This was the perfect dinner on a cold Friday night after a long, long week at school. We curled up watched old LOST episodes with bowls of this spicy, gingery chicken and vegetable braise lushing over rice. Okay, so lushing is not a word, but it somehow describes this meal. This one’s a keeper.

I’ve been wanting to try braising ever since I read a techniques article in Cooking Light a few months ago. So when I found the perfect ingredients in my fridge for an Asian-inspired dish, I decided to try it. Braising the chicken breast was nowhere as complicated as I thought it would be, and it made the chicken very flavorful and soft. I was just learning this technique, so I made it with one half of a chicken breast (cut into two pieces, one each for Ameir and I). It was actually enough for a very filling meal because of all the vegetables and rice.

To braise, you lightly brown the meat first, remove the meat from the pan, and cover the meat with some foil. Then add the vegetables to the same pan, deglaze with the stock, then simmer, then add the meat back and simmer. I added a middle step and simmered the stock with the vegetables before adding the meat. The liquid should not cover the meat, only come up the sides. Also, the key is to only simmer the meat - cooking it slowly is what gives it flavor and softness.

Click here for the recipe (more…)

Masjid Al-Amawi, Damascus, Syria. This is the artwork on the building inside the courtyard which serves as the Musallah.

My friend Inji recently asked for this story, so I’m sharing it here as well. I heard it from Sheikh Hamza Yusuf at the “Reviving the Islamic Spirit” conference in Toronto. Sheikh Hamza said that scholars aren’t sure if it’s exactly true, but the fact that it is in a lot of scholarly books shows that they thought it was a very important story and lesson I’ll try to remember it as accurately as possible. The pictures are from Masjid Al-Amawi in Damascus, because it is a masjid that used to be a church. It’s a beautiful blend of cultures and architecture, with one steeple and one minaret. Muslims believe that the prophecy of Jesus returning to the world “between the two white minarets” refers to this mosque. John the Baptist’s head is entombed there, and Pope John Paul II visited it in 2001.

There was a man named Sheikh Daud Al-Baghdadi, known as a very noble and learned scholar. He had memorized entire tracts of Hadith and was a Hafidh - he had memorized the entire Qur’aan and had even mastered all of the seven different methods of reciting it. Sheikh Daud was famous for his ability to teach people about Islam and for the thousands of people who had converted to Islam after learning from him.

Sheikh Daud and some of his students were traveling to visit villages around the land to teach and convert them to Islam. when they came upon a village they knew to be Christian. They stood on a small hillock overlooking the village, resting for a while before they went in. Soon, they went down to the village and entered the gate and looked for someone to speak to. They saw a young peasant girl, very modestly dressed in plain clothing. She welcomed them in and drew water from the well to give them.

Sheikh Daud began to stare at her, gazing at her intently. His students were horrified that he was so openly and blatantly staring at a woman. “Ya Sheikh!” they cried, “We are taught to lower our gaze! Why are you staring at this woman!” “She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” he responded. “Ask her to take me to her father, for I wish to marry her.”

Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: That will make for greater purity for them. And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 24, “The Light,” Verse 30

The girl agreed to take the group to her father, but Sheikh Daud insisted that his students leave without him. At this point, they were incredulous and insisted upon staying until they could all leave together. He demanded that they leave, however, and continue with their work. “I’ll catch up with you in a few days,” he said. They agreed and left.

It became a few days, a week, a month, and there was no sign of Sheikh Daud. His students were very worried, and decided to go back and search for him.

The lines of intricately carved columns in Al-Amawi’s courtyard.

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This brownie recipe by Angie on Allrecipes.com is excellent. They don’t puff up like the box mixes do, but they’re a deliciously soft, dense, and chocolaty brownie. The last time I made them with the intention to photograph/publish, Ameir’s friends were over and the finished product was gone before I could take a picture. Angie also has a frosting recipe to go with it, but they’re great without as well.

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My family, being of the classic Desi/Arab mentality, likes to buy in bulk. Which means that at the end of a week, we’ll have at least 5 almost too-ripe bananas that must be used. Solution: grab a wooden spoon, a big bowl, and start mushing.

This is my absolute favorite banana bread recipe. The basic recipe is from Joy of Cooking, but I change things around to make it my own. It’s a mix of the basic + improv of whatever I find at home that I think would be nice in it. Actually, come to think of it, the bread often turns out more like cake because I put a little more sugar and definitely more bananas than the recipe calls for. It comes out excellent every time, Alhamdulillah

Click link below for recipe
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