M wrote
Hi Stephanie,
I have a fear of speaking among my colleagues, thinking I’ll say something wrong to be laughed at. It has even gone as far as at the work place. I’m always mute when we are in meetings. Not that I don’t know what to say but I’m just afraid.
Would you please help me to overcome my fears especially in public speaking?
Regards,
M
SL Fabz, here we go, what do we advise M to do?
Photos from Kitchen Butterfly
Wow, the overwhelming response from you all is commendable, if you said ‘moinmoin’? Sorry but you got it wrong!! however, a couple of people got it right , it is steamed plantain pudding also called Ukwaka and other names depending on where you are from. And here’s the recipe courtesy of Kitchen Butterfly. Ukwaka can be breakfast food, served with hot, milky corn pap or oats. It could be a snack. Or lunch. Or dinner. Best of all, it is the perfect remedy for overripe plantains
Ingredients
3 overripe plantains, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces 1 small (red) onion 1 – 2 fresh chili peppers, to taste 2 tablespoons (vegetable/palm) oil 1 and 1/2 cups water, room temperature 1/2 cup polenta (Polenta is coarsely or finely ground yellow or white cornmeal boiled with water or stock into a porridge and eaten directly or baked, fried or grilled) Salt, to taste 1 tablespoon dried, ground crayfish (optional) To cook in fresh banana leavesHow to
In a blender or food processor, combine plantains, onion, peppers, oil and water till smooth. Essentially, you take extremely sweet plantains, blend them with water, onions and chili peppers, season with some salt and dried crayfish if you wish and then bring them together with a sprinkling of polenta and some vegetable or palm oil. Once the batter is ready, you ladle it into ramekins or gently fold banana leaves into a cone sealing off base and top and then ‘waterbath’ them (like you do for moinmoin) for half an hour or more, till the puddings are firm.
Pour plantain batter into a bowl and add polenta (and crayfish, if using), stir till well combined and then salt to taste.One critical success factor of this is the balance between sweet, hot and salty. The peppers need to be prominent but not too much to cut through the (otherwise sickening) sweetness of the plantains and that needs to be balanced with a healthy pinch of salt.
Using banana leaves, the traditional way, fold and pour batter into each and wrap. When your batter is all used up, line the base of a large pan with some banana leaves and stack the banana wraps, first covering the base and then putting the rest on top. Pour in a couple of cups of water – not to cover the wraps but up to a third of the way up. You could always start out with a little and add more water as necessary. They should be ready after half an hour of cooking on the stovetop. When they’re ready, allow to cool for a few minutes and then serve as you will.
Yummy.
If any of you tries it, send me an email at info@stephaniedaily.com and tell me how it went. Let’s get creative and tell me what you will eat it with it?
xoxo
SL
To all the mothers home and abroad. Happy Mother’s Day to you all
Quick Fun Fact about Mother’s Day culled from Wikipedia –
Mother’s Day (US) is an annual holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Mother’s Day recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well the positive contributions that they make to society. Although many Mother’s Day celebrations world-wide have quite different origins and traditions, most have now been influenced by the more recent American tradition established by Anna Jarvis, who celebrated it for the first time in 1908, then campaigned to make it an official holiday. Previous attempts at establishing Mother’s Day in the United States sought to promote peace by means of honoring mothers who had lost or were at risk of losing their sons to war.
Appreciate your mothers everyday, name some special ways you can do this.
xoxo
#SL
Fear is ‘False Evidence Appearing Real’. So don’t give in to that false feeling. What is stopping you from taking that chance?
xoxo
SL
There are a few fashion faux pas you will agree with me are big No-No’s for example, wearing too many patterns in your dress up, stained clothes, dressing for the wrong outing, choice of open toe/covered shoe with clothing… you have to dress well anytime you step out of the house, you never know who you are going to meet.
OK, let’s be honest. Do you have something embarrassing in your closet? A piece of your wardrobe that drives your friends crazy or went out of style more than a decade ago? Share with me , let’s hear it …
xoxo
#SL
Please don’t disclose my name, after my last relationship with an Igbo guy that didn’t work out, I’d not been into another relationship for over a year. I met this guy he’s a Yoruba guy from Ondo state precisely. We got talking and fell in love with each-other. One faithful day he came visiting on a Sunday after church service at my house where I stay with my parents. He said he wanted us to go to his house, I agreed and we left. On getting to his house I lay on the couch feeling tired, suddenly he came lying on my body, I tried pulling him off but he refused and started caressing my body, breast, kissed me tenderly and passionately ,I told him I was ovulating, and he never bothered about it, thereafter we made love, after making love, my eyes got to a point and I suddenly saw a wedding picture in a frame and quickly requested for cold water, I was like maybe he stays with his brother and probably his brother traveled and on a second thought I thought it wise to check who was in that picture, lo and behold he was the one. I was shocked, and started wondering why he didn’t tell me he was married because he never wore a wedding ring, He pleaded with me that he actually brought me home to see for myself that he is married, that he refused letting me know because he never wanted to loose me. I then asked where his wife was, he said she went to church, saying that he stopped wearing the ring because he already filled for divorce that 3months into their marriage his banker wife has been a nag, tried several times to kill him with a knife, insulted his parents and siblings, harassed him in church publicly, that he’s endured for 4yrs now, medically he’s sound and she’s refused to take in(get pregnant) because of her career and so many things he told me that I cant say for now, I got angry and asked him to take me home, he noticed I’d seen the picture and knew that was the reason why my mood changed. After we made love I never saw my period for the next month, I told him about it first, we went for pregnancy test and he said I should keep it, that if I abort his child he’ll never be happy with me in life. Now am 2 months gone, he’d be seeing my parents in March this year 2013 do the traditional rights and marry me, am a career woman too, an Engineer, as am working also. Just last week she found a text in phone I sent to him as regards my condition (some pregnancy symptoms) I was having. My phone rang I picked and the caller said she was his wife that she heard I was pregnant for her husband, that am a big and shameless fool getting pregnant for a married man, that she’ll show me, and I’ll regret the day I was born, I never said a word to her other than “Thank you”. I called and told him and he said I should just calm down and not worry myself.
I’m so confused please help me, what do I do? Do I still keep to his word or let them be?
Confused Soul
Wishing you a great week from the bottom of my heart
Love you all SL Fabz
xoxo
SL
Do nothing but praise God for everything today, no requests just thanksgiving.
xoxo
#SL
Sometimes all you need to do is get out and run (article culled from allwomentalk.com by Erika)
1. “Log off. Shut down. Go Run.”
I love this quote. I feel most of us spend a lot of time on our computers or on our cell phones. Take a break from your electronics and just run!
2. “When You Feel like Quitting, Remember Why You Started.”
There can be many reasons why someone wants to start running: health, weight loss or just wanting a new hobby. The reason you are running is your reason! Don’t quit. Just remember once you quit you have to start all over again.
3. “The Voice in Your That Says You Can’t Do It Is a Liar.”
Yes! When running, you hit this wall that makes you feel like you need to stop. Lies! Once you over come this wall, running will feel like walking on air!
4. “Yesterday You Said Tomorrow.”
How many of you have said that you will start eating healthy or start working out tomorrow or starting Monday. No. Do it TODAY. You won’t regret it once you start.
5. “If Running Is Difficult, Then Run More.”
If you can’t run a mile in 14 minutes, definitely do more! This is for your health. Feel good, look good. The quote can apply to everything.
6. “No Matter How Slow You Go, You’re Still Lapping Everyone Sitting on The Couch.”
7. “Run like You Stole Something.”
This one makes me laugh! The way I interpret the quote is that when you’re running, run as fast as you can. Only you know how far to push yourself but our bodies can surprise us.
8. Run from fears. Run from your worries. Run from this. Run from that. Run. Run.
Run. Run. Run.
Run.
Run from it ALL. Let go and hakuna matata.
9. “Because Working Out Feels So Much Better than Sitting around All Day.”
I’m sure we have all had one day when we’re at home and did nothing but just stay indoors. I don’t know about you, but I feel really crappy when I don’t do anything. Keep your body and mind busy, always.
xoxo
#SL
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