Dear Meera Sodha
For Christmas, I bought my husband a copy of your cookbook, East.
At the time I could not have imagined how central to our being your book would become…
Coronavirus lockdown brought my work to a grinding halt
My husband’s too
We are both freelance artists who work with people in public and community spaces
Up until lockdown our lives were extremely busy and our eating habits habitual
Our daily/weekly diet was pretty much predictable – with seasonal variations.
This is why I decided to buy your cookbook: I was hoping we’d spice up our cuisine a little.
Due to the nature of our lives – and working away from home a lot - we didn’t get many opportunities to try out new recipes before lockdown. In fact, we only managed to try one: Malai Kari; which we discovered is a delicious curry sauce that you can throw almost any vegetable at. Malai Kari became our go-to curry from January to March.
But then lockdown locked us down
Together, in one place, with restrictions that brought us time
Here we both were, at home, with extra time on out hands
A gift of time
A gift of time that we could use to pursue pleasures in life that we once only thought about
We began to garden - food
And we’ve rekindled our passion to cook and try out new recipes. East recipes
Like, Aubergine Larb, one of our many favourites
We have perused and picked and prepared and tucked into dish after dish of pure delight
East has provided us with a source of rich enjoyment during the Covid days and weeks, and months, of lockdown
Moreover, how you write about food is a joy to read.
Vibrant, fragrant, down to earth, and mouth watering
We are now excitedly awaiting the time when we can once more invite friends into our home and share food
EAST food
Which we love
Thank you for being with us here during lockdown and bringing a welcomed diversity to our table
Yours, with kindness and thanks
Kerry
PS. My husband and I met in East Asia in 1995. These flavours are close to our hearts.
And now, in 2020, some twenty five years later, we know how to create them.