Banana & blueberry nutella crepes

Crepes! I love them sweet & I love them savory. I love them in the morning and I love them in the evening.

Pardon the photos, I didn't think I'd be blogging about this. And pardon the lack of presentation, as I knew my baby sister wouldn't care about how it looks & I was too busy dying starving fasting to make it look pretty. As long as it has nutella on and in it, she's good to go.

I thought these would be difficult because they're so thin. But after one or two I got the hang of it. I made these a few days ago for my little sister for breakfast. And then again for when we broke our fast.

I love all recipes. I get most of my stuff from there. Here is the basic recipe I used this time. I've tried it with vanilla and nutmeg as well, but went plain this time. For the filling I used nutella, bananas and blueberries. The top of the crepe is sprinkled with sifted powdered sugar.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a blender combine eggs, milk, flour, salt and oil. Process until smooth. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and brush with oil. Pour 1/4 cup of crepe batter into pan, tilting to completely coat the surface of the pan. Cook 2 to 5 minutes, turning once, until golden. Repeat with remaining batter.

ps - I used butter, not oil to cook them. Butter makes everything better. 

On Top of Things. For five minutes

I forgot that I don't live with my mom anymore.
Which means that I need to know where important things are.
Like my Debit card. And bank statements.
And Reciepts and warranties of the washing machine and two laptops we just bought.
I thought I lost them.

So bought a file with dividers in them. One file. For many small, important things
It's green and from Walmart {my new favorite store and third home}.

But I forgot I don't live with my mom and didn't organize anything for a month.
For a month the empty file sat on the nightstand and stared at me.
It would have kept staring had Mr. FallingUp not shoved it into the drawer.

Then I realized my mom doesn't live with me.
And I cleaned out the drawers and gathered all the receipts and cards {gift cards too} and labelled everything. Now my file is full and happy. The end.

This was the proud moment of my day. My highlight. This is my life. My housewife life until I take my boards.
The end.

 One time my room was so messy the cleaning lady refused to clean it. 

My mother did not find it amusing.

I'm Depressed.

People do not have food or water. They are dying because they do not have food or water. And here we are, complaining that we can't breathe because we are so stuffed after shoveling spoonfuls of food down our throats after breaking our fast at dusk.

People have NOTHING to eat. NOTHING. How many times do we open the fridge with food hanging off the shelves, complaining that there is nothing to eat. How many times do we complain throughout the day that we are starving and we can't wait to break our fast? Some people don't have food to break their fast with.

How many times are we asked to donate and decline politely, saying we are on a tight budget and can't afford to, maybe some other time. You go home that night, trying very hard to figure out where you're going to put all the clothes and makeup you bought that day.

People are dying.

I'm not saying donate your whole paycheck anywhere. I'm just saying we can do what we can to try to help them. And if we think we can't, maybe we can give up one luxury for one day day {ex. a coffee/pop} and donate that each month. Every little bit helps. Imagine if everyone gave a a little every month to people less fortunate. It really adds up and hopefully would make a difference.

Remember to keep the starving people of Africa and the rest of the world {including your neighbors, you never know} in your prayers.

http://www.islamic-relief.com/donations/
http://www.supportunicef.org/site/pp.asp?c=9fLEJSOALpE&b=7542627

From point A to point B to point J then to point G and then finally

My throat is killing me!! No, seriously it's like it grew arms and now its proceeding to strangle itself.

I can't seem to focus on my studies for my life. My throat is keeping me in an irritated mood and sunset couldn't possible be taking longer to get here.
I hate my throat. Stupid thing can't seem to let me be miserable with my studies in peace. But with all my complaining and whinning with a suicidal throat, I feel as though I'm in a lot better state than whatever the hell is going on with our government and the stock market.

And I can't decide if whatever the hell that is going on with us is a lot better than the surreal riots taking place in London.

And despite everything feeling as though its falling apart, my most important thought at the end of the day is how do I be the difference I want to see in the world.

......Yeah. Um ..I lie. I wish that's what I was thinking. Truthfully, when the day is ending only thing I can think about is that there better be some AH-Mazing food and delicious water (I LOVE that transparent liquid gold) going in my stomach sometime very soon to make up for all the inaccessible food that's been shoved around under my nose all day.

But then I think, is this how unfair hunger feels like for the hungry? Especially when food is in front of them and they have no access to it. It's not like they get to have a fast breaking expecting compensation for all the food they "missed out" on.
It would be stupid of me to no tknow that when we eat or drink in front of so many that go hungry each day, that their hunger probaby feels a lot more than just unfair.

And yes, you just had the incomprehensible joy of reading a post that went from point A to point B to point J then to point G and then finally to Z.

Florida Keys

I went to the Florida Keys on my honeymoon a few months ago. We stayed in Marathon for the most part, but did end up going to Key West for the day as well as a day in Islamorada and Key Largo. Here are a *few* photos of Marathon.

 

This is Sombrero Beach. They Keys don't have many beaches and they have a LOT of jellyfish. But they were still very beautiful.

 I had yummy fish tacos. My husband had burgers the whole trip. He has a very limited palate and admits to this. I concur wholeheartedly. I think it's time I start cooking foods from around the world and making him eat it. All of it. For someone who loves to eat, I was surprised homeboy doesn't eally enjoy other food as much as Indian food.

Sunset on Sombrero beach.

W went snorkelling. Here I am in my Burqini! As my husband put it, I was the center of attraction. I borrowed my sister in laws but am totally going to buy one. It's worth it and although I got weird looks from being fully covered and going into the water {or being fully covered in general},  I was glad I could experience snorkelling, jet skiing and the other water sports.

You guys, I don't know how to swim, but I went. I thought I knew how to swim but it's been so long I think I developed a fear of the water. I can float, but not actively swim. I discovered this fact in the pool the night we arrived at the hotel. Swimming is a life skill everyone MUST learn. I am going to take adult classes as soon as I'm done with my exams.

We called Captain Hooks snorkelling and they told us weak swimmers are fine and they'll take care of us. So we went. I had a life jacket, a noodle and a rope so I don't float away from the boat. I am so glad I went. It was the best experience in my life. I never thought I'd feel the way I did when I first put my head in the water. Praise be to God. He made everything so beautiful and so perfect. I am still stupefied by it all.

This is a parrot fish. It's ugly but underwater is BEAUTIFUL. Someone caught it while we went fishing but we couldn't keep it. I wouldn't want to eat it anyways. We saw these while snorkelling and it was my favorite fish. PS - I caught the most fish on the trip. ;)

Here are our yellowtails. Most restaurants wll cook your catch for you. Me and the Mister took only enough fish for dinner that night and gave the rest to the other fisherman. My husband had a fried fish sandwich. Yum, of course. I had mine grilled and served with a side of baked beans. Which were delicious!!! And I later found out most recipes for baked beans call for bacon bits. Sigh. I'm going to have to make them myself in the future.

You can't go to the Keys and NOT have Key Lime pie. Dinner and Dessert at Barracuda Grill.

And  a few from Key West..

Shrimp Po' Boy, mmmm...

Sunset Festival. Every night at Sunset there are vendors and entertainers and food. 

  I liked Marathon for our honeymoon. It was private and laid back. I'm glad we didn't stay Key west. Key West was a lot of fun. We rented a moped for the day and there were a lot of things to do. But it was very very crowded and busy. Anyways, I'm fasting and studying so I guess I'm thinking about food and going on a vacation, which made me flip through these yummy memories. We'll definitely be going again, inshaAllah.  

Easy Stuffed Mushrooms

I made these recently for a party and I got a few requests to make them again as well as requests for the recipe, so I thought it blog worthy and have decided to share the recipe with you today.

When I think of stuffed anything I think a lot of work. I don't know why. I've made polenta stuffed peppers before and spinach and mushroom stuffed chicken, both which have turned out DELICIOUS. But I tend to shy away for recipes with the word "stuffed" it its title. I'm glad I made these. Make these and you will, too. :)

I really shouldn't blog about food while I'm fasting but I thought I'd post this before I forgot. And I haven't posted in months so it's about time.

These are quick and simple. Recipe at the bottom.

1. Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel or cloth. Remove stems. I prefer you NOT throw them away and there are recipes that reuse the stems but this one doesn't/ Make a fritatta or omlette or quiche with the stems.

2. We will be grilling the mushrooms and they can get very dry if you do, so take a brush an coat each mushroom with olive oil or if you need to make a million like I did, put the mushrooms in a plastic bag and throw in oil. Toss it aside and make sure they all get coated with oil. They'll look dry, but they soak up a LOT of the oil. A light coat is enough.

3. Mix equal amounts of cream cheese and parmesan cheese. For about 80 mushrooms I used 3 cups of each. Flavored cream cheese is better. I used fresh chives. Add salt, pepper and garlic/garlic powder to taste.

4. Spoon the mixture into the mushrooms. Just enough to fill them is fine. If it looks like it's too little, don't worry. The mushrooms will shrink on the grill. I sprinkled the tops of my mushrooms with breadcrumbs and red pepper powder, to give it a little kick.

5. Heat a grill. You can use a stove-top one. If you don't have a grill just use a regular pan. It should be ok.  DO NOT bake these. See how some of them are burned in the pic? Those ones went in the oven and the tops burned. I was in a hurry and we were trying to expedite the last batch, since my grill was tiny.

6. Grill them, covered, until they are not firm anymore. But don't wait too long or else they'll become mushy. 5-10 minutes? And these are best served hot off the grill. Enjoy!!

7. Ps - I preferred the brown baby bellas over the big white button mushrooms in terms of aesthetics. I have no idea how the white ones tasted. But since the white ones are bigger I'd probably have used rice or spinach in the stuffing. The smaller ones become even smaller after cooking so filling them with nothing but cheese isn't as bad. :)

Every time I think about it, I want to throw up.

For most of my life, I have found that I shy away from many things. I'm very timid and with respect to my students, I cant talk in large gatherings. I cant sing in front of most people. And I will definitely never act in front of anyone. Ever.

During 11th grade literature class in high school, we were required to read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley . And during that time, the required assignment happened to be an acting session. Each group of students was required to act out a scene from Frankenstein in front of the class. And then we had to do the same thing with another novel written by Richard Wright, Black Boy.

I skipped school both days, feigning a fever, and dont recall what ended up happening with regards to my grade. Obviously I passed though. Alhamdulilah.

Although it is a common joke between my friends and I, constantly making things "me, me, me", I have a very hard time being the center of attention.

I dont know how to react.

I dont know what to say.

And I dont know what to do with my hands and mouth! My mouth is always hanging open and my hands are always clenched in a weird gesture.

And I continuously have a nauseous feeling and a feeling of wanting to throw up.

Once upon a time, I thought I would get over this shyness.

Yeah, not so much.

Currently I've found myself thinking about an upcoming event in which I have to literally be on a stage. Not so much acting while up there, but up there nonetheless. In front of a group of people. Combine that with a numerous other thoughts floating in my head, and you have a very queasy Constructive Attitude.

And here we go again with the whole "I want to throw up" feeling.

And this time, I cant really skip the event.

Although it would be funny if I did.

Elohel.

So like I had a dream....

You know when you're dreaming, and you feel like it's so real? And you just want soooooo badly for it to be real? And you don't want to wake up from it?

You know?

I had one of those dreams today.

I dreamt I quit my job.

True story..err...true dream...I mean.

My assistant principal was being shady and I was being avoidant, and they caught me being avoidant, and I was to be "dealt" with later. And I was just so done with the pettiness of the school, so done with the unprofessional way of being treated, and truly fed up with the rude way I was constantly spoken to.

So I quit.

And I didn't even give a two weeks notice.

And I found another job. And I was happier at the other job.

HAH!

It was one of my best dreams thus far in life.

And I so wished it was true.

And everything that happened in it, is what I realllyyyyyyyyyy want to happen.


And here we are in the month of August, the most loathed month of the year by teachers. (Cause you know, school is like coming up...duh!) And everything's quickly approaching and time is ticking by so fast, and it's like I don't have any time to do anything. (But to be quite honest, I do. Alhamdulilah....It's just a feeling of an impending doom though)

Anyways, all I know is that I wish some dreams were real.

The end.