Dodo and a Lesson

I told you, I wasn’t going to leave you hanging😉. 

Hello again!  

How was the past week? Mine was good, Remember i said i wrote some exams, well,  I got some of the results during the week and there's a story there, it is one you will like to hear. If you want the details you would have to wait till my next post😉.

 

For today, I will be recounting an experience I had in the kitchen 

It was Friday afternoon, I was hungry! I can’t really remember what I had for breakfast I suppose bread or cereal so I thought to make a quick meal. I went into the fridge and I found some jollof rice from the day before, I put it in the microwave for about 3 minutes to warm up. I wanted something else to eat with my rice apart from meat, thankfully there was some plantain, i decided to fry some.

I picked up the frying pan, poured some oil and turned on the gas. While waiting for the oil to heat up I sliced my plantain, it was a little bit soggy but I decided to manage it like that. As soon as I was done cutting, I put the plantain in the oil to fry.  

I kept on turning the plantain from side to side thinking it should  decrease the frying time but no it didn't, so I turned up the heat to the highest thinking if that did not work this should right?. Before I knew it the plantain was already burning. At that very moment I had an epiphany, one I get to share with you today.  

Just like I kept on turning the plantain from side to side without allowing one side to take time to fry, that’s how sometimes we rush in and out of things without learning the lessons we are meant to learn from those things. 

Here is the thing, I saw the oil as the lesson i had to pass, the change I had to go through to be ready, while the side of the plantain that faced the oil was a part, an aspect of me that was undone, that wasn't ready. A part that needed to incorporate the oil and the heat to be able to move to the next side, the next phase. By the way, i used the shallow fry method.

Using myself as an example, I was writing before i started blogging, but I wasn't focused on it, I wanted to learn graphic designing as well as photography, so I kept on shifting my focus from one to the other. As a result, my writing wasn't any better than when I started, the graphic designing I delved into I wasn't making heads way and  photography I was as good as an average person holding a camera. I finally picked one, writing and I keep getting better because my focus is just on it.

I know we have some super humans amongst us that can probably run the two different activities at once. It all comes down to how much you can handle. If you are doing more than one of any activity and you're not doing so well, you might want to pause everything to choose one for better productivity.

Also, sometimes we are like my soggy plantain that is more likely to be burnt yet we turn up the heat, like i did,  we rush the process. No doubt, it will get ready faster but guess what, it will be burnt or almost burnt. Learn the virtue of patience. The only time we know we are truly patient is at times when we are tested

Faster doesn't always mean better.

Well, that’s how I ate burnt plantain with my rice that day😅😂.

That aside, can we talk about how versatile plantain is, I can think about a number of things  that can be made using plantain. Talk about fried or boiled plantain, roasted plantain (boli) plantain porridge, plantain pancake, plantain fritatas, plantain bread, plantain flour.

Plantain pancake

Though plantain is not a complete meal ( it is a poor source of protein and fat)  the good thing about it is  it can be combined with other foods, like rice, vegetable, beans, stew, groundnut to achieve a balanced diet. 

My favorite combination is Jollof Rice and Plantain😋. I must tell you there's a way plantain just completes the meal and I love it. 

What is your favorite combo? I will like to know😃 

What do you prefer to call it Dodo or Plantain? Dodo has a catch to it and i think it makes a better title😁

To end this lengthy post😂, (which i hope you have enjoyed) i will leave you with five facts about plantain

- Plantain is a source of complex carbohydrate (the good carb for weight management)

- It is high in antioxidants

-It is rich in Potassium which is good for the heart

-It contains fibers

-It is a versatile and inexpensive staple food.

    I am sure you didn't know all that about plantain😉😄 Make sure you try out a new plantain recipe this week (don't just fry and boil)😜

Have a plantaintastic weekend!

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