Delicious bowl of yam porridge made by me
Cooking is a skill not everyone possesses why some people find it difficult to prepare homemade meals by themselves others can cook at a minimal to satisfy their craving at home and again we have a category of people who can brilliantly and the efficiently make different kinds of dishes and also be professional at it. One thing I'm grateful for is the art of cooking I am glad that I learned this cookies skills for my mother who was a good cook at a very tender age. Although it is a tradition in Nigeria that a female child must be able to prepare traditional meals efficiently because she's the mother of the home and subsequently of the society.
As a girl child and one that is of age, I remember always following my mum to the kitchen whenever it was time to prepare breakfast, lunch or dinner. It was something I dared not take lightly or forget else I would be punished. It became a norm to always be at the kitchen at those times as it afforded me the opportunity to learn the various skills involved in making a delicious meal. I learnt a lot from measurements of spices, quantity of what to cook,how to cook different meals and so on.
In my adult life, the knowledge of cooking has helped me in so many ways that I cannot mention especially in the University, where buying of food from restaurants everytime was expensive. Even the guys that engaged in buying foods complain bitterly about the cost but they can't do anything about it because they can't cook. But for me as a student , I only bought food when I am exhausted from long lectures and know I wouldn't have the strength and time to make something when I get back but other than that, I made my own meals like noodles, soup, rice, spaghetti, yam, porridge and so on.
I remember back in school there was a buka (a place where food is sold) we referred to as "plenty but rubbish" and just as the name implies, student named it so because, their food was not top notch but it was cheap enough for the price hence you get value for your money but the taste might not be worth it. This was a popular joint in school to buy the popular concoction jollof rice. As I write this post I am actually nostalgic of my experiences in school.
The cooking skills that my mother singlehandedly trained me for when I was a child has become a tool I use to fight off hunger, live healthily and not spend money unnecessarily. My point is that, we tend to eat better and healthy foods when we prepare them ourselves. We have heard of stories where these people do not take care of their environment and do not was their foods properly before cooking them, hence one might get sick or even have food poisoning. Cooking at home is always my best option right from time as it is economical and I get to decide what and what not to eat.
In conclusion, the art of cooking has been a blessing to me and I intend to pass that down in future to my daughters, so that they would not be dependent on people for good foods but rather make good meals for themselves.
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