The Awkwardness of Cooking

I told my friends I started cooking.

They laughed. I couldn’t blame them either, so I joined them in laughing at my newly learned skill. :)))

Last year, my sisters (three of them) actually pointed out some imbalances in my life.  I was okay. Work was fine. School was great. But they snickered when they pointed out I wasn’t as domesticated as I should be when it comes to household activities and that mainly comprised of cooking! And it was true, so I learned. It was awkward at first though.

And the thing is, it’s not just me. Not knowing how to cook isn’t just my problem but something that’s nearly epidemic in my millennial circles.  So the geek in me tried to do research and introspection about this instance in millennials on a generational level and found out that:

We like things fast. We like to eat food on-the-go as it keeps up with our fast-paced lifestyle. If you calculate the time to do grocery shopping, preparing the ingredients, actual cooking and cleaning up – we would rather buy something and save time.

We eat out more often. In an analysis of historical data on food spending habits by a certain university, it was discovered that the rate of eating out has been increasing significantly in the past years. A major factor for this is because our generation can generally afford to eat more outside.

We think we can delay learning cooking. The learning curve for cooking isn’t as steep as it was before because of the advent of the internet and the treasure trove of recipe’s and how-to’s, that it all keeps and it’s all accessible with just one swipe on our smartphones. This probably explains why a lot of people try to hold off learning cooking later in their life (like when they get married or so).

We couldn’t bear the awkwardness of cooking. Instances of millennials cooking have been a rare sight, and most people think it’s something only our mothers can do well. Learning basic life skills in your mid-20’s has its own shame and it’s inevitable that we pass through an awkward stage of learning.

Learning from friends and family, cooking at home has many advantages, it costs less, you save more in the long run, and it’s a good bonding time with family members.

In a fortunate turn of events (LOL),  I was invited to cook for a segment in Lutong Swak, a segment in ABS-CBN’s Magandang Umaga South Central Mindanao. I promised to give away the recipes so here it goes. Let me know if you’ve tried the recipes, would love to hear from you. ❤

 

Cheezy Tofu in Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

• 500g tofu
• 1 medium white onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 bell pepper
• 2 tsp of chili flakes
• 3 strands of spring onion
• Pinch of black pepper
• 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
• Parsley

Steps:

1. Slice tofu into cubes then deep fry in vegetable oil until golden brown. Set aside.
2. On making the sauce, use oil then add your minced garlic and oinion.
3. Then, add 1/3 cup of mayonnaise, followed by the oyster sauce and sugar.
4. Add a little bit of water, then proceed to adding the sliced red bell pepper, pepper, chili flakes, sliced spring onion and the parmesan cheese.
5. Place the fried tofu on to the mixture. Mix well, add parsley for presentation and voila! You have your Cheezy Tofu in Cream Sauce. ❤

 

Garlic Buttered Shrimp in Oyster Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 lbs fresh shrimp (clean and deveined)
• 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp. sweet soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 white onion (sliced thinly)
• 3 stalks spring onion (chopped)
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 tsp. chili flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Steps:

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add shrimp and stir occasionally, until a little bit golden brown for about 2-3 minutes and then set aside.
3. Melt 2 tbsp butter add garlic, onion, chili flakes. Cook and stir frequently, until fragrant.
4. Add in oyster sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sweet soy sauce cook about and then add in the shrimp and cook about 1-2 minutes.
5. For finishing touches, add the spring onion and mix. Voila! You now have your Garlic Buttered Shrimp in Oyster Sauce. ❤

 

No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

 

Ingredients

• 1/4 pack of melted butter
• 1/2 pack of cream cheese
• 1 cup of crushed Grahams
• 1 pack of all-purpose cream
• 1/2 can of condensed milk
• 1 pack of unflavored gelatin powder
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of blueberry

Steps:

1. To form the crust, first, melt the butter in the microwave then add it to the crushed Grahams. Mix well. Then, place it over in a container to form the crust. Place it in the fridge as you make the base for the cheesecake.
2. Mix the gelatin powder and the water. Set aside.
3. In making the cheesecake base, first place the cream cheese over a pan, then add condensed milk and the mixture of water and gelatin that was previously mixed.
4. Then place it over the whole all purpose cream and mix, preferably using a hand mixer for about five minutes or so, until it looks more refined.
5. Place the mixture over the crust, then freeze it for a couple of minutes.
6. Lastly, add on top the blueberries. And hey! You got yo’self a cheesecake, man.

 

And folks, if such a woman like me, who’s incredibly unlikely to cook, has surpassed the awkward stage of learning how to cook, I am confident that you can too.  🙂

 

Your wanna-be chef,

Jamie