Crêpe communique

RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE

“Mama makes great crêpes for me,” declared my four-year-old nephew. Eager to please him, I quickly googled the recipe and was quite blown away by the number of recipes! In my mind’s eye, I could already picture the delicate flavours of the dish wafting through the kitchen, as I expertly flipped a crêpe. How difficult could it be? Interrupting my train of thoughts, my nephew chimed in, “Can I help you, Bua ?’’ And with that began our ‘odyssey’ into the world of crêpes!

Day one was quite idyllic. We played with the dough until I realised that my nephew was making far too much of a mess. I stepped in and took charge, and told him to wait as I made the dough.

My nephew expressed his eagerness to roll the dough into a shape. We were already having so much fun, and I couldn’t bring myself to refuse. I had to carry him, of course, since the stove was too high for him to reach.

Though he was a newbie, I give him full marks for confidence. With expertise, he made shapes that resembled Australia, Asia and more! As for me, I watched indulgently, as there was enough time to go in and make perfectly round shapes. And there we were, a merry twosome making crêpes with a gusto, and deftly flipping them! Quite endearingly, his were amusing shapes, while mine were understandably quite boringly adult— all round. On looking at my crêpe, my endearing nephew chirped, ’’Oh Bua! you are so adorable, you always make such wonderful things!’’ That made me smile even wider.

Children truly are a blessing — veritable miracles who bring together families, quite like my nephew who had brought ours together countless times. I recall the day my crêpe had really bombed. My nephew was hardly two-years-old then. He saw how I had quietened down, and babbled in the sweet language of babies and led me by hand to where the rest of the family was sitting. With that one move, he had brought us all together, making us forget our woes.

Even today, when the family was involved in a slugfest, he cleared the air with a simple ‘stop shouting’. Immediately, all the adults felt foolish for getting into such an argument. He even enjoys pitching in, whenever we go into the kitchen to make rotis. Of course, that is a departure from the topic at hand. Getting back to the topic at hand — crêpes— we were rushing, having a good time, making batches of crêpes. When my nephew asked quite sweetly, “Can I have a taste?’’ Now, who can say no to such a question from such a little darling, and so, I acquiesced. That’s my fond story of how we put our heads together, creating crêpes and memories enough for a lifetime!