hands, or maybe show various angles of the individual and food? Childlike behaviour bloomed within me. My parents often have a difficult time coping with my insane ideas, but this time, my parents began organising designs with me. I had edited a cooking video once; it was for a media elective at school. It only took a couple of short lessons, to complete the video, however, that time I did have an expert teacher helping me.
I questioned my mum, “What’s going to be the first video?” She replied with the obvious answer “your favourite Indian cookies.” These were the same cookies that I had loved since I was a child. Their Indian name was Nankhatai, but they were always cookies to me.
Shakespeare once said, “All the world’s a stage.” I finally knew what this meant. The kitchen our stage, and I was the director. The room began to bustle with silver utensils and glassware, while my mum placed the plates neatly on the kitchen table. As she mystically mixed the sugar and cardamom seeds in a bowl, and I was running around the countertop, turning the camera on and off, filming everything in sight.
A pile of cookies sat on the countertop. The strong scent of cardamom seeds fluttered through the atmosphere. The crisp tan colour looked snazzy in the video, and the crumbly texture satisfied taste buds as soon as the cookies touched the tongue; perfect with a glass of creamy milk.
Go Watch Our Nankhatai Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxvVPeanL2k&t=10s
“What will the name of the channel be,” was the second question that whisked imagination in me. “What about Jasp?” It was an acronym for the four members of our family.
My mum was drained of strength; usually cooking for her was like making cereal, but I was ready to stay up all night to edit, ready to hit 1 million subscribers. The uploading percentage hit 100% and my mum called up her family to tell them to subscribe and spread the word. I refreshed the page: 1 subscriber, 2 subscribers, 3 subscribers; the numbers increased.
Go Visit Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCls5XRtx5bGdOTIQfze0AcA