Roots and Recipes: Rough Draft Essay

   As I sit by the table waiting for the New Years guest to arrive, I watch my grandma make her flavorful nishime! While she gathers all her ingredients and supplies, I ask, "Grandma, when have you started making nishime?". "I learned from a friend 20 years ago, in 1993", she replies. 

   I watch her as she pours the chicken broth into the pot; cuts the crunchy carrots, lightly salted araimo (Japanese potato), juicy mushrooms, and golden daikon and adds them to the steaming pot of knotted soaked konbu (seaweed). She told me while she's makes nishime, memories flash before her eyes, "When I was a little girl, my siblings and I would play outside and watch the fireworks at our grandparents house. When the show ended, we would race to the rugged house and try to get the first bowl of nishime.". As I look into the pot I see a wonderful mixture of fresh, cooked vegetables and juicy meats! 

   Once all the guests arrived and gathered around the table, my grandma brought out her gigantic pot of nishime. All you could hear were "Oo's" and "Ahh's". I was the 5th person in line for grandma's once-a-year nishime. Holding my ceramic bowl, my hands start shaking eager to taste all the delectable ingredients and flavors.