Choice

Cooking for me is stress, even though I can cook very well.

Regardless of me finding cooking stressful, I’d rather make my meals than buy.

Fastfood bought

For starters, fast food meals are often time not well cooked, they are usually mass-produced which makes them almost tasteless, not to mention overpriced too. I one time ate Jollof rice and Turkey, with the Jollof rice strong like corn that has been harvested and kept for long. The whole rice was just tasting seasoning cube.

I was not even half way gone with the meal and I started having headaches.

My mouth began to pain me from all that chewing and as much as I wanted to discontinue, I just kept going because after reasoning the price of the food? I was motivated to finish the entire thing even after losing my appetite.

@Olujay inspired soup

For me, being able to cook makes it difficult to enjoy an outside meal. That's why whenever I'm going on lunch or dinner dates, instead of me to get rice, spaghetti, beans, noodles or swallow, I'd rather get pastries because I mean I can cook all that meals myself if I wanted to, so why go eat it outside?

I can make pastries too, but then that is on special occasions unlike the meals that's almost like an everyday thing that I get to prepare.

Not the Nsala pic for people wondering what is Nsala

Once, my friends and I went on a lunch date, one of them have been bragging about this woman who makes badass Nsala soup and as much as I hate Nsala soup I felt if I eat this one I just might love it since its badass.

We got there, and we were all served, we started eating and others were licking their hands but not me, the soup felt off, the taste was bland and the flavor was unnecessarily spicy.

I was just squeezing my face as I forced the pounded yam down my throat. One of my friends noticed my facial expression and then asked what's wrong, I told him the soup was disappointing and the one that recommended the joint plus other whose taste bud wasn't working, wanted to have my head for blasphemy.

My friend quickly came to my rescue and said, “well the food is ok but then if you say it's disappointing then I'd agree with you because you are a great cook.” That was how local girl started blushing anyhow, smiling from ear to ear. Since my friend was the one financing the meal, everyone kept quiet and just enjoyed their badly cooked meal.

As someone who works round the clock, I had to devise a means for feeding because one time I relied on outside meals, I was disappointed.

The rice I got for my daughter had this very watery stew and tiny meat that when I went to pick her up at the close of school, she said, “mommy is not you that cook that food this morning. Please do not give me such food next time.”

I just said yes ma but couldn't help to thank God that I did not waste my money to get it for myself too. As the woman finished serving my daughter's food, I was immediately discouraged and opted in for snacks.

Imagine using your hard-earned money to buy rubbish. Sha may we never be the weapon fashioned against us.

It is for these reasons that most weekends I am cooking soup and stew in large quantities that will serve my household for a week or two.

@abenad inspired beans

The one thing aside to this plenty of things I have said here that makes me rely on home cooked meals is quality and assurance. I get to be the cook, cooking to my satisfaction and preference.

All images are mine