Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar

The athaan for Fajr went off this morning, same as any other. Ameir and I mumbled incoherently to each other, “Wake up, it’s time to pray.” Ameir got up first, swinging his legs around to sit up, and then stand.

*Squelch*

“Uh….Taiyyaba, did you spill water on my side of the bed?”
“Huh? No.”
“Did I spill water?”
“I dunno.”

Ameir stood up and took a step. Then another, then another. And then..

“Oh [step, *squelch*] my [step, *squirt*] GOD! [step, *squeegie*]. HONEY! GET UP!”

I get up on my perfectly dry side of the bed and start walking. Suddenly, I feel the carpet squelching under my feet. Now, for those of you who have not felt this, let me clarify. Ocean-wet sand squelching under your feet = pleasant. Sopping wet carpet squelching under your feet = terribly disturbing and uncomfortable.

What happened? Were we attacked by a water demon?

Should I start building an ark?

We kept walking *squelch, squelch* to figure out what was going on. Our steps left footprints behind us, embedded into the soaking wet carpet. I first opened the door to the sump pump, fearing the worst. But, Alhamdulillah, thank God a million times, the carpet was soaking only with clean, warm water and not sewage. Then, we made our way into the kitchen, where the water was standing a few inches deep on the vinyl floor.

We discovered the culprit: The water heater. It was pumping out water at an alarmingly fast rate, as if to say, “Hey sleepyheads. Finally up? I’ve been at this all night.”

Ameir and I did what any rational couple would do in this situation. We got into a tiff. “Get the towels!” “Turn off the water!” “Don’t use my nice towels!” “There’s A FLOOD! Forget about your nice towels!” “You’re going to get electrocuted! Be careful!”

The water had gone from the kitchen, down the hall to the bathroom on one side and to the living room and bedroom on the other. The living room was dry, but the water proceeded to soak almost our entire bedroom. The flood came from the door (down the hall) and through my closet. Well….at least it proceeded in an orderly fashion. The worst of it was the carpet right in front of the kitchen. As I stepped on the carpet there and the water squirted up beneath my toes, it was like the carpet was saying “I’m sorryyyy, I tried to stop it but it was just too much!”

So, Ameir turned off the water and we threw all of our towels onto the floor to dry the water. First, the kitchen, which was easier because vinyl isn’t absorbent. Then, there was the question of the sopping wet carpet.

At this point, I wished I had friends like Harry Potter. Or Spongebob.

So, we again did the thing a rational couple would do in this situation. We called our parents.

Ameir’s dad came over within half an hour and brought more towels and one of those mop+squeeze bucket contraptions. This was incredibly useful in squeezing water out of the towels, instead of having to do it by hand. He also went and borrowed us a wet vacuum, one of those carpet cleaner gigs that soaks up water (we pulled ouat at least 30 buckets of water. The unpleasant squelching sound stopped, but it was still soaking wet). My mom left Virginia immediately and got here by 1:00, by which time we were *exhausted* so it was great to have her help and comfort. My dad called the plumber from Virginia, and the guy came over and fixed the water heater. My sistafriend Maryam came over and helped us move everything out of the bedroom, which got hit pretty badly.

So, right now, the carpet has been ripped up (the concrete on the bottom was wet, despite our drying attempts). But, things are under control! Alhamdulillah, it could have been much worse. The water heater could have exploded instead of just pumping out the excess water (apparently, this is a safety feature – when the pressure is too much, it leaks water out. Now we know to properly connect the pipe to a drainage system!). It could have been *sewage* *ick!* Or, (omg) Ameir’s computer could have been on the floor. Thankfully we were at home, and this didn’t happen last week when we were gone to VA. Alhamdulillah!

There’s almost always a bright side. Now I get new vinyl in my kitchen! Also, I have a nice big mud patch outside (from pouring out the vacuumed water) in case any manner of cattle should decide to drop by.

I think we’re going to have to have a serious talk with all of our appliances – get all the grievances out in the open. This is the second thing to go haywire in the past few months (the sump pump clogged on us earlier). I guess three, if you count that my coffee percolator broke and almost slit my wrist with its jagged edge. (But yay, Mama got me a new one today!)

Amy made this incredible Korean Salad to go with the butternut squash and wild mushroom pierogies. It sounded weird at first because of the different tastes, but the spicy-tart vinaigrette really goes well with anything creamy.

The original recipe says to make it with only lettuce and chives, but Amy adds cucumbers as well, which I think is a great idea. Finely grated carrot or radish would be great in this too.

Korean Salad

2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp crushed red chili flakes, or to taste
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar or other mild vinegar (if you use apple, you probably don’t need the sugar)
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp sugar
Chives, a couple of large bunches
4 cups any tender lettuce or mixed lettuces
1 cucumber, seeds removed and diced
1 tbs toasted sesame seeds for garnish, optional.

1. Make dressing by combining sesame oil with chili flakes, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, sugar and about a tablespoon of water.
2. Wash and dry chives, then cut them into 1- or 2-inch lengths. Wash and dry lettuce. Toss chives and cucumber with lettuce, then pour dressing over all and toss again. Garnish with sesame seeds, if using, and serve immediately.

Amy and I met rather by chance; she sat next to me in Business Administration and we bonded over the weirdness of the class, religion, and food! So while we were “studying” for the exam, Amy (a double-Pole) taught me how to make pierogis. They’re delicious little dumplings filled with cheese or some kind of vegetable mixture – we did butternut squash and wild mushroom (porcini and cremini), but you can also do potato – then mixed with caramelized onions and topped with sour cream.

I used twice as much caramelized onion as the recipe calls for. The sour cream really makes the dish; don’t leave it out! Amy served this with a spicy Korean salad – even though it was such a mixture of ethnic foods, the smoothness and creaminess of the pierogies and sour cream went really well with the vinegary-spiciness of the Korean salad. I really recommend this pairing.

We used this recipe for the dough. We rolled it out onto the counter (with plenty of flour), and cut it out with a 3-inch round glass. This is the recipe for the Wild Mushroom filling.

Butternut Squash filling
3 cups butternut squash, diced
1 onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
Cumin, salt, pepper, to taste
Paprika or cayenne, to taste

Caramelize the onion, then add the tomato and squash. Flavor with cumin, salt, and peppers. Resist (or succumb to) the temptation to eat this with a spoon. Mash it up a little so most of the lumps are gone. Stuff inside the pierogies!

Enjoy the pictures! I’m experimenting with a Lightbox plugin. Click on the first picture (first on the left, of the dried porcini mushrooms), and then you should be able to click through the rest like a flowing gallery, complete with captions. As you can see, I had fun taking pictures while Amy was doing all the work. Let me know what you think!

This is the simplest punch you can make, and it disappears faster than you can make it. No joke. I had to make four batches over the course of four hours for a party of 20 people.

1 can frozen pink lemonade concentrate
4 8oz cans or 1 2-liter bottle citrus soda, cold
1 bag frozen berries

Keep the pink lemonade and berries frozen and the soda refrigerated until ready to make the punch. When ready to serve, microwave the concentrate for about 30 seconds until it is slushy-like instead of frozen solid.

Put the concentrate into a punch bowl. Pour 8oz of cold soda in and mix well to dissolve the concentrate. Pour in the rest of the cold soda and mix gently. The concept here is that you’re diluting the lemonade with soda instead of water, so put as much soda as is directed on the side of the pink lemonade concentrate can. Mine said to put 3 and 1/2 cans of water, or something, so I just put 4 cans of soda (a little extra doesn’t hurt) or fill up the concentrate can with soda 3 and 1/2 times.

Pour in the bag of frozen berries, making sure each berry is seperate. This acts as ice cubes and a yummy berry bite when you’re drinking.

Soda recommendations: something citrusy, definitely. Sprite or 7-up. My favorite to use is Fresca. I wouldn’t use something orange, like Sunkist.

These little shrimp make a perfect appetizer (like these, except a different kind of Asian). I marinated them for a few hours and then grilled them - and yes, they really are that red! I served them on top of bellpepper slices because usually tandoori meats are served with grilled bellpepper and onion.

To marinate: Marinate peeled, deveined shrimp in a mixture of yogurt and a few teaspoons (or more, to taste) of a tandoori or tikka masala spice mix. (I have to say that, as much as I try to be original, I am completely unembarrassed by using a tandoori spice mix. I use the mix by Shan Masala.) Put it in the fridge for a few hours if you’re marinating ahead of time and take them out about 30 min before ready to serve, to let them come to room temperature before being cooked.

To cook: Grill or saute the shrimp a couple of minutes per side. Squirt with lemon juice. Serve atop slices of green bell pepper with a dollop of cucumber-mint yogurt.

To serve as a meal: Add a little extra yogurt to the marinade (and more spice mix if you want too). Saute onions, garlic, and green bellpepper until soft (and tomatoes, if you want). Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Turn them over. Add some cream and mix well to smooth out the sauce. Cook until cream is reduced to desired thickness. Serve over rice or couscous (or, add more cream and serve it over pasta!)

Guest post by one of my cooking partners in crime, Sara Haddad. Every time we spoke over the past two weeks (no kidding, every time), we talked about making these lemon curd and berry cream mini cheesecakes for a party last week – they were an absolute hit. We used this recipe and they turned out excellent.

For the lemon curd, we used this recipe. For the berry cream, we drained a bag of frozen berries and reserved the juice. Then, we simmered it until it reduced by at least half, then added light cream to it (off the heat). We let it reduced a little bit again, then let it cool. It was poured onto the cheesecakes at the last moment before serving, then those were topped with grated white chocolate.

And now, here’s Sara!

Once upon a time, two young women were studying hard for their exams in a small quaint cafe. One young woman was a brilliant up and coming lawyer, the other was a frazzled Chemical Engineering student. They decided to have a party. But not just any party, this party was to be the best in all the land…well the best in food at least. So they began to plan…

One day the Law School Student took notice of a scrumptious aroma outside the coffeeshop and followed her to where her senses led her, and alas! It was a bakery and two women marveled at the delicious deserts within the case, but without fail they did not purchase anything. During a study “break” the Chemical Engineering student burst out with excitement: WE SHALL MAKE MINI CHEESECAKES! And the Law School student continued on to say: AND WE SHALL TOP WITH THEM WITH BERRIES AND LEMON CURD! And the scheming ensued….

As the weeks went to pass, they celebrated Eid. Every conversation without fail had something to do with the mini cheesecakes. With the date of the party nearing, what else was there to discuss? They found a recipe and the day before the party attempted to bake cheesecake.

‘Twas a dreary day, with the threat of tornados at hand, the worked tirelessly in the kitchen preparing. The crust was made out of vanilla wafers ground up to dust, mixed in with cinnamon and butter to make to the consistency of a soft dough. Once complete the mix of the cream cheese and sour cream was poured into the now compacted (with a meat tenderizer) crust.

Each tray looked like a piece of Good God, wrapped with some Have Mercy and topped off with some UMPH! and was placed in a water bath and baked in the oven at a temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit (or ~176.67 °C or 449.82 K to satisfy the nerd in me). After about an hour the young women realized that the cakes had not yet completed their run in the heated dragon’s belly and so they debated on what to do since they had to complete their own personal tasks. The decision was made to leave them in for 10 more minutes with the oven on and then to leave them in there to bake with the heat remaining for about three hours. This proved to be a successful idea and the cheesecakes were perfected. [TQ's note - this "leave it in the turned-off oven" baking method produced such soft and creamy cheesecake that I think I'll have to keep experimenting with it to get it perfect and make it my permanent method.]

Now, onto the part of making them ‘mini’. The next day, these young women proved to be inventive in their ideas and through the help of biscuit cutters and boiling water the cheesecakes were cut. [TQ - The cutters cut best when they're hot] The Law School Student put the definition of these cheesecakes next to KABLAAM in the dictionary through the addition of lemon curd and berries with berry cream sauce to top it all off. The creaminess of the cheesecakes combined with slight hint of the cinnamon in the crust was supreme.

The two young women were able to pull off a task not yet attempted by any of their friends and the mini cheesecakes eclipsed the focus of the party and at some point were more fun to look at than eat…Just. kidding.

It’s not unusual to have fun at any time….

Your Local Arab Mehdni cab driver

aka Sara Haddad

Reposting with pictures! Sorry for the blurriness; I was trying a new setting on my camera which obviously did not work as well as I had hoped.

This is a traditional Syrian dish of zucchini hollowed out and stuffed with cooked ground beef, then baked with a tomato sauce. The filling I used here is the same thing I used for making kibbe, and it really turned out well.

Kousa Mahshi

1 to 1/2 lb ground beef (whatever one package is)
2 onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, diced or minced
1/4 or 1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 to 1 tsp cumin
Salt, pepper
Dry or fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 16 oz can tomato sauce
1 or 2 cups of broth (i don’t like to mix chicken broth with beef, so I used veggie broth)
7 green zucchini

1. Slice the zucchini lengthwise into two boats. Score the center and scoop out the flesh, leaving a rim around the edge. Try to get the ones with the bigger brown, round spot on the butt – these have more flesh, and you can use the zucchini you scoop out for other yummy things (or, you could make this feta stuffed zucchini by Veggie Venture)

2. Saute one onion and three cloves of garlic until soft. Add the ground beef and break it up so it cooks evenly. Add the walnuts, parsley, allspice, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce. (I also added a good chunk of garlic-herb butter I had in the freezer. Shh….don’t tell).

3. Remove all that from the pan. Sautee one sliced onion and three cloves of garlic and add the rest of the tomato sauce. Let it simmer to flavor. Add the broth so it’s more liquidy, enough to pour into the pan and kind of braise the zucchini.

4. In two large 13×9 pans, divide the tomato sauce evenly. Lay the zucchini boats in the pan (I cut them in half so it was four little half-boats per zucchini – easier to serve).

5. Put about 1 tablespoon of filling into each boat (each full boat). If there is extra ground beef, let it fall into the sauce.

6. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until zucchini is tender. To serve, put a few piece of stuffed zucchini into a plate and spoon the tomato sauce on top.

Thanksgiving Dumpling Soup

A slightly different way to get rid of Thanksgiving leftovers – This is just going to be an idea more than an exact a recipe. I can’t remember exactly what I used, but I remember the chipotle was a really great kick.

Stock made from turkey bones
Shredded turkey, whatever is left over
One butternut squash, diced (about 4 cups)
Two carrots, diced
8 oz cremini mushrooms, choppped
One can diced tomatoes with juice
Onion, Garlic
2 or 3 chipotle peppers, pureed or diced finely
1 or 2 tsp adobo (from the can of chipotle)
Cumin, salt, pepper

Caramelize the onion, add the garlic towards the end. Add the butternut squash and carrot, saute till almost soft. Do the same with the mushrooms a few minutes later. Add the shredded turkey and mix it around with the other flavorings. Add the cumin, salt, pepper, chipotles and adobo. Mix in the tomatoes and broth and let it simmer until the squash and carrots are soft.

Dumplings – these were a bit hard, so I’m open to suggestions for another method.

1 cup flour, 1 egg, dried herbs, salt, pepper

Mix the egg and flour and seasonings till it forms a sticky, eggy dough. Break of little rounds of it and drop it into boiling broth. They’ll float to the top when done.

(almost a month late) I know, I know. But thats how DST and AST work (Desi standard time and Arab standard time, respectively). Our Imam tells it the best: “This is how our timing works. Your friend is supposed to meet you and he says “Akhi, I will meet you at 4:00. If I am not there by 5, wait for me until 6, and then you can leave at 7.”

Three exams and a few papers later, I’m ready to start blogging again. I’ve almost forgotten how it works (doesn’t help that Wordpress has a funky new system). But I’m back! Missed me? Aww. Thanks, I miss you guys too. I’ve got at least three posts to make, but let’s start chronologically, shall we?

In my family, we do things a little differently on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a relatively new holiday for us – we’ve only started making a turkey for the past three years or so. Before then, we’d just use it as an excuse to visit family and go shopping on Black Friday. Even now, we don’t see it as a holiday of any cultural or religious significance – it’s just an time to get family together and eat (which Desis and Arabs never need an excuse for, really). My uncle, aunt, and two cousins usually come up from Charleston, SC and my parents come down to Raleigh from Manassas, VA.

This time, my dad walked in on Wednesday evening carrying a huge turkey. “Uhh…Daddy Jaan,” I said, “It’s red.” “I know!” he exclaimed. “It’s tandoori masala!” And that’s how we came to have tandoori turkey for Thanksgiving.

Our meal was an eclectic mix of Desi, Arab, and traditional American foods. The lineup:
- Tandoori turkey served with mint chutney *and* cranberry sauce
- Kousa Mahshi – Zucchini stuffed with meat and baked in a tomato sauce
- Sundried tomato and herb roasted potatoes
- Jalapeno cornbread (as Maryam likes to say – “You know you’re at a desi’s house when there’s jalapenos on the cornbread.”
- Za’atar crescent rolls (you *have* to try these – mix za’atar and butter, spread onto crescent roll dough and roll. from oven to stomach in under 60 seconds.)
- Garlic-herb-sundried tomato bread (can you tell we like carbs? there were three kinds of bread)
- Asparagus
- Sweet potato casserole (which I always, always make too much of)

Yay for multicultural families! And Alhamdulillah – Praise be to God for all the blessings He has given us – and may we be so fortunate as to be thankful to Him with every breath and heartbeat.

The Most Gracious! It is He Who has taught the Qur’an. He has created man: He has taught him speech (and intelligence). The sun and the moon follow courses (exactly) computed; And the herbs and the trees – both (alike) bow in adoration. And the Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the Balance (of Justice), In order that ye may not transgress (due) balance. So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance. It is He Who has spread out the earth for (His) creatures: Therein is fruit and date-palms, producing dates; Also corn, with (its) leaves and stalk for fodder, and sweet-smelling plants. Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny? – Surat Ar-Rahman