Eating Authors: Sanam Asif

I’m a creature of habit. I don’t like change. Which explains why once I settle into a routine I’m all about inertia and am unlikely to budge. A couple instances to illustrate this: I’m coming up on a 1500 day streak of daily language study on Duolingo. Need another example? Well there’s the small matter of ten years of this weekly blog, serving up the memories of meals of more than 500 authors.

I awoke this morning with the realization that breaking my inertia would be a good thing. A welcome thing. That the reason for doing something should be because I choose to do it, not because I’ve surrendered to the habit of it. So I’ll keep my Duolingo streak through 1500 days, and after I’ll still keep using the app to study languages, but if I miss a day, if my streak ends, that’s fine. Indeed, I might even get more pleasure out of it as a result.

And the same here with EATING AUTHORS. I’ll probably stop the weekly posting soon — I have a few other authors’ meals “in the can” and it would be unfair not to run them. But before the end of August, Mondays will come and go without the need for a post here. I may continue to do such posts, but going forward they won’t be regular or as frequent. We’ll see. Likewise, I’ll curtail the supplemental email that goes out to the folks who have subscribed to my newsletter. They’ll still get the monthly updates, but not the weekly Monday morning reminder and link to each current episode.

And we’re all going to be okay with that. Trust me.

But while I’m still here, let me do some good. This week’s guest is Sanam Asif, a Pakistani author who came to my attention when she reported how she’d gotten screwed over by a local publishing house. Sanam is an indie author trying to eke out a career in a country that apparently has little or no resources or support for indie authors. Fortunately, the community of indie authors is global, and quickly responded to her plight, with a couple of high profile members stepping up to offer to pay the printing costs that she incurred when the publishing house bailed on her. In that same spirit I reached out and asked her if I could do my part to boost her signal by featuring her here and help spread the word of her work.

And hey, maybe this being the week that I announce that I’m stepping away from this blog will make it a landmark of sorts that draws even more folks to check out her books. Bonus!

When she’s not writing fantasy romance, Sanam works from home as an Upwork freelancer, and also finds time to practice her entrepreneurial skills with an online natural skincare business. She’s married with two kids and a cat. She also introduced me to the word paracosm, which you’d think I’d know since I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember.

LMS: Welcome, Sanam. Please tell me about your most memorable meal.

SA: I am one of those people who enjoy their food. So, you can say I am a bit of a Foodie. Never in my life was I able to go on a diet because of my sheer love of food.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I had high blood pressure and hyperemesis gravidarum, which is a fancy word for extreme nausea. So I was basically waiting for the baby to be born so I could enjoy a decent meal and keep it down.

Before I tell you about the most memorable meal of my life, let me give you a little intro about my Dad. He was the kind of man who wasn’t comfortable showing his affection. He was always strict with my siblings and me. But the day I gave birth to my daughter, something changed in him.

In Pakistan, it is customary for a woman to live at her parent’s home for a few days after giving birth. So when I came home from the hospital, my sisters were at work, and it was only me, my newborn daughter, and my parents. It has been ten years, but I still remember as if it were yesterday. My Dad asked what I wanted to eat, and I told him I want something spicy.

The man, who would never step into the kitchen, rushed to the market and got all the ingredients to make Haleem, a traditional Pakistani dish that includes wheat, barley, meat, and lentils. Then, following a recipe on Youtube, he prepared the meal, and all the while, I just stared in awe at him cooking. Since my mother had dementia and couldn’t cook, I knew he wanted me to feel loved and cared for.

Later, I helped him set the table, and it was just us three, me, my Mom, and Dad. The Haleem my Dad made for me that day is the most memorable meal of my life.

My parents are in heaven now, and no matter how many fancy meals I try, this one tops them all.

#SFWApro