Stir It Up by Ramin Ganeshram Read Free Book Online Page A

“That’s why I need your help,” I say softly.
    He’s squirming like I’m about to give him a shot. I can only just see Linc’s eyes over the collar of his coat.
    “How do you mean?”
    “I’m not taking the Stuyvesant test,” I say firmly. “I
can’t
take it.”
    Linc shakes his head. “I’m not gonna have this conversation with you. I don’t like where it’s going.”
    “Please, Linc. Please listen,” I say, tugging at the edge of his jacket. “Just hear me out.”
    Linc flings himself onto a bench. He’s listening.
    “Linc, this means everything to me, even if I have to get in trouble and make my parents angry. If I make the TV show, Mom and Dad won’t stay mad. You should have seen how happy they were about the audition before they found out it’s the same day as the Stuyvesant test.” I’m talking faster before Linc can get a word in. “Imagine me on a TV show! Plus, there’s no guarantee I would even get in to Stuyvesant.”
    Linc looks at me and sticks his fist in the air between us. “First,” he says, sticking out his thumb, “your parents will stay mad. Second” — he sticks out his forefinger — “they won’t think any TV show is as important as school, and third — of course you’ll get in to Stuyvesant.”
    I take a deep breath.
    “Linc, I am going to do it one way or the other. All I’m asking is that you help me a little. I won’t get you in trouble or anything. I just want you to take the Stuyvesant test, then tell me what was on the test after you take it, in case anyone asks me about it. Simple.”
    Linc is quiet.
    “Okay, Anjali, even if I do, don’t you have to have a parent or someone with you at the Food Network audition?” he asks. “How you gonna get around that?”
    “I’ll think of something.”
    That night, awake in bed, I do think of cooking. Quietly, I go to our kitchen, where there are always dry coconuts, ready for grating. So I grate. And I think of sweet bread. That’s when something else sweet comes to me — an idea for who can go with me to the Food Network audition as my “parent.”
     
Coconut Sweet Bread
    3 cups flour
    1 cup sugar
    1 tablespoon baking powder
    1 teaspoon salt
    2 cups finely grated fresh coconut
    1/3 cup raisins (optional)
    1 large egg, beaten
    1/2 cup evaporated milk
    1/2 cup fresh coconut water
    1 teaspoon mixed essence or vanilla
    1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
    1/2 teaspoon coconut essence
    granulated sugar for dusting
    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour two 9-inch loaf pans.
    2. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, andsalt together, and stir in the coconut and raisins, if using.
    3. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, milk, coconut water, mixed essence or vanilla, butter, and coconut essence.
    4. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones, mixing lightly but thoroughly so all the ingredients are combined.
    5. Pour the batter into the loaf pans, filling them two-thirds full.
    6. Sprinkle the top of the batter with granulated sugar and bake for about 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
    Makes 2 loaves

CHAPTER SEVEN
Competition
    I braid my ponytail to keep stray hair out of my face during the tryout. My black T-shirt says “Island Spice Roti Shop” on the front. I tuck sneakers into my knapsack along with the small
tawa
Deema bought me a few years back when I was first learning how to make rotis. It’s no bigger than a smallish dinner plate, but it will be good for making the little rotis I’m going to use for my main dish at the audition.
    Our house is so quiet. Everyone left for the day. They think I’m on my way to take the test at Stuyvesant, but the only kid I know who’s headed to that exam is Linc. I’m taking the A train to the Food Network studios. I open my umbrella against the sleet that is still coming down. It’s gathered along the curbs, a dirty gray mess I need to leap over when I cross the street. My heavy