'Bread Pudding' by Nod Ghosh

You need six slices of day old bread, and the constitution of a shark for my bread pudding.

My grandmother taught me to cook. She was terrible at it, and not a very good grandmother either, but she was the best I had.

Use half a cup of raisins, if you have them.

My parents were heroin addicts, though as a kid, I thought everyone was like us.

Use an eight-inch square pan for the pudding.

My father's hair coiled down to the middle of his back. He smelled of wet newspaper.

Pre-heat the oven to 175°C.

My mother, had panda eyes and sores on her arms.

I use free-range eggs, but grandmother used whatever she could afford.

They'd leave me for hours with nothing but a pack of cereal. People came round and locked themselves in the toilet. I never knew who they were. My parents made me piss in the shower.

Take three quarters of a cup of sugar. I use white because I hate brown.

I learnt to read off cereal packets.

If you melt butter in the microwave, make sure you use a cover. Grandmother used a saucepan. It didn't spit as much, but took longer. She often did things the hard way.

I couldn't sleep for the sound my parents fucking in the next bed. After my mother died I still couldn't sleep for the sound of fucking in our house.

You need two cups of milk. Full cream is best.

They came for me one night.

My grandmother said she'd have me, so I didn't have to go away.

She never had cinnamon or vanilla, but she told me they were in the recipe.

My grandmother said she would have put them in if she'd had any, and I always believed her.