Yesterday was AHMAZING. I scored a very last minute #gig to vend at my dear friend @missturman’s Black Girl Project (yes her org and my org the BLK Projek STAY getting folks confused. It’s how we met) Summit in BK. And this is a very special summit as it is the last. I worked for 14 hours straight with the help of my awesome friend Akiba and prepped enough food for 75 people. There were times I thought “I’m not hmgonna get this done. I shouldn’t have committed. I’m gonna fuck this up.” But I took a few deep breathes and remembered I’m capable. I made a Stewed Coconut Curry Chicken, Cilantro Lime Rice, a Simple Salad with baby arugula, candied walnuts, cruising and a raspberry pecan dressing, a vegan dish of “Beef” and Kale sautéed in coconut oil, sesame oil and peppers. To quench folks thirst I made what I call Muva’s Better Than Kool Aid - a refreshing combo of fresh basil, spring water, simple syrup and fresh squeezed lime. To finish off the meal and satisfy my customers sweet tooth I made my signature Double Banana Cake which is a tweak of @bonappetitmag recipe of the same name except I use cake flour, I added nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom as well as almond extract and banana extract to the homemade icing, I finish it off by dusting it with gold sanding sugar. I sold out. I literally had folks asking if they could just buy the left over rice. I was ecstatic and it defly helped to boost my self esteem because I’m constantly insecure about not having finished culinary school and not having the capacity to go back. Andyes I added a gratuitous Money picture. No, I’m not a rapper but I think about how folks don’t understand this grind, they think I have too many kids, imply I’m somehow an unfit mother because I’ve chosen this as my career, who think I do this for play play and not that I’m finally getting real traction after 19 years of dedication, heartache and sacrifice. So allow me a little arrogance. Many thanks to Aiesha and to all my folks for their help which surprisingly included my baby daddy 😩. Follow your dreams, Sis and keep at it. Folks will call you a WEIRDO but I promise it’ll all pay off #mamatanyaskitchen #mamatanya #BOSSLADY #entrepreneur (at St. Joseph High School)