Saturday 26 April 2014

Poppadoms + Planting Seeds + Chocolate Sponges : 19 April - 25 April 2014

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Another week has gone by leaving us wiser, hopefully.




 My thoughts this week have been about how we should always live for the moment and never take anything for granted. Sometimes we plan and worry about things that are so far ahead in the future but then events take place which completely change our outlook on everything. 
What I'm trying to say is try and live each day as if it were your last. That way, you'll make the most out of each moment and opportunity. 
Ibn Umar (ra) used to say: "If you survive until the evening, do not expect to be alive in the morning. And, if you survive until the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening. Take from your health for your sickness, and take from your life for your death".
This is a photo that I took and posted on my Instagram. The quote is something which I fully believe in and I hope I am acting upon through writing this blog, and sharing with you all my thoughts and recipes. Through the comments below the posts and through social media, I always receive so many kind words and thoughts from you all and it really does make my day knowing that in my own little way, I'm helping someone out there. 
So, let that be your view this week inshallah, to help people out in whichever way you can. After all, it's better to be selfless than be selfish.

Saturday: I had a few avocados lying around so decided to bake some cookie/brownies with them. The batter contained: 1/2 cup mashed avocado, an egg, 1/3 cup raw cacao, 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, 1/3 cup white sugar and 2 handfuls of chocolate, cut into chunks. 

Just mix all the ingredients together, and spoon onto a greased and lined tray. Bake at 180C for 18 minutes, and then eat! I delivered these to my gluten-free cousin since they didn't contain any flour.
Lunch was something I threw together on the spot and it turned out surprisingly delicious. In to a pan, I placed some marinaded Peri Peri chicken slices, mushrooms, cabbage, peas, spinach, tomatoes, splash of water and more Peri Peri sauce. I brought the whole thing to the boil and let everything simmer and cook nicely until it was a sort of Peri Peri braised stew. The chicken was really juicy and full of flavour.

For dinner, Mum made Kichri. This is our Punjabi version but for a Gujrati version check here.
Because the kichri is quite smooth and creamy like a risotto, I wanted some crunch with it. So I heated up poppadums! Normally, people deep fry these, but we go for a healthier option. Just take a clean frying pan, and place on a high heat. Add a poppadum and keep turning it over until it begins to bubble up all over. It'll crisp up more as it cools down.
These are the poppadums we used.
Sunday: For breakfast, we had Potato Pancakes. These always remind me of my grandmother.

This was the state of the sky on Sunday - pretty gloomy!
So, a spot of Sunday baking was in order. 
Time to use my new loaf tin :)
I made a Banana Honey Teabread.
Using up these very ripe bananas!
And, honey, of course!
I used gluten-free flour to bake it, and it turned out amazing! Really moist and full of flavour :)
I sliced most of it up to deliver to my cousin and aunt who can't eat gluten!
Update: Here  is the recipe.
Mum was sorting out all our condiments. You'll be surprised what ends up at the back of the cupboard.
Monday: Salmon day! I'm actually surprising myself as to how much I like it. It was marinaded in salt, curry powder, red chilli powder. And, then pan fried!
Served with oven chips, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and mushy peas.
I finally got to taste these on Monday.
Whoever thought them up was a total genius!
The perfect combination of sweet and salty - Dairy Milk chocolate and Ritz crackers.
I was really full from lunch so just had some tea and a fruit bun for dinner. Plus half a slice of cinnamon raisin toast. Which reminds me, I need to make this again!
Tuesday: I baked these chocolate cupcakes on Tuesday. I've been on the hunt for the ultimate chocolate sponge recipe for a while now, and I think I've found it! More details coming this week, inshallah.
Update: Here is the recipe.
For dinner, I made this tangy, crunchy quick pickle. Slice up 1 Carrot using a potato peeler to get thin strips.
Do the same with 1/2 a Cucumber.
Then, add in 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar.
Mix well and let it sit for a bit while you make the rest of the dinner.
We baked these salad potatoes. A tip for baking potatoes is to bake them directly on the rack - that way the heat can circulate all the way around. No need to wrap in foil - that gives them a soggy skin.
So, dinner was salmon fishcakes, baked salad potatoes and pickled veg.
Fluffy in the middle with a crisp outer skin.
These were made from the cooked salmon from the day before. I only ended up having one as they were quite big. To make them, mix together 3 cooked and flaked salmon fillets, 1/2 tsp salt, pinch of black pepper, 1 egg, 1 piece of bread broken up, a squeeze of honey mustard salad dressing and 1/2 tsp curry powder. Mush everything up and chill in the fridge. Shape into patties and shallow fry until golden brown.
And, to give the meal crunch and tang, the pickled veg!
My new favourite - it's spicy and good with anything!
Tuesday night called for late night chocolate.
Sometimes a girl just needs chocolate!
Wednesday: The day began bright and early icing the cooled cupcakes from the day before.
They were out of this world good! Recipe coming soon inshallah :)
Update: Here is the recipe.
Dinner was pizza which I haven't made in ages!
Recipe coming soon, inshallah! You'll want to make this one!
Update: Here is the recipe.
Thursday: Breakfast was cinnamon toast which I managed to burn slightly :( I'm not very awake in the morning!
Spent the afternoon planting veg seeds in the garden. Inshallah, soon we will have carrots, sweetcorn, peas, chillies, tomatoes, spring onions and sunflowers.
Lunch was an egg mayonnaise sandwich.
I tried these sandwich thins out too - they were lovely and light.
Friday: The most blessed day of the week dawned once more. Here are some of the pieces of advice I found whilst scrolling through my phone.
This dua asks Allah to give us a good end. We should always make the dua that Allah grants us a pious and good death - Ameen!
Lunch was very summery even though it was pouring it down outside.
Pasta, peas, beef salami, salt, pepper, cream cheese.

By evening, the windows looked a little something like this, and so, Shepherds' Pie was in order.

The minced lamb was made using onions, garlic, salt, red chilli powder, curry powder, black pepper, lamb mince and peas. 
The mashed potato topping was made with this recipe.

As the heavens opened once more, the pie was assembled and baked.

With a roaring fire ..
.. and a hot shepherds pie, it felt more like November than April!
Update: Here is the recipe.
The winter theme continued with dessert provided by my aunt.
Hot Apple Crumble and custard!

Recipes posted at This Muslim Girl Bakes this week:



Pizza Margherita


Spicy Chicken with Zesty Rice Salad


Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies


Potato and Ginger Curry (Shorba)

Hope you all had a wonderful week and that you have an even better one to come!

Wasalaam!


Spice Enthusiast
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