Yummy foods at the Turkish mosque today, alhamdulillah đ
And I met a really friendly Turkish girl! I always feel happy to meet fellow Muslims, coz I donât have that many Muslim girl friends here. Iâm not picky when it comes to making friends, but itâd be convenient for me to know them, especially when I have to go to the mosque or Islamic events â I wonât be the only girl around.
It was a tiring and fulfilling day for me. I have just came back from an ifthar gathering with an Indonesian community here. I was one of the seksi sibuk (people who are busy because theyâre in charge of the whole event). I was standby from 2pm til the end of the gathering! Helping to cook, clean, re-arrange, distribute the foods, and of course eat them! Though I was very tired by the time I reached home, I always loved to help :). It made me happy, somehow.
There were about 25 people came to the gathering. The foods were plenty! And they were so delicious! Again, I ate too much that my stomach complained all the time. I wonât eat again for sahur. Itâs enough.
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I had one of the best ifthar today at a Turkish mosque. The foods were so delicious! And there were A LOT to choose from! The picture above only shows the appetizers. I didnât get to take a picture of the main dish (rice with chicken) and the super sweet baklava.
Alhamdulillah! đ
I was invited to a friendâs house for dinner today, i.e. buka puasa (break the fast) together. I had been thinking, hmm⌠what food should I bring? Should I just bring the atayef that I made yesterday? Or should I make something else? As I was browsing some recipes, I suddenly craved for mahshi, a delicious Arab dish that my mom used to make. It is a stuffed vegetables â usually zucchini, eggplant, or bell pepper stuffed with rice and ground beef. So yeah, I decided to make it!
A friend of mine, Elva, came over in the afternoon. We did grocery shopping and eventually cook together. She helped me with mahshi, which was surprisingly very easy to make (recipe can be found here). We also spent some time talking in the backyard. It was a really nice day! The weather was just PERFECT! Loved it!
After successfully cooking the mahshi, we then went to the friendâs house we were invited to. This was my first time in this yearâs Ramadhan breaking my fast together with other people. I had been doing it alone and I didnât like it to be honest (seriously, stop complaining, Amalia!). And today I felt so happy to be surrounded with friends đ
And the mahshi turned out to be delicious! đ Yum!
One of the things I miss about spending Ramadhan in Jeddah is the foods! Damn, I miss those Arab/Mediterranean foods that my mom always made especially during this holy month. Atayef is one of them. It is an Arab version of pancake. It is sold everywhere on streets of Jeddah during the Ramadhan (and itâs only sold during this month!). We used to eat it as an appetizer before the main meal was served.
So today, I attempted to make some atayef. It wasnât my first time making it actually. I made it last year too and it was quite nice :).
The recipe can be found here. I used a syrup of palm sugar instead of custard to eat it. An ice cream or a normal pancake syrup can be a nice combination too!
Well, at least atayef temporarily heals my homesickness :). Ramadhan seriously improves my cooking mood!
Alhamdulillah, though I couldnât eat for 17 hours, todayâs fasting wasnât that bad. I did feel so lacking of energy but I was sure that I would get used to it in the end. I intentionally stayed at home today — I didnât feel the hunger and thirstiness until 2 hours before I had to break the fast.
Anyway, I was quite satisfied that today I was able to read 3 sections (juz) of the Qurâan. I also did some memorizing for juz âAmma â I used to remember the whole chapters (surah) in juz âAmma but as I got older, I forgot some of them đ . My goal for this yearâs Ramadhan is to memorize the whole surahs in juz âAmma. Insya Allah.
A very funny and entertaining video discussing about issues concerning Ramadhan (e.g. moon sighting wars, super speed taraweeh, 8 vs 20 rakaats, etc). This video serves as a reminder for all of us, the Muslims around the world đ
Tomorrow is my first day of fasting! I hope itâs going to be smooth. Iâm planning to stay at home the whole day tomorrow so that I wonât be wasting my energy too much. I need to get used to the whole 17 hours fasting. I used to fast days before Ramadhan, so that by the time I had to start the ârealâ fasting, I wouldnât be struggling so hard. But for some reasons, I didnât do it this time and I really hope I could handle it :). Iâm sure I will. Insya Allah.
I spent almost the whole day today being a proofreader for my friend, whoâs currently doing his thesis. Just wanted to help, nothing else. I then went to see my friend Yaqing and her boyfriend, Chris in the Centrum. We had dinner together and had such a nice conversation. We hadnât seen each other for 2 months already! The last time I saw Yaqing was before I went back to Indonesia. I was so glad that she had found someone to be with :). Kinda envy her a little bit haha. But anyway we talked about so many things: politics, our life, and not to forget⌠our traveling plans! It turned out Chris really wanted to go to Iran! What a coincidence! Iâd loooove to join in đ
Iâm quite full with the dinner today. I still have some left overs in the fridge and thatâs what Iâm going to eat for my sahur. One of the hardest thing about fasting during summer (besides the long duration) is that we only have about 7 hours before Fajr! So, you break the fast at around 9pm, eat some heavy meals and by the time you want to eat for sahur your stomach is still full! Most of the time I eat heavy meals once during sahur, otherwise my stomach wonât take it anymore. Iâm still thinking how Iâm going to do this, should I just eat heavy meals in the middle, say at 12am⌠and eat some cookies, deserts, or light foods for iftar and sahur? Yeah, maybe I should try that first.
Ok, time for Qurâan reading đ
Ramadhan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur’an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and wrong). So every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (Should be made up) by days later. Allah intends every facility for you; He does not want to put to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful.
Ramadhan kareem! Kullu 3am wa antum be7air đ