Fasting Off Season

Salam alaykum everyone, yes Ramadan dinners is back slightly earlier than usual! I have a few fasts to make up so have decided to blog the days that I make up : )

Only a few days ago I was perusing a random non Islamic forum saw a post which went something along the lines of “ I’m thinking of fasting on the day of Arafat, is anyone else doing it this year?” Now I’d like to think on myself as a fairly informed person, however this came as totally new information to me. I have to say that I was quite shocked and almost panicked to discover that people did fast on this day, especially considering the fact that Hajjis (those performing Hajj) do not fast. Well a little digging and well lots of help from a very kind friend made things clearer for me. Firstly the statement, Hajjis do not fast remains, however they may do so should they wish to. However, for the non Hajjis, obviously in anywhere other than Arafat, then this seems like a great opportunity to obtain extra reward insh’Allah. The reward to received insh’Allah is fairly substantial (see below). It is also worth noting that fasting on the day of Arafat is not mandatory like in Ramadan but is recommended (mustahab). The day of Arafat this year is on Monday 15th November!

It was reported from Abu Qutaadah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about fasting on the Day of Arafaah. He said, 'It expiates for the sins of the previous year and of the coming year.' Narrated by Muslim.

In Saheeh Muslim it was narrated from Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'There is no day on which Allaah frees more people from the Fire than the Day of Arafaah. He comes close and expresses His pride to the angels, saying, 'What do these people want?'

Insh’Allah there should be a few more posts over the next few weeks.

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Malaysia

Its all about Cheese Cake

Earlier this week, I came across a cheese cake recipe on this blog:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/04/new-york-cheesecake/

My normal cheese cake is a very dense, very rich, very heavy cheese cake that I learnt how to make when I lived in Nice. As scrumptious as it is, it is not something that anyone who wants to stay in their current clothes size can afford to make more than once a year. Think rich cream, marscapone, ricotta, eggs and probably a visit to a cardiologist!

Anyway going back to my new cheese cake I looked at the photo and thought “mmmm I NEED cheese cake!” Seriously now I really wanted to go to the shops and make my cheese cake which never fails to leave people wanting more. Then I thought about my new smaller trousers and just couldn’t bring myself to go through with it. Instead I decided to look at the recipe for the new york cheese cake but even that had too much everything for me. I needed a cheese cake that would do everything that a good cheese cake does but it had to be light! I know, I know an oxymoron but this IS good and light. Everything from the base to slightly stiff sides to the oh-so-delicate inside of this cake is 100% cheese cake. The only difference is instead of feeling as if the cheese cake sticks to your sides on the way down you feel easy.

Light Cherry Cheese Cake

Base
50g butter
100g of gf biscuits and gf muesli

Melt the butter and mix in the crushed biscuits and muesli. Gently press into a cake tin. There should be enough to thinly cover the base of the cake tin. Make sure to leave no holes in the base. Place in the fridge to firm up.

Cake
I’ve used gluten free flour as I am coeliac. Gluten free flour is considerably lighter than flours which contain gluten and I feel that they would be quite heavy in this instance.

50g doves farm gluten free flour
170g 0% fat strained greek yoghurt
300g light cream cheese
4 eggs separated
75g vanilla sugar

Set oven at 180 degrees
Mix egg yolks and sugar, followed by the yoghurt and cream cheese.
In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks. Then gradually fold them in to the cheese mix with a metal spoon a bit at a time. Make sure not to knock all the air out of the egg whites.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin (on top of the base). Place the cake tin into a larger baking tin and place a couple of cm of water into the larger tin, then place in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 mins.
After 30 mins the cheese cake will have souffled but will be wobbly in the middle. Turn the heat down to 100 degrees for 1 hour or until the middle has set. Top up the water if it evaporates.
Remove from the oven and from the tin.
If the base is wet then invert on to a flat sheet pan and place in the oven for 10mins and then flip again.


Topping
Using preserved fruit alone can be quite flat tasting. I used belle cerise ( a cross between a plum and a cherry) because I had them. Fresh cherries or plums would work well to add some tartness to the preserved cherries.

340g cooked cherries in light syrup
100g belle cerise
25g sugar
1 teaspoon arrowroot

In a pan put the belle cerise and gently heat them up for a couple of minutes before adding in the preserved cherries with the sugar and syrup. Try and use a pan the same circumference as the cake tin. There should be enough fruit to cover the base of the pan, add in more if needed.
Take a tablespoon of the syrup and mix with the arrowroot in a bowl and then pour it into the pan. Cook until the sauce has thickened.
Arrange the fruit on top of the cheese cake and pour the syrup all over.

Unexpected but very welcome guests

The other morning I received a phone call from my husband (he was at work) after the usual pleasantries he said, “ oh I spoke to A,” he began, “ …yes they are going to come for iftari this evening” my immediate reaction was how fantastic! The last time we saw A and his wife was Ramadan last year when they came to offer their condolences to us neither of us were great company that day. My second reaction was what do I cook? Followed by a moment of blind panic! My husband being concerned about snacks (Why??? We’re fasting!), decided to take charge of what he felt was important, crisps. However my concern was to cook something which was tasty, and secondly that it was plentiful. There really is nothing worse than opening a fast with a meal which is either unappetising or a meal which is appetising but there is clearly not enough. Having used up some of my squirreled supplies earlier on in the week, it was clear that kaufteh were not going to be on the menu. I knew that risotto was not going to cut it.

Despite going shopping on Sunday and placing random items into my trolley, we hadn’t really been shopping this week so preparing for the equivalent of a dinner party with limited time, ingredients and ability to think would normally have been challenging. Armed with minced beef, 4 chicken drumsticks and rice I began to think of my options. Nothing OTT or labour intensive but it had to be good, really good. I played with a few ideas in my head and after momentarily thinking of some form of chicken in rice (seeing as neither my husband or I like chicken in rice) I quickly dropped the idea. Fortunately the easiest option presented itself; the minced beef became keema and with baby potatoes, the chicken was marinated with yoghurt and spices and then cooked in the marinade along with aubergines and courgettes. The rice was fried and then steamed. I found an almond cake in the freezer. Suddenly it became very easy.

A, his wife and adorable toddler came round we ate, we laughed, we prayed, we enjoyed the company of our guests and we waved them off into the night. Wandering back to the kitchen I began to wonder the prescribed role of the host, religiously, and here lies the answer:

It was narrated that Abu Shurayh al-‘Adawi said: I heard with my own two ears and I saw with my own two eyes when the Prophet (pbuh) spoke and said: “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him honour his neighbour; whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him honour his guest as he is entitled.” It was said, ‘What is his entitlement, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “[The best treatment] for one day and one night; and hospitality is for three days, and anything after that is charity bestowed upon him. And whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him, speak good words or else remain silent.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5560; Muslim, 69. This version was narrated by al-Bukhaari.

Basin Bread

I frequently suffer from bouts of very low iron so am constantly thinking about high iron meals. One of my favourites is basin bread with sardines. It’s a meal which is quick and easy to make.

Chick peas are a whole grain (friendly for coeliacs and diabetics) which means that it releases energy slowly making it ideal for sehri (minus the salt and chilli). Iron wise they are very high in iron for a non heme (meat) source of iron 7mg per 100mg!

Basin Bread

8oz of basin / ground chick pea flour
Ground spices ½ a teaspoon of each: garlic, ginger, coriander, garam masala, cumin, chilli, salt
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 sliced onion
Fresh sliced green chilli to taste ( I used 1)
Fresh coriander leaves (optional)
Water to mix

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix in the water to make a batter slightly thinner than a pancake batter.
Mix in the sliced onion, chilli and coriander if using it.
Leave in the fridge for 30 mins to rest.
Heat up a small frying pan
Spray ‘spray oil’ in to a frying pan and then pour in the batter. Cook on one side before turning over to cook the other.
You can either cook the entire batch in one go or you can leave the batter in the fridge for up to a week and cook as you need them. If you do this, remember the batter will get spicier as time goes on.

I served mine with tinned sardines with a little squeezed lemon juice (vitamin C helps non-heme iron absorb into the body) with a little sliced spring onion.

A morale boost

The first week of Ramadan has just passed. Perhaps now would be a good time to remind ourselves of some of the blessings we receive through fasting.

Abu Huraya narrates that the Prophet (pbuh) said:
“In relation to Ramadan my ummah has been given five things never granted to any previous nation:
1. The smell from the fasting person’s mouth is more beloved to Allah(swt) than the fragrance of Musk.
2. Until iftaar the fish in the sea keep seeking forgiveness for the person fasting
3. Allah(swt) decorate Jannah (heaven) every day.
4. The devils are chained up this month
5. The Ummah is forgiven in the last night"

Shopping while fasting is always a bad idea

On Sunday, my husband and I both decided be wanted very different things for iftari, my husband wanted pizza and fresh chip shop chips. I had other ideas. I wanted a thai fish curry. No problems there, being sensible I knew I had to buy three things: thai curry paste, coconut milk and fish. Quite simple I thought.

I headed off to the local supermarket and I don’t know how or when it happened but in the short time that I was in the shop I had amassed so many things in my trolley it was beyond belief! I think my first fault was that I decided to push a trolley rather than collect things in a basket. I think the second aspect of blame should go to the supermarket or rather the hordes of people who decided that shopping on a Sunday morning was the time to do a weekly shop…somehow this induced my shopping desire! Ok, ok I am definitely skating on very thin ice here, but this all affected my senses to the extent that I ended up purchasing double the amount of fish that I had intended to buy (monkfish AND prawns) one type would have been more than sufficient, double the coconut milk (I don’t really use it for anything else) AND all the other things I picked. Half of the things didn’t even go well together: a ready made frittata, marinated artichokes but actually I picked up the one with olives so a thirst inducing item, almond chocolate, goats cheese, gluten free bread rolls, corn flakes, avocados. Honestly I got them home and just had to ask myself one question: why?

An interesting thing happens when a person is fasting, despite constantly saying “its not about the food” it invariably does become about the food. You find that you are constantly thinking about food and what you would like to have. An example being that someone walks past you eating a bar of chocolate and suddenly you think “I must go and buy some chocolate because I will need to have some this evening”. There is no ‘need’ involved, it is all about want. You also realise how acutely sensitive your senses become, while previously smells around you blended into the atmosphere now each individual smell is as sharp as a knife. A person comes back from a coffee break and you ‘know’ that they have had a cappuccino with shot of hazelnut syrup! Suddenly all you crave is a cappuccino with a shot of hazelnut syrup. I can’t tell you the number of times in my fasting life I’ve gone off and bought something I have seen or smelt someone have during the day. I even go so far as buying a specific hot chocolate and taken it home on the tube and then reheated it for iftari!! Needless to say, going into a supermarket while fasting is not a brilliant idea however it is something that all of us will have to do!

Sehri – 16th August

I’m slightly late with the details of yesterday’s sehri, but none the less here they are:

Gluten Sehri
Toasted cheese roll
Custard
Date

Gluten free Sehri
DS lunch roll with humus
Wedge of shop bought frittata
Milk and yoghurt
Date

Sehri Bento

Gluten free Sehri
Chick peas cooked into left over shorba
½ a muffin
Yoghurt

Gluten Sehri
Bagel with cheese
½ muffin
Custard

This morning saw us slightly more organised in the sense that we actually knew what we would have before we went to bed. However I think it is more the holiday attitude of staying at my mums house for the weekend that some how neither of us feel it is imperative to have our bentos packed before sehri despite the fact that I brought them!

Although I have pictured a whole muffin each, when it came to eating it neither of us felt able to eat a whole one so instead we shared.

Whats at your Iftari?

Dates. No matter where you go in the world and it comes to the moment of iftari you can be sure that we (muslims) will open our fasts with dates. Most people know that the prophet (pbuh) would Anas bin Malik narrates that:

“ The Prophet (pbuh) performed Iftaar with fresh dates, if there weren’t any then with dried dates and if there weren’t any then with water” (Abu Dawud)

Dates are therefore nearly always present at any iftari. In fact, I am ashamed to say, that I have only ever heard, first hand, of one instance in my life where a person had no dates to open his fast with and only water. It makes me realise how fortunate I have been to never have experienced hunger and to never have fasted not knowing what I will have for my iftari. If anything Ramadan for those fortunate to have plenty (and I include myself in this) turns into a daily wish list – soon to be fulfilled- of what we would like to eat that evening.

For some people iftari is about dates and getting a sugar rush, for others it is all about the crunch of fried things, anything golden brown and for others like myself, the moments post iftari are spent in a state of self imposed restraint desperate not to put on weight that I have spent nearly a year losing!

After the first couple of days gobbling caramel super sweet dates after iftari I realised that I could not go on like this after all twenty six days remain. I cannot possibly eat as if I am attending my last feast on earth every day for a month. When each date contains approximately between 112 and 250 calories each depending on which counter you use the calories soon stack up! I have tried to benefit from the fact that it is summer and that there is an abundance of fruit in the shops. Now I try and limit my date in take to two. I plate up small fruits along with the dates so that they are there in front of me once the fast is opened and I have something low calorific to eat and fill me. Only then will I eat my meal. Fruit is really important to a person fasting as it helps to rehydrate the body. Similarly raw vegetables are also really helpful. Cucumbers and celery contain a high water content and mineral balance which means that they hydrate the body while providing low calorie food. All of which assist the weight conscious faster.

I try and shy away from food elements which are laden with things that I just wouldn’t eat on a daily basis. I recently read on a message board about a dish which involved buying date puree with added sugar, frying it in ghee and spread that on toast for sehri. If that recipe had been in my family we would most certainly have added cream after it was fried! I have no doubt in my mind that it would taste delicious but if I eat like that for a month I will have undone my 8 month’s worth of hard work. So for the moment less is more, I tell myself. I try and restrain myself every day which is hard as invariably once the hunger hits in, like everyone all I can think about is food. However the fasting day is about restraint. Yes we don’t eat, but it is for our eyes, our ears and mouths to fast too. Jaabir bin Abdullah used to say:

“When you fast your hearing, sight and tongue should also fast from lies and sins” (Gaaya tul Ihsaan)

If we are able to restrain ourselves through out the day fasting in all senses then shouldn’t it be easy to show restraint at iftari and eat conscious that our bodies do not need excessive amounts of rich food. We should eat conscious that so many of our muslim brothers and sisters through out the world have nothing on their plates and will unfortunately have nothing more than water to drink this iftari. Inshallah Allah(swt) will make Ramadan easy for those who have nothing, inshallah Allah(swt) will fill their plates with and inshallah Allah(swt) will answer our prayers ameen.

Sehri Bento

The bento was empty! After iftari last night I was absolutely shattered. I ended up falling asleep so much earlier than I thought I would. So sadly no bento, and it was sorely missed. As it was we woke up later than normal. Sehri saw us rush around trying to think of things for breakfast while all the while feeling very cold and half asleep. Fortunately the breakfast muffins were close at hand we were both able to have one of those. For the husband it was easy for him to make a cheese sandwich. However, being coeliac things are sometimes are harder, and I really couldn’t think of what to have so ended up with a small portion of white rice and kaufteh left over from a couple of days ago. Needless to say today I will try and make our sehri bentos slightly earlier so that if nothing else there is something to share!

Sehri Bento

Details of this mornings Bento are:

Pink Bento – gluten free
Chick peas and whole meal rice – the portion was far too big so I only ate 1/3
Yoghurt
Pear and berry crumble
Blueberries
1 gf mini bread roll with butter (not pictured)
1 date

Clear Bento – gluten bento
Cheese bagel (later toasted)
Yoghurt with pear and berry crumble
1 bowl of cornflakes (not pictured)

Pear and Berry Sehri Muffins

My mum has a pear tree in her garden. Every year without fail we are always left with a glut of pears, wondering what to do with them. After all there are only so may pears you can eat. With a windfall of pears after the recent rain, it seemed about time to start using those that had already fallen.

Ingredients
125g Sourghum flour
125g Doves farm gluten free flour
2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
50g caster sugar
2 teaspoons of honey
100ml of rapeseed oil
250ml of summer fruit filling shop bought
2 eggs
4 small pears

Topping
18 blueberries or any fresh berry that is an ingredient of the summer fruit filling
50g of pure oats (suitable for coeliacs or gf non oat porridge)

1.If the pears are hard (mine were) they may need some preparation. Wash and chop the pears into quarters and then slices. Place the hard pears into a shallow frying pan cover with water and put onto a high heat, then allow to simmer gently. Once the water has evaporated and the pears are tender then add in a little more water you may need to adjust this depending on if the pears are still hard) to deglaze the pan. For hard pears add 20g of sugar at this stage and once the pears are covered seem tender and shiny take off the heat.

2.If you have fresh soft pears, wash and slice the pears, heat up gently in a frying to bring out their own sugars.

3.Heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade

4.Line 6 holed muffin tin with muffin cases sprayed with spray oil

5.Mix the ingredients, fold quickly with a metal spoon and be careful not to over mix otherwise the muffins become hard

6.Divide the mix

7.Place the toppings on to the muffins: a sprinkle of pure oats or non oat gf porridge. Push in the berries into the muffins so that they sit firmly

8.Bake for 20 mins.

9. Store in an airtight container for a couple of days alternatively freeze.

The Joys of My Freezer

Yesterday, somehow turned into a rather busy day. Before I knew it, it was late to cook from scratch. The meat in the freezer was rock hard and neither of us were in the mood of something light and quick. Midway through my ponderings I thought of the kaufteh (meatballs) that I had cooked and frozen before Ramadan. Better yet, I thought back to the masala (the sauce) that I had also made up and frozen separately useable for pretty much anything. The joy in coming home and being quickly able heat up the masala, put in the frozen kaufteh and then in next to no time the warm aroma of meaty spices was wafting from my kitchen.

Sehri = breakfast = actually means start fast

Twice today I was asked about the act of sehri. One question was from my (non muslim) mother in law who when asking what time the fast started went on to very confidently point out that,“ …you wouldn’t really get up at 3am and eat though…” needless to say she was very shocked to hear that YES we do get up and actually have a breakfast! Yes, I am sure we have had this very same conversation with her before!

It is very important for us to remember that time and time again, the prophet (pbuh) taught us, through his actions, to eat sehri. Syeduna Anas narrated that the Prophet (swt) said:

“Perform Sehri for verily there is barakah (blessing) in Sehri” (Muslim, book of Siyaam)

Further more the prophet (pbuh) said:

“Perform sehri, even if one sip if water for surely Allah(swt) and His angels send mercy upon those who perform Sehri” (Musnad Ahmad)

With such blessings bestowed upon the fasting person how can we not awake from the depth of sleep for sehri and begin our fast?

Sehri Bento

Clear Bento - gluten free
Plain white rice
Keema (mince beef cooked with Pakistani spices)
2 gluten free mini cinnamon whirls
Pear and berry crumble, topping made with pure oats, gf muesli
Dates

Pink Bento - gluten free
Sehri Tortilla
Whole meal rice with chickpeas
Mini gluten free bread roll with humus
2 gluten free mini cinnamon whirls
Pear and berry crumble, topping made with pure oats, gf muesli
Plain live yoghurt
Dates

After having fasted today, both my husband and I felt that certain tweaks were needed in the contents of our bento boxes. My husband found 1 sandwich not filling enough, and decided that he wanted to have the left overs from our iftari for sehri. I find meat hard to digest in the mornings especially now that I am not exercising during the day. I felt that the whole meal brown rice had been a good idea but wanted a variety of things with different tastes to them.

Although I had made the pear and berry crumble for desert, I knew that it would be too big for one sitting and had thought about it adding to our breakfast. I therefore, used less sugar in the fruit, pure oats (pure oats are suitable for some coeliacs), a gluten free muesli which added grains, seeds and some dried fruits, I also used considerably less butter which gave the butter taste but used rapeseed oil which is a heart healthy oil to rub through the crumble.

Insh’Allah our fasts and duas (prayers) are accepted by Allah(swt) and that he rains his mercy on us.

Sehri Bentos

Hot off the press I can share the contents of the very first Sehri Bento boxes:

Clear bento box - Gluten bento contains:
Poppy seed roll filled with cheese and onion
Blueberries, Dates and Yoghurt all mixed together

Pink bento box (2 layers) – Gluten free bento contains:
¼ sehri tortilla (see below)
Muffin cup filled with whole meal rice and chickpeas
Muffin cup filled with yoghurt and dates
Blueberries

Inshallah a happy, safe, healthy, prosperous (for here and the hereafter) Ramadan to all my readers.

A Dish for 1

Ramadan is often seen as a time for communal eating and indeed it is. There have been times in my life where I have been totally alone and with that in mind I would like to dedicate this post to all those people who for whatever reason are alone over Ramadan.

I simply adore noodle soup. It can be as filling or as light as you want it to be. It can also be adapted to suit the seasons and the change of ingredients that are available. This can obviously be made to feed more but with the dedication in mind I have listed the ingredients for one.

For the soup
1 chicken leg (thigh and drumstick)
½ a chopped onion
3 peeled cloves of garlic
1 inch knob of ginger
1 Bay leaf
1 Star anise
1 small cinnamon stick
4 cloves
6 black pepper corns
1 pint of water

Place all the ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil before allowing to gently simmer until chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken and set aside. Place a strainer over a bowl and pour through. The soup in the under bowl should be free from onion and the whole spices. Pour the soup back into the pan with the chicken to keep warm while you prepare the rest. Once this has been cooled this can be frozen.

For the fun bit

Thick flat rice noodles
Fresh coriander - handful
Fresh mint leaves – handful
1 sliced red chilli
100g of ready to eat prawns
1 Spring onion
4 radishes
¼ cucumber
Gluten free Tamari sauce or Soya sauce
Sesame oil

Place the rice noodles in a bowl and then pour some freshly boiled hot water on top, and then cover with a lid, and allow to soak while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. It should take approximately 5 mins but check the instructions of the rice noodles.

Slice the cucumber, radishes and chilli. Slice the spring length ways into long thin strips.

Drain off the noodles and place into a serving bowl. Now decorate the salad ingredients into the bowl, being careful to ensure that all the items are spread evenly. Add in the mint and coriander leaves. Add in the prawns. If you are eating the chicken then tear it off the chicken bone and add into the serving bowl. Pour on the hot soup. Finally add a few drops of gluten free tamari sauce and sesame oil.

Man V Food

Over the past few weeks I am embarrassed to say that I have begun to watch Man V Food. A program that appears on one of the cooking channels, the presenter essentially wanders around America eating gigantic portions of food, not necessarily for the purpose of the tasting but rather, for sport. The objective is, I guess, Man v Food and man won. Initially, I was in awe of the quantities that he would eat in one sitting. How could one person eat so much for no actual purpose other than to have a tv show? I thought to myself, as I watched another episode and then another. Until finally one day the presenter ate so much that he looked physically sick, stuffing himself further and further until finally he was sick. After that I never watched the program in the same way.

With Ramadan just around the corner it got me thinking to the iftari parties I have been to where people have just done that, they too have had there own moments of man v food. Often at iftari the food has been enough to feed not just the people at that iftari but double, triple or even quadruple the number of people present. Surely the objective of Ramadan is not gorge ourselves to excess for a month. We, as muslims, have not been directed to eat to excess and then to the excess which causes pain. Time and time again, I have read that the Prophet (swt) would eat what was available. It is humbling to read how little there was to eat at times for the Prophet (pbuh), Anas bin Malik narrates:

“The Prophet (pbuh) performed Iftaar with fresh dates, if there weren’t any then with dried dates and if there weren’t any then with water.” (Abu Dawud).

How many of us can say that we have eaten just dates for iftari? How many of us eat just our normal portion? How many of us have quantified the left over food at iftari in terms of feeding a family poorer than ours. With so many people left with absolutely nothing in Pakistan, Somalia, Kenya, India, Morocco, Algeria, Indonesia and Worldwide would it really hurt us, who are wealthier in every single way, to remove one extravagant dish from our iftari table and replace it with something simple, whilst sending that money that we save over to our brothers and sisters who are truly dire need, to benefit them in the present and us in the hereafter.

In the Qu’ran in verses 1 – 3 of Surah Al-Ma’un, Allah(swt) says :-

“Have you seen him who belies the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter? He it is who drives away the orphan and does not urge giving away the food of the poor.”

A good charity that is committed to a 100% donations poicy and one I feel will spend the money wisely is the Ummah Welfare Trust, details below inshallah :-

http://www.uwt.org/site/

What is in your freezer?

Pre Ramadan seems like a great time to go through the contents of your freezer. Through out the year the freezer accommodates a multitude of time saving ideas as well as left overs and more natural freezer items such as meat and ice cream.

Only a couple of weeks ago my mother in law came to visit and so in anticipation of the event I did, what can only be described, as a freezer audit. I went through absolutely everything in my freezer and realised that I had some useful things as well as items that had been left in there since we first moved in!

However in preparation for Ramadan I’ve been thinking a lot about what could make my life, as the cook of the home, easier. Ramadan should be a time for prayer. The focus of Ramadan should be our worship of Allah(swt), we should make the most of the time that the Shaytan is chained up to become closer to Allah(swt) rather than becoming weighed down with the obligations of a host.

So this year I have tried to ensure that my small freezer contains some essentials for me:

Chopped vegetables
Dhal
Masala already cooked for kaufteh, meat
Moulded and cooked kaufteh (meatballs)
Lamb dishes already cooked
Some desserts

The idea behind this is not to cook for the whole of Ramadan in advance but rather to cook for days when I’m tired or we have unexpected guests or the unanticipated happens. I think of it as a savings account that I can dip into on a rainy day.

Sehri Bento

Bento boxes are known through Japan as being a lunch time meal containing so much more than an English packed lunch; no crisps, fizzy drinks or chocolate bars here, instead a filling meal sometimes made into the most ornate designs.

This year my husband and I have decided to make use of our bento boxes (although a normal Tupperware box would work) for sehri. This will mean that all our preparation will be done long before sehri ensuring a smoother morning.

Ideas for our sehri boxes include: a slice of tortilla/ wholemeal rice filled pie/ risotto, with a piece of fruit and a bread roll. Lots of items could be included, what ever you want. The idea is not to increase your work but more to make the eating of sehri as hassle free as possible.

Sehri Tortilla

This year, my husband and I have come up with the idea of Sehri bento boxes, prepared the evening before hand, filled with a variety of things to keep us filled up for the long day ahead. Inshallah this should cause less of a last minute rush in the mornings while we are half asleep before fajr. However, the fun of bento boxes does come in the preparation and variety. It is therefore best to make up batches of things, cut into individual portions and bag them individually and then freeze so that they are easily reachable.

An important point to remember when making items for sehri is to make sure that you use less salt. Salt makes you thirsty and when you can’t drink it can be a problem. In this recipe I have omitted salt however you can add some to suit your taste.

4 boiled medium sized new potatoes
2 large mushrooms
1 red pepper
½ an onion
3 eggs
25g of cheddar chopped into thick slices
A handful of fresh basil leaves
Fresh thyme (leaves only)
Spray oil
Normal cooking oil


1.Boil the potatoes, allow them to cool, before slicing them and placing them into a medium sized mixing bowl.

2.Slice the mushrooms, cook using spray oil in a small (8 inch) frying pan and then set aside in the mixing bowl with the potatoes. The frying pan should be an oven proof frying pan.

3.Slice the onion cook with spray oil, until golden and then add to the potatoes and mushrooms.

4.Dice the red pepper into 1cm pieces and cook with spray oil until the peppers are cooked but have retained some of their bite. Remove the pepper from the frying pan but do not place with the other vegetables.

5.Mix the three eggs, sliced basil and thyme into the potatoes, mushrooms and onion.

6.Cover the frying pan with a thin layer of oil (I used rapeseed oil, but any light cooking oil would do). Now return the pan to the heat and return the peppers to the frying pan, making sure to have an even spread covering the surface of the pan. Now pour in the egg mix into the frying pan.

7.Allow to cook on the stove for approximately 5 mins or until the edges have set, then push in the cheese on to the surface of the tortilla so that the cheese is slightly below the surface in some areas.
Finish off in a hot oven (200 degrees) for 10 mins or until the eggs have set in the centre. Remove from the oven.

8.Allow to cool before placing a plate larger than the frying pan. Place the plate on top of the frying pan and then flip over so that the frying pan is on top. Remove the frying pan, and slice into quarters. Allow to cool fully before wrapping individually and then placing into the freezer.

9.To defrost the tortilla remove the evening before required and place in a fridge so as to allow it to defrost fully and slowly.

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation!

Earlier this week I was sent a link to a website where the writer had been thinking a lot about preparation in terms of Ramadan. While most people ring around their friends arranging Iftari parties this lady has the good sense to organise everything about Ramadan. When I say everything I mean absolutely everything. A lesson I know that I can definitely learn from. She has covered all the bases from an annual Ramadan clear out to a dua list to learn. Inshallah it is definitely something worth sharing with everyone. What a wonderful idea.

http://ummihomeschoolsme.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/my-ramadan-preparation/

Ramadan timetable

Heres a link to the 2010 timetables for the UK.

http://www.ramadantimetable.co.uk/

It looks like this year the days will be very long!

Ramadan is Coming

Bumping into an acquaintance recently his parting words were, “Ramadan is coming it is going to be beautiful”, I managed a polite “hmm inshallah” thinking back to Ramadan last year, which for us was the hardest of Ramadans. My husband and I made our way through it like victims of shell shock. We started Ramadan full hope and anticipation, barely two days in and we were numb with grief.

While passing a book shop, I picked up a copy of “the Prophet’s Ramadhaan”. Reading it reminded me that it is not just us who find Ramadan hard. The prophet (saw) did too. Picking my way through the book I have come to realise that it is a month for us to try harder than ever, to push ourselves further than before and to not walk through it casually. It is hard and Allah(swt) will test us in ways that we cannot even begin to anticipate.