Some of my earlier childhood memories are of being by my mom’s side, the two of us doing all kinds of activities. My younger sister was too small then to play a part in these bright memories of me-and-mom-together. We used to live in the coastal city of Chittagong back then, which is on the Bay of Bengal at the southern end of Bangladesh. We lived in a lovely apartment complex on top of a hill – and all the people who lived here were colleagues of my dad. It had huge grounds, lots of gardens and lawns, and swings and see-saws and slides. There were tennis courts where my dad would go down to play in the evenings with his friends. All my friends lived in that complex, and because it was a secured area, we were able to wander around freely with no adult supervision.

On the weekends we would generally alternate between two activities. Usually we would go to the club and I would float in the swimming pool on my rubber raft that my dad would set up, we’d eat lunch by the pool, and I would watch kiddie movies with my friends in the club-house while the adults hung out separately. Other weekends we would go out on the lake on the house-boat, and my parents would bring their friends or our relatives along. It was an idyllic time.

We would stop at small islands on the lake and my mom would sometimes pick up interesting looking twigs and branches and bring them home. During the week, we would spread them out on the dining table on layers of newspaper and I would help her paint them with metallic paint. When they dried, she would use them as decoration.

Another of the activities we did together, and this was just for fun for me – was chop up vegetables that didn’t seem cool otherwise, and paint with them. Like okra, and lotus roots. These made beautiful patterns. Thanks to her and this activity, I developed an interest in and love for these veggies.

Years later, now as an adult, I like to make chips out of lotus roots. They look beautiful and are delicious and almost irresistible – salty, crunchy, they are perfect with cocktails and drinks. I recently made them for a dinner gathering, and they disappeared fast – I had to actually ration them out in little bowls instead of leaving them in the original big dish, so everyone got a chance to munch on them!

Lotus roots are also quite nutritious – high in vitamin C, potassium, and fiber, while low in calories. I buy fresh lotus root at the Japanese store near me. You can also find packaged frozen ones in Asian stores. If they are pre-sliced, I slice the thick slices horizontally in half to make thin crunchy chips.