My mum never thought my sister and I how to cook and having a taste of the food while cooking. Here in Yoruba land, it is called an act of indiscipline if you taste while cooking and you should be perfect enough to cook without having a taste of it.
Immediately my mum called that she and my dad are two hours away from home, my sister and I decided to make a delicious meal on their arrival.
We were so sure that they must have been stressed due to the long road trip and the election they went to do in Ibadan which is three hours away from us. Elections in Nigeria can be stressful and draining so the best way to welcome them and ease them the stress is by making them a tasty meal.
Let’s make Amala, their favorite and we should also fry Hake fish, making my parents favorite food was a way to make them happy including the Hake fish which is our favorite fish in the house.
My sister and I began the preparation and we had all we needed right in the house. There was no need to step out for the littlest ingredient. We waited forty-five extra minutes before we start cooking so the meal will still be very hot when they arrive.
Forty-five minutes clocked so fast and we got into the kitchen to start cooking.
My sister and I chose the aspects in which we were good at.
I chose to make Amala because I’m very good at it while my sister fried the fish and made the stew.
Abojode, pass me the bowl of salt so I can mix it with the fish and add to the stew, my sister said. Immediately, I climbed the stool to take the bowl of salt while I went back to making my Amala.
I dished it well inside the food container so it will continue to be hot even if they eventually come late due to any delay. I also cleaned the house and set the dining before the arrive.
Pim!!! that’s my dad’s car honk. My parents were back. My sister and I checked well if there was nowhere messed up in the house. We sprayed the air freshener so the house will be giving nice scent and we went out to open the gate.
Welcome mummy and daddy. I hope the election process wasn’t stressful? my sister and I welcomed them, carried their bags into the room and also arranged all the things they bought while on the trip.
That’s going to be my first time tasting Kilishi. A popular Nigerian street food. This made my parents arrival more special.
We set the dining and it was time to eat. I brought out a glass of juice from the freezer and served them. My sister and I wanted them to have a great time by going into the room and enjoy their meal but while going inside, I heard my mum’s voice.
Ahan! What kind of seasoning did you add to this food? my sister and I were surprised because we cooked it the normal way she thought us to cook and everything we added was moderate. We looked at each other and went towards the dining table. We were very sure that there was no mistake with the food.
Let me taste it, I immediately took a spoon of Amala but I rushed into the kitchen to spit out the food into the kitchen sink. Then, I confirmed that there is something wrong with the taste of the food. I didn’t get what the food tastes like but it was weird.
After my sister tasted it, she confirmed that there is an amount of sugar in the food.
Do you remember the bowl you gave to me when I asked you to pass me a bowl of salt? I ran into the kitchen to check the bowl I gave to her then.
The bowl of salt and sugar look alike. The only difference is the color of the cover. Later, I remembered that I passed her the bowl with green cover instead of the yellow cover and that’s where the mix up had happened.
Unfortunately, my parents could not eat the food that we stressed ourselves to cook because there was sugar in the food which didn’t make it taste well.
Since then, we changed the bowl of salt to another bowl entirely so this kind of mix up doesn’t happen anymore.
I wondet what that kind of food will taste like. Adding sugar to soup 😂. It's funny though, I know they appreciated your hard work you tried.
Ah it didn’t taste well at all
Oh, what an accident that was! Changing the container of the salt is a good move, otherwise the same mix up could happen again.
Exactly
I’m happy we changed
Thank you for sharing this sweet memory. We would like to point out that you use the word 'thought' in the piece, instead of the word 'taught'. Since this mistake is repeated in the story, we'd like to help you prevent making such a mistake in the future.
This story was an entertaining response to the prompt.
Oh wow
Thank you
This was a serious mix up you know. I'm very sure that your parents would only talk just because of the stress they would have passed through in their journey.
Next time you just have to taste whatever you are inputting in the soup before adding it.