RecipeMuncher

Well, it’s definitely Autumn. It’s sunny today, but there is a bite to the air. My flip flops aren’t quite finished with - tucked under the bed, resolutely hoping for an Indian summer. But the boots are back, cosy cardie on, and maybe a light scarf to keep the chill off my neck in the evening. And my final festival of the summer has just been cancelled as the site is water-logged… ya boo hiss, rain.

As with every change of the seasons, the end of summer means a change to how we eat - a cold salad just isn’t as appealing when the central heating is on. And though I already miss summer (or the summer that wasn’t!), there is something so comforting about cold weather food that I maybe don’t feel so blue after all!

So to celebrate the change in the seasons, here is the fourth Scottish Scran dish - a warm comforting Steak Pie.

Not so dissimilar from most typical British pies,…

IFTAR - is the meal which is eaten after sunset during Sawm, the fasting which occurs during the month of Ramadan in Muslim tradition. Since people have not eaten at all during the day, they are often quite hungry by the time Iftar comes around, and most people hasten to end the fast as quickly as possible after sunset. In communities with a large Muslim population, bells will be rung to signal the end of the day’s fast, and the information may be broadcast over the media as well.

The Sawm fast during Ramadam is intended to teach self restraint, which is viewed as a virtue by many Muslims.

A day of Sawm begins with Suhur, the meal which is eaten just before daybreak. Because it will be the last meal for many hours, Suhur is often a very dense, rich meal with a number of offerings on the table, including offerings high in protein so that people will feel less hungry during the day. At very least, people are encouraged to eat a date and drink some water to make fasting through the day easier.

Iftar usually starts with consuming a date and drinking water, a tradition which goes back to the earliest days of Islam. Once this traditional fast-breaking is complete, people can eat any number of foods, with many regions having their own traditional Iftar foods, including a wide assortment of dessert treats. It is common for people to eat Iftar in large groups, making the fast breaking into a community party, and Muslims often try to include charity in their Iftar meal as well, feeding needy members of the community while they celebrate the end of the day’s fast.

After Iftar, Muslim communities often come alive with socializing. People may simply promenade around the neighborhood to chat with friends, or they may go to market, attend performances, and meet up with friends at coffeehouses and other locations for socializing. Most people greet each other with “salaam aleikum,” which means “peace be upon you,” and the traditional response is “wa aleikum salaam,” “peace be with you also.” Source

More on Ramadan in comming posts.

Recipe of the day is Apricot And Almond Dessert. Click on the link Apricot And Almond Dessert for the recipe.

Blogs participating in the global online Ramdan event (Joy From Fasting To Feasting !!!) are:

Dubai - http://syeda-indianspices.blogspot.com/ (New blog joining in the event)
Egypt - http://ummelbanat.blogspot.com/
India - http://kitchenflavours.blogspot.com/
Malaysia - http://mamafami.blogspot.com/ , http://mamafami.fotopages.com/
New Zealand - http://homemades.blogspot.com/
Riyadh - http://anjumsrasoi.blogspot.com/
US - http://yasmeen-healthnut.blogspot.com/
US - http://saltntumeric.blogspot.com/
US - http://organicmuslimah.blogspot.com/
US - http://triedandtrueeats.blogspot.com/
US - http://themiddleeasterncook.blogspot.com/
US - http://mammuskitchen.blogspot.com/

This girl chewed my brains out, threatened me, argued endlessly to make me take part in this particular event. Me - being as strong and level headed that I am - I remained steadfast. Hmph! What did you think ? As if I could give in easily ..mmm… But cunning girl from that special corner very sweetly said - Ok Ok dont take part - I am going to go ahead and announce the theme "Cheese". Ha ha - as

Do you know those candy bars that you take on your backpack for a day out? You know the ones I’m talking about, the kind that are individual wraped and have the bottom covered in chocolate. The ones that almost feel like eating a candy bar, but you don’t mind eating them because you convince yourself that it’s cereal so it’s healthy… At least that’s what I do anyway…

But some times you take the bar with you, forget about the “healthiness” of it and eat a real candy bar, or an ice cream or that piece of cake your aunt made or whatever and the poor bar comes back home a little bit mistreated from the bottom of the bag where it sat the all day. So the next time you go out and decide to take a bar you take a “new” one and think that you’ll eat that wrinkled skashed one when you’re at home. Obviously you never do beacuse you just made a batch of cookies or that ice cream you have in the freezer is more appealing.

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