WYD?
And i’m sitting here with this blank expression…
Thinking about how this year has been one of the craziest if not THE craziest most exciting year of my life.
Life is a rollercoaster you know. things could be going really bad … and all of sudden life is like yeah we’ll give you something for the trouble. and boom! You’re happy again. Life could be booming and you so conveniently forget that all hell broke loose just a little while ago.
I’m a thinker, maybe even someone you would classify as an over thinker. My imagination is so precious. I think about everything and anything all together all at once. The mind of a creative. It can be overwhelming sometimes. My mind is full of all these ideas of things I want to do, places I want to go, it never ends. That is - the thoughts. I called myself a creative earlier and I find that funny. Me? Toke? A creative? But I’ve always been one. As much as I never thought of it in the past, down to the core of who I am I have always loved to create.
I can relate.
I watched the final Season 4 of Sex Education recently and it did so much for me. There were lots of mixed reviews but in my personal opinion I appreciated how some of the characters stories ended. I started Sex Education at a time in my life when I was lost and naive. It’s one of those TV shows I can truly say made an impact. A subtle one but still very valid nonetheless. It might be centered around sex, but there’s a deeper message, a true connection to life. I always feels like I can relate with at least one of the characters every season. This season it was Maeve, Eric and Adam.
With Maeve, she struggled all her life to believe in herself because she never had anyone to pour into her constantly and remind her of how great she could one day be. Maeve was a talented writer and almost gave up on her dreams because she lacked the self confidence to withstand obstacles. To be frank, her obstacles were extremely hard to overcome. It would have made more sense for her to fall into her circumstances but she prevailed at the end of the day. The universe wanted more for her.
With Adam, it’s almost the same feat but slightly different because he was constantly under so much pressure from his dad who projected all his insecurities and fears on him. So he struggled. Struggled with self confidence, lived in fear, and felt like he would never amount to anything.
Eric. What a beautiful season for him. God called strongly upon his life and he was in denial at first but eventually he chose to read the signs. He followed God right where he was leading him and it was the best decision he could have ever made for himself. He trusted his gut and he stood in his truth. And his community eventually followed.
All it boils down to is that to survive in this world you need community, but in order to have a community that serves you, you have to be 100% honest with yourself and them about who you really are. Surround yourself with people that believe in your purpose even on the days when you might lose sight of it. Believe in yourself. God did not bring you to this world to not serve a purpose. Whatever that purpose might be, walk faithfully and fearlessly in it. If you’re still on that journey of discovering what that is, be patient. It might be something right in front of you that you’ve simply never noticed. And one day it will be as clear as day. Trust your gut! Only you truly know what’s best for you. Follow the instinct that has never steered you wrong. Watch and see how life blooms after that.
She’s a virgo, a September baby.
I turned 24 at the start of September. Every year, September never fails to top the charts with amazing things. There’s always some special blessing or simply peace of mind that comes to me unfailingly every year in September.
I swear the week before my birthday is always the most stressful. I doubt everything. I reflect on how the last year has gone and start feeling all types of pressure.
With September coming to a close, I have to say it was a marvellous month. Through the tears, the laughs, the sadness, and the love. This is the first time in my life I’ve had the chance to go after everything that I want. It’s so easy to get caught up in all the fuss, but I have that voice in the back of my mind that reminds me everyday of my why. Everyday is one step closer to where I want to be. I have to be honest however, some days are muchhh harder than most but I make the effort to keep going everyday and truly that is what matters the most.
My Man My Man My Man My man
Yes, i indeed have one of those now. And yes i’m one of those My man My man My man girls. If you’ve been here as far back as January, you would remember I talked about this man that wasted my timeee, and was honestly just a square. As strange as it sounds/feels sometimes (to me), I must say I am pretty damn happy to have my man. The feeling is not owed to the fact that there is a man in general, but the fact that there is one that prioritises me. He always makes sure I don’t forget what purpose I serve in his life, how much he cares and how much I mean to him.
I can’t however not acknowledge the fact that he is still human. I feel it can be so easy sometimes to forget that men are human too and they’re allowed to make mistakes. Mistakes at the cost of whose sanity though? Men will drive you crazy and it might take some special type of discernment to know when one of them is trying to play in your face. But there is something so special about us humans we have this thing called intuition. Our instinct. It might give the smallest inkling as to how someone is really treating us. It could be the feeling of a huge ball deep in our gut that just wouldn’t pass.
I have a lot more I can say on this topic and would love to give y’all more tea. But in private 👀 Let’s talk! Substack has a feature now where we can chat and keep up with each other. Even if it’s questions about my recipes, life, etc. I’m open to them all.
Brown Butter Plantain Waffles
“Plantain is the best thing that can happen to you” - Dele Momodu
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: ~15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Serving size: 5 large waffles
Ingredients
2 cups of AP flour
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup whole milk
1 ripe plantain
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
Directions
Peel and fully mash 1 ripe plantain. Spread into a thin layer on a sheet of foil. Air fry for 15 minutes at 350F
To a hot skillet add 3 tbsp of butter. whisk continuously until the butter gets brown and has a nutty aroma. Add brown sugar and whisk to combine. Cool before adding to mix.
Mix your dry ingredients; pancake mix/AP flour, white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking powder and baking soda.
Whisk your wet ingredients; buttermilk, whole milk, eggs, vanilla and vegetable oil.
Cool air-fried plantain then crumble into small chunky pieces.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix with a spatula until fully combined. Add browned butter & sugar syrup and crumbled plantain and mix lightly.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVER MIX YOUR WAFFLE BATTER.
Let your batter rest for at least 10 minutes.
Preheat your waffle iron and grease with a cooking spray or butter.
Pour about ½ or 1/3 cup of the batter to the waffle iron. Cook until the waffle iron indicates that it’s ready.
Serve warm with butter and maple syrup.
If you try out this recipe, please please please send it to me and let me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you guys!!!!
Coming up NEXT:
Where have I been? What have I been up to? What’s next for me?
Song of the month Stand By You by Pheelz
Album of the month Emeka Must Shine by Blaqbonez
Enjoy this playlist african weeklies by datuois