“I am a black, Jamaica woman! Of Course I can cook!”

I enjoy preparing delicious meals where you get a taste of all the flavors, from spicy to sweet. I do not love the kitchen but I am great at cooking and I love to find new recipes and try them which the meals always comes out successful. Being on campus I love to cook because the cafeteria food is horrible and when I cook it reminds me of home.

But, where did it all started?

Have I always enjoyed cooking? No! I use to despise the kitchen and the idea of cooking, however, from a young age I was always told that sex alone cannot keep a man, you will have to feed your husband or he will date the maid (whoever cooks for the family). The first time I went around the stove was about age 6 or 7 with supervision that is, I was frying dumplings (very simple). Oh! That was a bad idea, I had to be on a stool so I can reach the stove and because I was frying each time I placed the dumpling in the oil the oil would sizzle and splash up a little and it would sometimes catch my arms which I hated, but according to my oldest sister, “if you don’t get burn you aren’t doing anything,” I beg to disagree. I did not want it to catch my arm so the next time I went into the kitchen I tried to stay far as possible from the pot and through in whatever I was making which was dumplings, again, (it is easy to make and it is simple so I loved making it, I still do), worst idea ever! That made the oil splash even worst! Thank God I was never seriously injured by the hot oil but I did get a few burns, I guess I was doing something after all. When I was growing up I never had to cook because I always had my mother, father and both my older sisters cooking which they love doing and that is why they are so good at it now, I use to sit, watch television and wait until the meal is finished then I would go and eat (I love to eat!), unfortunately, I had to play my role which was washing up the dishes. “Nuh man nah guh waan yuh if yuh caan cook!” my mother use to repeat this so many times, which is simple stating “no man will want you if you cannot cook”. She was not saying it to be disrespectful but she wanted me to know that males love when their women can cook and I have taken heed to her wise words and the older I got the more I have proven this.

The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach! I am now an adult and I see my husband in my near future so, hey, if I have to cook, I will cook!