beer and shake my head.
“It means that it may take a long time to fill a big basket with cocoa beans, but eventually, if you keep at it, you’ll get there. All this is part of that,” she says, gesturing around the greenroom. “This is a great learning step. More steps like this will, one by one, get you where you have to go — wherever that may be.”
After Deema finishes talking, Mom presses the play button on the iPod speakers she’s brought with her. The sounds of David Rudder fill the tiny room as he sings about the hot, sweet joy of island life. Dad gathers me in his arms. He kisses the top of my head. “Sweet Anjali. You make a father happy.”
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Dear Chef Nyla — I know, you like me to call you Nyla, but this note is from a soon-to-be chef (me) to a real chef (you):
I had to write and tell you about my first week of school. Richmond Hill High School is totally amazing. There are a lot more kids than at my old school, and it’s pretty big. At first I was nervous, but it seems okay now.
Yesterday I finally started the C-CAP part of my curriculum. The first section is going to be on stocks and sauces. Eventually, we are going to learn to do things like cut up meat and fish. The teacher said it’s like being in regular culinary school. Pretty cool.
We have regular teachers, but then there are guest teachers — chefs from the big restaurants in the city, even a few Food Network chefs! Last week, Chef Daisy Martinez came to visit!!
Hope to see you soon.
Hugs,
Anjali
I read the e-mail through one more time before I hit send, then sit back in my chair. The smell of the curried mango that Deema is making for the family seeps into my room from the kitchen. I take a deep breath and stretch.
Ginger Beer
8 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
12 cups water
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 sprigs mint for garnish
1. Put the ginger, lime juice, mace, and 1 1/2 cups of the light brown sugar into an 8-quart pot and add 12 cups of water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the pot and add the pod.
3. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
4. Pour the cooled ginger mixture into a widemouthed gallon jug to steep. Cover the jar tightly and refrigerate for 1 week.
5. Strain the ginger mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into another widemouthed gallon glass or ceramic jar, firmly pressing on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much flavor as possible. Discard the solids.
6. Serve in glasses over crushed ice, garnished with mint sprigs. Ginger beer may be stored in a sealable glass jar, refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.
Makes 8 to 10 eight-ounce servings.
Prasad
2 cups ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 cups farina
2 cups whole milk
3 twelve-ounce cans evaporated milk
4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Raisins, grated fresh coconut, coarsely chopped almonds, and a few cooked chickpeas, for garnish
1. Heat all but 2 teaspoons of the ghee in a large, deep frying pan. Add the golden raisins and fry over medium-low heat until they become plump.
2. Add the farina one-quarter cup at a time, stirring constantly, until it becomes light brown.
3. While the farina is toasting, in a separate pan, combine the whole milk, evaporated milk, sugar, ginger, and cardamom. Bring just to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add the milk mixture to the farina mixture, one-quarter cup at a time, until the
prasad
forms semimoist clumps.
4. Remove from the heat.
5. Heat the remaining ghee in a small frying pan, and add the raisins, coconut, almonds, and chickpeas. Fry until the raisins are plump, about 30 to 40 seconds. Stir while frying. Garnish
“It means that it may take a long time to fill a big basket with cocoa beans, but eventually, if you keep at it, you’ll get there. All this is part of that,” she says, gesturing around the greenroom. “This is a great learning step. More steps like this will, one by one, get you where you have to go — wherever that may be.”
After Deema finishes talking, Mom presses the play button on the iPod speakers she’s brought with her. The sounds of David Rudder fill the tiny room as he sings about the hot, sweet joy of island life. Dad gathers me in his arms. He kisses the top of my head. “Sweet Anjali. You make a father happy.”
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Dear Chef Nyla — I know, you like me to call you Nyla, but this note is from a soon-to-be chef (me) to a real chef (you):
I had to write and tell you about my first week of school. Richmond Hill High School is totally amazing. There are a lot more kids than at my old school, and it’s pretty big. At first I was nervous, but it seems okay now.
Yesterday I finally started the C-CAP part of my curriculum. The first section is going to be on stocks and sauces. Eventually, we are going to learn to do things like cut up meat and fish. The teacher said it’s like being in regular culinary school. Pretty cool.
We have regular teachers, but then there are guest teachers — chefs from the big restaurants in the city, even a few Food Network chefs! Last week, Chef Daisy Martinez came to visit!!
Hope to see you soon.
Hugs,
Anjali
I read the e-mail through one more time before I hit send, then sit back in my chair. The smell of the curried mango that Deema is making for the family seeps into my room from the kitchen. I take a deep breath and stretch.
Ginger Beer
8 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
12 cups water
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 sprigs mint for garnish
1. Put the ginger, lime juice, mace, and 1 1/2 cups of the light brown sugar into an 8-quart pot and add 12 cups of water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the pot and add the pod.
3. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
4. Pour the cooled ginger mixture into a widemouthed gallon jug to steep. Cover the jar tightly and refrigerate for 1 week.
5. Strain the ginger mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into another widemouthed gallon glass or ceramic jar, firmly pressing on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much flavor as possible. Discard the solids.
6. Serve in glasses over crushed ice, garnished with mint sprigs. Ginger beer may be stored in a sealable glass jar, refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.
Makes 8 to 10 eight-ounce servings.
Prasad
2 cups ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 cups farina
2 cups whole milk
3 twelve-ounce cans evaporated milk
4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Raisins, grated fresh coconut, coarsely chopped almonds, and a few cooked chickpeas, for garnish
1. Heat all but 2 teaspoons of the ghee in a large, deep frying pan. Add the golden raisins and fry over medium-low heat until they become plump.
2. Add the farina one-quarter cup at a time, stirring constantly, until it becomes light brown.
3. While the farina is toasting, in a separate pan, combine the whole milk, evaporated milk, sugar, ginger, and cardamom. Bring just to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add the milk mixture to the farina mixture, one-quarter cup at a time, until the
prasad
forms semimoist clumps.
4. Remove from the heat.
5. Heat the remaining ghee in a small frying pan, and add the raisins, coconut, almonds, and chickpeas. Fry until the raisins are plump, about 30 to 40 seconds. Stir while frying. Garnish
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