Usually I don’t cook a lot of different things.  My standard rotation is lasagna or enchiladas, which are basically the same thing from different parts of the world.  Obviously I can’t cook those two dishes over and over again, so I’ve had to branch out a bit.  I think I’ve been rather adventurous, personally.  I’ve tried making dishes I never though I could, primarily desi food.

For starters I tried my hand at allu ki bhujiya.  I got a recipe from allrecipes.com and also kinda winged it.  I started with oil, onions, haldi, laal mirch, rye, salt and cumin.  Then I added the sliced potatoes, let them cook, and added in some diced tomatoes.   It wasn’t so bad… in fact it was kind of good!  We ate it with dahl and keema.

While I was at it, I tried using the same spices another day with some chick peas.  It was good, but didn’t taste as good as it could’ve.  I’m not sure what the recipe was missing, but hopefully I’ll figure that out.  The day I made the chick peas, I also made butter chicken.

Wow, that was eye-opening.  I finally found out why it was named butter chicken–there’s a ton of butter in it!  I made enough for three people, and I had to use an entire stick of butter and 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream.  Suffice it to say, I’ll be hesitating to eat it the next time I see it at a wedding now that I know how fattening it is.  We were really filled up at the end of that meal.  All the dairy cream was rushing to my head.

Aside from the desi cooking, I also tried to change up some of the dishes I’m used to making.  This past summer I think I can say that I mastered Mongolian Beef.  All of my chicken stir fry dishes, however, never really tasted that exciting.  So instead of going for the same mix of salty flavors, I decided to try sweet and sour chicken.  I started with boneless thighs and cooked them with carrots, broccoli and bell peppers in oil, soy sauce, chilli paste and garlic.  Once the juices started running, I added brown sugar, pineapple juice, ketchup, and corn starch.  I turned it down to a simmer and let it thicken.  It had the signature red color, and it was pretty sweet.  I actually liked it, and I’m never a fan of the dish to begin with.  We ate some spring rolls with it, and the sauce from the dish was pretty good for dipping.

We also had a night of homemade pizza and chicken wings.  We tried a new method for the wings that didn’t involve deep frying them first.  We actually steamed them and then broiled them.  Knowing that they weren’t doused in oil made me feel a little bit better about eating them.

On the other hand, when I ate fried chicken the other night, I was feeling a bit guilty about it.  Saqib soaked the legs in buttermilk first, and used vegetable shortening to fry them!  The shortening helped to reduce the smell of the frying a lot, but dude– it was a lot of shortening!  We ate that with macaroni & cheese and mashed potatoes.

Hmm… there was another night when we ate steak.  Saqib originally marinated it with just salt and pepper and it came out really good.  You could actually taste the meat.  It wasn’t hidden under a million spices and flavors.  We tweaked that just a bit and added Italian dressing the next time around and it also tasted good.  The dressing added some more taste, but it didn’t take away from the meat.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that after a month of having to figure out “What’s for food?” I’m a little more confident about the day I’ll have to run my own kitchen and do this every day.  Until then, hope you have yourself some good eats!

I know it’s kind of a weird way to wish you a blessed Ramadan, but I’ve been going through some changes in thought when it comes to eating in the past few months. And it’s all I can think about now that Ramadan is upon us.

First, it all started with taking Precious Provisions in June.  It’s a class about the fiqh of food and clothing taught by Sh. Yasir Qadhi for AlMaghrib Institute.  One of the things that he mentioned was that it is in the perfection of our character to not over do it when it comes time for eating.  Of the hadiths that he mentioned, one stuck out in my mind especially.  There is no container more evil to fill than your stomach, and just a few morsels is sufficient to keep the back straight [Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah].  This is referring to, of course, over eating, and taking way more than is necessary to survive.

After that class I felt a little embarassed to take a big plate of food and eat it like it was my job.  Embarrassment faded, and disgust rolled in after I watched the documentary Super Size Me where I witnessed what an obscene diet of too many calories can do to your body!  Since then I don’t really like eating out anymore, and I definitely try to keep in mind how many calories I’m consuming.  I was convinced… smaller portions are better for me spiritually and physically.

So, I spent the past two months of summer trying to cut back on whatever I could.  Unfortunately at a party or two, or while visiting relatives, I ended up indulging a little, but not too much.  I’ve been pretty good, alhumdu’lillah.  And I hope to continue in this routine insha’Allah.

Ramadan was around the corner a few weeks ago, and I thought to myself, “Will I be able to keep up this down sized diet in Ramadan?  The fasts are almost 15 hours long!  I’ll need to eat more to keep myself alive, for sure.“  But then I attended jumuah at IFS where Sh. Abdool Rahman Khan gave everyone an ear full about over eating in Ramadan.  He said Muslims today waste more food than ever, especially in the month of Ramadan– a time when we are trying to learn what it is to be thankful for the bounties of Allah by restraining ourselves per His request.

My God, he was right.  I thought about how much iftar people make, and how if we regularly eat to our fill of pakoray, fruit chaat, patties, samosay, cholay, dahi baray, etc… we end up wasting dinner.  Or on the flip side, when we make a conscious effort to cut back on iftar food… we end up wasting that because someone inevitably is going to prepare tons of it because, “It’s Ramadan, and we have to make it.  It’s what we do in Ramadan.“  What a tragedy!  Wasting so much food on ourselves or in the trash.  (A lot of the food does end up in the trash because there are hardly any opportunities to eat left overs in Ramadan)

Then I heard another speech just a few days before Ramadan by Sh. Muhammad Alshareef called The Fasting and the Furious.  He specifically mentioned over eating in Ramadan.  His main point was that some of us consume so much food when we break our fasts, that we feel absolutely lethargic during the night prayers.  Even worse, we are unmotivated to get up for sahur, a Sunnah of the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalaam, because “Well, I ate so much last night, I don’t really need to eat in the morning.“  We are doing our bodies and our souls a disservice by consuming so much food in Ramadan.  When we don’t eat all day, our metabolism slows down dramatically.  So when we gorge ourselves on fried foods and plates of dinner, all that food just sits in our stomachs like a rock when we go to pray, a short 15 or 30 minutes after our meals are done.

Anyway you look at it, over eating is a bad idea, ESPECIALLY in the month of Ramadan.   Just because we’re fasting doesn’t mean we can binge on food during the night hours.  Instead we should try to maintain our regular eating habits, and really focus on increasing our taqwa–the main purpose of this month.  I don’t know about you… but massive indigestion and over eating might get in the way of that for me.

May Allah help us to truly benefit during this month and may He make us more thankful servants to Him with increased taqwa, ameen.  Ramadan Mubarak to you all

I had to go to a store in Aurora to return something, and on the way back I was planning on hitting up a grocery store to buy supplies for dinner, which I was planning to make later that day (chicken pot pie, another post, another day).  Anyway, there I was, driving down IL-59, looking out for Aurora Ave to make a left turn, when there it was.  On the horizon like a beautiful tree with red apples.  Only the apples were letters, and it spelled out…

I pulled into the parking lot so fast I didn’t even turn my indicator on! I was so happy, it was a little pathetic and weird.

I went into the store and to my surprise its layout was almost identical to the one on 8 Mile and Haggerty.  This made the moment even more exciting!  I already knew where everything was.  It was almost as if I was back at home, cruising down the lanes, picking up what I needed and calling ammi to double check if I had everything.  In fact, I did call home… to ummy and asked her if she wanted baby carrots.  There was a good deal going on for a 1-lb bag.  Also, Doritos were on sale, BOGO!  I picked up two Nacho Cheese bags, and imagined taking them home to Fati.  But then I remembered I was in Illinois, so I put one back and picked up a Cool Ranch bag for Waasiq instead.

My trip wasn’t very long, but it was extremely satisfying.  I’m already thinking up excuses to go back.  It’s “only” a fifteen minute drive away.  I wonder when I’ll go there again?

Since I came home on Friday I’ve been having a lot of fun, alhumdu’lillah.  Friday, Saqib and I started studying for the Rays of Faith exam that was on Sunday.  As boring as studying normally is, it was actually enjoyable to review the class material with him and jogg my memory of all the interesting points that Shaykh Waleed had mentioned more than a month ago during the class.

Saturday, Saqib went to class and I stayed home to get a few things done on my own.  I went to the gym, cleaned the bathroom, dusted the furniture and made kaana.  We had a bunch of mushrooms left over in our fridge so Ummy wanted me to make use of them.  I added some mushrooms to my normal recipe for lasagna.  It turned out pretty much the same, ‘cept the meat layer tasted a little more meaty.  That night after kaana we continued studying for the exam until it was a quarter to midnight and we were getting tired.

Sunday morning, bright and early, we got out of bed, went to Panera, energized with coffee, bear claws, and bagels, and came home to continue studying and review for the exam.

We headed out to the masjid and arrived just in time.  This was my first exam I was ever taking for AlMaghrib, and the first test I’ve taken since I graduated college–I was a little nervous.  Alhumdu’lillah I think it went well.  I’m really anxious to get my score back.  I’ll be really disappointed if I don’t do well on it.

When we came back from the exam I took a completely unnecessary nap and woke up just in time to get ready for our third Sunday walima in March.  We miscalculated the invitation time, but still managed to get there right when the evening’s events were starting up.  I found a table with some friends, thank God.  Going to a wedding and not knowing anyone is… depressing.  I’m not super social, so it takes a LOT out of me to make new friends, or even just start a conversation with strangers.  I’m too lazy, I think.  So it helps when I know people–less work is involved

The dinner at the wedding was served family style, so the waitresses brought the meal to each table.  I was trying not to pay attention much, but the waitress at our table kept putting the food on the table right over MY head!  I was a little nervous that something would spill, when all of the sudden I felt something wet on my forehead.  She had spilled raita on my hijab, dupata, outfit, plate, napkin and all over my formal purse   It smells like mint leaves and cilantro now–not a good smell  for a purse I take to weddings.  I didn’t react much though, didn’t want the waitress to feel too bad.  I just pointed it out, she dried me off with a napkin, and all is well now that I’ve done the laundry today, alhumdu’lillah.

Yesterday Saqib took me to watch Monsters vs. Aliens in IMAX-3D!  It was super crazy exciting!  The movie itself had a so-so story line, I’d give it a B/B-.  But the 3D effects were amazing!!  I felt like such a little kid, tricked by the images.  At one point I actually reached out to see if I could touch what was in front of me, knowing well enough there was nothing there.  It was worth a try, right?

After the movie we went to Red Robin for lunch where we both ate more than we should have.  I got a Classic Cheese Burger and Saqib got an A1 Peppercorn burger.  He said he felt like he’d eaten an entire onion when we left because he subbed his French fries for onion rings.  For drinks he got a Coke, but I ordered a freckled lemonade–it was basically lemonade with strawberries in it the size of tongues!  It was gooooood.

At night I went to visit my brother who is currently home alone ‘cuz my bhabi is hanging with the parents in MI.  I got to his apartment a little before maghrib, and after praying we set out in search of something good to eat.  We first walked to the deli across the street, but unfortunately, it was closed.  Then we walked back, got in the car, and drove to a pizza place he had seen on TV.  It too, unfortunately, was closed.  Dah!  We drove around using google maps and yelp.com reviews to end up at Wholly Frijoles.  Thank God!  It was gooood eats!   I had tortilla soup and enchilidas, yum yum yum, alhumdu’lillah.  Osman liked it a lot, too.  He had his with shrimp, which were surprisingly, very yummy.

And finally, today!  Tuesday!  I went to the grocery store, picked up some supplies, and made dinner… all day.  In between I did three loads of laundry and graded some quizzes, so that I would be ready to go to Michigan tomorrow.  On the dinner menu was spring rolls, sesame chicken, and fried rice.  it came out a little more salty that I’d like, but over all, I thought it was good.  Pat on the back for me!

Anyway, it’s time for bed.  I’ve got an early train to catch.  How I spend the rest of my break is the topic of my next post.  So keep an eye out for that!

My friend explained to me how she made the bars, and it seemed easy enough.  Melt some butter, mix with graham crackers, pour on the condensed milk and add toppings as needed.  She suggested chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, walnuts and M&Ms.  I decided to follow suit.

I tried to make the bars last Thursday but couldn’t remember exactly how much butter or graham crackers were required.  So I quickly looked online to find a recipe for magic bars.  I found what I needed and decided to follow the instructions listed on the site.  They were a little different from my friend’s instructions, primarily when it came to the layering.  She said graham cracker, milk, toppings; the website side graham cracker, toppings, milk.

Yikes!  The bars went from magic to tragic quite quickly   I shouldn’t have followed the website and just gone with what my friend told me.  I didn’t know switching the layers would make such a difference.  Because the condensed milk was poured on top, not only did it make the color run off the M&Ms (which made them look pale and gross) but it also bubbled over and turned brown and slightly warty looking.  Not very attractive when serving to guests

The bars tasted okay, and in the end I guess that’s what matters.  But for sure I’ve learned my lesson:  to avoid tragedies, listen to Aliya Hoda in all matters

Whenever I see all those colors together, I always think of something my abbu pointed out to me once a road trip.  There are so many different colors, different shades, different tints of green, red, yellow, orange and brown, yet they all look so beautiful together.  Truly, Allah creates everything perfectly.

Saturday morning the fall-fun didn’t end.  After breakfast and just before lunch, we loaded up the car and headed down to Parmenter’s Cider Mill in downtown Northville.

The view from Old Baseline Rd.

I remember this place from when I was little and ammi took us.  It hasn’t changed much at all.  There’s still a fudge hut, and there are still a ton of bees and wasps flying around.  Cider and donuts are sold inside the barn, and there are still only two varieties of each:  cold or hot cider, spiced or plain donuts.

I was really looking forward to drinking the cider.  I had had some in Illinois, but to be honest, it just wasn’t the same.  The cider I had in IL tasted like sour apple juice.  The cider from this mill… it literally tasted like I was biting into an apple.  The taste was *fresh* and *crisp* like it had just been made.  And I’m pretty sure it had.  While I was waiting in line to buy the gallon of cider, there was a boy that kept coming from behind a door in the barn, with more and more gallons.  They were literally churning the cider in the back and selling it off right away.

The “spiced” donuts were covered in cinammon and sugar.  The sugar was crunchy and the cinnamon just right.  The consistency of the donuts was perfect:  cakey, not too thick, not too stretchy, not fluffy, not hard, just cakey.  Yummm… I want some now!

We picked up a bushell of jonagold apples on our way out, and later that night ammi made apple pie!  She added pecans, caramel, butter, cinnamon and a bunch of other “fall-flavors” to the apples and baked it all in a pastry sheet.  It was really good with some ice cream.

My new desktop background

Caramels, cinnamon, apples and pastry sheets, yummmmm!!

 Alhumdu’lillah, I’m happy the fall is here.  There are so many wonderful things (besides food… maybe) that this season has to offer.  What are some of your fall favorite activities?  Watching football?  Baking?  Wearing sweaters and bundling up?

I want lots of oozing, gooey, melty cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, my beloved guacamole, black olives and green onions all over crunchy, crispy and salty tortilla chips. If I can get some meat on that, that’d be nice, thanks!

Thank you, Osman, for telling me that you ate an amazing tuna melt sandwich. Because of you, I have now been craving said sandwich since… 10:30AM cst. I’m thinking about just bypassing the restaurant you mentioned, Nookies Restaurant, and making my own at home. I did see some bread, shredded cheese, and tuna in the house. I know it won’t be the same, but my last two cravings haven’t come into fruition yet, so I want atleast *one* of my cravings to be satisfied.

The old husband and I got in our car at 6:45pm and headed North on 294 towards Skokie to visit my brother and sister-in-law and join them for iftar.  My brother’s been in Illinois since January, but his wife just moved here this past weekend.  So this was the first time, after much anticipation, that my husband and I got to go hang out with my brother and his wife, not in Michigan, but here in Illinois.

I was really looking forward to something to hit the spot after a long day of work (see post below) and man, did my bhabi deliver!  The moment we got off the elevator at their new apartment the hallway was filled with the smell of what I could quickly, easily, and lovingly identify as Chinese chicken.

Hunno had prepared egg rolls, hot and sour soup, Chinese chicken, and white rice.  The egg rolls were perfectly fried (thanks to Ahsan, her brother) and the hot and sour soup was legit– we’re talking wood ear mushrooms, tofu, bamboo shoots, and other things of hot and sour soup nature.  The “appetizers” alone were so good that some of us were stuffed after those.  For those people, they missed out on truly enjoying Chinese chicken.

Chinese chicken. *sigh* Wa ma adraka ma Chinese chicken?  Since 2004 my bhabi has been impressing my family with a very simple, yet delicious, Chinese chicken stir fry dish.  It includes chicken (of course), bell peppers, green onions, and a lot of salty, brothy, saucy… sauce!  It’s peppery, squishy, firm, crispy, slippery, and wonderful on top of white rice.  It is just what you’re looking for in terms of a hot meal after a long day of work.

So for you, Hunno, hats off for a meal well made and welcome to the Chi!  I look forward to more delectable meals shared between the two of us, insha’Allah.

After reading up on the store, he shortly thereafter became bummed out.  Why?  Because the store is only open in IN, OH and KY.  The closest one to him, in Illinois, was more than four hours away!  How would he ever get to eat the yummy ice cream he’d read so much about?

Enter our plans for our honeymoon.  We decided a while ago to drive to Tennessee.  We wanted to drive because we wanted the chance to stop at different places on our way down.  We were discussing different places we could stop and eat at on our drive down when we realized we would cross the path of… Graeter’s!

So on Friday when we left, after about 5 hours of driving, we took a detour in Louisville KY and pulled into this place.

We were so excited and quickly looked over the menu

They had all your standard flavors… and then some.  They had strawberry chip, tangerine cream, mango sorbet, blackraspberry chip, and all sorts of other chips.  I tasted a few of them and at one point the girl behind the counter said it was too difficult to get any chips on the spoon.  Apparently they were too big, but I couldn’t imagine how big.

Anyway, I ordered chocolate chip cookie dough and Saqib ordered blackraspberry chip.  Why am I telling you?  Let me show you.

This ice cream was ICEY.  It was so crisp and cool.  The ice cream was firm, it didn’t start to melt down the side of the cone.  And when you licked from one side, it was thick enough that the ice cream would just shift to the other side.

And this ice cream was CHUNKY.  From the picture above you can’t see how large the chocolate chunks were.  But at times when we would be eating, all of a sudden one would come into our mouth and it would be completely fill our mouths.  This is a result, again, of the method they use to make their ice cream.

Yes, the chunks were the size of a quarter.

I think I’ve said enough.  The point is, if you’re ever in Indiana, Ohio, or Kentucky, hit up a Graeter’s location and check it out!