Tuesday, 21 April 2015

Life, Lately: 28 March - 17 April 2015.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful






so, I took a little break from blogging recently.
it was good. I needed it. now, I'm back. hopefully, there will be new recipes from me every week - there's like four draft posts ready for me to finish. a pizza, two cakes and maybe some buns?

anyhoo, I'm back to blogging on a more regular basis. in the meantime, if you want to see more from me, head over to my Instagram.

here's what's been happening lately:

 on a Friday afternoon, I baked these cookies. they were so good. and different. they were chocolate chunk with cornflakes.
speaking of cornflakes, these chocolate cornflake bars were sprinkled with sea salt. game changer.
 eggs are my favourite - usually scrambled but chocolate will do too.
made this dish on Sunday. it made my Sunday.
Mum made this keema with potatoes and peas. wow, it was spicy.
mum made this fig and seed barfi. it was surprisingly good.
the first daffodils of the year. fresh flowers around the house are my favourite.
this pizza was so yum.
I shot it again a few days ago so it'll be yours soon.
a giant bag of cornflakes needed to be used up.
so we made chocolate cornflake cakes. mini eggs and dessicated coconut on top. the coconut ones went nowhere near my mouth.
I made this salad for lunch one day.
well, it kinda turned into a stir-fry.
it was really delicious though - a warm honey soy pulled chicken salad/stir-fry thing.
March ended way too quickly - here's my round-up.


I can't even remember what day this was - the beginning of April, I think. 

anyway, we decided to make a tart for lunch.

one tart turned into two. a pastry was made with herbs running through it.

it was filled with all kinds of goodness.

and baked. it was so pretty, it deserved a cake stand.
and how did they taste? like a pizza almost - which is never a bad thing. and they brought sunshine to a super cloudy day.
with the tarts, a salad: tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, coriander in a sweet chilli ginger dressing. yum central.
on a Friday afternoon, we made besan barfi. kind of similar to this recipe but kind of not.
it's one of my favourite Pakistani sweets. I know most people would pick jalebi or gulab jaman as their favourite but for me, it's the humble besan barfi every time. made with gram flour and plenty of sugar, it's got this nutty, fudgy taste which is super addictive.
on a Saturday, I made Thai green curry. I wish I could have made it from scratch but a jar of curry sauce was all I had. alhamdulillah.

with it, I cooked brown rice. now, how do you people cook your brown rice? not pulao but actual brown rice. maybe it's because I'm so used to white rice, but the texture of this was bobbly and weird -  and I swear I followed the package instructions. any tips?
one highlight of the day was making this salsa. gosh, it's so good.

the weather in England has been beautiful over the past few weeks. plenty of sunshine and blue skies. my favourite.
April always means daffodils. those bright yellow flowers can't help but cheer you up.
then, for a spot of baking.
these buns were so yum. glazed, they were almost like doughnuts, which is never a bad thing.

breakfast on a Sunday with coffee and a bun.
and pasta for dinner - this is the recipe I adapted.

a very hot bank holiday Monday spent in the garden with fresh mango and yoghurt.

another hot day - this time, banana ice cream with sprinkles. the recipe I adapted is here.
more baking - this time, with coffee.
cookie and coffee in one. the recipe is here.

on a Wednesday at lunch, I tried these rice paper rolls. still not used to the texture but the recipe I adapted is here.

a Friday afternoon was spent making keema biryani and having a total aeroplane-geek moment. 
and the Saturday that followed was a day for scones.

with raisins and cherries (and homemade jam) - Mum's favourite.
later, dumplings.

half were fried and half were steamed. eaten with a carrot salad and soy dipping sauce, they were so good.
been loving the ferrero rochers lately. 
grilled cheese and this soup for lunch. it rained so soup was a must.

today, I tried these veggie pancakes.


a lovely and different way to use cabbage and carrot.
also, in the kitchen, there was a dough for tortillas.
chicken marinading in a spicy, lemon marinade made with lemon juice + red chilli flakes + paprika + chilli sauce + honey + salt + olive oil.
which I then cooked to be wrapped in a homemade wrap.
there was also fish being fried.
a curry being made.
and roti being eaten. (with fish).
those tortillas turned out really well too.


random Tuesday lunch of chicken nachos.
the recipe is here.
and, fyi, quesadillas made with homemade tortillas are so good.
even if I forgot to make the awesome salsa with them.
leftover tortilla dough = lunchtime pizza.
and I have completely forgotten what was on it. hey, it happens. even to a photo-obsessed blogger like me.
on the evenings when no one can be bothered, spicy scrambled eggs and potatoes save the day. ps. I added peas. because I love them.
how deceptive are these strawberries? I bet you think they must have been really sweet. wrong! they were the complete opposite. and that is where Nutella comes in my friends.

afternoon snack: yoghurt + granola + raspberries. reminder to me: make more homemade granola. the shop one is way too sweet.
dinner: this recipe. except it was more lime than lemon and I added sriracha for spice.
 early Friday morning gluten-free cookie baking session.

ground almonds were the star of this one. I'll try and share it with you soon.
pizza time!
this pizza will be on it's way to you soon, insha Allah.

{may every word that is ever spoken by our mouths or typed by our fingers be words that lift up, and never words that tear down}

Have a beautiful week everyone - take a walk, read some Quran and organize your fridge!

Wasalaam!


Spice Enthusiast
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