"Kunafa"

Kunafa means alot to Arab people, a special dessert, to be served everyday in Ramadan after breakfast. You can have them crunchy and round or soft and flat, there's actually lots and lots of shapes and sizes. Of course, Kunafa is served with a cup of tea with or without cream/milk. It is absolutely a must-have in any Ramadan visit to relatives or friends.

You buy the dough from the supermarket and mix it with some corn oil very well and spread it at the bottom of a oiled cake pan, in the middle you add a mixture of walnuts, raisins, coconut shreds mixed with sugar. Then, you add the top layer of kunafa dough and press down on it well. Now you can put it on the stove and keep checking the bottom layer until it's golden yellow and flip the cake pan over making the top layer at the bottom and wait till it turns golden yellow.

Of course, before all that you make the honey by mixing 2 ups of sugar with almost one cup of water and leave them on the stove to boil and thicken and voila! your kunafa's honey is ready.

Add a cup of honey to the kunafa and leave it for a while, then ur kunafa is ready to be served with a cup of tea. LOL... Yummy!!

Ramadan Secrets

Now you're in on the most secret ingredient of Ramadan... LOL

It's called "Amar El-Deen" it's made of apricot fruit that has been hardened, gelatinized and sweetened. It is used alot as a juice served with breakfast and Ramadan dessert just like Jelly. Decorate your dish with yummy raisins, coconut, crushed almonds and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

In order to serve this wonderful juice u need to soak a packet for 6 hours in a jug in water until it softens and vigorously stir it every few hours making a nice thick cup of Amar El-Deen. It's really sweet and healthy after fasting because your blood sugar drops during ur fast. This juice with its sugar content and fruit helps boost ur blood sugar a bit and gives u that extra energy to help clear the tables. LOL

Yesterday at the Masjid (Mosque) during the taraweeh prayer, the Imam finished the third section of the Qura'an which means Surat Al-Baqara has ended and 'Al-Emran has begun... Simply wonderful! I actually love praying in the Masjid's garden, they open it for prayers during Ramadan only and Eid. Just when you think the weather is getting a little hot, Allah sends a quiet cold breeze to help us through...

Subhan Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful...

اللهم إنك عفو تحب العفو فعفو عنا

Ramadan Kareem...

I am an Egyptian, an Arab, Muslim Egyptian Arab and I thank Allah everyday for who I am and for what He has made me... So as an Arab Muslim in Ramadan, here comes all the culture and religious occurings that go on around here... Everyday an interesting ingredient, awkward situations, prayers, sohoor (dinner in the early a.m. hours of the morning) and fajr time... Never, never a dull moment...

The most interesting and vital component of the Ramadan diet: Dates.

Whether u prefer them soft and moist, soft and dry or the dry hard ones... Each and every one has a distinct taste and flavour, whichever u prefer is your choice but it is absolutely mandatory in Ramadan to break your fast on (at least) one date, as was done by our Habeeb Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him).

How do u prefer ur dates??? U may pop one in ur mouth, pray maghreb and move on to the main course?? Or perhaps u would prefer to try the dates soaked with dry figs in apricot juice(originally in Egypt, called "Khofash"??? Too sweet for you? Ok, then... a sunnah power drink of milk and dates would be to ur liking?

It's really very simple to please Allah, just by thinking what we eat and try to follow the Sunnah as much as we can... Subhan Allah. It's very simple and yummy too.

Today was the first Ramadan prayers called the "taraweeh"... What does taraweeh really mean?? The first thing that comes to my mind is that it is a way to ease stress off your soul. Standing there for almost 2 hours and a half, pleading, repenting, listening to the verses "ayat" of the Qura'an one by one going through your head, body and soul. Yes, that is good for our soul; Soul Food... It's time to stop feeding your body and start feeding your soul...

Ya Allah we are listening, we are hearing Your words teaching us the ways of life, the way a Muslim must live in order to better ourselves and our families with Your guidance...

We stand there in the night, bearing with our cramps and body pain, in the cold weather if it's winter or in the heat if it's summer... The most important issue is Your blessing, Your Forgiveness, Your Gifts that You give us to help us through...

Ya Allah, ya rab please accept our repenting and allow us into Heaven... Truly, this world is not a very nice place, but we are doing our best...

Appointed...

Assalam Alaikum All (AAA)

Have you ever felt disappointed in someone? I mean, you never really FEEL disappointed in someone unless he/she is someone u really care/cared about. Or else, why do u care enough to be disappointed? However, today is not a day to mingle about negative thoughts and negative energy. Yes, I have suffered an immense amount of negative emotional energy a while ago, but not anymore. Ramadan is here. Ramadan is right around the corner and I cant wait to embrace the month of forgiveness, faith and last but not least, fasting. I will embrace the most sacred month of the year and will do my best at the taraweeh prayers at the masjid everyday...

Now, let me tell u someone I wont be disappointed in:

ME!!

I will not be disappointed in myself, prayers and Qura'an will restore tranquility and peacefulness to my soul again.

Allah will help me, I know He will... He always does...

Free yourself of the blame, dont carry the weight of negative energy... Let bygones be bygones, and

dont

get

disappointed

in

U...

It's not worth it, and forgiveness is worth asking for from The One and Only.

So, just let yourself go to the spirit of Ramadan, get appointed not disappointed...

School Syndrome...

Today my Lil sister returns to school, and not just any school. It's new. She switched schools this year and today was her first day at her new school and our whole household was excited yet worried that she wouldn't fit in. However, elhamdulilah for answering our prayers she was back from a long day, a bit worn off and tired but nonetheless, smiling and excited about the new change.

You see, in Egypt, when a school is called "International" there may not be anything "International" about it, inversely, the whole system could be run by foreigners and declare that they teach the best curriculum in the country but they don't. The teachers are Egyptian, who actually pick on the kids and mistreat them because they are just kids who can afford an International school (exactly what happened in her previous school). Thanks Allah, after a lot of looking, searching and reading about gazillion schools we made a sound a decision and Inshaa Allah I hope it's benefits will be seen on my beloved little sister in the near future...



Ya rab, You are the One we must always thank when something good or bad happens to us because we are not judges of Your fate upon us... To You we submit our faith and love and worldly matters which we do not know anything about, all we do is pray and Inshaa Allah with Your will nothing bad will harm us, and nothing will affect us except what You have written for us. Subhan Allah, You are the only One.

Ameen