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Simple pleasures

November 28, 2011 by Imaan 8 Comments

The rowdy ruffians are positively addicted to cooking these days. It is true that the stove gives comforting warmth that my tropical offspring miss. However, they also enjoy the process itself and it pleases them to no end to see others appreciating their concoctions. The other day, Bear made applesauce and Mars prepared her specialty – omelette with homegrown garlic sprouts – for a guest’s breakfast.

I remember one of the girls’ early culinary attempts. They decided, one day, to make their own lunch and conspired gleefully in the kitchen. They later invited me to sample their meal – I’d thought it was something elaborate or out of the ordinary considering their blissful expressions, but I was mistaken. It turned out to be a simple dish of boiled potatoes seasoned with butter, salt and pepper. :) It was delicious though – one of those things that just hit the spot, you know? – and quite healthful and it made me realise that I had a lot to learn from my children. One of the most important things that they have taught me is to find joy and contentment in the littlest things. Indeed, when it comes to food, frugal and easy need not mean compromising on flavour or quality.

I’ve been inspired by Kate’s blog (she has tips on frugal living and back-to-basic meals), discussions with my friend Tea (you guys MUST pester her to blog about the amazing things she has learnt about healthful eating!) and meals my friend Umm Aymun prepares (she makes the simplest things so mouthwatering that it is amazing, I kid you not! These Urdu-speaking folk have close to magical talents!). We’ve made a conscious effort to eat more home cooked meals and to use more organic foods. We are fortunate in this respect – raw milk, pure butter/ghee, free range eggs and organic meats and produce are more easily available and affordable here than in my home country.

We have been enjoying making hearty meals that require minimal ingredients and preparation. I’m not against elaborate meals – it is a blessing to present the best to your family and guests – but it simply is not something sustainable or even necessary on a daily basis. Eating simply can mean savings that can be used for more useful things and charity. It also inculcates self-restraint – all too often, we indulge our nafs and throw moderation to the wind. We would do well to be the sort of people who can make do, people who know the difference between “needs” and “wants”. The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said, “A human being has not filled any vessel which is worse than a belly. Enough for the son of Adam are some mouthfuls that can keep his back straight, but if there is no escape, he should fill it a third with food, a third with drink and a third empty.” [at-Tirmidhi]

For us, easy meals allow us all to be involved in the preparation. The girls feel a great sense of participation and achievement. What is more, not slaving over the stove means that we have more time for reading, crafting and of course, worship. I’ve begun a little notebook of easy-peasy recipes for the girls that I’ve stuck onto the refridgerator door – they can refer to it any time they feel like cooking in shaa Allah.

We’ve been having lots of fruit and vegetables. Pomegranates are a favourite – they are so gorgeous truly! Lunches are often our version of Subs – sandwiches of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicum and cottage cheese with little dollops of mayo and mustard – they are so appetizing ma shaa Allah. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, nothing beats the taste of produce here – they are so fresh and the flavours just burst in your mouth.

Here are some other dishes we’ve been doing recently…


We revisited Mars’ baked pasta… this time with minced beef … with only five ingredients and 3 pairs of hands working on it, it took less than half and hour to make…


… made a 20-minute curry… one of those chuck-everything-in-the-pot-and-let-it-stew dishes this haphazard housewife likes…


… a variation of my children’s potato dish … boiled potatoes cooked with onions, garlic and minced chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper. I used the kids’ homegrown garlic sprouts to garnish and they were delighted! Another 20-minute dish that was much appreciated, alhamdulillah…


… we have cut down on fried foods so these are becoming a rarity (honest, Tea!)… I made my version of pakoras as we had left-over bread and crusts. I just chucked them all in a bowl with flour, eggs, onions, coriander and spring onion greens and spices and fried the crazy mix up :)

It will be a busy week – the kids have to hit the books and I have to tidy our living area once again – a mammoth task, believe you me! I hope it also means another week of simple pleasures… in shaa Allah :)

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Yesterday, I had a sobering chat with my friend wh Yesterday, I had a sobering chat with my friend who is a member of a minority group here. (I am keeping things vague for her safety and mine.) She has a relative who is also a friend of mine. 

In both my early encounters with them, I’d always sensed an air of reserve and secrecy. I understood that we had different beliefs, but I could not understand what I perceived as fear. Not being a native here in Pakistan, I’d had my share of bewildering and unfathomable encounters, so I’d left things at that. Maybe I’d understand in time to come, I thought.

They had always been very kind to me and I tried to reciprocate as best I could. For all our (acknowledged) differences in opinion and belief, we found some common ground and focused on doing some good. My friend’s relative donated science kits as well as books for my homeschooling gang and I’ll always be grateful for that. 

I read news yesterday about how my friend and her people do in fact live in danger. She told me how she fears for her husband’s life every single time he leaves home. She jumps every single time her doorbell rings. She worries about sending her daughter to school for fear of bullying or worse… Target killings of her people are a reality.

It made me feel so ashamed because this is tragic and downright disgraceful for any country, but even more so for a Muslim one. 

It’s OK to disagree. It’s OK to debate. It is NOT OK to terrorize and it is NOT OK resort to violence. It is wrong and it is unjust and it is EVIL to do so. When dealing with people of different beliefs, can we not be civilised? Can we not be HUMAN? Can we not behave the way our deen taught us? 

We need to find a way to make things better. It is not right to allow people who know precious little about Islam to desecrate it. 

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#islam #minorityrights #knowyourreligion #pakistan
Journalists say this time it is different. Rushdi Journalists say this time it is different.

Rushdi as-Sarraj, Yasser Murtaja’s friend, told Al-Jazeera, “This task is difficult under normal circumstances, so you can imagine working under a fierce offensive that does not distinguish between a journalist, a civilian or a military leader.” Israel is working hard “to silence the image and voice, and to ban any news or information that exposes its crimes”.

He also says, “My family doesn’t stop calling me, fearing that I could be harmed. It is an endless circle of fear and exhaustion. But we must continue sharing our message.”

Praying for Muna El-Kurd @muna.kurd15 , her brother @mohammedelkurd and all the journalists putting out the truth. 

#palestine #freepalestine #freemunakurd #freemunaelkurd #savesheikhjarrah #savesilwan #savelifta #savemohammedelkurd
«THROWBACK, Summer + Winter 2019» «We returned «THROWBACK, Summer + Winter 2019»

«We returned to the park after the lockdown earlier this year… sadly our tree for all seasons is no more 😢»

FOREIGN LANDS by Robert Louis Stevenson
Up into the cherry tree
Who should climb but little me?
I held the trunk with both my hands
And looked abroad on foreign lands.
I saw the next door garden lie,
Adorned with flowers, before my eye,
And many pleasant places more
That I had never seen before.
If I could find a higher tree
Farther and farther I should see,
To where the grown-up river slips
Into the sea among the ships.
To where the roads on either hand
Lead onward into fairy land,
Where all the children dine at five,
And all the playthings come alive.
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#throwback #pakistan #islamabad #lifeinpakistan #lifeinislamabad #homeschool #homeschooldays #homeschoolcoop #homeschoolinislamabad #homeschoolinpakistan #naturediary #naturejournal #science #charlottemason #charlottemasoninspired #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonnaturestudy #charlottemasonliving #charlottemasonhomeschool #cmnaturestudy #cmnaturejournal #naturewalk #natureramble #naturestudy #naturejournal #homeeducation #outandabout #ilookisee #islamabadhomeschoolers
A couple of you asked me to make a post of my stor A couple of you asked me to make a post of my story in response to LV’s despicable use of the keffiyeh design. Pictures in this post are from hirbawi.ps and @palestine.pixel … 

EDIT: yes, my second slide should have been edited and it is bugging me. I repeated 1930s… sorry! If you want a more polished version, DM me. You get my meaning anyway, right? 
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#palestine #freepalestine #keffiyeh #gaza #jerusalem #savesheikhjarrah
«YET ANOTHER THROWBACK, Jan. 2020» I was feelin «YET ANOTHER THROWBACK, Jan. 2020»

I was feeling a little out of sorts (again) – I’d left the house a mess (again) and the boy and I were in a rush to get to the Art Co-op. Habiba @ourlivinghomeschool was doing a session on Wassily Kandinsky that day. 

We were delayed by a massive traffic jam and our stress levels rocketed when an obnoxious motorist kept sounding his horn repeatedly as if to shoo other cars out of the way. What was everyone else to do but wait for the jam to ease? 

We made it just in time though…barely! As we ran towards the gathering, it was as if a huge weight was lifted away. This gorgeous view greeted the boy and me, alhamdulillah. When we got down to studying Kandinsky, we felt more than fine.

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#pakistan #islamabad #lifeinpakistan #lifeinislamabad #homeschool #homeschooldays #homeschoolcoop #homeschoolinislamabad #homeschoolinpakistan #naturediary #desidiaries #charlottemason #charlottemasoninspired #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonnaturestudy #charlottemasonliving #charlottemasonhomeschool #cmnaturestudy #cmnaturejournal #naturewalk #natureramble #naturestudy #naturejournal #homeeducation #outandabout #ilookisee #islamabadhomeschoolers #artcoop #artoutdoors
«THROWBACK, Mar. 2019» Once upon a time before «THROWBACK, Mar. 2019» 
Once upon a time before Covid.

The calm before…

We had our Monday meet up again at Fatima Jinnah Park. The air was cool and crisp and the skies sunny when the nature gang got together. Then, it was on to a jolly game of Simon Says – Katelynn’s @_k8erpotater clever way of teaching the kids about body parts and how they move.

The kids did their usual tree climbing and exploring. Then, the dark clouds started rolling in. We took a while to decide whether or not to leave – the park literally looked dark and ominous on one side and cheery and bright on the other. We only started rushing for home when lightning split the sky. The kids were not to be hurried, however. They felt little pellets hitting them and stopped to investigate… hailstones!

Our ramble was cut short and I got cold and wet, but I think it was a gorgeous day. We got to learn about nature in a very real way.
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#pakistan #islamabad #lifeinpakistan #lifeinislamabad #homeschool #homeschooldays #homeschoolcoop #homeschoolinislamabad #homeschoolinpakistan #naturediary #naturejournal #science #charlottemason #charlottemasoninspired #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonnaturestudy #charlottemasonliving #charlottemasonhomeschool #cmnaturestudy #cmnaturejournal #naturewalk #natureramble #naturestudy #naturejournal #homeeducation #outandabout #ilookisee #islamabadhomeschoolers
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