The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
Just to make it clear that i've never wanted to learn cooking for this reason haha. But i thought, it'll be terrible if my kids in future have to starve and complain about their mother being a lousy cook. Eating out all the time is also expensive and unhealthy.
Yes, there's a hidden motherly instinct in me lol.
So why didn't i learn how to cook? i was (and still am) almost never allowed in the kitchen because my mum is rather possessive of her territory and doesn't like me to mess her things. i have done simple cooking like noodles, pasta and frying but that's about it. And my fear of being splashed by cooking oil or burning down the kitchen (which is more of my mum's fear) put me off.
During this trip to NZ, i realised the importance of knowing how to cook. Here's a quick story...
The boyfriend and i had a one night staycation at bethells beach cottage after a day at piha beach and waitakere ranges. We had late lunch and thought that dinner options were easily available in the area, so we headed straight to the cottage, which turned out to be super secluded. So much so that we lost GPS and network signal.
The touristy side of me got all excited by the view and the amazing sunset, which was quickly setting in at 5 pm.
But the other side of me was worried about food. Not to mention that the boyfriend is a big eater. Hoho. When we asked our host about it, he was surprised that we didn't bring anything to cook because the nearest source of food is a good 20 minutes drive along the dark road. No delivery can be done too.
Thankfully, we had leftover butter chicken pizza from lunch but...
Only 3 pathetic slices. So i surveyed the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, hoping for some food to be inside...
But there was NOTHING! It was mental breakdown for us. We agreed to save up our pizza ration until our stomachs could not bear the hunger and have an early night so that we'll not think about food. So we passed our time by watching tv and almost every other advertisement was on FOOD! PIZZA, BURGER KING AND KFC!!!
It was a torture. Mentally and gastronomically.
I decided to search the fridge and check out the chiller compartment right at the bottom. It was almost a waiting-for-godot moment, hoping for some miracle that's never going to happen. But guess what?
I FOUND A PACKET OF LIFE-SAVING TEMPURA CHICKEN NUGGETS!
I was leaping with joy and jumping about. Literally! And Sean hugged me like it was an olympic-winning moment. Yes, i know it sounds very dramatic but that was how crazily overjoyed we were!
This ends my epiphany on why cooking is important :D
Fortunately for me, my boyfriend's mum is a wonderful cook! She's very patient and encouraging about my cooking. It was fun and fulfilling learning how to cook some of the dishes...
Other than fried chicken, nasi lemak is another of my fave dish! Malaysian style with home-made sambal chilli! *drools*
My first attempt at making kiwi breakfast and poached eggs. i should keep a recipe book of all the dishes that his mum has taught me since i've a short term memory. i guess whether Yan can cook depends on it, hehe.
