The boys’ summer project with Ti Uncle was to build us an oven so we could bake cookies. Ti’s summer visit was prefaced by a year-long discussion of location and type of oven, which culminated in the creation of a Russian Pech, which is an oven that will also lend heat to the room.
The boys built the oven and helped to carry it into the house…
So with his team of three – Akshaya,Subash and Anish – the challenge of tearing out a door and enlarging the space, then fabricating and building an oven in two weeks was almost met before Ti Uncle’s departure. In August, Akshaya and Subash finished the brickwork and then started our test fires to determine how many recycled briquettes we need to bring the oven up to cookie baking temperature. We hope to establish a briquette making activity at Ama Ghar, too, and a new slogan “We make briquettes, we bake cookies!”
Sajan created the first batch of official Ama Ghar cookies, baked in our homemade oven with recycled briquettes!
The happiest moment came in September, when Sajan S., who has been doing a hotel management internship at the Summit Hotel, came home to Ama Ghar and baked us some delicious – and very professional – cookies. We can’t wait until Christmas cookie baking time…