We lived in Bahrain for many years before moving to Canada. There, too, like in India, we exchanged sweets with friends on Diwali and Eid.

I sent a cake to the school with some other treats for our kids’ birthdays, but it was always a store-bought cake as I was not a confident baker. 

After moving to Canada, we continued the exchanging of sweets with friends we made here, but for school, things changed slightly. 

I didn’t see anyone sending a whole cake to school for their child’s birthday, just cookies or cup cakes, at the most. However, other moms I met in the school yard also sent these treats for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas, etc. 

As new immigrants, money was tight and I didn’t want to buy the treats each time. But as I wasn’t sure I could actually bake anything, I asked my new friend, for help. 

She looked surprised. “Help? Why, just follow the instructions on any recipe!” 

I had to confess that not being someone who baked, I didn’t have any recipes.

Karen offered to bring some over and true to her word, handed me a few the next day. “These are easy-peasy, you’ll be fine!” she assured me.

I went home, made a list of the ingredients, went grocery shopping for the ones I didn’t have at home and set everything out on the counter, ready to bake.

I put the first batch of cookies in. The recipe said to bake for 8-10 minutes, so I left it in for 10, just to be sure. 

However, when I took the tray out, they were soft and barely darker than the batter I had used. Now, for someone used to the brown-ness and crisp texture of biscuits back home, they looked positively unbaked. I pushed the tray back in, muttering, “Follow the recipe, she says. Hah!”

I took the tray out five minutes later, congratulating myself on how nice the cookies looked. But when I removed them from the baking sheet to cool and turned them over, they were dark and almost burnt looking on the bottom. 

I called Karen in panic. “Why did you leave them in longer?” she asked. “They continue to bake with residual heat and come out perfect if you just follow the recipe.”

I put the overdone batch away for consumption at home and started another one for school. Amateur cookies were perhaps okay for school treats, burnt ones, not!

Gaining confidence as I baked more often, I learnt that taking them out a couple of minutes earlier than what it says in the recipes works even better. 

 – RACHNA VIJ

What’s your story? Every newcomer, no matter how savvy or where he or she comes from, has a Fresh Off the Plane (FOP) story to share about their early days in Canada. Do you want to share your story? E-mail it to us at canadaboundimmigrant@rogers.com.