One year ago: Genius Solution to Pollution and Awakening

I love soup, and while tomato isn’t my favorite kind, I get a hankering for it every now and then. When that hankering occurs at midnight, the only thing you can do is grab a can of Campbell’s. *Ick.* I know, I was desparate. I tried to make it better by adding some oven-roasted tomatoes and using milk and chicken broth to dilute it instead of water. Okay, but not great. I had a lot leftover, and I needed something delicious and nutritious while studying for Criminal Law. (yes, yes, I am studying. The Rule of Lenny…uh…Lenity, and all that.)

I’m not sure if this is a jambalaya or just an extremely saucy risotto made with extra-diluted creamy tomato soup-broth. Anyways, it’s very filling and very good and very easy. It took me about 30 minutes maximum from kitchen to sofa, not including the 5 minutes it took me to make the marinade and the 1 hour where the stuff was soaking in the marinade.

Click here for recipe (more…)

In honor of my dear friend Ayesha’s return from England! Missed you .

Ayesha and I are partners in crime. Cooking, that is. We exchange recipe ideas, dinner dilemmas, and stories of successes and failures in our own kitchens. At least once a year, we get together and try all the recipes we’ve saved up to experiment with. We prepare huge meals then invite our friends over to eat (yes, they love us). When we lived in the same city along with our other chefs, Rabea and Amna, it would usually start with two of us calling the other. “Ayesha, come over. We have an emergency. A cooking emergency.”

Dorky, but nobody forgets those meals.

Of course, we have our share of mistakes too….like that honey-orange loaf that left a goopy, sticky mess on the bottom of the oven because we put 1 cup instead of 1 tablespoon of butter. Don’t know how it happened.

Over my spring break, Ayesha and I succeeded at our next culinary adventure: High Tea.

Admire our menu, all made from scratch. Drool over the pictures (courtesy of Ayesha).
- Buttery rich scones
- Almond chicken salad tea sandwiches
- Smoked salmon tea sandwiches
- Asiago cheese puffs
- Chocolate lava cakes
- Fresh fruit tarts with vanilla custard
- Mock clotted cream
- Lemon curd
- Dulce de Leche
- Ayesha’s Homemade Strawberry jam
- Fresh fruit

I made the lemon curd, so i’ll share that recipe here. (more…)

I’ve got a spring in my step, my head in the clouds, and a song bubbling in my voice.

Why?

Because it’s Boots Day.

Boots Day, Boots Day. It is Boots Day. Blue jeans Boots Day. It is Boots Day. New Jeans Boots Day. Boots Day, Boots Day. It is Boots Day.

I was singing this to Ameir in the car this morning. Cute? Superficial? Ameir chose “annoying.” Perhaps. He’s just jealous.

But why is Boots Day so exciting? Because you’re supposed to wear boots with new jeans. Because it’s *New* Jeans Boots Day. At that means that I’ve finally found a pair of new jeans that are halaal.

(All the Muslimahs *gasp.* Including old roomie and new blogger, Monapoly. Welcome, friend.)

Yes, that’s right ladies. I found a pair of jeans that are loose at the hip and thigh, accommodate for the fact that I’m a real female with curves, don’t hang low on my butt, and still look great. And they were only $14.00. $14.00. Yes. Can you feel the excitement seeping through the screen? I know. Join me. *Boots Day, Boots Day, it is Boots Day.*

*squeal!* And I don’t squeal often.

New Jeans Boots Day means that I have not lost faith in humanity. It means that there are still a few clothes producers out there who don’t make clothes for the stick-figure, let-me-show-you-as-much-skin-as-possible girls. It means that I can breathe a small sigh of relief at actually being able to find clothes I can comfortably wear, knowing that my body is loosely, fully, but still beautifully covered without having to wear a trash bag, because that’s the only thing I can buy that goes past my bellybutton.

New Jeans Boots Day is a happy day. Because it’s so hard for a Muslimah to find clothes in most stores that are affordable, loose and long enough to cover her arms, chest, torso, butt, and still stylish. It’s getting harder and harder to find everything from jeans to skirts (even skirts!) to shirts to suits is getting in styles that we can safely wear as Muslimah modest dress (with or without hijab). The fashion these days is completely dissonant with our dress code – now, as clothes get tighter and shorter, we find ourselves wearing out-of-season clothing (winter shirts in spring and summer) or having to get things tailored overseas. You used to at least be able to find dress shirts that weren’t so tight at the waist and short at the butt – not anymore. And if we can find something that fits and covers properly, it costs an arm and a leg! Even online Muslim clothing stores like Shukr are not exactly within reach of a lot of pockets.

So rejoice, Sisters. It’s Boots Day. New Jeans Boots Day.

Boots Day, Boots Day. It is Boots Day. Blue Jeans Boots Day. It is Boots Day. New Jeans Boots Day. Boots Day, Boots Day. It is Boots Day.

Which means, of course, so do the crazy dreams.

The other night I dreamt that my teeth were falling out, one by one. Three had already fallen out – and you know how the rumor is that you’re supposed to put them in milk or something and rush to the dentist? So I did, except my dentist was my Criminal Law professor.

Right, so, I’m trying to get Professor Myers to help me, but him and Ameir keep joking around, wasting time.

HELLO. MY TEETH. ARE. FALLING. OUT. GET TO IT, PLEASE.

I don’t think I could ever yell at Professor Myers in real life – he’s kind of huge, and he was a prosecutor, so he probably knows a few people.

Needless to say, I’ve been brushing and flossing more diligently now.

And….it begins. Wish me luck.

Also, it’s taking all my energy not to stop outlining right now and make Barefoot Contessa’s Lime Curd Tart with the bowl of limes my Khalto gave me. Hence the limes picture above. I can’t say it won’t happen anyway.

It’s exam season. Things are about to get a little crazy.

Update: Dream before my Crim Law Exam. Myers hands us the *entire* Model Penal Code and says “analyze all the statutes. you have three hours. go.” I cried, panicked. Then Muller (Constitutional Law) comes in, except he’s an itinerant preacher. He says, “Don’t worry, my children. You only have to analyze the ones you need for the exam question.” I rejoiced.

1. Marinate shrimp in garlic, lemon zest, and olive oil
2. Grill the shrimp
3. While still hot, mix with basil pesto (the one you bought a basil plant to make but now the plant is dead and you’re not sure why, you watered it and kept it in the sun and away from the cold)
4. Slice half of a lemon. Squirt the juice from the other half over the shrimp
5. Grill the sliced lemon. Use as a garnish.
6. Eat warm or cold or stir with pasta

This was the perfect dinner on a cold Friday night after a long, long week at school. We curled up watched old LOST episodes with bowls of this spicy, gingery chicken and vegetable braise lushing over rice. Okay, so lushing is not a word, but it somehow describes this meal. This one’s a keeper.

I’ve been wanting to try braising ever since I read a techniques article in Cooking Light a few months ago. So when I found the perfect ingredients in my fridge for an Asian-inspired dish, I decided to try it. Braising the chicken breast was nowhere as complicated as I thought it would be, and it made the chicken very flavorful and soft. I was just learning this technique, so I made it with one half of a chicken breast (cut into two pieces, one each for Ameir and I). It was actually enough for a very filling meal because of all the vegetables and rice.

To braise, you lightly brown the meat first, remove the meat from the pan, and cover the meat with some foil. Then add the vegetables to the same pan, deglaze with the stock, then simmer, then add the meat back and simmer. I added a middle step and simmered the stock with the vegetables before adding the meat. The liquid should not cover the meat, only come up the sides. Also, the key is to only simmer the meat – cooking it slowly is what gives it flavor and softness.

Click here for the recipe (more…)

Masjid Al-Amawi, Damascus, Syria. This is the artwork on the building inside the courtyard which serves as the Musallah.

My friend Inji recently asked for this story, so I’m sharing it here as well. I heard it from Sheikh Hamza Yusuf at the “Reviving the Islamic Spirit” conference in Toronto. Sheikh Hamza said that scholars aren’t sure if it’s exactly true, but the fact that it is in a lot of scholarly books shows that they thought it was a very important story and lesson I’ll try to remember it as accurately as possible. The pictures are from Masjid Al-Amawi in Damascus, because it is a masjid that used to be a church. It’s a beautiful blend of cultures and architecture, with one steeple and one minaret. Muslims believe that the prophecy of Jesus returning to the world “between the two white minarets” refers to this mosque. John the Baptist’s head is entombed there, and Pope John Paul II visited it in 2001.

There was a man named Sheikh Daud Al-Baghdadi, known as a very noble and learned scholar. He had memorized entire tracts of Hadith and was a Hafidh – he had memorized the entire Qur’aan and had even mastered all of the seven different methods of reciting it. Sheikh Daud was famous for his ability to teach people about Islam and for the thousands of people who had converted to Islam after learning from him.

Sheikh Daud and some of his students were traveling to visit villages around the land to teach and convert them to Islam. when they came upon a village they knew to be Christian. They stood on a small hillock overlooking the village, resting for a while before they went in. Soon, they went down to the village and entered the gate and looked for someone to speak to. They saw a young peasant girl, very modestly dressed in plain clothing. She welcomed them in and drew water from the well to give them.

Sheikh Daud began to stare at her, gazing at her intently. His students were horrified that he was so openly and blatantly staring at a woman. “Ya Sheikh!” they cried, “We are taught to lower our gaze! Why are you staring at this woman!” “She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” he responded. “Ask her to take me to her father, for I wish to marry her.”

Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: That will make for greater purity for them. And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 24, “The Light,” Verse 30

The girl agreed to take the group to her father, but Sheikh Daud insisted that his students leave without him. At this point, they were incredulous and insisted upon staying until they could all leave together. He demanded that they leave, however, and continue with their work. “I’ll catch up with you in a few days,” he said. They agreed and left.

It became a few days, a week, a month, and there was no sign of Sheikh Daud. His students were very worried, and decided to go back and search for him.

The lines of intricately carved columns in Al-Amawi’s courtyard.

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This brownie recipe by Angie on Allrecipes.com is excellent. They don’t puff up like the box mixes do, but they’re a deliciously soft, dense, and chocolaty brownie. The last time I made them with the intention to photograph/publish, Ameir’s friends were over and the finished product was gone before I could take a picture. Angie also has a frosting recipe to go with it, but they’re great without as well.

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My family, being of the classic Desi/Arab mentality, likes to buy in bulk. Which means that at the end of a week, we’ll have at least 5 almost too-ripe bananas that must be used. Solution: grab a wooden spoon, a big bowl, and start mushing.

This is my absolute favorite banana bread recipe. The basic recipe is from Joy of Cooking, but I change things around to make it my own. It’s a mix of the basic + improv of whatever I find at home that I think would be nice in it. Actually, come to think of it, the bread often turns out more like cake because I put a little more sugar and definitely more bananas than the recipe calls for. It comes out excellent every time, Alhamdulillah

Click link below for recipe
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