Darnit, its turning into a food Ramadan and its my own fault. grr. Fasting goes well. Due to the timing of certain things, this will be the longest running stretch of fasting ever, probably 25 days in a row.
I have real problems with self getting in the way. Not praying on time and other things because my lazy self wants to sleep or wants to do something later. If I keep saying later on things, I going to dead. I have talked about fasting with non-muslims and I usually hear the same story — too hard, dehydration, need my caffeine, so on and so forth. We truly are ruled by our stomachs. It hit me during one of these times that fasting would be hard if there was no reason to do it. For me, and probably other muslims as well, there is a belief that you are committing a wrong by not fasting during Ramadan. Even more so than that, that there is a definitive punishment for breaking ones fast frivolously – 30 consecutive days of fasting. Allah wants my fasting so He gets it. The end. I make do.
The other morning, I slept through suhur (breakfast), which means my husband also slept through suhur. I was angry and whining about not making it through the day. My husband stopped me in my tracks by sleepily pointing out that there are muslims in Pakistan fasting today as well who don't have anything to look forward to at iftar right now due to the earthquake. He's right. I will have a dinner to look forward to, insha'allah, and another breakfast and others who do not fast continuously over days because they have nothing at all to eat.
On a brighter note, I've lost about 12 pounds. I think they are located at the soda fountain at work I no longer frequent… *grin* Its nice to have things fit again. In this regard, this Ramadan has been a success because I am not being a total glutton at night and eating to make up for the whole day.
On a soda note, Fresca is making two new flavors: Peach Citrus and Black Cherry Citrus. The peach is muy fabuloso. I will try the black cherry tonight. No caffeine, no sugar. Yes, aspartame, but its not nasty like aspartame normally is. I think citrus flavors cover up that weird flavor (which would account for the fact that I like sweet n low in my lemonade, but nowhere else).
I have been a cooking diva these last two weeks. I think its mainly because I fixed the basmati problem. Tonight's dinner, which is going to the masjid potluck, is my version of kebseh. One pot of basmati rice, onion and small veggies sauteed well, fresh tomatoes (I used grape this time because they were the only ones that looked ripe) and garlic. Add in spices and mix with rice and voila. Until recently, I did not know I owned a container of ras-al-hanout, a moroccan spice. Joie de vive! Its a mix of a whole bunch of stuff not limited to paprika, allspice, cinnamon, cardamom and et cetera. Its very much like kebseh spice.
And since I am still spouting and Hamza is watching Clifford, the basmati fix is this: 1.5 cups of water to 1 cup ricethree washes, no soaking5 minutes medium high boil, covered6-8 minutes on low, coveredFluff. I do not add oil, but I use a generous portion of adobo (thanks UZ!!)
Now that I have made your mouth water, I will take my leave. Adieu, mon amis!
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fe-rah\'go, n. 