The Story Of Us

Eid Mubarak! We celebrated Eid on Tuesday.  Traditionally there are two foods that are made in every home during eid, dates and sheerkuma. The dates are not the medjool dates but a dried version which we soak in water to replump and then cook in milk and then stuff with a sweet nut mixture. Sheerkuma is a milk based drink with chopped nuts, chopped dates and vermicelli.. mostly drunk warm but M and I like ours cold.   Tuesday morning we went to the mosque for prayers and then after breakfast and a much craved cup of coffee we went to the movies.        We went to watch the new Ghostbusters movie.. and when you go to the movies in the early afternoon on a weekday the tickets are not only cheaper but you get the whole place to yourself. Then we hit the mall and let the kids go on a little shopping spree. Later that evening we got all dressed up and went out with our friends for dinner. We ate at a local Turkish restaurant and I made a reel here if you w...

Not much has been going on lately. Today marks day 23 of fasting. The countdown has begun.  It has been raining pretty steadily here.. not my favorite weather but it also means things are starting to bloom. The kids just started their spring break and just because we can't go anywhere right now doesn't mean I am not planning the rest of the years trips.  A couple weekends ago we hosted an iftar (breaking of fast) party at our house and I made these delicious pistachio tiramisu . Very easy and super yummy.  M and I really liked these coconut clusters at Costco to use as granola but they no longer carry them and after trying a few other granola's and not loving them I decided to make my own. So easy.. why have I not been doing this all along?! I used coconut flakes, pumpkin seeds, sunflowers seeds, ground chia seeds, ground flax seeds, pecans, cinnamon and steel cut oats. And bound the mixture using honey, vanilla and coconut oil.    In addition, to help us get th...

First of all, thank you for all comments about the basement.This is what it looks like now. It's a work in progress but atleast progress is being made. On Sunday we celebrated the first day of Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar. Islam follows a lunar calendar meaning it changes every year. It is the month of fasting, prayer and charity.  We start the roza (fasting) just before dawn, there is an actual time when the roza starts so all eating must be done before then. We wake up and have sehri (breakfast) which can be as simple as a bowl of cereal to an elaborate multi dished meal. M and I try to open our eyes as little as possible so we stick with simple. We mix it up a bit with eggs and toast, cereal with fruit. In my opinion this is the hardest part of the fast. Forcing yourself to eat a meal in the middle of the night. Once the roza starts there is no intake of any food or fluids. No sips of water, no medication, no lip balm, toothpaste (we still brush o...

Hello everyone! I know I have been MIA the last couple of weeks, we have been celebrating the month of Ramadan and not much happened during the month.   I did host an iftar party and we did meet up with friends once or twice but most of the month was spent in hibernation mode.  On Friday we celebrated Eid. I did a most detailed post on Eid and it's traditions a couple of years ago which you can check out here . We start Eid morning pre dawn at the mosque for Eid prayers. Afterwards the mosque hosts a large breakfast but our family tradition is to duck out, come home, freshen up and go out for a restaurant breakfast. M and the kids all take the day off. So what we did this Eid We started with a BIG breakfast at Brownstone Pancake Factory.. this might be our new favorite place. Next stop the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey.  I had been here many years ago with D for his Kindergarten field trip and had wanted to return ever since.  D then D now It's such ...

Last week we started the holy month of Ramadan. I posted a detailed post about Ramadan last year.. feel free to check it out here .  Today instead I wanted to share with you what I have been doing to prepare for Ramadan. The few days leading up to the month I made some snacks to eat during sehori (pre dawn meal) or after dinner when you get those late night munchies would don't want to end up eating a bag of chips. T hese are not official desi/muslim recipes it just what I made. The first thing I..well actually H did about 90% of the work so I should give him the credit, made was Banana Oatmeal Muffins . They tasted too healthy according to M. Will probably omit the oatmeal next time. I added peanut butter chip to them as well.    Next I made malai which is like a thick sweetened cream to be eaten with toast. There is a story to this one. Back in Pakistan you get raw cow's milk (pasteurized is also available and now more common) The milk needs to be boiled to make it drin...