I wish I took home economics (SRT) class in high school.
I was inspired by the recent topic discussed on cooking skills and recipes sent in by SU mommies in SU.com website. I was totally blown away by the expertise and recipes demonstrated by some of the women that you've gotta look at the pictures to understand why. Cooking, sewing and other house chores activity has long been associated with women from time immemorial. We have been taught domestic chores since young by our mothers who in turn were taught by their mother when they were young themselves.
I was inspired by the recent topic discussed on cooking skills and recipes sent in by SU mommies in SU.com website. I was totally blown away by the expertise and recipes demonstrated by some of the women that you've gotta look at the pictures to understand why. Cooking, sewing and other house chores activity has long been associated with women from time immemorial. We have been taught domestic chores since young by our mothers who in turn were taught by their mother when they were young themselves. Cooking was the least favourite chore during my adolescence years but somehow I was made to help around in the kitchen by mom. That was the start of my basic cooking skills. Nevermind if I didn't do the cooking from scratch but I must help her with other chores in the kitchen. If mom was cooking, I would help her with the simplest chores such as kopek and slicing the onions, garlics and ginger, kopek ikan bilis, rinse and cut vegetables into desired portion or fry the fish already smothered with tumeric powder and salt.
Mom would be incensed if I don't help her with the house work. Being the eldest daughter in the family does count so it's a routine for me that every weekend, I would vacuum and mop the floor, tidy up the beds, do the laundry, iron the school uniforms and so on. My brothers are not spared either. Their list of chores include scrub the bathroom walls and toilets, clear the drains, mow the lawn and pick up trash. The list is endless. Little did I know that whatever training that mom had provided and taught me back then would be very beneficial in years to come.
Even though I am not a good cook, I can still cook simple yet nutritious meals for my family. The basic is already there. I don't find myself panicking when a truckload of relatives from the husband's side came over one day without giving notice and I was able to cook up some storm in the kitchen and came out with presentable dishes....woohoo! If I ran out of ideas, there's always the cookbook recipes standby.
These days, I find that not many girls are equipped with basic domestic skills. With the increasing demands on hired helps in the form of Indonesian maids, I see more and more little girls and boys doing lesser house chores or none at all. Modern parents seem to emphasize more on their education which is good actually but the downside of it is the children has become less domesticated.
So in order to start them young, I get (more like kena kerah) my two daughters to help around with simple house chores. Set the table, pick up toys after playing, wash their school shoes, tidy up their rooms, babysitting their brother when I'm busy in the kitchen or in the bedroom (hehe...just kidding). The only thing I haven't let them do is cooking. Does toasting bread counts for cooking? I'm more concerned on the safety factor so I'll just wait for the right age to introduce them to cooking.
Minat boleh dipupuk.
Who knows if they might want to be the next Chef Wan, Chef Ismail or Chef Anita, the diva songstress. Its an interesting and challenging profession and makes good money too.
