“Mi! I love to cut vegetables. But I am not sure that I love to cook!” I said, when I was 8 years old.
“Of course you do, Vidya. You just don’t know it yet!” she smiled.
And yeah, of course she was right. I like to think I learned to cook through osmosis.
My Mom and Grandma were both great at involving family members in the kitchen, allotting tasks with ease and taking care to make us do things we enjoyed. My uncles were all good cooks and believed in giving the women Sunday off!
I’ve enjoyed watching my Grandma’s super-efficiency – cooking for 10 people or a 100 were all in a day’s work for her. Those days, as we lived in a joint family, nobody ever thought of hiring help to cater for an event! For that matter, on a side note, my Grandma was the kind of person who also handled delivering babies with ease!
Mi – my Mom – was an amazing individual who could whip up just about anything with any ingredient. She ruled our kitchen lovingly and everything she made tasted delicious. We’ve enjoyed great conversations in the kitchen, through which she imparted her innate wisdom, and in the process, I found myself learning the nuances of cooking.
I am looking forward to sharing my kitchen with you through recipes, tips, conversations, stories – all sprinkled with a generous dose of love and humor.
Oh yes, vegetarian throughout, okay?
So, really not surprising, that I enjoy cooking – because my Mom and Grandma were not just fantastic cooks, but creative ones. They’ve left a legacy in my heart that I’d like to share with the world. I find it therapeutic to potter around playing with ingredients and coming up with simple dishes.
Cooking, for me, is more about putting the “happy” in our food and seeing my family smiling in appreciation.
I hope you enjoy your visit here, and I’d love to have a conversation with you.
Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles