Come Away with Me

To Tamami with love

My friendship with Tamami sensei was sealed by our love for swimming and eating. The new found interest in and subsequently year long adventure with Japanese cooking was a result of the many Friday nights spent cooking and eating together at her place. She taught me basics of Japanese cooking, introduced many new ingredients and the ways of using them as well as the importance of food presentation.

She also made it a point to cook something new everytime I visit just so that I could try as many as new dishes and tastes as possible. I used to be a rather picky eater but I surprised myself too whenever I ate at Tamami sensei's house. It was through her that I discovered the goodness of pumpkin, learnt how to eat eggplant and appreciate the many ways to eat cold and hot salads.

Not only did Tamami sensei's cooking tasted real good, they also looked fantastic. Such that it became a habit to take pictures of them everytime before tucking in. When it was time to find that perfect and meaningful parting gift, the idea came to me quite naturally.




















Over the course of a few days, I compiled all the food pictures that were taken over the year and made them into a small scrapbook. It was my wish that everytime she flips through the little booklet, she will be reminded of the wonderful times that we spent whipping up meals in her kitchen, pouring over library cookbooks and of her 'protege' back home in Singapore. Thank you for being a friend, colleague, teacher and mother. I will certainly miss you every Friday night.

posted by テレサ @ 8:28 AM