TO COOK OR NOT TO COOK

  It's been a while here tho! Life after NYSC has been....... great! ☺ All thanks to the Most High God.
      There's been lots of controversies as to why a woman should COOK for her husband! This argument dominated Twitter in the past few weeks. You'll be seeing lots of derogatory comments flying up and down, and it'll make you realise that these home training of a thing ehn, no be all of us get am.
    This platform isn't an extension of the debate oh, and me I'm not a relationship expert to give marriage advice. That's not my calling. Is Food I know. I just feel that as a responsible young woman, you should know better.
     Cooking is one of my hobbies, I enjoy it a lot. Especially when I'm trying a new recipe. I wasn't always like this tho. I learned it during my NYSC days in Abakalili from my Awesome Big sister from Akwa Ibom. She made me love cooking. And I even learned how to cook some of their soups and soupies.. You know Akwa Ibom people can cook water and make it so oh la la....
 Is not everytime you'll feel like cooking to sef, cos sometimes ehn spending time in the kitchen sometimes feels like drudgery. Today, I wanted to look at a few ways to inject some fun back into the kitchen, so you can prepare home cooked meals for you and yours! So you may as well learn to enjoy it. Here are some tips to get started on preparing your own home-cooked meals ;

•    RELAX - This is the most important strategy. Relax. Be satisfied with simple foods. Not everytime elaborate, multi-course meal. Well except if it's for special occasions, such as birthdays or Mothers Day...and Fathers Day too. Be specific in your cooking. Find easy, fast recipes. It's okay if you can't get it the first few times. Don't stress yourself biko. Just relaz yourself. Okwia?

•     BE POSITIVE - Have a positive attitude. Cooking is more fun when it’s your choice, and not something you feel forced in to. Close your eyes and visualise yourself as a successful cook. I do this a lot! It works like magic...

•   COOKING ClASSES -Take a cooking class. There are lots of these stuff around. Some are even online, for your convenience. It might even be your friend that's an Olowosibi. Get closer to him/her (who said Men aren't great cooks) always be available in the kitchen with him/her. The person will be a role model in the kitchen. It helped me too sha. It's especially great if you're just trying a new recipe. Don't just be too over dependent

•   ENJOY THE MOMENT- Enjoy the aromas, colours, and tastes of the senrenren you're using. Sample the foods as you cut and cook them. Take pictures sef. Sniff spices before you sprinkle them into whatever is on the stove. Cultivate cooking time as relaxation, or even a form of meditation. Focus on the task at hand to forget the stress of the day or upcoming events. Listen to music or a story while you prep the food

• INVOLVE FAMILY AND FRIENDS-. This is a great opportunity to socialise, cooperate on a common task, and spend quality time together. Who said you can't organise a cooking date with your bobo? Not everytime eat out. Sometimes, stay at home and cook beta food biko.. Food prep goes way faster when the tasks are shared. Even small shidren can help out too – and they will learn to be more independent in taking care of their health as they grow when you set such a good example.

•      PIMP YOUR KITCHEN- Make your kitchen a source of inspiration too. So that when you enter sef, to dey cook go just dey hungry you. Small changes can make your kitchen more convenient and awesome. Paint it with nice bright colours. Gift yourself with some nice kitchen utensils. For example, maybe a new stainless steel pot, a slow cooker, a pressure cooker, a high-end knife, or some other gadget will bring more cooking options into range. A steamer for brown rice and vegetables makes dinner so much less time-intensive. Even an easily-used garlic press can make a difference. With the money you save by eating out less, you can afford some new kitchen tools.

•    STAY AWESOME ALWAYS- It's okay if you're yet to figure it out. Sometimes taking baby steps is okay too. Just keep improving your culinary skills. Be open minded and learn new sturvs. I know is not easy. You'll get there.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter- @miss_abimbola. And remember your comments are like chunks of okporoko in my Egusi soup... You can also reach me on my Email- thabythar@gmail.com
*Kizzezzzzzz