Sunday 29 June 2008

Linguine & Veg Sauce

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sweat some onions in the pan witha little oil,salt, pepper, paprika, add a tin of tomatoes, salt thyme, grate a corgettue, a carrot add some tomato puree a little water allow to simmer for about 15-20mins on a low heatPhotobucket
Boil up some linguine and serve sprinkled with some parmasan cheesePhotobucket

Cutney & Plain Pratha's

An old fav of mine mums mint & corriander cutney, you will need, a bunch of corriander, about 5 sprigs of mint, onions, fresh garlic to taste,salt, tamrind and fresh chillis to taste, Photobucket
Blitz it all in the blender and serve with chapati or paratha's, I had it with samosas yesterday, i have ofen used it with fried fish too, or just as a side dip for any dish.Photobucket

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Flapjack

I have been wanting to make this since i saw it on http://katescrafts.wordpress.com/2008/06/22/i-was-overcome/ kate's blog, noone seems to be in apprehaition of my cooking these days, I am cooking but noone is eating, Allah Al Must'aan.

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i must say at first i though i had gone wrong somewhere but once they cool , mashaAllah a very chewy delight, I added pecan nuts and cinnamon too mine otherwise followed Kate to the T.

Thursday 26 June 2008

cauliflower & carrots in a corriander & cheese sauce

A bit like cauliflower cheese but with an Asian twist,cumin. I fried some onion in a pan with a little oil as this began to cook added a teaspoon of whole cumin seeds, salt, pepper and powdered garlic. I added a small cauliflower and some sliced carrots, leveled it with boiling water and covered it and let it cook latter removing the lid to allow the juices to evaporate.
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In the meantime i made a coriander sauce , just a roux with finely chopped coriander(as opposed to a parsley sauce)poured this over the cauliflower and carrots, then grated some cheese and popped it into the grill.
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Serve with a green salad.
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Wednesday 25 June 2008

When sisterhood hurts

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At the charity bazzar a sister approached me , who i met 7 years ago when she first arrived to the UK as a new bride , alone, confused and lonely. For the sake of allah i really went out of my way to befriend this sister and offer her sisterhood for the sake of Allah. Such a kind and special sister mashaAllah. She asked me at the bazzar why we were not intouch , i told her if you looked for me , you would have found me. I made every effort to ensure sisters had my contact details, so thoses that bother would have found me! The sister didn't like to hear this, i told her i was totally disamayed with the sisterhood i shared once i made hijrah. When i was in need of my sisters i found not one and this hurt me. MashaAllah the sister appoligied and asked me to forgive her. The sister wants sisterhood and we exchanged numbers.Photobucket Sometimes you have to take a stance, ok as muslimahs we are encouraged to do good , forgive, and forget but Allah does not tell me lay onthe floor and let sisters trample over me, even i have standards. So i plan to be more assertie and make my feeling heard. Some may think i am wrong but i am sick of turning the other cheek and letting others mess with my emotions, when all i want is love for the sake of Allah.
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A Day AT A Time

Desire chip
Since my return to the UK i decided , I was here to benifit my deen and use the wealth of resources the UK has for Muslims mashaAllah, namely get on top of my Quran recitation and morisation inshaAllah.. This is one of the few blessings i can still apprechaite in the UK. I decided not to fall into my old ways, benifit my family more and spend my time with them more. Not to out do my health by getting involved in a hectic socail life (as in the past). To keep it real, to take it a day at a time. Work through/towards one issue and then tackle the next. To take in hand the here and now and lay the ground for whats to come. HEALTH for all the family is on the ajenda.
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Monday 23 June 2008

forgot to mention....

Why the cooking spout ? my DS had his op today , just a day case but i was so worried for him i ended up doing a cooking frenzy in a few hours alhamduilah helped to take my mind of things a little and treat loved ones mashaAllah. the chicken soup was for him especially. He is OK being pampered by 3 women of the house, who would complain to that. He has been sleeping most of the day and eating chocolate.
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Rais (rais tunis)

You will need coarse semolina,soften butter, stoned dates and small amount of chopped nuts of your choice, I used walnuts. This is a north African recipe for Rais.
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500 gramm (2 cups) of semolina not the flour one
500 gramms of date paste needs to be sticky when mixed in with other ingredents so it will bind, if the dates are dry just steam them in a couscousier type steamer.
150 gramms of butter (I take 200)

Fry semolina on pan without oil untill it is golden. Make butter soft (I use microwave). Put everything together and here you go And then the most creative part - making different shapes out it

mange tout et les carrots

I used a little olive oil and sauteed some minced garlic & ginger, salt , pepper and a little sprinkle of canyne pepper. Stir fried this all with the carrots that i had previously steamed and chopped and the mange tout, a delightful side dish.
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Warm Salad

New potatoes, boiled eggs, red onions, sprig of mint and some parsley, black olives dress with any dressing of your choice.

Can be eaten cold but i like mine slightly warm.
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Quick Chicken Soup with homemade croutons
1 onion, carrots plenty of fresh coriander, generous cut of butter,1 small potato,1 veg stock cube.
Put it all in a pan and add boiling water and then add previously steamed boneless chicken.
Once veg is done blend it with the hand blender.
Toast some bread on a high setting in the toaster.
Remove from toaster and cut in to small squares.
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Charity Bazzar

After swiming we went to see an old friend who had invited me to gain some reward for my own hereafter by part taking in sadaqah jarriyah (on going charity), well we arrived on time and i ended up helping, serving the food. Was a lovely day and nice to meet up with the sisters again mashaAllah a lovely set of sisters , may allah grant them hightest paridse ameen. i didn't buy much apart from the food, yum buriyani and spanish pasta salad. I did find this rather nice plate for 50p, i was going to use it as a tea bag plate but decided to hand it instead.
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The event was held in the sisters home, her noble effort is so inspiring mashaAllah.

Swiming for Muslim Women& Girls

I took the girls swiming , as they need to learn and need sports in their lives. it was a one hour session cost £3 , its in a pool in a school hired out on a sunday to the muslims who run sessions for sisters and brothers on sunday mornings. I didn't swim but had a look and may go next week depending on how i feel as i need to learn too. They have a female life guard on hand and she is great to help you out to learn to swim. i met a sister there who was also sitting out the session and she said if i came next week with a float she will teach me to swim, so i can't complain now can I? The women wear leggins and long tee shirts, best adviced to wear a coustume under the teeshirt so that it won't cling when wet.

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here are some items belonging to my dd 6yrs old, we decided to get her a ring to so that way noone needs to watch her all the time, she loves it, dd 14yrs old loved it but said it would be more fun if you can swim , she needs to get learning.

Sunday 22 June 2008

Coming back but feeling different

Yesterday I went to a community bazaar and caught up with a lot of the old circle of sisters, mash Allah lovely sisters. I did note that life has remained the same.

I was speaking to sister S about my own spiritual development after hijrah I realized soon after being in Algeria alone for so long and only depending upon my lord for my daily nourishment of faith and battling shatan every step of the way, my faith entered another level Alhamdulillah, a new spiritual high that can only be attained after hardship and dependence upon Allah. I feel looking back on my life in the UK it is a life of dependence upon society and materialism, before you all start, I am talking about my own experience and things the way I felt them. We have this net work of sisters and weekly halaqh's, events we are involved in, things that’s are good, of course they are but soon we take on more and more, the DH is out of the home almost 24/7, kids are in bed before he gets in and sometimes gone off for the day before he gets up, having to make appointments to see his own kids. The sisterhood is great in the UK mash Allah very diverse but as I came to learn a very superficial one, not all some as there are so many wonderful sisters out there and who really do care. We live in this self created Islamic bubble we create for ourselves in the UK, the choices, materialism and access hinders our real relationship with our lord, we are missing tranquility, our hearts are diseases with love for comfort. I often remind myself ''if I don't have hardships, how will I come closer to Allah?'
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I was talking to a sister and she was telling me she was so stressed, with the daily grind and life. I asked her if she had food on her table, she said yes, did her roof leak water. She said no, is her health in tack? She said yes. I them told her so what is the stress that is making you so ill? She told me her job, her routine and her wealth, so basically her blessings subhan Allah. I advised her is an illusion of the word stress, put the same energy into your salat and dikr, reaffirm your faith and correct you salat and wudu. I don't know if you can relate to what I am saying but we are all caught up in this in gratitude, when was the last time we thanked our lord , do we do it as often as we moan? We need to self look within ourselves and return to the basics to have faith cost nothing, to have emaan cost nothing to maintain it cost scarifies. Allah guide us all ameen.

Destiny & choices

Therefore, the Prophet (PBUH) used to tell his Companions: "Renew your faith." He was asked, "O Messenger of Allah, how do we renew our faith?" He said, "By frequently repeating la ilaha ill-Allah."

It's been a while since I have been able to blog peacefully due to moving and PC and not to mention the kids hogging the PC, I can't even hear myself think let alone type a meaning full post. Today up early and hopefully shall be able to knock my thoughts out to share. Now going and the build up to coming didn’t want to return to the UK despite all the home sickness, the only think that influenced my decision was the fact that my DH is here so I came Alhamdulillah. Now this has been the hardest transitions back to the UK, I just hate coming here and reclaiming my old life, maybe that's the problem? I have a new life now, a new home, a new social network, a new way of living, yes it was hard at first but I got used to it now and made a life for us Alhamdulillah, mash Allah, TabbarakAllah.
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Being together has been a key factor in my return, to be honest I don't want to be alone anymore and the kids without a father and the DH without a wife. So that's a common factor, I know any future decisions I make now will be about being together as a family Insha’Allah.

Thing is we plan but Allah has already planned ahead of us for He is the best of planners. Dreams, aspirations, visions and hopes we have can materialize but we need to work towards them. Living this life as a mum of 3 kids one a teen mash Allah Alhamdulillah I can tell you life does not get easier , mothering does not get easier subhan Allah how I worry about the kids and grey in the process more than when they was babies. Mothering at this stage is harder you have to exercise the mind and reasoning more subhanAllah, not like when there young, feed and clean and rock to sleep, although at the time we moaning but really theses are blissful years. I am not complaining not by far just sharing and reminding. all my life plans are now shaped around the future of my kids, so there are directions I want to go in but can not and maybe will never due to their well being. Being a mother is all about sacrifices, for her kids, her DH and family women in Islam gain lot of reward by simply being a mother.Photobucket

Saturday 21 June 2008

Strawberies & Orange Blossom Water

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A new way to enjoy strawberries, a little suger and a little orange blossom water mix well cool in fridge and enjoy. A pleasant refreshing treat!

Walnut Biscuits

6 1/2 oz of softened butter
1/2 cup of sugar
2 table spoons of Orange blossom water
2 cups of plain flour
Walnut filling

1/2 cup of walnuts chopped
1/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Set oven to gas mark 3 , brush a flat tray with butter. Beat sugar and butter until light and creamy. add orange water and flour, combined well. Press with your hands until the mixture comes together and them roll into small golf balls, press centres down with thumb and put into the pressed area some walnut filling and bake for 15-20mins, allow to cool before removing from tray.



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Snails& Snacks

In between two rounds of shopping trips i prepared some snacks to keep the family going. first one is called 'snails' i am sure this is due to the shape, just mix up a plain flour, brown flour equal amounts, yeast, salt, sugar and warm water to mix. Leave to rise. i has some left over minced beef and spinach curry fom the previous evening. i rolled out the dough into a rectangles shape , spread it with the curry , grated some cheese rolled it all up like a Swiss roll and baked it at gas mark 5 for about 20Min's and this is what i had
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I can't belive this happened to me!

I forgot it was Friday yesterday and therefore missed out on all the blessing of yaum al jummah. It dawned on me about 11pm and that was only coz i switched to the Islam Chanel and saw surah al kaf being recited, i felt grieved, felt robbed, how did this happen, how did i let this happen? My 8Th day in the UK and this, i feel gutted. I know i was pre occupied with other stuff but to let yaum al jummah slip by?
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Thursday 19 June 2008

Feeling aloof

Wish i could say my mood was like this Photobucket but its a much more Beautiful Mess but i am going to put it right just ajusting, re-organising myself and my life for the better inshaAllah. To be honest i am missing Algeria and my life there , can't win can I , problem is we want it all , but can't have it!

Sunday 15 June 2008

Delightful Tagine Find

I found this great tagine pot in Algeria and its way better than my Moroccan one mashaAllah and just for 1900da well after a haggle!
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Reunited Again

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I am back alhamduilah back again again back, after much debating and not wanting to initially return alhamduillah i am glad i did , mainly to be a family and be amongst family and loved ones. I got back Friday evening a lil early than planned but again less than 24hrs and i wanted to return to sunny Algeria hummm. Weather here is chilly but the sun is out , we have been ajusting to the drop in temperature last few days. I went food shop yesterday subhan Allah inflation has hit hard and prices are certainly up in the UK all around. I went out this morning for a drive in the Essex countryside PhotobucketI certainly missed all these lovely shades of greenery, due to the balance of climate in the UK mashaAllah the land is able to put out shades of green and nature of warmer climes don't have. Just taking it slow organising my home and life for the next 3 months or so inshaAllah.

Friday 6 June 2008

Off Line For A While

I will be offically going off line for the next 10days or so as i disconect from my Algerian dial up connection server LACOM alhamduilah.internet I am due to travel inshaAllah to the UK in about 7 days. so will catch up with you once there. Takecare all.

Wednesday 4 June 2008

Crying For A Loved One Close To Your Heart

Then read this and thank Allah subhanAlla we think we got it bad , also there are others who's dh's are behind bars, in other lands to their own, not knowing their fate, Allah Al Must'aan.
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This one is a woman so close to my own heart and situation but i can never compare but i just feel so INSPIRED by her story , her tears and her reward subhanAllah,

Umm Salamah! What an eventful life she had! Her real name was
Hind. She was the daughter of one of the notables in the Makhzum
clan nicknamed "Zad ar-Rakib" because he was well known for his
generosity partlcularly to travellers. Umm Salamah's husband was
Abdullah ibn Abdulasad and they both were among the first
persons to accept Islam. Only Abu Bakr and a few others, who
could be counted on the fingers of one hand, became Muslims
before them.

As soon as the news of their becoming Muslims spread, the
Quraysh reacted with frenzied anger. They began hounding and
persecuting Umm Salamah and her husband. But the couple did not
waver or despair and remained steadfast in their new faith.

The persecution became more and more intense. Life in Makkah
became unbearable for many of the new Muslims. The Prophet,
peace be upon him, then gave permission for them to emigrate to
Abyssinia. Umm Salamah and her husband were in the forefront of
these muhajirun, seekers of refuge in a strange land. For Umm
Salamah it meant abandoning her spacious home and giving up the
traditional ties of lineage and honour for something newhope in
the pleasure and reward of Allah.

Despite the protection Umm Salamah and her companions received
from the Abyssinian ruler, the desire to return to Makkah, to be
near the Prophet and the source of relevation and guidance
persisted.

News eventually reached the muhajErun that the number of Muslims
in Makkah had increased. Among them were Hamzah ibn
Abdulmuttalib and Umar ibn al-Khattab. Their faith had greatly
strengthened the community and the Quraysh they heard, had eased
the persecution somewhat. Thus a group of the muhajErun, urged
on by a deep longing in their hearts, decided to return to
Makkah.

The easing of the persecution was but brief as the returnees
soon found out. The dramatic increase in the number of Muslims
following the acceptance of Islam by Hamzah and Umar only
infuriated the Quraysh even more. They intensified their
persecution and torture to a pitch and intensity not known
before. So the Prophet gave permission to his companions to
emigrate to Madinah. Umm Salamah and her husband were among the
first to leave.

The hijrah of Umm Salamah and her husband though was not as easy
as they had imagined. In fact, it was a bitter and painful
experience and a particularly harrowing one for her.

Let us leave the story now for Umm Salamah herself to tell . .
.

When Abu Salamah (my husband) decided to leave for Madinah, he
prepared a camel for me, hoisted me on it and placed our son
Salamah on my lap. My husband then took the lead and went on
without stopping or waiting for anything. Before we were out of
Makkah however some men from my clan stopped us and said to my
husband:

"Though you are free to do what you like with yourself, you have
no power over your wife. She is our daughter. Do you expect us
to allow you to take her away from us?"

They then pounced on him and snatched me away from him. My
husband's clan, Banu Abdulasad, saw them taking both me and my
child. They became hot with rage.

"No! By Allah," they shouted, "we shall not abandon the boy. He
is our son and we have a first claim over him."

They took him by the hand and pulled him away from me. Suddenly
in the space of a few moments, I found myself alone and lonely.
My husband headed for Madinah by himself and his clan had
snatched my son away from me. My own clan, Banu Makhzum,
overpowered me and forced me to stay with them.

From the day when my husband and my son were separated from me,
I went out at
noon every day to that valley and sat at the spot where this
tragedy occurred. I would recall those terrible moments and
weep until night fell on me.

I continued like this for a year or so until one day a man from
the Banu Umayyah passed by and saw my condition. He went back to
my clan and said:

"Why don't you free this poor woman? You have caused her husband
and her son to be taken away from her."

He went on trying to soften their hearts and play on their
emotions. At last they said to me, "Go and join your husband if
you wish."

But how could I join my husband in Madinah and leave my son, a
piece of my own flesh and blood, in Makkah among the Banu
Abdulasad? How could I be free from anguish and my eyes be free
from tears were I to reach the place of hijrah not knowing
anything of my little son left behind in Makkah?

Some realised what I was going through and their hearts went out
to me. They petitioned the Banu Abdulasad on my behalf and moved
them to return my son.

I did not now even want to linger in Makkah till I found someone
to travel with me and I was afraid that something might happen
that would delay or prevent me from reaching my husband. So I
promptly got my camel ready, placed my son on my lap and left in
the direction of Madinah.

I had just about reached Tan'im (about three miles from Makkah)
when I met Uthman ibn Talhah. (He was a keeper of the Ka'bah in
preIslamic times and was not yet a Muslim.)

"Where are you going, Bint Zad ar-Rakib?" he asked.

"I am going to my husband in Madinah."

"And there isn't anyone with you?"

"No, by Allah. Except Allah and my little boy here."

"By Allah, I shall never abandon you until you reach Madinah,"
he vowed.

He then took the reins of my camel and led us on. I have, by
Allah, never met an Arab more generous and noble than he. When
we reached a resting place, he would make my camel kneel down,
wait until I dismounted, lead the camel to a tree and tether it.
He would then go to the shade of another tree. When we had
rested he would get the camel ready and lead us on.

This he did every day until we reached Madinah. When we got to a
village near Quba (about two miles from Madinah) belonging to
Banu Amr ibn Awf, he said, "Your husband is in this village.
Enter it with the blessings of God. "

He turned back and headed for Makkah.

Their roads finally met after the long separation. Umm Salamah
was overjoyed to see her husband and he was delighted to see his
wife and son.

Great and momentous events followed one after the other. There
was the battle of Badr in which Abu Salamah fought. The Muslims
returned victorious and strengthened. Then there was the battle
of Uhud in which the Muslims were sorely tested. Abu Salamah
came out of this wounded very badly. He appeared at first to
respond well to treatment, but his wounds never healed
completely and he remained bedridden.

Once while Umm Salamah was nursing him, he said to her:

"I heard the Messenger of God saying. Whenever a calamity
afflicts anyone he should say, "Surely from Allah we are and to
Him we shall certainly return." And he would pray, 'O Lord, give
me in return something good from it which only You, Exalted and
Mig hty, can give.'"

Abu Salamah remained sick in bed for several days. One morning
the Prophet came to see him. The visit was longer than usual.
While the Prophet was still at his bedside Abu Salamah passed
away. With his blessed hands, the Prophet closed the eyes of his
dead companion. He then raised these hands to the heavens and
prayed:

"O Lord, grant forgiveness to Abu Salamah. Elevate him among
those who are near to You. Take charge of his family at all
times. Forgive us and him, O Lord of the Worlds. Widen his grave
and make it light for him."

Umm Salamah remembered the prayer her husband had quoted on his
deathbed from the Prophet and began repeating it, "O Lord, with
you I leave this my plight for consideration . . ." But she
could not bring herself to continue . . . "O Lord give me
something good from it", because she kept asking herself, "Who
could be better than Abu Salamah?" But it did not take long
before she completed the supplication.

The Muslims were greatly saddened by the plight of Umm Salamah.
She became known as "Ayyin al-Arab" the one who had lost her
husband. She had no one in Madinah of her own except her small
children, like a hen without feathers.

Both the Muhajirun and Ansar felt they had a duty to Umm
Salamah. When she had completed the Iddah (three months and ten
days), Abu Bakr proposed marriage to her but she refused. Then
Umar asked to marry her but she also declined the proposal. The
Prophe t then approached her and she replied:

"O Messenger of Allah, I have three characteristics. I am a
woman who is extremely jealous and I am afraid that you will see
in me something that will anger you and cause Allah to punish
me. I am a woman who is already advanced in age and I am a woman
wh o has a young family."

The Prophet replied:

"Regarding the jealousy you mentioned, I pray to Allah the
Almighty to let it go away from you. Regarding the question of
age you have mentioned. I am afflicted with the same problem as
you. Regarding the dependent family you have mentioned, your
family is my family."

They were married and so it was that Allah answered the prayer
of Umm Salamah and gave her better than Abu Salamah. From that
day on Hind al Makhzumiyah was no longer the mother of Salamah
alone but became the mother of all believers, Umm al-Mu'mineen.

Alger la Blanche

Yesterday I went to up town Algers (Oxford St of Algeria i call it!), I made my way by bus and taxi and the weather was just lovely mashaAllah. The views amazing and i really enjoyed Algeria in all its glory yesterday mashaAllah dispite all my hardships and pain I feel I am really blessed to be given the chance to make hijrah for the sake of my Lord alone. Alhamduilah Algeria has benifited me , I used to say its the dh and the kids who are benifiting but not me but this is so wrong it is beniffitng me and changing me mashaAllah. For the better i hope, Algeria is very vibrant in so many ways and the total pits in others. Now I am faced with the option to return to the UK I don't want to subhanAllah. Allah test us in different ways and for different reasons alhamduillah. I just want to shout out alhamduilah for everything you have tested me with Allah otherwise how else would I be greatful!

Algeria really has been feeling like home these last few weeks, Algeria firstly is much better in the sun for sure, I have been getting out to the beach and ports, it made me realise as I had only cabin fever (four walls) to contend with for 3yrs due to certain circumstances but given the freedoms and ability life is what I imagned it to be these last weeks, before I came to Algeria to live I had a dream and I imagned life 'how it would be and how I wanted it to be' it took 3yrs but Allah showed me mashaAllah. I had a really nice last fews days in my dream life in Algeria and now I don't want to go back to the UK next week for the summer vacation subhanAllah can't win can I lol, all I know is I am grateful to Allah, for He hears my call when I call unto Him and he blesses us mashaAlllah.
Here are some cards i picked up yesterday
rue d'Isly this my fav, as it really catches the mood of the Algeria i dreamed about subhanAllah, Rue D'Isly. I visisted these places yesterday.
Photobucket I went for a Halal chesse burger at the QUICK which is located here.
Photobucket The Port its amazing with all the ships and ferry's so vast and the sea a sheet of blue bliss.
Photobucket The interior of the Mosque in the STATUE HADA area i am sure i spelt that wrong.
I went to the Port of 'La madrack' earlier in the week we had icecream , hagen daz eat your heart out! We went over to the docking area by some rocks and saw little tiny black crabs crawl up onto them, we saw horses along the sea front in thier full gallop, earlier the same day i went to 'sidi frej' we sat right by the sea front on deck chairs, it was very quiet and calm and i could hear the waves lapping and smell the sea air it was an amazing moment mashaAllah. My kids played with the waves, my DS played footie with someone on the beach, we had a flask of tea and cakes. A very relaxing eveing as we set off at 4pm and returned home before magrib mashaAllah.

Prayers for Peace

Prayers for Peace