Pastry Slice

This is a very quick and easy snack to make and the toppings are endless.i made up my own , be creative.

I used puff pastry already rolled , layed it down on a lightly oiled tray , topped it with sliced tomato's, sun dried tomatoes , black olives, sliced mushrooms, hamouli chessed grated and once cooked i topped it with freshly chopped dill.





My neighbour gave me a slice of her harvest! A marrow

can you imagine the size of the whole marrow from this slice? I plan to cook a curry with it .

Ripples

I have been wanting to try this pattern for a long time but the ones i found were to complicated until my crafting fellow blogger directed me to Attic24 at first i was mesmerized by the colours going on at Lucy's Attic but she had some great and learnable patterns too. Even for the beginer and smaller projects. I am using this patten and after a few attempts to give up ..........i am now happy rippling and its a cushion cover for my newly decorated DS bedroom.

Do you like the blues ? The pattern is very good and i do hope Lucy publishes a book some time in the near future as she is just great with writing easy patterns. Thank you Lucy!

Vegetable Soup

This ones easy chop all vegetables of your choice up into a pan add a knob of butter a stock cube of your choice and cover with water boil till tender and blend!

Quorn Chicken & Mushroom Pie ((Vegi )

I began by sweating some onions in a little oil.


I added the quorn and some sliced button mushrooms i browned this a little.

I added a tin of condensed mushroom soup and just a little water , i allowed this to simmer and then i added some chopped parsley.


Placed my puff pastry into my dish and added the filling of quorn and mushrooms and in it went to the oven after brushing it with egg.

A succulent pie , very nice indeed!

Ramandan , the begining

Me and my dd 7yrs old saw Ramadan in together as the others are on hols and won't be joining us until around the 14Th day of Ramadan. I must admit i was very tired from the mammoth clean up before hand but the efforts were not in vain and the end result is something i am enjoying. I treated myself to some flowers, something i can't remember ever doing ! They were my reward , i deserved it didn't I?


I have been busy trying my best with various acts of worship , reading Quran in Arabic and English , concentrating on prayers and pacing them out at a pace that feels not rushed. I have set myself some goals this blessed month like memorising certain verses or chapters of the Quran and some daily duas(supplications)so i know these by heart.

the first day of fasting is always the hardest for me with a slight migraine and overwhelming tidiness feeling after breaking fast. My dd7yrs old fasted with me and managed a whole day masha Allah. It's good training for her while its not obligatory on her yet. I decided to let her do one day miss a day , otherwise she could become very weak at this age. Now she did gluttony (poor love) i was able to use my garden herbs and make her a mint tea , which helped alot!



Not having a whole family here has really freed up my time in the domestic areas and kitchen..........so iam making the most of this blessing and using it to gain rewards.

My iftars (fast breaking meals ) are easy and simple and i feel happy i can do it the way i want to and not have to deal with fussy diets. On the first day i set of to the kitchen at 5pm as i would if i was cooking for all the family .it was too early i was out of there in less than 1 hour!



I don't have any recipes to share yet, as my own cooking is simple but i may latter on in weeks to come as there are some i want to try from this blog
Here are some pictures of a simple fruit salad i put together


some fresh herbs from my garden that i am using Dill and Mint


There is a certain something about Ramandan that is so spiritual for me a certain carmness i am enjoying a laid back feel i have missed for so long. Will this change when my family get back?

My evenings are short and i feel so tired after the iftar meal and alhamduilah have controled myself not to do gluttony but yet i feel like i could fall asleep straight after. I wanted to do some Tarriwiyyah prayers at least but am not in the position to do so as of yet!

Almost Ramandan

As we are nearing to the blessed month of Ramandan .i have been busy getting my mental state and home ready for the arrival of this wonderful guest who comes just once a year and only stops for 29 days but sometimes 30 days. I have painted my sons bedroom as a surprise for him while he is away its my first major DIY project mashaAllah, I must add it was hard work and i got very frustrated at times but all is well in the end alhamduilah.


I have been delayed this year getting myself in order due to Ramandan's arrival in the summer hols but have motivated myself to get on top of things..........i did a little food shopping last night at our local supermarket and was surprised to see TESCO noting the arrival too. The had signs up reading 'Ramandan Mubarak' for consumer reasons ofcousre but it felt nice to me.
I will try to spend less time online while i engage in more worship inshaAllah but i will come to post recipes and pictures.

I am alone for the first 15days as my DH and daughter and son are still on hols just me and the little one but i will be having a friend over for some of the time inshaAllah. I am feeling really excited about it and me and my DD 7yrs old are going to make charts later tonight and discuss what we aim to achieve this month spiritually and try to attain it.

I ask Allaah, the Exalted, the Almighty, to help us all to do that and to help us to fast and pray qiyaam, and to do acts of worship and to avoid doing evil. Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds Ameen!

The Beauty and Blessings Contained Within the Month
> of Ramadan
>
> The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
> addressed his companions on the last day of Sha'ban,
> saying, "Oh people! A great month has come over you; a
> blessed month; a month in which is a night better than a
> thousand months; a month in which Allah has made it
> compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by
> night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of
> the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the
> same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other
> time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this
> month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy
> obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience,
> and the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of
> charity, and a month in which a believer's sustenance is
> increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break
> his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved
> from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward
> as the fasting person, without his reward being diminished
> at all." [Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah] It was said:
> "O Messenger of Allah, not all of us can find that
> which to provide for the fasting person. He said: Allah will
> give this reward for providing a fasting person with a date,
> or a drink of water or a drop of milk. And it is a month
> during which the start of it is Mercy, and the middle of it
> is Forgiveness and the end of it is Salvation from the
> Hell-Fire. Collected by Al-Bayhaqi.
>
> In another hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon
> him)) says, "Ramadan has come to you. (It is) a month
> of blessing, in which Allah covers you with blessing, for He
> sends down Mercy, decreases sins and answers prayers. In it,
> Allah looks at your competition (in good deeds), and boasts
> about you to His angels. So show Allah goodness from
> yourselves, for the unfortunate one is he who is deprived in
> (this month) of the mercy of Allah, the Mighty, the
> Exalted." [Narrated by Tabarani]
>
> "In Paradise there is a gate called al-Rayyan. Those
> who have fasted will enter by it on the Day of Resurrection.
> There will be an announcement asking, "Where are those
> who have fasted?" Then they will get up, and none but
> they will enter by that gate. As soon as they have entered,
> the gate will be closed and no one else will enter that
> way." (Sahih Bukhari)
>
> Verily, paradise decorates (beautifies) itself from one
> year to the next for the month of Ramadan. When Ramadan
> begins, Paradise says "O Allah grant me within this
> month inhabitants from amongst your slaves".
>
> Abu Huraira related that the Prophet (peace be upon him)
> said: Whoever fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking
> his reward from Allah will have his previous sins forgiven.
> Whoever prays during the nights in Ramadan with faith and
> seeking his reward from Allah will have his previous sins
> forgiven. And he who passes Lailat al-Qadr in prayer with
> faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his
> previous sins forgiven (Bukhari, Muslim).
>
> Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him)
> said : "The time between the five daily prayers, two
> consecutive Friday Prayers, and two consecutive Ramadans are
> expiations for all that has happened during that period,
> provided that one has avoided the grave (major) sins."
> [Muslim]
>
> The Prophet (peace be upon him) would say when Shaban
> begins "O Allah bless us in Shaban and let us live
> until Ramadan.
> 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that the Messenger of
> Allah, (peace be upon him) said: "The fast and the
> Qur'an are two intercessors for the servant of Allah on
> the Day of Resurrection. The fast will say: 'O Lord, I
> prevented him from his food and desires during the day. Let
> me intercede for him.' The Qur'an will say: 'I
> prevented him from sleeping at night. Let me intercede for
> him.' And their intercession will be accepted."
> [Ahmad]
>
> Allah's Apostle said, "When the month of Ramadan
> starts, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of
> Hell are closed and the devils are chained."
> [Bukhari]
>
> When Ramadan begins, a caller calls out O seeker of
> goodness come forward, and O seeker of evil stop, and Allah
> will save people from the Hell-Fire in Ramadan, and this
> will occur every night.
>
> Ibn Majah related from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn
> al-'Aas that the Prophet, (peace be upon him) said:
> "A fasting person, upon breaking his fast, has a
> supplication that will not be rejected"�.
>
> Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet reported that Allah
> (SWT) said in a Hadith Qudsi:, 'Every good deed of the
> son of Adam is for him except fasting; it is for Me. and I
> shall reward (the fasting person) for it. Fasting is a
> shield. On the day you fast, do not use obscenity, nor yell
> at others, nor act ignorantly towards them. However, if
> anyone abuses you verbally or attempts to draw you to fight
> with him, say 'I am fasting, I am fasting. The Prophet
> (peace be upon him) then states: By Him in Whose Hand is the
> soul of Muhammad, verily, the smell of the mouth of a
> fasting person is sweeter to Allah than the smell of musk.
> There are two occasions of joy for one who fasts: one when
> he breaks his fast and the other when he meets his
> Lord" (Muslim).
>

The wedding

came and went too fast , was a wonderful day spent with family , everyone was nice to me and i really felt part of the family unit alhamduilah. My sister looked lovely and very happy. As she walking in to the ceremony room suddenly I became very choked up and did not expect this reaction. i remained this way for some time ....it was not a couscous act but spontaneous..........i felt surprised by it. I really had a lovely day and didn't want it to end.

The venue where she had the ceremony was very nice you can see it here
I will leave you with a few pictures
The cake is not the actual wedding cake but its the cake that was given to the guest after the ceremony ,

Alllotment Fair

I spent all yesterday morning sorting out the garden , with all the wet weather the grass has been growning to great heights in rapid time. I did a lot of weeding and sorting out my hanging basket and plants.







I must add i was totally worn out but had promised my dd we would visit the local allotment who are having a fair..........i wanted to go and see peoples hard work and efforts. Some grow veg some just flowers, having an allotment site nearby is great for the enforcement as a lot of mini beast are encouraged and wild life. I have seen blue tits, Wren birds, foxes, as i type a squirrel is running up and down my garden wall. We have had several frogs in the garden and i believe this is all due to the allotments being over my garden wall. Pretty butterflies are my dd favorite. The downside is the manure........the smell and fly population that comes with it esp during the summer months. Also the fires they burn on weekends esp Sunday's when i have just put a wash out to dry! You see you can't have it all!

Here are some pictures i took.

the prize winning pumpkin!

Differnt types of flowers growing



The Veg was all autioned off at the end.