Cooking, A Response to His Ability

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There was an argument sometime ago about who is meant to do the cooking in the home. It was trending on social media and became a subject of debate. This still amazes me. I hope that one day we will not begin to argue over who will breast feed the baby.

I am not writing this because I love to cook (I think I do) and plan to ‘spoooiiillll’ my husband with food (emmm…did I just say that, ok). I am writing this because I want to warn our Ladies against the path they plan to tread. It’s a majority voice path where girls who think they are now in vogue have decided to deceive others in the name of civilization. Their pen is strong to write and paste on face book and twitter on how they have refused to manage their home. It’s surprising how they talk about the Proverbs 31 woman and still argue about such matters.

In as much as possession of quality culinary skills is not the only criteria/endowment of a good woman. I strongly believe it is a response to the ability that God has given the women-folk. I grew up believing that no man can cook better than me (I still do) though I don’t mean to deny the fact that some men can produce a good pot of food but trust me cooking is not just about cooking food. It’s about managing the home; it’s about providing your husband and children with the correct requirements for physical growth and healthy development. It’s about hospitality, foresight and liberality. It’s also about managing your finances. These I believe God has equipped the woman to do.

For me, cooking is a privilege and every privilege comes with a responsibility. I also believe that the man can do the cooking as an act of service and help, you can’t leave all the work for the woman for instance when she is pregnant or very busy. There are many stay-at-home dads and they are doing a great job, but if your husband is not that type, Nne enter the kitchen and do something. There is nothing civilized about being lazy.

I also learnt while growing up that the kitchen is the power house of the family (the whole family). Don’t tell me it’s the bedroom (even if that’s what it is for you and your spouse, the children don’t directly benefit from it), don’t tell me it’s the parlor/living room (no hungry member of the family will relax comfortably in the parlor on an empty stomach). The laughter in the parlor is as a result of the aroma coming from the kitchen. Don’t also tell me it’s the toilet (lol), without the kitchen, there will be no need for the toilet. So the kitchen indirectly determines the mood of everyone in the parlor, bedroom and everywhere else in the house.

My brother taught me that the warmth of the house comes from the kitchen!

 So my dear ladies, I don’t intend to convince you to agree with me neither do I want to argue over this matter. As for me, I will surely ‘spoil’ my family with good food. They shall wake up to the sweet smelling aroma of my yam porridge with dry fish and possibly okporoko on a beautiful Saturday morning, there shall also be sufficient quantity of scent leaf to colour it green. In the afternoon, we shall match to the dining table with our equipment to bring down the mountain of eba with a fresh afang soup that has NAFDAC number, heavily laden with meat, canda, periwinkle, roundabout & towel, dryfish, snail and of course Okporoko amidst other agents of “go slow”. To celebrate our victory over this mountain, we shall have a glass of freshly prepared orange juice, homemade and cold.

Before they recover from this, I shall bombard them with dry fish pepper soup and potato chips. As if this is not enough, we shall have a healthy dose of white rice and liver sauce with drumsticks to usher in the new week. My menu shall not lack locally made foods ranging from moi moi, ayaraya ji, egusi soup, okro soup, oha soup and of course vegetable soup. Let me not even mention our native delicacies yet not to talk of my jellof spaghetti or even my coconut rice. I shall not forget fried rice and plantain with good sized drumsticks and my yam and egg sauce. All these and many more shall struggle for space on my menu, each one following the other in a quick succession for every member of my family.

By the way, our visitors shall not be denied this heavenly treat. I shall also offer to give a special treat to all my folks who refused to cook for their family. Don’t worry I will feed you wella in my house (T&C apply).

So as the debate continues, I shall continue to update my culinary skills and also proceed to add some continental dishes for emergency situations (incase Hillsong people come visiting).

 Please cook as much as you can and if you don’t know how to, you can learn, the more you cook, the better you are at it. You can ask your mum, she will tell you better.