Ramadan 2: Suhur

Originally posted here.

Suhur on 2nd of Ramadan,
originally uploaded by Lilandra.

Surprise! Surprise! Mom and dad’s camera was in mom’s bookshelf.
So, as I was at the top of the stairs this morning, with my huge bag, I thought, let me check. So I did. And there it was.

Um, yeah. Soo…please don’t fault the pictures too much.
I’m not even going to plead lack of familiarity with the camera (really! this is true) but just 4:00 am tiredness and lack of lucidity and hungry and groggy and hiccups. Yes. Hiccups.

Mom boiled eggs last night so, I had lots of water, egg paste (salad) on toast (haha! very lightly toasted…barely) and a banana.

That was it.

While mom washed up the wares, I weighed out 1 litre of rice and then 1 litre of flour.

Yeah, you’re wondering, “WEIGHING A LITRE???”.

Well, fasting is cumpulsory on every muslim except the sick, the travellers etc etc.
If you’re travelling or sick and miss a fast you generally make it up later. If however you are say chronically ill (or sick but for some reason you are unsure that you will be able to make up the fast) or nursing, you pay fidiya. (I’m not even getting into the people who don’t fast for no good reason. Or break the fast for no good reason. That’s too much for this blog). My brother’s research says, for each fast you miss, you pay half a sahb (sleepy: didn’t hear him properly). This is a volumetric measure in the time of the prophet roughly equivalent to 3.28 litres. So, very confused, I took out mom’s liquid measuring cup (4 cups/1 liter[sic]) and used my spiffy new scale to weigh rice then flour. We figured this would work. And people can just add on.

In case you’re interested, we got 1 litre of ordinary rice to be 1 lb 10.5 oz (yes I did take it down in grams (lord! help me! I think I write kilogrammes but grams) but I can’t remember that) and 1 litre of baker’s flour to be 1 lb 3.8 oz.

Off to sleep now.
Laterz

Ramadan 2: First Iftar

Originally posted here.

Golden Wheat Carrot Cake, originally uploaded by Lilandra.

As promised, a picture.
No, I didn’t have the whole cake.

You know, if people could capture the smell of baking and post it on the internet (don’t tell me about perfumes…can you put the smell of perfume on the internet??), then food photography might see a decline. Oh my! This smelled good.

To break fast, I had cold water, weak but hot earl grey tea and a slice of carrot cake. Mom had this but actually broke her fast with a date.

Then we went up to pray.

And eventually came downstairs to eat dinner (no pictures…hungry). There were various leftovers in the fridge…some had carrot rice, plain rice, stewed red beans,stewed beef, beef bone (niece!), maybe curry.

I had lots of water and jasmine rice and stewed red beans.
Everybody else *and* mom had their slice of carrot cake then. Dad and brother broke their fast in the masjid (and no we didn’t send…maybe tomorrow if there’s leftovers).

I made the carrot cake today, from Rose Levy Beranbaum‘s The Cake Bible. Mom said it’s Ramadan, you know we like something sweet.

Actually the recipe is called Golden Wheat Carrot Ring because she bakes it in a savarin pan? And because of that she just butters it. Well, madam, that is me, wanted a layer cake because that is the stuff of dreams. Also, layered with cream cheese frosting (but didn’t want my first buttercream to be during Ramadan, all alone) so thankfully mom came home and whipped up easy cream cheese frosting.

But, back to the pan layering.
I buttered it but I should’ve gone ahead and either floured it or (and) lined it because it was hard getting those cakes out. I mashed up almost two of them. You *might* notice strange sliding edges (unless I didn’t upload those pictures) in the others. But, I stand by a nice homemade cake, with all its imperfections is beautiful.

Anywayz, I managed it somehow. Mom unearthed ground almonds for pretty topping and I dusted cinnamon powder on top.
I love this picture 🙂

I like this recipe.
No sugar but honey. Cake flour *and* whole wheat flour.
It tastes almost as if it has raisins but none! woohoo!
And no I didn’t put nuts in it.

A slice, just for you (no me! and mom!)
click!

Ramadan 1: Suhur

Originally posted here.

*sigh*

As I said…very boring. I didn’t even take a picture.
Was trying to remember to bring down the camera but somehow I found myself going downstairs and didn’t feel like turning around.

4:00 am What to eat?
Cereal? Hops bread?
No, I scrambled two eggs, topped with some cheddar, ate it with crix.
Had a banana and about 7 peanut m&m’s (craving something sweet…).
And lots and lots and lots of water.
Went to sleep at 7:00 am.

What did you have Chennette? Big sis? Anybody?

Ramadan Mubarak: What does a food blogger do when she’s fasting?

Originally posted here.

So, this title serves a couple purposes

1. Our masjid and many others in Trinidad (and Tobago?) are starting Ramadan tonight (at sunset) and so the first fast for the month will be tomorrow!
2. I’m coming out! As a food blogger!! Woohoo! No more can Chennette make jabs about me not being a food blogger. I’ve decided I’m willing to accept the identity. Sort of. It’s not like I’m restricting myself to food. It’s just…I’ll be posting however I normally post.

Well, it’s not that I haven’t food blogged through Ramadan before.
I think a year or two ago, I started with boring life details but got sidetracked. Did somebody get sick?
Maybe I’ll show you the daily suhur (meal to start fast) and iftar (meal to break fast) though this will be quite boring. How many pictures of cereal and water and dates will you get to see? Let’s guess…hmm 29? 30?

🙂

same jabs

Anthony Bourdain beat us to Saudi!

Yes, it’s true. No Reservations went to Saudi Arabia as part of the viewer submitted suggestions, complete with the winning viewer as a co-host/traveling partner. His views are positive so far, and even the female producer had many good things to say, even about the abaya, and despite strongly held preconceived notions.

Of course, that was in Jeddah. And I haven’t read about the food really on either post. But we’ll be sure to add to the travel experience in Saudi Arabia, from a Muslim (female) perspective…well, mostly about the Hajj as I cannot imagine that experience to be anything but completely overwhelming all other thoughts, but we will be eating for sure during those weeks. And I remember the parents coming back from their first Hajj talking about the street food. And the brother and sister-the-elder talking about all-halaal foods (meat-mouths both).

Insha Allah, that’ll be us soon 😀