Jasmine Swainson, author of "Hannah's Creative Cooking," carries a purple rock in remembrance of Hannah Wachsman while climbing Mount Fuji in this undated photo. (Jasmine Swainson)
A senior at Singapore American School who’s headed to the U.S. Army has created a cookbook meant to spice up barracks and dormitory cuisine and raise money for a good cause.
Jasmine Swainson, 17, came up with “Hannah’s Creative Cooking” during a class assignment to create something that makes a positive impact on the world.
The cookbook became available Saturday on Amazon.com for $9.99 as an e-book and $14.99 in paperback. All the profits go to the Hannah Wachsman Memorial Fund, a scholarship fund for students at Bainbridge High School in Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Hannah Wachsman, 16, a former classmate of Jasmine’s, and two other girls, Hazel Kleiner and Marina Miller, died in a traffic accident on March 26, 2021.
All three played volleyball for Bainbridge High, according to the Bainbridge Island Review. The girls were out for ice cream after their final game of the season when their car ran off the highway and crashed, according to the Review and HeraldNet of Everett, Wash.
The memorial fund, organized on GoFundMe by Hannah’s mother, Emily Wachsman, had received $71,505 as of Thursday.
Jasmine hopes to keep the contributions flowing with sales of her cookbook.
“I’m excited or really just overjoyed with how it looks and that I was able to get it done,” she said by phone Tuesday. “This project means a lot to me, not just because I’m helping others, but because this is a book that I can use.”
The cookbook features easy recipes with minimal ingredients, just the volume that single service members or college students with limited means may want alongside their barracks or dorm hotplates and microwaves. Jasmine researched, created and tested all the recipes herself.
“I’m just so proud of Jasmine” said Barbie Swainson, Jasmine’s mother, by phone April 17. “Finding such an amazing thing to do and working so hard on it, I’m so proud.”
Jasmine’s father, Bill Swainson, is a quality assurance specialist at the Ship Repair Facility Detachment in Singapore. Life as a military child took Jasmine around the world and inspired her to seek a career as an Army linguist, she said.
Jasmine is on a delayed enlistment and reports for Army basic training after she graduates from the independent Singapore American School. She plans to put her cookbook to use when she moves into her own quarters.
Hannah Wachsman bakes a pie in this undated photo. Wachsman, the inspiration for “Hannah’s Creative Cooking,” was killed in a traffic accident on March 26, 2021. (Jasmine Swainson)
Hannah’s Egg en Cocotte is one example of the quick and easy meals in the cookbook. The recipe calls for one egg, butter, salt and pepper. Directions with a hot pot are:
1. Butter a ramekin
2. Crack the egg into the ramekin, sprinkle salt and pepper on top
3. Carefully place the ramekin into electric pot and add a small amount of water around the dish
4. Cook for 12-20 minutes depending on how runny you want the egg to be; remove ramekin
5. Eat with spoon or dip toast into the egg
