A book I would love to write about is a “memoir of my life”.  My native country “Guyana” which is located in South Ameica. I was born in Georgetown, Guyana. A typical day for me was to wake up at 6:00am and get ready for school. My school was three to four miles from my house. My brother and I would walk to school on a daily basis. After school, my brother and I would walk home and attend to our daily chores then homework. We would help our parents with dinner and take turn washing dishes. My parents,  three brothers and  I relocated to America. When I arrived in America I  attended Roberts F. Kennedy  middle school, Richmond hill high school then  Queens college. I got married and had two beautiful daughter names Brianna, and Destiny. I enjoyed  being a mom,  and a wife. After a decade of marriage, I got a divorced and now I’m a single mother. Now, I’m in my career  and pursuing my master degree in Nutrition. My goal is to become a Dietitian. My short term goal is to finish school and advance in my career. My long term goal to purchase my home and travel.

Ever since I could remember, I enjoyed helping my mom cook. I can recalled now I would stand on a stool to watch her cook. I enjoyed cooking with my mom. I enjoyed ever dish she made. All her recipes were in her head nothing on paper. I would often asked her “where are your recipies”?. She would look at me an smile. Her respond was she knows it all. We used to go shopping at the farmers market. She would teach me about different fruits and vegetables. She showed me how to select different fruits and vegetables and how to plant them as well. As I continued to explore with cooking different dishes; my passion was to become a chief. Even though I’m not a chief. I know that begin a Dietitian is something that encompass my passion for food and how to education patient about nutritions. To this day I enjoyed trying different dishes. Now that I’m a mom, my daugther love to help me cook. Her palates is very unique, however she is willing to try different dishes that I make and she critiques them. I know she likes cooking but I don’t think she wants to be a chief. I love teaching her about food and the importants of nutrition. Now, whenever she sees a commerical about food, she would ask me about it.

A book i would love to write

A Book I would Love to Write

A book I would love to write is about my maternal grandmother, who died of uterine cancer in 1997. Among seven daughters, my mom is the youngest child and was the apple of my grandparents’ eye. After my grandfather passed away, my grandmother broke apart, but she never showed her emotion. She was a strong woman, who barely got sick. Since she never wanted to go to doctors, by the time the doctors declared that she has uterine cancer was too late to do any treatment. The cancer cells had invaded the bladder, intestine, and other parts of the body. She used to live in a village and when we heard the news, we rushed there to see her. By the time we got there she could not speak anymore. She laid flat on the bed starring at people. The bed was wet with blood and flies were all over the place. The scene was so horrible and heart breaking that I could never erase that from my memory.  All my grandmother wanted was to see my mother for the last time and say some last words. Unfortunately, it was too late for anything. The disease had crawled like an earthworm and eaten her body like a vulture eats a dead cow. The pain she went through cannot be described in words. It was hard for us to see her fighting with a monster that was unbeatable. She passed away the day after we left for the city. The love she gave us cannot be measured by anything. I miss those nights when she used to read spooky stories to me. I miss those days when she used to make pitha, a type of cake or bread. She is missed every day and will be in our hearts forever.

My passion is music.  String instruments that resonate a serenade are my favorite.  I learned to play the piano from a concert pianist when I was a child, and then I continued taking lessons again with my youngest son.  We played Janet Jackson duets together and the playful joy that resulted was magic.  When my older son played the drums in high school I asked for his guidance in polishing up my timing while playing pop tunes on the piano.  Coincidentally I also played drums in the school band.

I listen to soothing music from different cultures when I practice and teach yoga, and I really enjoy playing salsa music and dancing.  I recently heard a guitarist from Spain on a public radio station and I couldn’t wait to buy his CD.  It arrived today and I listened to it while I cooked our Sunday night family dinner.  It truly was the “magical” ingredient that made the sweet and sour stir fried chicken and vegetables taste even better.

During the recent hurricane, I enjoyed listening to CD’s on my battery operated CD player.  Music is my passion.  It takes me away from stress and adds happiness and serenity to my life.

One book that I would enjoy writing is a cooking book.  I can remember loving to cook when I was 12 years old.  The macaroni and cheese recipe on the side of the Ronzoni box was just the beginning of a career that revolves around food.  To me, following the recipe to a “T” was like performing a chemistry experiment…only the chemicals were ingredients.  And the result, well, the flavor and texture were just phenomenal; family and friends loved it.  The modifications that I made to the recipe have lived on and are being followed by the cooks at Miami Country Day School.

My passion for cooking can be seen by the wealth of recipes I have collected.  Just like my grandmother, I have bags of newspaper clippings that house bundles of recipes.  I have an index box of recipes that I will share with my grown children when they are ready to cook.  Interspersed throughout the book will be memories of the most wonderful times that I can remember which include food such as the time my grandmother and I cooked veal stew together.  The stew began with the finest softest meat and then I added colors and flavors to it.  The best part of that day was the song about cooking veal stew that we sang all afternoon.  I still sing it at times when my mom and I reminisce.  The words were logical : “Veal stew, veal stew, we’re gonna cook some veal stew.  You can chop, I will stir, I can stir and you will chop!”  The melody was fun and happy.

The nine hundred and fifty chocolate chip cookies that I baked one spring in order to find the most tasty low-fat version of the Toll House Recipe will be mentioned.  The family connection will describe the nights when I delivered hot homemade chocolate chip cookies (the full fat type) to my kids while they laid out on the trampoline with their friends looking up at the stars and quietly chatting.

The collection of recipes that I have is not only derived from newspaper clippings that my grandmother and I clipped, but they are also from word of mouth.  I have asked chefs, restaurant cooks, friends, and waitresses for lists of ingredients so that I could replicate an enjoyed flavor in my home.  I have a recipe for fresh cheese that I wrote down on a cattle farm in Brazil.  I have a wonderful baked chicken recipe from Galicia Spain that uses a special clay pot to conserve and enhance the flavor.  I have learned to prepare Colombian style arepas and Mexican ranchero sauce.  Are you getting hungry yet?

Sunday night dinners have been a showcase for new and old recipes.  Now that my kids are grown they visit me every Sunday night for a dinner cooked with love.  Their favorite recipe is for Buffalo Chicken Burritos.  I prepare two versions, of course.  The high fat version for some, and the lowfat version for a few of us who prefer to watch our weight.

The book will be entitled:  Cooking with Love, A Family tradition.  It will include simple recipes that children, teenagers, and adults will enjoy preparing for themselves and their friends.  I intend to include recipe modifications that will promote healthy eating as part of a healthy lifestyle.

My passion

My passion is singing. I started singing before I even learned to write all the Bengali alphabets. My mom used to sing to me every night before I went to bed. They were not just lullabies, but different kind of Bengali songs. My passion for music started growing as I grew. I was thrilled when my mom admitted me to a music school. At the age of 5, I started performing on stage and on television. I also attended lot of singing competition and won medals. By the age of 6, I started learning playing harmonium (a musical instrument similar to piano) and within a year I could play any tune in harmonium. It takes lot of passion and hard work to be able to play any tune in harmonium without even looking at the notes. Educating my ears was not as easy as I thought. However, my dedication to learning helped me discovering my talent. Singing helps me to express my emotion and relief stress. As I continued performing on stage and on television, I gained recognition too. Many people complimented my hard work, which was a big accomplishment for me.

When I was in 7^th grade, my mom decided to sign up for the national singing competition named “Notun Kuri.” Thousands of singers from 64 districts came to compete in the competition and it was a dream came true for me. I was overjoyed thinking that I would be performing on national television where thousands of viewers will be watching me performing. I still remembered that day. It was raining cats and dogs as my mom and I was trying to the television center by rickshaw. All of a sudden I realized that I was not on the seat of the rickshaw. I fell on the street and one of the wheels of the rickshaw was on my leg. A truck hit our rickshaw from behind and threw us on the street. I became unconscious as soon as my head hit the street. My mom was crying for help to get my leg out from underneath the rickshaw. When I woke up, I saw the doctor standing in front of me. Since the competition lasted for over 10 hours, I had enough time to be prepared. My mom helped me to learn and memorize the lyrics all over again. The judges were kind enough to make the entire process easier for me. I sang with bruises on my checks, band aided on my body, but I tried my best. I did not win any medals, but I knew I won many peoples heart. Singing at that competition after what I went through was not easy for me but I was glad that I was alive and I was able to perform with pain in my body and with a broken voice.

That incident changed my life forever. I still sing, but not on television or on stage. I sing for myself and for my family. I sing to my two beautiful daughters. I do not see myself as a failure that I did not win at that competition. I see myself as a winner because I sang no matter what I went through and followed my dream.

When choosing a career you should try to find something that interests you and that you enjoy doing.  If you are not happy with what you do everyday it can take a toll on both your physical and mental health.  However, if you are doing something that you love then you may be more successful since you are doing something that you feel passionately about.  Try not to choose a job because it pays more or because it is more secure, you want to try to find something that interests you or that has something to do with your passions.  It is more enjoyable to wake up in the morning happy that you are going out and doing something that you love.

If you are looking for a job in a certain area think of where you are working or volunteering right now.  You can think about all of the skills that you may have learned that will be useful in the line of work that you are interested in.  This will help you to build your resume and you also learn more by getting out there and doing something.

The following are the Blog Topics for FNES 636:

1. Choosing a Career Path

2. My Passions

3. A Book I Would Love to Write

4. A Memorable Teacher

5. Hitting the Jackpot!!