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Hijabi Life Recipes: Halal Pasta Carbonara

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20131230-220440.jpgAs a first generation American Muslim, it is easy to feel like you are in limbo. Your immigrant parents try to recreate life as they knew it “back home”, when in reality, the United States is home for you. Your parents may not understand why you yearn to try things like meatloaf, spaghetti, or macaroni and cheese. They yearn for things like kunefah, baklava, biryani, or any other special dish that they grew up with.

One thing I know my parents and inlaws will never understand is the Muslim American fascination with halal “bacon.” To be honest with you, I personally shunned pork so much that even the smell can make me feel sick!

However, my revert friend Sherry made no bones about how much she missed bacon once she became Muslim. She invited me over to try a “halal” BLT at her “halal” party replete with BLTs, s’mores, and Rice Krispies treats. Once I tried her BLT, I had to admit, it was delicious! After that experience with halal beef bacon, I started to think about how many recipes that called for bacon that I would love to try out.

The top of my list? A creamy, dreamy, halal pasta carbonara! With it’s cream, cheese, bacon, and pasta, it is a decadent dish that sticks to your ribs. Make it on days that you feel like a meal that warms your insides with comfort.

Ingredients
12 oz pasta (I prefer spaghetti..I used Shiratake Tofu Spaghetti because I don’t do well with carbs)
8 pieces Midamar’s Breakfast Beef (diced Small)
1/2 whole Medium Onion, Diced Small
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
3 whole Eggs
3/4 cups Finely Grated Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cups Heavy Cream
Salt & Plenty Of Black Pepper
1/2 cup Peas

1) Cook pasta according to package directions.

2) While the pasta is cooking, fry the bacon until just barely crisp.

3) Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Pour off all of the bacon grease, but don’t clean the pan.

4) Return the pan to the stove over medium-low heat and throw in the onions and garlic. Cook until golden brown. Set aside.

5) In a bowl, mix together eggs, Parmesan, cream, and salt and pepper until smooth.

5) When the pasta is done, reserve a cup or two of the pasta water.

6) Drain the pasta and place it in a bowl.

7) While the pasta is still really hot, slowly drizzle in the egg mixture, stirring the pasta the whole time. The sauce will become thick and should coat the pasta. Splash in a little hot pasta water if you see the that the mixture is too thick.

8) Halfway through, add the peas, bacon, and sauteed onion/garlic.

9) Finish adding the sauce, stirring until it’s all combined.

10) Serve right away and enjoy!

Yummy Treats

Easy Thanksgiving Banana Bread

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Salaams my lovelies! It is the day before Thanksgiving and I am sure that you are all prepping for a wonderful dinner with your loved ones tomorrow. I know I am! I am planning to post a turkey and apple pie recipe inshallah (God willing) that I promise works every time (those are my mainstays and I mix things up with the sides). While everyone thinks of pumpkin pie as being synonymous with Thanksgiving dinner, I have a terrible confession to make: I hate pumpkin pie! I know, everyone loooooves those pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin pie. Well everyone but me! So when I prep for Thanksgiving dinner, my go to pie is apple pie. However, I also like to give my guests another dessert option. Since there were overly ripe bananas on my counter and cream cheese frosting (store bought) in my fridge, I decided to save myself from throwing anything away and made banana bread.

Especially around this time of year when it starts to get colder, I become mindful of giving thanks for the blessings in my life. So I make extra effort not to throw anything out in terms of food, clean out my closet of excess clothes to donate, and also try to get involved in food and toy drives. Since I am trying not to waste food, when I saw those super brown bananas, I knew I had to make banana bread versus throwing them away.

The best thing about banana bread to me is that you not only save fruit you would normally throw away, but you also have a nice warm dessert that you can share with a few special friends. PS: This is a recipe from the Food Network by Joanne Chang from the bakery Flour in Boston but I added the cream cheese frosting part to the recipe.

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
3 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed
2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 can of cream cheese frosting

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Drizzle in oil. Add mashed bananas, creme fraiche, and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and nuts. Pour into a lined loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Allow pan to completely cool and then add cream cheese frosting.

Enjoy!

Beauty

Hijabi Beauty: Beautiful Hands

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Salaams my lovelies! As you know, the winter season is fast approaching. Which means there will be plenty of time for beautiful jackets, sweaters, and scarves. However, winter also means having to deal with dry chapped winter skin too. The part of the body that bears the brunt of winter’s harshness is your hands. From the cold whipping winds, and the dry harsh heat of indoor heating, the thin skin of your hands can get dry, scaly, and start to hurt. Since the hands and face are the parts of the body that practicing hijabis expose the most, it makes sense that those areas may need the most TLC. Here are some tips to keep those hands looking pretty year round:

Wear gloves when you can:

In the winter, there are still some crazy people (for example me) that sometimes refuse to wear gloves. However, gloves serve as the first barrier of protection for the sensitive skin on your hands from the elements. In fact, women up until the early 1900s used to wear gloves year round (even in the summer) because those ladies knew that the secret to youthful beautiful hands was to keep them out of the sun! Knowing myself, I still won’t wear gloves in the summer or spring, but I will most likely embrace them more this winter.

Use a hand cream:

Carry a hand cream that you know you will use regularly. I promise you that if you like using it, you will be more likely to use it when you need it. I used to adore the L’Occitane hand cream, but then I discovered this hand cream called Tocca Crema De Mano in Cleopatra. It is the freshest hand cream fragrance I have ever smelled! It’s a mix of pomegranate and cucumber and while that sounds like an odd combination, this smells like a garden after a refreshing rain shower. Just the smell alone gets rid of my winter blahs!

Shape nails weekly

It is recommended in Islam to clip your nails weekly. I prefer to actually shorten my nails by shaping them with a nail file because it prevents nails from getting fractured or broken.

I hope these tips keep your hands looking beautiful all season long! What are your tips for nice hands?

Style

Hijabi Trend: Winter Pastels

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Jessica Alba pink skirt

Jessica Alba pulls off the cold weather pastel trend perfectly

Salaams my lovelies! I know I should be blogging more, but you know how it goes when you have a full time job plus a little babykins. Life basically happens and then there is no downtime to craft a good quality post for you!

That being said, I am going to make more of an effort to stalk my favorite hijabi style stars and curate the best and the brightest trends for you. Also, since Thanksgiving is coming up, expect a few recipe posts inshallah (God willing)! I actually did an amazing apple tart last night as a test run dessert, but it was devoured in minutes before I could stage and take pictures for you! Neddless to say, I will be replicating that recipe and sharing that with you before Thanksgiving.

Now that we are on full on winter mode, the instant reflex is to toss out all of our spring/summer pastel pieces in favor of darker jewel toned pieces. I adore jewel toned pieces, but I live on a real world budget and need to rely on great clothing combinations in order to avoid spending a ton of money on clothing. One of my favorite tactics is to take a page from Jessica Alba’s style book and actually pair a winter sweater with all of my pastel skirts. I bet most of you already have a pastel skirt AND a black sweater. Pair the two together with some accessories, and voila! You have an instantly chic outfit that would make any Parisian proud (or in my opinion, any British hijabi vlogger).

If you happen to be the one hijabi without a pastel skirt, please visit Hijabi-ista.com and check out their pastel pleated skirts. They are not see through and they are as comfortable as pajamas (I kid you not).

Try out the combination and let me know what you think! What are your tips for wearing pastels in winter?

Style

Hijabi Trend: Embellished Shoulders

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embellished shoulders with spikes

Embellishments on the shoulders are an emerging trend with the hijabi set.

Are you looking to change up your hijab style a little? One emerging trend from the hijabi fashion set has been to embellish the shoulders of their outfits. If you are a little fashion risk averse, this is the perfect trend for you. I mean think about it, shoulders are pretty much standard on every one so you know a little shoulder embellishment will look as good on you as it does on a runway model. It is the perfect place to take a little fashion risk without looking too foolish. Here are some tips to pull off the look:

Give it Some Edge:If you are tired of super girly pastels and florals and want to embrace your inner edge, you may want to consider putting some finishing touches on the shoulders of your abaya. The hottest hijabi trend has been to pump up the style of your abaya with strong shoulder pads, ruching, and even spikes and chains for a look that is definitely not your auntie’s style.

Make It Pretty:If you are looking for a softer feel, you can always spice things up with sequin detailing at the shoulders, or contrast color blocking too. Whatever you choose in terms of shoulder embellishments, it will be a look that will stand out from the rest.

Do It Yourself: This is the perfect trend to refresh some dated pieces in your wardrobe. Do you have an old blazer you don’t wear anymore? Bring it back to life by sewing some ribboned chains from the craft store to the shoulder, adding some spikes, or even making it sparkle with some hot glued crystals. Your imagination can run a little wild and you may end up with a cool piece without breaking your budget.

What do you think of this trend?

Style

Online Shopping Review: Rhonda’s Collections

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Kaftan

Rhonda’s Collection is a great place to shop for fully lined figure flattering kaftans for a glam look.

I am always on the look out for great places to shop for modest, yet fashionable clothing items. My latest find is an online store that sells butterfly kaftans and other modest fashion designs. Meet Rhonda’s Collections, an online store based in the UK that should be on your online shopping destinations list:

Here is a rundown of how I ordered my items through Rhonda’s Collections:

Online Browsing: For this, I feel like Rhonda’s Collection should do a refresh and add kaftans under the clothing category. All of their kaftans are currently listed under Dresses. I would click the drop down that says Clothing, then select the option that says Dresses (UK 6-12). Other than that, the images are true to what you order and there is a diverse group of options.

Buying Experience: Once you purchase your items, you will get a note with salams via email thanking you for your purchase along with a convenient tracking number that you can use to track your shipment. Very handy especially if you need the items before a big event like Eid or a wedding. They also make sure to always add a free gift with any purchase and it is typically a very pretty piece of jewelry that you can use to accessorize with your purchase.

Shipping: There is FREE shipping for all orders in the UK at special times of the year. For all other countries, shipping is a flat rate of $27! That is a lot of money, so I would suggest ordering with a group of friends, or at least ordering multiple items so you can stock up. It ships quickly and you will get an email notification of when it ships along with a tracking URL. You can track when your package will arrive which is always nice!

When I finally opened my package, I thought the kaftans looked even better in person than they did online! My mom has already told me I need to order her one and one for my sister, so I foresee a lot of shopping with Rhonda’s Collections inshallah. Make sure to check them out for the nicest butterfly kaftans and butterfly abayas around.

Life, Yummy Treats

Meet the Brand: Numi Tea

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Reem from Numi Tea

Reem from Numi Tea enjoying her beverage of choice

Salaams my lovelies! It is my favorite season of all: Fall. Fall is a time where we all snuggle a little closer, enjoy sweater weather, and of course, sip tea. When I reach for tea, I invariably return again and again to my favorite tea brand of all, Numi Tea. Numi Tea is a local Bay area company that blends artisanal teas that are based on global tea flavors around the world. If you have not tried them, please take some time and try them out. I promise they will transport you to far flung places like Morocco, dusty plains of central Africa, or the lush verdant gardens of India without you having to even step out of your pjs. The power of tea is as transformative as it is nourishing to the soul.

Numi Tea is kosher certified as well as organic and offer consumers a sustainable way to enjoy tea.

Here is an interview I had with Reem Rahim, one of the co founders of Numi Tea:

Q: Let me start by saying I love your tea. What made you so passionate about tea that you wanted to start a tea company?

A:Thank you. I’m glad you enjoy our tea. Coming from Iraq, my family has always drunk tea as the hot beverage of choice. So I grew up with black tea all my life. We had also always drunk a Dry desert Lime called Numi Basrah. That was the inspiration for the starting the company. Ahmed had owned and operated teahouses in Prague. During that time, he was exposed to many varieties of tea – green, white, oolong, Pu-erh and many herbal teas. He taught me about all the varieties and nuances of teas and I have fallen in love with the beverage.

Q: Who serves as your main inspiration for new tea flavors? How do you go about product development?
A: This is developed though travelling and trying all sorts of new things. Keeping one’s ear to the ground in terms of trends and what’s new helps as well. Ahmed develops the new tea products and we work as a team to come up with the formulas and taste until they are finalized.

Q: If you have a great business idea, what is the first you need to do to get started?
A: Research the market to see what’s out there. Then refine your idea, who you’re marketing to, what is the problem, the need and the solution. Create a one-page synopsis of your concept.

Q: As a Muslim entrepreneur, what is the most important piece of advice would you give someone starting out?
A; Firstly, I don’t consider myself a Muslim entrepreneur. I am an entrepreneur and keep my religious practices personal and private. I wouldn’t recommend combining one’s religion with their professional life. That will only get in the way and cloud one’s work; and not allow you the freedom to pursue your capabilities. That said, one’s background and personal life always informs their beliefs, principles and ethics. Having grown up in an Arab, Muslim background, generosity, family, fairness and giving back has always been in our culture and is infused into our daily business practices.

Q: When you are not working on Numi Tea as a business what do you do for fun?
A: I spend time with my family – my husband and 5-year-old step-son. I like to be outside and work in the garden or go for walks. I also am an artist and paint when I can. I also love to travel.

Q: What do you hope resonates with consumers about the Numi tea brand?
A: I hope that people firstly taste the difference in quality of our teas and really enjoy those moments of tea sipping. We put a lot of care into making our teas and I hope that care is felt. I also hope that our brand sets an example of a new paradigm in business where you can sell a product and do good at the same time.

Q: In your tea instructions, you add little tidbits like setting water to boil while humming. Who was the inspiration behind that?
A: I’m not sure who the inspiration was. This was something we came up with when we first started to make the experience of unwrapping our packaging fun. We wanted to take the customer through a story and a meaningful experience rather than just drinking tea.

Q: Thank you for taking the time out for answering questions for my Hijabi Life readers. Is there one special tea house you would recommend our readers to visit here in the Bay Area?
A: Samovar in the Castro!

Life, Yummy Treats

Hijabi Obsession: Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter

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Trader Joe's Cookie Butter

Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter is so delicious, there is a purchase limit of two per customer!

Salaams my lovelies! I hope you had a fabulous week inshallah. Okay, so if you are regular reader, you know I try to avoid refined sugar and sugar laden food products. One of my favorite healthy snacks is a slice of whole grain toast with peanut butter topped with blueberries (try it, its delicious). While I was shopping for peanut butter at Trader Joe’s, I happened to notice an item called Cookie Butter. I also noticed there was a mob of people around the display of all ages trying to get a jar. I don’t know about you, but when I see a mob of people, it makes me even MORE curious. Why were all of these people clamoring for this mysterious cookie butter?

I bought a jar and took it home. When it was time for my typically healthy snack, I replaced my usual peanut butter for cookie butter. WHOA. Cookie butter tastes like a spreadable version of the cookie known as biscoff. While I am sure that it is not as healthy as my peanut butter is, I have to tell you that I may have to eat this cookie butter as my “treat” item instead of my typical short salted caramel hot chocolate from Starbucks. The Hubster even said that he liked it better than Nutella! I don’t know if I personally like it better than Nutella, but its pretty darn good.

Next time you are in Trader Joe’s, make sure to try it and let me know what you think! PS: Expect some more foodie posts coming your way along with some exciting news inshallah!

Islam, Life

Scary Trend: Mean Girls With Hijab

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Salaams my lovelies! I hope you have all had a wonderful week inshallah. Typically, I do a fun Follow Friday post, but today, I wanted to share something personal with you. I recently stopped blogging for a bit because of something I have had to grapple with. I have noticed a scary new trend that I would like to call “mean girls with hijab.” Just so you know, I am a hijabi and I always try to love and support all of my fellow hijabis, but with the advent of texting, email, and social media, it seems that some of these fellow hijabis are not quite into sisterhood like I am.

I am going to share one of my own personal experiences with this. Obviously, I have left off names, but the interaction with this mother of two really jarred me. Recently a hijabi sister reached out in a mass message letting a group know she will be going to Hajj and asking for us to forgive her if she ever hurt anyone intentionally or unintentionally.  She supplied her personal email address so we can reach out to her directly if we needed to. Well I made the mistake to actually reach out and ask her why she had removed me from her friend list on Facebook to begin with. If I were to go back in time, I would have never emailed this sister because the response I actually got back was so disturbing that I really regret reaching out. Here is what I had  initially sent:

 Mabruk on going to Hajj this year! I wanted to let you know I never had any ill will or hard feelings toward you, but can you tell me why you had defriended me on Facebook?
At the time it had hurt my feelings as I didn’t know you very well. But if you feel bad because of things someone else told you, I wish you would let me know.
Good luck on the most blessed of journeys!

Granted, I should not have assumed she was being told anything about me, but here is what I was sent back (edited since it was  lengthy):

I make my friends based on people which I find would be a good company for me and would be a good surrounding for my kids. 
 
The first time I met u u came across to me as some one who was very materialistic who wanted people to know that she had a (I have deleted the brand name here) diamond ring.  There was no conversation about any type of jewelry between you and I and then all of a sudden you were (i feel) bragging about ur ring which turned me off soooooo much.  I like to make friends with people who show no care about the wordly things and i’m sorry if I came across to u as someone who cared about this. 
I personally was really surprised by this email and just wished her a wonderful trip to Allah’s house, but I did not call her. However, I was left feeling worse off than before I emailed her. I was sent this email earlier in the week, and I wondered all week if I should share it because I did not want to share something so personal. However, I felt if I was getting emails like this, than all of my readers must have encountered something like this. A situation where a fellow hijabi is hiding behind technology to write something mean to you. A situation where a fellow hijabi would never personally utter the words to another hijabi in person, but can be mean via text, email or social media.
The reason I ultimately decided to show you this email is two fold. To show you that first we must be introspective. The instance she mentioned? Maybe I was showing and I need to be mindful of first impressions. Perhaps I need to work on myself. While this email wasn’t worded the best way, it did highlight something that I need to work on with myself. The other reason I shared this email is that I wanted to actually take these hateful words out of the “hidden” world of technology. Now that these words are on my blog, do these words still seem appropriate?
Let’s all be mindful of the sunnah and think before we type or speak. I know I definitely will.