goldenyears.blogspot.com: My book: Labour of love for seniors

My cookbook

WHEN seniors retire, there are many activities they can indulge in. Some of these are travelling, exercising, gardening, reading and writing. I find writing a rewarding and fulfilling hobby.

Writing is a passion. I started writing a few years ago by contributing poems and articles to The Star, especially to the Senior page. When I see my poems and articles in print, I feel very happy.

Like most writers, after some time, I dreamt of writing and publishing my own book. Writing a book is very challenging. It requires hard work and dogged perseverance. But finally I did it – I penned, I persisted and I published a book. At last my dream has become a reality!

Writing a book was not as easy as I had imagined. After going through the whole process, I realised that writing itself is just the tip of the iceberg. There are also other factors to consider like formatting, editing, proofreading, layout and photography.

When the thought of writing a book surfaced, I toyed with the idea of writing stories for children. Then an article about my mother's cooking (yong taufoo and stuffed fish) appeared in the Star Metro. It generated some interest among family and friends. Someone suggested I write down my mother's home-style recipes for the younger generation.

My mother cooking yong taufoo

When my children were abroad for further studies, they often called home for recipes of their favourite dishes. “If only I have my own cookbook, I could just tell them to turn to a certain page, instead of making lengthy explanations through the phone,” I thought. Similarly, many friends who had children studying overseas lamented that there were no books on cooking for beginners.
With this in mind, I decided to write a practical cookbook for students leaving home for the first time, something like a “survival kit” to refer to, when they live on their own.

As ideas took form, I reflected on my early years of cooking when I was juggling a teaching career and bringing up two boys. Most of the meals I prepared were quick and easy: quick as I used bowls and teaspoons to measure ingredients, and easy because I used simple cooking methods like boiling, steaming, stir-frying and micro-wave cooking. To enhance taste, I used salt, sugar and soya sauce. Therefore, in my book I decided to focus my book on those familiar quick and easy meals.

I compiled and divided the recipes into various categories: rice dishes, noodles, meat, vegetables, soups and desserts. I included soups because I consider soups nourishing for students living on their own. As my book was for beginners, I had notes on shopping, storing and preparing ingredients, with simple cooking methods and cooking tips added in.

Initially, it was a one-woman show, a “one-leg-kick” as we say in Chinese. I cooked, photographed, typed and printed the recipes one by one. I enjoyed arranging the dishes in an attractive way before photographing them with my digital camera. I learnt to transfer the photos from the compact flash card to the computer using a USB reader.

When I showed my draft to my family, my older son found my photos of poor standard. He then volunteered to be the cameraman. So every day, when he returned home from work, it was “Action! Lights! Camera!” in the dining area.

Taking photos of food needed a lot of patience and self-control. I remember that throughout the photo shoot, my sons would utter: “Hungry-lah! When can we eat?” When the photography session ended, the “cast” sat down to a hearty meal together as a family. Those were memorable moments.

Fiery Asam Fish

Soya Sauce Chicken

However, my son took so many pictures and from different angles, that I had a tough time selecting suitable shots. Then, I spent long hours on the computer, typing the recipes and sizing the photos, sometimes taking a few days to finalise and print just one page.

At first, I gave each dish a common name, but as I progressed, I used rhyme and rhythm to create special names. Then I decided to add some notes on health for each dish. I had a lot of fun writing the health tips inside a coloured bubble!

Health tip bubble of turmeric

In this generation, we are fortunate to have the computer and digital camera at our disposal and to be able to work from home. However, as a senior with slow reflexes and poor computer skills, technical glitches did tax my patience.

Sometimes I forgot to save a file or plain forgot the filename. At times I misplaced photos or even deleted recipes by mistake! One day, my computer went on strike. It emitted funny sounds and refused to shut down.

When the computer was repaired, the printer would not function. And the next day, I found the compact flash with files deleted when I had not even viewed the photos.

After slogging for many months, I finally completed my manuscript. The title I chose was How to cook Quick and Healthy Meals – A Student's Companion. Subsequently, the manuscript was formatted, edited and proofread, with help from family and friends. I am very grateful to all those who helped, encouraged, guided and supported me in one way or another.

When my book was finally published, I heaved a sigh of relief. As I looked at its glossy cover and contents, I was overjoyed. I felt a great sense of achievement. It was something to cherish and to keep for posterity.

Although it was just a small practical guidebook for students, writing that book had been a great learning experience. When family or friends expressed joy on receiving a complimentary copy, I beamed with happiness. Positive feedback from those who bought my book was also encouraging.
Now, whenever I read a book produced by professionals, I can understand and appreciate what writers go through.

Writing my book was a fulfilling pastime. It kept me active and energised. Seniors with their wealth of knowledge and experiences will find writing a fulfilling hobby, too.
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This article was published in the Star (Malaysian newspaper) on October 25, 2004.

When my books were sold out, family and friends requested me to print some more copies. So in 2014, I published a second edition of this cookbook. This edition has some new recipes, with an additional section on articles related to food published in the Star, with accompanying recipes. These articles are posted in my other blog: kathkuan.blogspot.com