I’d season it by toasting and grinding cumin and
coriander seeds, then drizzle the tomatoes with
hot chili oil to produce a combination of hot,
salty, smoky, and umami notes. Sometimes, I’d
sprinkle red chile flakes and maple syrup over
grilled bananas and serve them with vanilla ice
cream—my two distinct worlds coming together
through aroma and taste.
When my husband, Michael, and I moved to
the West Coast, I started part-time in a patisserie
in Sunnyvale, California. Then at home for my
blog, I began photographing myself as I cooked,
so my readers could imagine themselves in my
shoes, bustling around in the kitchen.
I had an ulterior motive as well: I wanted
them to see that people who looked like me
cooked and baked. Also, I wanted to convey
the way we approach food today, playing with
cultural influences and creating new dishes that
speak from a deeply personal place. That sea-
soning is more than just a way to achieve flavor.
It connects us to our past, present, and future;it tells our story. For me, it’s been a journey of
self-discovery, one that has taught me to recog-
nize the inherent tension between originality
and tradition—and to opt for the former without
rejecting the latter.Text and recipes excerpted and adapted from
Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food by Nik
Sharma (Chronicle Books, October 2018;
$35). Photographs by Nik Sharma.48 OCTOBER 2018 ❖ SUNSET