Adik - and Raya Cookies - are back!

My baby is back from Cairo! Adik arrived at KLIA on the 31st of July. The last time he was back was early last year during the turmoil in Egypt. However, we saw him 3 months ago when we visited him in Cairo. This time he will be spending 'Eid with us... insyAllah. His father and I didn't fetch him at the airport; his sister did because she wanted to 'kidnap' him for a couple of days so that he could help her make cookies for 'Eid. The daughter, Kak Lang has been into the Raya cookies business since last Ramadhan and this time she has doubled her orders so she needed help and who would be willing to work for peanuts except her own little brother! (fortunately for Adik she's giving real money..). The timing is perfect for her business as she has just completed her degree programme (and graduating this year...Alhamdulillah). And now both Kak Lang and Adik are in Kuala Terengganu with us (we went back home to Meru to get them last weekend) - still busy baking and packing for orders from the hubby's office-mates. At least I don't have to bake cookies anymore for 'Eid - actually I've already given up the bother and hassle of baking Raya cookies a long time ago and also since many people started selling home-made cookies; all you need to do is order, and then cough up the 'dough' ... so to speak!

Adik packing cookies..

..and more cookies (never mind dear - think of all the peanuts money you're getting..lol)

My 20-year-old Kenwood mixer - still working and hard at work!

Pineapple Jam Tarts - fresh from the oven (the one in our home in Meru is also about 20 years old - still productive, alhamdulillah..)

Chocolate Chip cookies..

The all-time favourite..

Popular with the kids - Honey Cornflake cookies (don't know why people buy these; very easy to make)

Jars of cookies..

Boxed for delivery..

It's already the last ten days of Ramadhan you two... so hurry up and finish the baking and packing and start doubling our effort into seeking The Night of Power - Laylatul-Qadr...

Tarawih at the 'Floating Mosque'

I realize there isn't any entry at all for my Ramadhan last year. I must had been really busy (or just plain pathetic..) not to write a single thing.. Okey dokey, it's the 9th day of Ramadhan today and yeayy Alhamdulillah I'm on my 10th juzuk of the Al-Quran. Hope I'll be able to keep this up.. InsyAllah. Now that I'm just sitting around at home, it would really be shameful if I don't khatam at least once!

Well, like last year and the year before we perform most of our tarawih prayers at the Masjid Terapung (its actual name is Masjid Tengku Tengah Zaharah) or the 'floating mosque' as it was built in the middle of a man-made lake. They have been engaging an imam from Egypt for a couple of years now for the tarawih prayers and we've sort of got used to his recitations which are simply amazing! (is very fluent - the verses just flow like water out of his mouth) This time around we're praying the whole 23 rakaahs (all these years I always did just the 8 and the witrs done before fajr) and with a weak knee and all I am managing ok Alhamdulillah. Usually the imams would recite 1 juzuk per night but this one recites more than 1.. and so we usually reach home around 11 pm (almost in exhaustion..but I still have energy to check FB before bed...lol). What bothers me somewhat is the oppresive heat at this time of the year (even at night) in spite of the fans running at maximum speed - but I'm being positive about it; I'm having a sauna every night (clearing all those toxins..). Some pics of interest:

The mosque - pic taken just before maghrib (dusk)

Pic taken as we left at about a quarter to 11 pm

The bridge walkway connecting the mosque to the edge of the lake

View from the mosque

Another shot - there's the beach behind the clump of trees..

Food for iftar - some days as simple as this.. sometimes people bring food to share. We have the main meal after maghrib prayers (provided by the mosque)

And 3 days ago someone plonked these on the table..

The ladies' section - there's another area upstairs. too

This is another mosque that I went to last week - Masjid Ladang; near the town area. Cool and spacious (air-conditioned..*sigh*)

And this sign in the mosque made me almost ROFL! They must have used Google translator...haha

Welcome Ramadhan Kareem..

ONLY 3 more days till Ramadhan! And I haven't done my 'spring' cleaning yet! A very Special Guest is coming and it's time to clean everything up... the house, the porch, the car, the lawn, our ACT... Alhamdulillah we are given this special month every year to take a long look at ourselves and be serious about changing for the better, turn a new leaf, make new resolutions. The beauty of Ramadhan as compared to a New Year in making resolutions is, you have to stick to them for a whole month and then when the month is over you are already used to doing them and so hopefully InsyAllah they're gonna grow on you... Easier said then done, though! You find that you could accomplish things easily in this month of Barakah... but once the Eid celebrations started.. it takes a real Mujahid/Mujahidah to stick to them new leaves, let me tell you now!

Let's see.. first of all in this blessed month, every good deed that one does is rewarded tenfold so I resolve to khatam the Quran; meaning to read the whole Book in 30 days or less. (I usually take months and months.. *gasp* well, I have to take time reading the translations, too, okey) And I will not miss the tarawih prayers, and this year I'll try to do more than the usual 8 rakaah that we're used to. (Please God.. give me the stamina to do this!). And then there are all the other voluntary prayers that I resolve not to miss this time around (last year I was working 9 to 6 -well, we got off a bit earlier in Ramadan- so this year, being a so-called lady of leisure, no excuses, huh!). This is also the best time to give sadaqah (charity) but oh heck.. I'm no longer a wage-earner so less will be given away but hey, it's the intention that counts, right? Such a lot of wonderful, positive things to start doing with the the coming of Ramadhan... I only pray I have the discipline to continue doing them...

A verse from the Quran about Ramadhan and fasting:

The month of Ramadhan in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadhan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Saum (fasts) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Saum (fasts) must be made up] from other days. Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allah [i.e. to say Takbir (Allahu Akbar; Allah is the Most Great] for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him.

(Al-Baqara, Chapter #2, Verse #185)  

A Hadith on fasting:

In a narration by Muslim, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "The reward of every (good) deed of a person is multiplied from ten to seven hundred times. Allah (SWT) says: `The reward of observing Saum is different from the reward of other good deeds; Saum is for Me, and I Alone will give its reward. The person observing Saum abstains from food and drink only for My sake.' The fasting person has two joyous occasions, one at the time of breaking his fast, and the other at the time of meeting his Rubb. Surely, the breath of one observing Saum is better smelling to Allah than the fragrance of musk.''

Here's an old song or nasyeed about Ramadhan that I liked to listen to years ago when the kids were younger... It reminds me of the long journey we took to balik kampong  for Eid; while listening to it in the car... (it's in Malay):

God, it brings back memories...

Corelle Craze!

When I was a young housewife about 20+ years ago I coveted for a Corelle set.. but we couldn't afford one... and since I'm not very particular about crockery brands that I use and also because there were a lot of other things that were more important to purchase, an 'expensive' dinner set would just have to wait.  But whenever we went to visit friends or relatives and were being served on Corelle, there was this tinge of envy and a longing to own one... Well when we visited our sons in Australia in 2010 the daughter-in-law gave me a set ( I chose Shadow Iris) and then another (she chose Mandarin Flower) when they came home the next year for Eid .. I was ecstatic of course but hubby began to get interested and considered starting a business when he found out the price differences between Corelle sold in Australia and Malaysia. And also how some of the people he works with (especially the ladies) collect these pieces and wouldn't mind paying up-to RM500 for a set which we would normally sell for RM380! So, when we went to Australia end of last year we started buying sets to ship back home. They sold like hot cakes and demand rose. We ordered more sets and still people want more... Alhamdulillah, the hubby has a business to keep him happy apart from his regular job (the prophet Muhammad encourages the Muslims to engage in business however small..).  He has created a Facebook account called 'Corelle Craze' (ehem...I'm responsible for that name; there's a blog in my bloglist that he hasn't been updating because Facebook is better for interacting with customers) and we pray to Allah that the business will thrive and we can start planning another umrah or holiday trip soon...lol

Shipment has arrived!

Alhamdulillah these boxes survived a couple of weeks at sea..

Cluttering my living-room..

Corelle Christmas sale in Melbourne...

Corelle Heaven!

Corning-ware is difficult to get much profit because the prices are almost the same in both countries

In Adelaide we bought them at Big W..the cashier here asked whether we're starting a restaurant!

This is in Parkson, Kota Bharu..we went to compare prices..

They're more expensive, true but the patterns are much prettier...humph!

 My Shadow Iris...

... and my Mandarin Flower

For those of you out there not familiar with the Corelle brand (which planet do you live?)...its plus point (taken from a Corelle website):

• Easy to clean
• Dishwasher and oven safe
• Lightweight, yet durable
• Break, chip, craze spot and fade-resistant under normal use
• Affordable, yet attractive.

*sigh* I love Corelle!

Jubilations in Egypt!

I must document this special day in Egypt as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Dr. Mohamed Mursi won the election and becomes the President of Egypt post-Mubarak era. The announcement was made last night (it was afternoon Egypt time) so the date was actually 24th of June. Even though I'm not Egyptian but as Muslims we share the people's hope for a new Egypt where life would be better insyAllah for the people over there and hopefully Islam will be the way of life as it should always be...

The Egyptian people celebrating a new era

What is interesting.. not unlike what happened to the prophet Yusuf (Joseph) alaihisalam  who was sent to prison and in the end became the Egyptian ruler at the time, Dr. Mohamed Mursi also spent time in prison (due to political oppression) and came out to be the President of Egypt! And isn't it ironic that in 2006 he was imprisoned by Mubarak and now 6 years later Mubarak himself is imprisoned... life is really like a moving wheel (Malay proverb - kehidupan seperti roda..)

 

And more inspiring were his words in his first speech as the President were those of Abu Bakr radhiallahuanhu, the first Caliph of Islam...awesome! Allahuakbar!

We pray for you Dr. Mursi that you will uphold the Quran and the Sunnah in ruling your country and may it prosper and be an example to other Muslim countries, insyAllah!

Healthy, Home-made Smoothie..

We have never actually tasted bought smoothies (I don't think there's even a Smoothie Bar at all in Kuala Terengganu). Going online and reading health magazines for healthy food tips (yeah...when you're middle-aged and having peers with all sorts of ailments make you think about what you eat) introduced us to this wholesome drink. We experimented with all kinds of fruits and best of all, we found out a great way to use up our home-made yogurt (yogurt itself having numerous health benefits of its own). You may say it's not cost effective to buy so many kinds of fruit just to make a smoothie...well, the secret is to buy many kinds and freeze them! They keep for ages in the freezer... Also by using frozen fruit you don't need to add ice cubes to chill the drink. (I don't think I can take warm smoothies, can you?) We combine local and imported fruits...use any fruits available or in season. Though, one local fruit that we find quite unpalatable is the starfruit (buah belimbing) - yucky. We haven't tried the durian, though... (call it intuition but I can't quite savour a durian smoothie even in my mind...hmm...I think it just got stuck in my throat - not that I don't love the fruit per se). For those of you who may think that something healthy couldn't taste that good...well you might think again once you've tasted this. Anyway, here are some pics and steps on how we make it:

Frozen blueberries - a bit expensive but you only need to throw 4-5 pieces/glass

Mango - also frozen

Strawberries and Kiwi fruit

You don't find soursop often but when you do, peel and freeze. This fruit has excellent health benefit; look it up online

You can also use preserved fruit like this one - cranberries has many health benefit, too

You may also add fruit concentrate such as this: pomegranate concentrate - notable anti-cancerous properties

And here's how to whip up a healthy smoothie. Oh, and you'll need a blender of course... :

Add a slice or a piece or two each of the fruit you have into a blender. Don't forget to de-seed any fruit with seeds...Also a little of the fruit concentrate if you want and/or a sprinkle of preserved fruit pieces.

Then add a dollop (or two) of (your home-made) yogurt

Now, this is optional. Some fruit has enough sweetness of its own (like if you add a banana) but if you find you can't get pass the sour taste, add some brown sugar or honey.

Lastly, add some low-fat milk (how much depends on the consistency of the smoothie you prefer)

Blend everything until smooth...

Pour into a nice tall glass...throw in some nuts - walnut/hazelnut/cashew/any nut/raisins and just enjoy the goodness of this healthy drink... yum..my! (do I sound like a commercial?)

Different colour for different fruit combination..

There you are...simple, isn't it? Have a glass of smoothie for breakfast every morning. It's great for your well-being (I'm sounding like a commercial again, right....lol)

Happy Circle BBQ Nite

Last night was barbeque night for our 'Happy Circle'. It was an idea to bring the members together to know each other a little better and strengthen our ukhuwwah. It was a happy event even though 2 members were absent - one has gone for umrah and the other wasn't feeling well enough to come. Alhamdulillah, the food was sufficient and the barbequed chicken was simply marvelous...a member got the recipe from a friend who runs a catering business. Must note it down before I forget it: blended garlic, ginger, galingale and black pepper; oyster sauce, black pepper sauce and of course salt and sugar.

The blended thingies..

Adding the sauces

Marinade at least for 2 hours

Barbeque the chicken pieces (I can assure you, you'll smell like smoke for the rest of the evening..lol )

Yummy

Husbands and sons - getting to know each other

My happy circle...

 We must do this again! Next event - an iftar during Ramadhan InsyAllah!