Chocolate Factory

Nina, her mother, and her aunt Vijaya , 1988

Nina McConigley is a writer and professor at the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

W H E N I W A S 1 3 , I became a woman. Or, I should say, I got my period. I had read enough Judy Blume to know what was happening, but I was not happy, because I knew what was about to happen: my Coming-of-Age Ceremony. My mother is from India, and her home region celebrates a girl’s period as a passage into womanhood. I would wear a sari for the first time, get my first gold jewelry, have a ritual bath, and eat certain foods. The day of my ceremony, I was a typical surly teenager. I had a mouthful of braces and insisted on wearing a Speedo during my bath. I cringed as my parents presented me with jewelry, and I poked at the f lowers in my hair. I wore jeans under my sari. The worst part was that my parents invited friends to the house to celebrate with us. I sat mortified in a corner while our American friends mingled and ate, confused as to what exactly it was we were commemorating. We ate sheet cake, and then I ran to my bedroom.

But now that I have two daughters, I know I will perform the ceremony with them when their time comes. There’s something important about marking that step into womanhood. To say to them, “I see that you are changing, that your body is doing wonderful things.” It’s also a moment to talk about what womanhood means. For me, the ceremony inspired the first open conversations I’d had with my parents about marriage and fertility. I hope my daughters see their own ceremonies not as a time of separation, since adolescence can be lonely, but of entering a new stage together. Will I make it as public an event as mine was? No. I don’t think I’ll invite a houseful of friends and neighbors over. But I will let my girls pick a sari and jewelry. I hope we can cook traditional South Indian food together and I can share stories about the women in our family.

Many cultures mark a coming of age: bar or bat mitzvahs, quinceañeras, confirmations. Now I understand why. They help teens move forward while cheering them on from the sidelines. They all say, “I see you.” The night of my ceremony, I looked at myself in the mirror and thought I looked the same. I didn’t feel like a woman. And looking back, I am not sure that the ceremony was the beginning of womanhood per se. Becoming a woman is not tied to menstruation. It’s hundreds of choices and decisions a woman will go on to make throughout her lifetime. But I did feel that my parents saw me differently. That they, with this ceremony, had begun to trust me to make my own choices. If I wanted to wear a Speedo, so be it. I was my own person. It was one of many choices they would go on to let me make, having faith that the realm between childhood and adulthood was one I could navigate. I will do the same for my daughters. In celebrating this passage with them, I hope I will help them move between new worlds—while letting them lead the way.

M e m o r y M a ke r s f o r a n Aw e s o m e 2 0 2 2

Continued from page 79

Give in to a big request, just because. An unexpected “yes” is downright magical to a kid.

Share your pop culture repertoire. Fire up The Sandlot, the jazz record your dad loved, the SpongeBob episode nearest to your heart.

Make s’mores over a fire. (Or with the flame on your stove. Both produce delicious results.)

Visit the local water park. Reveal the joys of the sloppy cannonball.

Show them where they came from: the apartment you brought them home to, the park where they played. It will mean the world.

Go to a concert together.

Hold their hand on their first airplane ride.

Ask what’s on their list. You may be surprised by their must-dos—and may enjoy them just as much as what you’d planned.

C ho c o l at e Fact or y !

Treat your kids to a sweeter Valentine’s Day by cranking out chocolates together. The recipes are easier than you’d think—with plenty of ways to involve your little Willy Wonkas.

recipes by E L I Z A B E T H L A B A U / photographs by C A I T L I N B E N S E L

Molded Chocolate Hearts

Sprinkle Truf�les

Active Time 25 minutes Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes (includes chilling time) Makes 16 truffles

I N G R E DI E N T S

1 cup (6 oz.) dark-chocolate chips or chopped darkchocolate baking bars (60 percent cacao) ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream 1 cup small sprinkles, nonpareils, and/or coarse sparkling sugar, divided

M A K E I T

1. Place chocolate in a microwavable bowl; set aside. Microwave cream in a separate small microwav able bowl at 100 percent power for 15-second intervals until cream is simmering at edges but not boiling, 30 to 45 seconds total.

2. Pour hot cream over chocolate; let stand 1 minute to soften. Gently whisk cream and chocolate together until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth and shiny. (If there are still a few unmelted bits of chocolate, microwave mixture in bowl at 50 percent power 5 to 10 seconds, and stir gently until smooth.) Press a layer of plastic wrap directly onto surface of chocolate mixture, and refrigerate until �irm, 2 to 4 hours.

3. Pour sprinkles into separate small, shallow bowls by color and type. Using a small scoop or spoon, shape chocolate mixture into 1-in. balls. Drop balls, one at a time, into desired sprinkles, tossing to coat. Roll truf�les between your palms to round them out, and roll them in sprinkles again if needed. Refrigerate truf�les in an airtight container for up to 1 week. For best taste and texture, let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving. If gifting, place truf�les in mini cupcake liners inside a box.

L E T K I D S H E L P

Adults can be sous-chef here. Depending on their age, your kid may be able to handle a fair amount, including whisking the cream, shaping the balls, and adding the sprinkles.

T I P

You can make a variation on these truf�les with milk-chocolate or white baking chips: Use 1 cup chips and reduce the heavy cream to ¼ cup.

L E T K I D S H E L P

Stretching and twirling the caramel around the pretzel rods is a good time for all (especially your kid who loves Play-Doh). Have them �inish the job by dunking the pretzels in the melted chocolate.

Chocolate-Caramel Pretzels

Active Time 30 minutes Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes Makes 12 pretzels

I N G R E DI E N T S

24 individually wrapped soft, chewy caramel candies 12 pretzel rods 1 cup (6 oz.) dark-chocolate chips (60 percent cacao) 1 cup (6 oz.) milk-chocolate chips 1 cup (6 oz.) white baking chips

M A K E I T

1. Roll 1 unwrapped caramel between hands until it forms a 3-to-4-in. rope. Press one end of rope to top of 1 pretzel rod, and wrap in a spiral around pretzel, gently stretching caramel and spacing loops about 1 in. apart. Repeat procedure with a second caramel, attaching second spiral to the �irst and �inishing about 2 in. from pretzel end. Repeat with remaining caramels and pretzels.

2. Place dark-chocolate, milkchocolate, and white chips in separate microwavable bowls. Microwave individually at 50 percent power for 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until chips are melted with a few chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Working with 1 pretzel at a time and holding end without caramel, dunk rod in one �lavor of chocolate, spooning it over parts of pretzel that don’t �it in bowl, and coating caramel. Leave bottom 2 in. of pretzel uncoated for a handle. Gently shake off excess chocolate over bowl. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining pretzels and chocolate.

4. Pour leftover chocolate into separate resealable plastic bags. Snip a small hole in one corner of each bag; drizzle contrasting chocolate over pretzels.

5. Refrigerate on baking sheet, uncovered, until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week. If gifting, add to a cellophane bag and tie with ribbon.