July 28, 2012

Bananaberry Muffins and Spiritual Reflections

 “Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods, lives and the fruits (of your toil) but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere. Those who, when misfortune strikes them, say: ‘Indeed we belong to Allah and to Him is our return. Those are the ones upon whom are blessings and mercy from their Lord and it is those who are rightly guided.” [Qur'an 1:155] 
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "When Allah desires good for someone, He tries him with hardships." [Sahîh al-Bukhârî 

These last few months for me have been tough emotionally and spiritually. I found myself enveloped in a darkness that brought me down to an all-time low.  As the verse from the Holy Qur'an states above, God will test us in our lives and we must patiently persevere for "Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear.." [Qur'an 2:288].  Keeping this in mind, I have been putting myself through a cleanse- not a detox cleanse of my body (although I would like to do that one of these days), but a spiritual cleanse whereby my life, behaviour, attitude, personality, heart, and soul come into alignment with Allah swt and the teachings of Prophet Muhammed (peace and blessings be upon him).  This spiritual cleanse has not been easy and is far from over...I feel as though I have only just scratched the surface. All I can do is continue on this path of realignment with patience and gratitude that God put me through this test and be thankful for all that God has given me.
(Please note that I use God and Allah interchangeably because they mean the same thing- Allah is the Arabic word for God.)

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Bananaberry Muffins - these are great for Sehri/Suhoor 
(Recipe adapted from Janet and Greta)



1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup wheat bran (original recipe calls for ground flaxseed or wheat germ)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4-5 small ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 large egg
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, washed and drained of water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or spray muffin tin with oil and set aside.
Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl, mix well and set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together bananas, butter and egg. Fold in banana mixture into dry ingredients until dry ingredients are moistened.  Gently fold in blueberries.
Evenly divide batter into muffin tin using a large spoon or ice cream scoop.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Remove muffins from tin and cool on wire rack.



July 26, 2012

Tea for two...or three...or four..

O God, I seek Your forgiveness for every sin that remained with me because, when an anxiety struck, I sought aid, succor and support from someone besides You.
Salaam (Peace) everyone!

I hope your Ramadan fasts are going well.  The hours are long and the days are hot and humid, but God-Willing, your struggles will be accepted by God.

I'm bring back another blast from the past to help you quench your thirst after you break your fast. This cold tea is guaranteed to cool you down and give you a bit of caffeine to prepare for the night prayer.  Let's drink to Refreshing Mint Tea .

July 22, 2012

Ramadan from the Past: Puff Pastry Post

Salam (Peace)!

It is the second (or third) day of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. Thankfully, I have been able to spend time reflecting, listening to Qur'an, lectures and attending Taraweeh, the special night prayers that take place during the month of Ramadan.  

I haven't had an opportunity to post the recipe on breakfast/sehri/suhoor muffins, so I'll take you back a year and have you visit my post on stuffed puff pastry.  I hope you enjoy making these for your family!

Ramadan Blessings to you and your family!

July 16, 2012

Ramadan 2012


It's hard to believe that Ramadan is starting this weekend, Insh'Allah!  This year I'm going to try and post a few recipes to help you with your Ramadan cooking. I promise they will be simple and will not take up too much of your time.

To help get you started in your spiritual preparation for Ramadan, let's go back into the past and visit a post on Ramadan and it's significance.

July 2, 2012

My Favourite Banana Bread

Lately I have been buying up bananas and eating one a day.  Sometimes I buy so many that I can't finish them before they get to that icky brown, over ripe stage. You know that stage- where they're too gross to eat on their own, but are perfect for a cake, muffin or bread recipe.

I have eaten my share of banana bread over the years, but have never come across one that I really enjoyed. Well that changed when I decided to try this recipe from allrecipes.com  It's a VERY easy recipe to follow and I'm pretty sure you already have most, if not all, the ingredients in your kitchen.


My Favourite Banana Bread


2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten,
5 medium size bananas, overripe and mashed
6 Hershey kisses, cut in half (my addition)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a loaf pan and set aside.
In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.  In another bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar.  Beat in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended, about 3-4 minutes.  Stir wet mixture into flour mixture until just combined.  Gently stir in Hershey kisses.  Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in oven for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of cake comes out clean.  Remove pan from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Invert bread onto a cooling rack.