Good evening ladies and gentlemen in the house and complement of the season to you all.
It's my pleasure to talk about cooking as my identity skill out of many other skills of mind. I acquired cooking skill from my tender age of seven (7) when my mum left my dad due to some circumstances beyond her control at my childhood of about two (2) years old as I was told. Both my dad and mum are from the same community.
At my 6 years old, one day I went to school ( primary), before I left the house there was a plan in my heart to run away to my father without the knowledge of my siblings and mum, I wore two shorts and two shirts under my school uniform and put the same number of clothes in my school bag, left for school without the notice of anybody.
After school I didn't return to my mum again but went straight to my dad since it was close to school.
In the evening I saw my mum coming to look for me while I was playing with my step siblings, immediately I saw her I started crying with a loud voice so that my dad from wherever he was will hear, everyone were astonished about my crying action without knowing the cause, they started asking me, what is it, what is it before they saw my mom coming, I did not say anything than crying, my dad came out immediately and intervene by urging my mom to leave me alone since I didn't want to follow and not to stay with her again.
My dad immediately assigned one of my step mom's I should stay with. After 3 months I was changed to another and within a period of one year six months I had lived with five of my step moms till the one I could live with who was childless till dead, she loved me and taught me so many things including COOKING of all local dishes: asa iwa, otomboro, afang soup, editan soup, atama soup, using ikon, using iwa, editaiwa, asa abakpa, and many others.
She later withdrew completely from cooking and allowed me to be cooking and after she demised by then I was in JSS 1 and from then I started living alone, cooking my food by myself till my JSS 3.
The degree to which I can see myself as a better cook than any of my equals. With the joy of knowing and can cook more than others I offered HOME ECONOMICS among the subjects offered in my JSS 3 Class.
Since I was the only boy in a class of 56 students, 24 boys and 32 girls, I was mocked by my classmates and other students including the staff of the school. The peak of the mockery was on Home Economics practical examination day. If not for my special determination I would have not done the practical.
External examiner
A boy among the girls offering Home Economics? The examiner asked the ones she spotted about me being a boy.
She later came close to me, touched me and asked me will you be able to cook? I answered, yes madam. She picked interest in eating my food and more attention on how I prepared my cooking stuff, the neatness, carefulness and how I started to the end.
I was preparing one of our local dishes, EKPANG NKUKWO.
PREPARATION PROCESSES
Since water yam, Cocoyam and other things were ready.
Preparation Started:
✓I peeled both water yam and Cocoyam
✓Washed thoroughly
✓Scripter all
✓Cut fresh Cocoyam leaves on small sizes for wrapping the water yam and cocoayam in small portion
✓Washed the pot clean
✓Put red oil in the pot
✓Prepare all condiments including periwinkle and fish and make sure everything was set
✓I started wrapping and put in the pot after that I set fire on stove and started cooking after I have boiled water and kept, after cooking EKPANG NKUKWO for few minutes I put the hot water gently and put the condiments and allow it stem out before I used part to turned it and I used knife to cut it to be more smaller in size before it was done.
COMMENT
After everything, my food was tested and approved, the external examiner complimented me and openly announced me the best among all. She mentioned my smartness, neatness, orderliness and being time conscious.
INPACT
Today, though I am a man and I mostly cook in my house, I must say that I cook more for my wife. There is nothing I can't cook except I have not seen that being cooked before.
Trust me you will not eat any food cooked by me without asking for extra.
You can pay for English translation of those local dishes mentioned earlier on and how they are being prepared.😅😅
Love you
Happy Sunday