Garden Picnics, Baby Cupcakes and More!

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Whew! What a week!

It has been such a long week here mainly because of the heatwave in the middle of it. I forgot how hot England can be in the Summer! We are still in lockdown but the rules have been easing up. My week was a mixture of the usual working from home, surviving the hottest day of the year so far, picnics in the garden, baking quiches with and without pastry, frying fish on the deck, finally escaping the town, and being gifted the above adorable cupcakes (baked by my cousin - you can order from her here) from my cousins to celebrate our newest niece. She was born in Ramadan during the height of lockdown and is the sweetest baby. We are so happy to welcome her into our gang!

Monday 22 June 1:51pm Mango and passion fruit sorbet on the deck. News says it's going to be a hot week!

8:59pm Clouds floating by at the end of a productive day. 🤓

Tuesday 23 June 12:10pm Tomatoes and onions going into roast with sugar, vegetable stock, lemon juice, butter, salt, pepper, dried thyme and fresh oregano.

1:22pm Mum rolling out her shortcrust pastry which she had some trouble with today. More water was needed!

2:08pm The tomatoes and onions are ready. Going to let them cool and use later on in a quiche.

2:43pm Simple vanilla fairy cakes.

3:21pm Topped with vanilla icing and sprinkles. I used this recipe.

3:49pm Trying to get this one as close to bugs as we can. She's terrified of them!

4:07pm Picnic on the lawn in the blazing sunshine.

4:24pm Getting to know my newest niece. We are so happy to welcome her into our gang!

5:00pm Time for another online class. A reminder that we are still in lockdown although rules were relaxed here today.

6:49pm Finally time to get the quiche together and into the oven. Roasted tomatoes and onions + baked shortcrust pastry shell + mixture of cheese, eggs, cream, milk and seasonings.

6:51pm Assembling the quiche.

6:53pm Into the oven it goes for 1 hour until set.

6:55pm You know it's proper Summer time when every window in the house is flung open!

7:35pm Mum cooked keema karela - minced lamb curry with bitter gourd. A similar-ish recipe is here.

8:00pm The quiche is baked and will be eaten tomorrow. The recipe I used is this one.

Wednesday 24 June 11:31am Fairy cake from yesterday. Obsessed with the colour of the icing! 😍

1:13pm A very laptop-heavy day. 🤓

2:25pm The hottest day of the year so far!

3:19pm The quiche from yesterday was on the lunch menu today. It was so good - you need to try the recipe.

Thursday 25 June 12:24pm Another steaming hot day!

1:19pm A day for fridge-cold watermelon.

Friday 26 June 3:45pm I had leftover quiche filling so made mini quiches without pastry.

4:25pm I have a similar recipe here.

5:07pm I made a fresh batch of chilli oil today. Here I was seasoning the oil with ginger, garlic, spring onion, cinnamon, star anise and bay leaves.

5:18pm

Nephophilia. Definition: A person who loves clouds; love of clouds; fondness or obsession of clouds.

5:26pm The chilli oil is cooling and smelling so fragrant. I poured the hot oil over a mixture of chilli powders, Sichuan peppercorn powder and toasted sesame seeds.

5:32pm My cousins dropped off cupcakes to announce the arrival of their little girl. They were baked by my cousin.

5:33pm So in love with these cupcakes!

5:36pm The detail! 😍😍😍

7:08pm Fresh roti ready for dinner. I made the dough with 300g plain flour, drizzle of vegetable oil, salt and enough water to knead the dough. Let it rest then roll and cook.

7:28pm Frying fish outside. We've had this induction hob for ages and finally, pulled it out today.

7:28pm White fish marinaded in cornflour, water, lemon juice, salt, ginger, garlic, cumin, Kashmiri chilli, turmeric.

7:29pm Green chutney ready to go! The recipe is here.

7:32pm Friday evening dinner on the deck - fish fry, chips, roti, kachumber salad, green chutney, ketchup.

Saturday 27 June 11:04am Egg pan toast for breakfast.

1:49pm

reset

refocus

readjust

restart

as many times

as you need to.

2:06pm Peach season is here and they are excellent this year.

3:13pm Prepping Sichuan chicken for lunch. 

4:03pm

I like people who smile when it's raining.

4:23pm Sichuan chicken with vegetable rice. I used this recipe.

Sunday 28 June 11:26am Letting the Sunday morning breeze in. It felt so refreshing after such a hot week.

1:47pm Mum frying lamb kebabs for lunch. A similar recipe is here.

1:49pm The mangoes are here and they were worth the wait.

1:58pm Mum roasted a tray of almonds to snack on during the week. Roast at Gas Mark 2 for 1 hour stirring occasionally. 

2:30pm Finally escaping the house!

2:31pm Today was my first time leaving town since lockdown started in March. It felt good but also weird, places looked familiar yet strange at the same time. I guess it'll take us just as much time to get used to the next part of this crazy pandemic as it did the last. I'm glad that lockdown for me was a positive experience - it centred me and slowed me down from the rush that was my life before it. I'm hoping to take some of the calm into the next chapter of this journey.

2:55pm

may peace be your constant in the wild of changing things.

2:56pm

it's been a tough year so far, but I learned a lot about myself. I'm grateful for that.

6:04pm Back home to do my weekly Sunday cleaning before relaxing with a mango milkshake.

I hope you've had a happy week. Keep me in your duas.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!