One of Those Days

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Yesterday was one of those days. You know those days when you really need to go back to bed after shoving waving the kids off to school at 6.30 in the morning. You've had a late night meeting up with hujjaaj, family and friends.


You don't go back to bed. Instead you start tidying up and cooking lunch because you have to be at school for a Mothers' Meeting at 10. When you get there, you wish you had gone back to bed because your head is doing things it shouldn't be doing and the said meeting doesn't begin until 11! You sit quietly with your impatient toddler on your lap while mothers around you are either chatting or eyeing each other up and think "Smile! You're in Saudi Arabia!" By the time you've listened to talks related to cleanliness, swine 'flu and teaching your children to remember Allah often [I liked the ones on cleanliness and taqwa] one of your children's teachers has gone home. You only get to meet one, who gives you a brief, vague comment about how your child is doing in school. Nevertheless, you walk away satisfied. Your child is only 8 and you don't feel you need to pester the teacher for half an hour asking "Is she excellent at maths? How about reading? Is her handwriting good?" You don't feel you need the teacher to confirm the things that you already know about your child while other mothers crowd around waiting to have their go. You feel that if you needed to, you may as well add, "Are her nails trimmed? Has she washed behind her ears?" You almost volunteer for carfting with the kids but don't as you imagine explaing the slip stitch in Arabic! You head back home after saying salaam to a few of the nice teachers and mothers, have lunch, tidy up, get some exercise, and prepare an English lesson for the evening.


Yes, you have gone back to doing something you found a little boring, except this time it's not. Now it's more like a class rather than a lone student with your children joining her in language activities. They seem to enjoy it. You gulp down your black coffee and you seem to enjoy it too. It almost reminds you of your days at Berlitz, as you watch the children carry out role-plays and you finish it off by saying "Well done! Good job! How did you find that?" [That handy Berlitz method!] You end the day with feeding everyone, having a chat with Mum, washing the dishes (What better thinking time than that? The water runs between your fingers leaving you with your thoughts ... and a pile of dirty dishes) and of course a little crochet.


You think back on how you felt in the morning and say to yourself, "Now that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Alhamdulillah." Don't you?

Crocheting

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

You know I've always got crochet projects on the go! The best bit is when a project is completed and ready to be used. This is one of the latest...


... with more details here (on my other blog).

Weekending with the Bug!

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

My eldest is joining me and my youngest at home today. The bug has got her down now too. But I know she's having a little fun with us!

I kicked off my weekend with an enlightening Parenting Session. It was brilliant but I will have to leave that for another post! While I was out learning how to be a better mother and then socialising with some lovely sisters, my Bub played nearby and my older kids played at a friends. Dd9 came down with the bug that day and didn't want to do much the next day. So it was rest and relaxation all the way! With some teasane for her,


a little quiet crochet for me,

while Bub napped and their brother and sister went out to the shops with Dad. Friday involved an early start,

lunch with family, a quick trip to the shops, thoughts of Ammena's Henna party in London and now that it's Saturday, I must get on with one housewifey task or another before I can go back to what I was doing earlier...

Seeing Red

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

I'm Asian. My husband is not. I've been married for over a decade and I still get asked the all-important question: "Does he eat hot food?"

I had these in my fridge.

Abu Hibaat bought them and they reminded me of how often I've been asked about the chilli-content of his diet when I was always the one who couldn't handle the heat in a spicy curry! These days though, I crave it and the hot sauce is always out! [In case anyone is worried wondering, no. No, bun in the oven.]

But I'm not blogging about the all of that. I just wanted to share their intense colour with you. For a while, I couldn't bring myself to use them, so I preserved them in some vinegar.


They sat on the worktop for my viewing pleasure. I chopped up a couple of them yesterday and used them in a baked fish dish alongside julienned carrots, fennel, spring onions, ginger and a little lemon. They played their part well!

Bright November

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

I've seen so many warm reds, earthy browns and muted golds in the last few weeks. But not here. Autumn seems to have set in around many parts of the world. But no, not here. Yes, it's starting to get a little cooler, but it's still quite bright and cheery. I do miss the varying seasons but I'm not complaining!


We still have viral bugs crawling around, pulling some members of the household down. But before the cough syrup came out we had another November 1st Algerian dinner. And a little picnic by the sea.


Patriotic cake?


My Mum came back from London last week with some goodies for us (as usual). Here's one. A bracelet for me!


We were also very kindly sent some rich, gooey, nutty, watch-the-weight-pile-on halwa.


If, like me, you like your tea, hop over to get your chai fix here. You'll see some great tea photography, unlike the photo above!

A Play- Bake Weekend

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Phew! That first week of term was tiring! There were so many books to laminate, shopping trips to organise because schools are not so organised, homework to help with and just settling in to it all took more out of me than I'd expected. Perhaps my recovery from tonsilitis coinciding with it all didn't help much. But Alhamdulillah.


We had a playful, bake-ful weekend, including some swimming and a picnic attempt.


Unfortunately, there were too many mosquitos and other insects so we rushed home for Maghrib and coffee!


And the weekend all started with me playing with some colourful pastry!


Of course, when the kids saw me playing with my "play dough" they asked to join in!

Salad Days

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

One of the things I'd like to keep up from my days in Al Jazaa'ir (Algeria!) is my salad intake. The salads need not be boring. I particularly LOVE salad with steamed veggies: carrots, beans, beetroot, potatoes, fennel, etc. etc.!


Here's my simple, easy peasy vinaigrette. I love recycling glass jars and always have a couple or a few lying around!
That's white vinegar and olive oil. Equal parts, as you can see.
A bit of salt and pepper.


And a good old shake! Pour it over the salad and keep the rest in the fridge for another time.

For a less exciting salad, you could always add a more exciting dressing, add a little mayo or mustard and honey, or lemon instead of vinegar. The possibilites are endless!

Algiers: The Food

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

You thought I was done with my posts about Algeria, didn't you? But how could I have gone to North Africa in Ramadan and come back not say anything about the food?

Generally, North African cuisine is quite different from Middle Eastern, but then that is the case with everything not just the food. It tends to be a little simpler with less use of spices and occasionally, a little bland for an Asian palate like mine. But the vegetables are almost always fresh and bursting with natural flavour. The history of the region, it's heritage and culture has a range of facets to it. Even amongst the Algerians, there are certain things that families do differently from each other based on their backgrounds and experiences. Most of the older generation was directly involved in war. Many families left their towns and villages and moved to Algiers, the capital city, bringing with them their personal traditions. So the same dish may have a few different names or the method used to prepare it is different from the way it's done by another family from another area. But there are some things that most people do, pretty much the same way. Breakfast is usually hot milk, with coffee and bread, croissants, biscuits or anything like that. Every day at around 'Asr time (around 4pm) the smell of strong coffee fills homes (and even streets) and there is always something to go with the coffee. All families will have bag-loads of bread for the day or home-made breads and lots of it.

Of course the Maghreb region is known for it's couscous. But the dish is usually reserved for special occasions. My mother-in-law makes it at home from scratch and by "from scratch" I mean she forms the little grains herself. Of course she made plenty of it for us to bring back, but not with the usual semolina. This time she made it with wheat.

We were also gifted the light pastry sheets (Ftir) that are ripped up in to smaller pieces, steamed and served with a broth (like the one made for couscous), otherwise known as Shakhshoukha. Then there were the thin strips of semolina dough (Rishta) which is just a like a lighter fettucini. None of these dishes are generally served in Ramadan though. Ramadan is different!

Some may eat sweet couscous with raisins for suhoor, but that's about it. After breaking the fast, they tend to opt for lighter dishes like a little meat cooked with carrots and olives or chicken cooked with potatoes (well, chips really, they do eat a lot of chips!). But the fast is always broken with Algerian soup or Shorbah and Borek (the Algerian spring roll). Of course some might deviate from this and cook different soups and while I was there, I made samosas upon the request of family members. My sister-in-law shocked us all with Rishta one evening, just because she knows I like it! And my friend over at Seeking Jannah, made rice and curry in my honour ma sha Allah!

Usually, a lot later, after taraweeh, coffee and sweets are served. Some very sweet sweets, I might add. And then comes 'Eid day and all the couscous, rishta, shakhshoukha and other non-bread carbohydrates(!) make an appearance. They, along with many, many sweets!

Some, home-made ...


... and some, shop-bought.


Back in my own little space, I decided to do couscous a little differently.

I steamed some brown couscous with peas. Then I sauted some onions, garlic, prawns and chillies in a little butter and tossed it all together! Traditional dishes are nice sometimes, but I do believe that "variety is the spice of life" and I like mine spicy.

That Kind Of Green

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

The kind that I LOVE!!! Before we left for Algeria, my Dad potted the babies of some his lovely plants.


For me!

Ma sha Allah.

And after we got back from our holidays, my parents brought them over.

They've grown ma sha Allah.


It's nice to think that my parents haven't given up on me and my attempts to keep my plants alive!