Chilli & lemon

Just cooked sayur tumis and I must say, it's delicious!!! As usual, I just throw anything I want in, and it turned okay! (This does not occur very often)

That's saying something because like my mom, we don't really like like the food that we made ourselves. Much contrary to those we eat the food will say. Well except mine... Not much comment is made...

Anyway.

Here's the recipe for those who are interested. Which I account for 45% of my readership which makes the total number of people who are interested by this post approximately 0.45 person(s). Hope all of you enjoy.

INGREDIENTS
Ginger
Lemongrass (Serai)
Some chillis
Oyster sauce
Soy sauce
Lemon
Any veges (today I used baby corn, kacang pajang and carrots)

HOW-TO
1. Heat up the pan, heat up the oil as usual.
NOOB TIP: What I learned from Dapur Bujang. To know if the oil/pan is hot enough, hover your hand over the pan. If it feels hot, it's hot enough. And the amount of oil, approximate your bahan tumis to the oil. Excess oil is not healthy. 1-2 sudu should be enough.

2. If you are near as lazy as I am you would not hassle with any bawang. So just tumis the ginger slices and then the chopped lemongrass. This should be real quick if not the bahan tumis will be hangus.

3. Oyster sauce (about 2 tbsp), some soy sauce (not too much!). I like to put salt at this point because if you put salt after all the veges, it will not be as thorough. But not too much salt in this recipe as oyster and soy sauce combined is masin enough.

4. Put a little water in because I bet the bahan tumis will be almost hangus at this point.
NOOB TIP: To avoid the food you're cooking (especially goreng/tumis-ing) from hangus, put water in.

5. Put in chopped chillies. I put some more ginger and lemongrass here at this point... I really don't know what I'm doing half the time I'm cooking anything really.

6. Put the veges in. The hard-to-layu ones first. The baby corns should be really cooked.

7. Squirtz some lemon juice according to your liking.

8. Add some salt/soy sauce/more lemon juice accordingly. Turn off the heat...


VOILA!

Skin deep.

Well, here's a post after months. Firstly, Ramadhan Kareem! Secondly, I'm back in Malaysia!

Now, on to the ranting of the sudden epiphany for a midnight inspiration post.

The source of inspiration is an excerpt from Lisa Unger's "Beautiful Lies" that I came across on Tumblr.

Of getting tagged

Getting tagged by Mariy. So here goes:

1. Post these rules.
2. Write 11 things about yourself.
3. Create 11 new questions for those you want to tag.
4. Choose 11 bloggers to be tagged (wow how am i going to find 11 of them ._. )and link them the post.
5. You are not allowed to tag back.

11 things about myself

1. Ugh I hate getting asked about myself because I'm not a very interesting person, to be honest. Okay, that's valid as point number one. 

2. A Potterhead (since I was 7 or 8) and always will be. It's sad not getting updates about the series anymore.

3. Dentist-to-be, in shaa Allah. Currently pursuing my Bachelor degree at Alexandria University.

4. A total nerd. I follow any superhero movies, Star Wars and Star Trek (DON'T JUDGE ME ON THIS ONE, IT'S NOT WRONG TO LIKE THEM BOTH, OKAY), Lord of The Rings, Narnia and the like.

5. I'm planning to put on 5-7 kilos.

6. I like lemon-flavoured Mentos. I wish they sell them as a sole flavour.

7. I hope to be a better servant to Allah, in shaa Allah. Studying in Egypt opens many opportunities, to be honest. It doesn't mean that you can't be better if you live nowhere near an Anbiyaa country, but sometimes, the biah and the kind of people around you helps for you to change for the better, inshaa Allah.

8. I love Yasmin Mogahed's writings. I had the chance to attend her talk at UM last year.

9. The singers that I never get tired of their songs at any given time are Birdy, Dawud Wharnsby Ali, and well, that's about what I can think of at the moment. And songs like Bee Gee's "You Win Again" and Counting Crow's "Big Yellow Taxi" etc.

10. My ringtone is Imagine Dragon's "On Top of the World".

11. I miss my little siblings so much, and little kids in general. Seeing children on the street sometimes could really light me up after a long day.

Can I not do the rest hua hua huar

Hi again

Assalam.

I don't know if I should address my sudden comeback to the blogosphere, ok not really a sphere, or anything that denotes "a community", because really, I'm just one of those kids sitting in a lowly corner, just a spectator, really. OK, I really have no clue where I'm going with this, so I'm just going to upload a bunch of pictures.

Believe it not (the pictures are coming up real soon) I'm studying in Egypt. After a year or so in a local pre-U, supposedly to continue my degree at a designated local institution, it was not for me. I didn't get the course I wanted, Alhamdulillah nonetheless. Still remembered I posted almost three years ago (wow, really) about me pursuing dentistry here. I thought it was just a wild dream. So, here I am, Alhamdulillah I get to pursue dentistry. Never thought it'd be a reality albeit under different conditions. Allah has His plans and I'm going to do the best that I can, insha Allah.

At the roof of the flat where we live. Just peering over a gaping hole 17 storeys high, no big deal.

 No clear motives identified of me jumping to reach Alexander the Great's head.

 The majestic Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

 Heading over to Cairo to get on a bus to Aswan-Abu Simbel-Luxor-Hurghada for winter break.

 Ramses Station.

 At Dewan Malaysia Abbasiah in Cairo.

 Hey. a camel.

Abu Simbel Temple.

 Karnak Temple.

 ATV Quad Bike or something at Hurghada (I didn't join the Safari Trip because I was sick so I stayed at the hotel, and I was Rebecca Bloomwood shopping at designer stores for a good 6 hours while they were gone)

Out for Amira's 20th birthday.

 Out for Afriza's 22nd birthday.

 Made Honey-Grilled Chicken for Eid-ul-Adha.

Cycling at Makmurah and Muntazah Park and peering over King Farouk's Palace.

Semester 1 is already over and I'm currently in a 3-week winter break, preparing (ok not really) for Semester 2. Pray for me to do my best for this year for the Asian dream of getting a scholarship for my coming years here, insha Allah.

Banyak habuk la kat sini. Construction depan kiri kanan.

Ok, I cried. The last time I cried at a Raya commercial (or any other commercial) is the 2006 Petronas ad by Yasmin Ahmad.

So many trivial things we question Him. Lack of this or too much of that. When some people in this world lack basic human rights or even basic necessities. Yet, even though they don't have the best of everything, they make the best out of everything. And find peace in relationship with God, and solace in companionship.

We may think that because we have wealth and health that we are better than them or better off without them. Life in this world is a test. Blessings we are bestowed with is a test. Hardship we have to endure is a test.

One day, while the Prophet was with his Companions who gathered around him, he prayed,  

"O God, grant me life as a poor man, cause me to die as a poor man and resurrect me in the company of the poor." (Tarmizi)

Even the Prophet Muhammad himself prayed to God to die in poverty, and He was always keen to help the poor by giving them what he had, and when he could not find anything, he would ask his companions to help, and not to leave a poor man without help.

It should not be perceived that by the Prophet's giving and encouraging his companions to give would mean that he would accept that the poor may continue to ask for help for the rest of their lives. On the contrary he was keen on teaching the poor the importance of working to fulfill one's own needs. He wanted them to avoid the disgrace of asking and begging and enjoy the sweetness of giving.

In the end, our ibadah, our iman, our sincerity and our deeds to the community is the yardstick that matters to Him and nothing else.

Reference:
1. Link
2. Aisyah Ummul Mukminin: Keanggunan Sejati by Sulaiman An-Nadawi (gift from Cik Su)

Petua Imam Ghazali mencari Lailatul Qadr

Tanda Tanda Malam Lailatul Qadar

Pesan junjungan besar Nabi Muhammad S.A.W adalah malam qadar berlaku pada satu malam daripada 10 malam terakhir (hari ganjil) bulan ramadhan.
Petua oleh Imam Ghazali dan lain-lain ulama untuk cari mencari malam Lailatul Qadar

Jika awal ramadhan jatuh pada hari:
I) Ahad atau rabu malam qadar dijangka berlaku pada malam 29 ramadhan
II) Isnin – malam qadar dijangka berlaku pada malam 21 ramadhan;
III) Selasa atau jumaat – malam qadar dijangka berlaku pada malam 27 ramadhan;
IV) Khamis- malam qadar dijangka berlaku pada malam 25 ramadhan;
V) Sabtu- malam qadar dijangka berlaku pada malam 23 ramadhan

Kata Sheikh Abu Hassan bahawa mula dia baligh, dia sentiasa dapat menghidupkan lailatul qadar pada malam yang tepat mengikut petua diatas. Walau bagaimanapun, janganlah ibadat pada malam ini sahaja, carilah malam qadar pada malam-malam ganjil yang lain juga.

Tanda malam qadar ialah :
Malam itu tenang, tidak dingin dan tidak panas;
Siangnya cahaya matahari warnanya pucat;
Pada malam itu malaikat jibril akan menyalami orang yang beribadat pada malam itu dan tandanya ialah kita tiba-tiba rasa sangat sayu dan kemudiannya menangis teresak-esak secara tiba-tiba.
Marilah kita beramai-ramai memeriahkan suasana 10 malam terakhir ramadhan dengan beribadat kepada allah swt dengan ikhlas dan penuh keimanan, mudah-mudahan kita dapat kurniaan allah yang kelebihannya pahalanya melebihi – 1000 bulan atau 83 tahun umur kita.

Diadaptasi daripada: [X]

Diriwayatkan daripada Saiyidatina Aisyah R.A bahawa Rasulullah S.A.W. apabila tiba 10 hari terakhir bulan Ramadhan, baginda menghidupkan malam-malamnya dengan membangunkan isteri rumah dan menjauhi isteri-isterinya. Imam Ahmad dan Muslim meriwayatkan:

Maksudnya:
"Rasulullah berusaha sedaya upaya dalam malam-malam sepuluh akhir Ramadhan melebihi usahanya daripada malam-malam lain."

Mashaallah... Rasulullah S.A.W. yang maksum dan diampunkan dosanya dari hujung rambut ke hujung kaki pun berusaha bersungguh-sungguh untuk mendapatkan keredhaan-Nya. 

Post Pre-U

 My tutorial mates. They're the funniest bunch, I tell you.

My best friend at PASUM, Siti Nabihah. She's going to pursue medicine at UM! She's a total genius and most of the time I sit in a corner and have a "Hey I'm mediocre but I'm nice" stamped on my forehead. She taught me a lot about Islam that I've never known before and I'm grateful for that.

Nina and Aisya. These two girls are the duo Nabihah and I are most close with in my tutorial class. They're both going to pursue medicine at UM leaving the imprints on my forehead vivider than ever. They're geniuses. All of my close friends are geniuses T_T

 Good luck in UM, both of you!

 I'm not nice all the time but I'm still mediocre haha.

 These geniuses again. Egh. i kid!

Miss Fusako Soeda Hayashi! She's so so nice and she gave us these paper ball thingys Japanese kids play that I... misplaced T_T

 Malam Emas thingy. With Jess and Sasha, grew closer with them in Sem II, and my English presentation-mates which we awesomed at (we think) alhamdulillah.

My first roommate, the ever so comel Kak Huda. She's currently pursuing mechanical engineering at Hiroshima University (another genius -_-) I learned so much from her and talked so much with her and laughed so much with her. I introduced her to Aiman Azlan and she introduced me to Hilal Asyraf hehe.

These two are my balcony neighbours and my very close friends and arguably the people I spend most of my time with at PASUM. They helped me so much in my studies, and I had many good memories with the three of them. Ain's pursuing chemical engineering at UTM and Finie's pursuing medicine (again) at UM. I swear my tujuh keturunan is going to have free medical attention in the future.

As for me, well, I didn't get to pursue dentistry like I always wanted, but I got an offer to pursue psychology, alhamdulillah, nevertheless.

Long story short,  I applied for dentistry at Al-Azhar University and alhamdulillah, I got an offer! Syukur. Though I'm skeptical if I can cope with the extra subjects of tafseer, fiqh etc what with memorizing one juz every year... Don't get me wrong, I love this, truly, this is my chance to improve myself spiritually, but I'm just afraid of coping. I know the limits of my abilities, and sometimes you have to step down even though you want something.

Pray for me.

Cooking frenzy

Saving up these recipes for later use. Bear with me.

(This looks mighty fine. And it's not that hard to make! )

Nutella Hot Chocolate

1 serving

1 cup milk (I use skim)

2 1/2 Tbsp Nutella

1 Tbsp Cocoa

Tiny pinch of salt

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, whisk all ingredients together until well blended and hot.

Pour in a cup and top with homemade whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

Homemade whipped cream

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

2 Tbsp Sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Lemon and garlic shrimp

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (juice from 1/2 lemon)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• tablespoon butter

Instructions

1. Place all of the ingredients except for the butter in a bowl.
2. Let marinade for 15 minutes, stiring occasionally.
3. In a medium skillet over medium heat melt the butter.
4. Add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes per side.
5. Sprinkle with a pinch more of Kosher salt.
6. Serve.

Got these from thehungryhousewife.com. Usually I go to picky-palate.com and blogresipi.com during a sudden late-night hunger strike but their recipes require some ingredients that doesn't lay around the kitchen that often.

Anyway, looking forward to making these soon, inshaallah!

Dear amiga,

How I wish that I could tell her that she's not alone. That I, and I'm sure all of her dear friends would stay by her side, even if we're miles away. Even if we haven't met each other for months. Even if we don't know what she's going through and that it's okay if she won't tell us what's going on. Really, I don't mind. But what I do mind is that how I wish she has the strength to go through all this. How I wish I could tell her that I always miss her and her quirky attitudes and her happy-go-lucky ways and that she's lucky in ways that she don't realize and it hurts to see her like this.

Chin up, dear amiga.

He knows best. He always does. Something that is seemingly good for us might be bad for us, and the seemingly bad might be the best for us in the end. We can never know which is which and when is when. Only He does.

It'll be okay in the end. It always does. Let's find the strength to go on; and forward.

On this New Year

Mashaallah, I could never intertwine this feelings into sentences to describe how much these two articles brought such peace to my heart.

1. Taking off the hijab

2. Why do people leave each other?

Here are some excerpts but, do read the article by full. Trust me, it will be time well spent. 

"I’d like to start by addressing what I believe is the least important factor in this equation, and that is ‘what other people might think.’ It should never be the case that we alter our practice of Islam or our worship for the sake of other people, or what they might think or assume. People may be quick to judge or jump to conclusions, but whatever thoughts or opinions they have are strictly their responsibility, and not something we should be overly concerned with."

"Every single one of us has deficiencies and weaknesses, has made mistakes, has taken missteps or is presently taking them. We only do the best that we can, and any good deed that Allah grants us the opportunity to perform should be considered a blessing that we take advantage of. Instead of worrying about not being good enough, we can instead consider this as an opportunity to be thankful to Allah for concealing our negatives, and pray, “O Allah, forgive me for what they do not know about me, and make me even better than what they think.”

"About punishment from Allah: a better way of looking at this issue is not considering the smallness or pettiness of the sin, but the greatness of the One whom we are sinning against. "

"I remember a quote attributed to Yusuf Islam: “Islam is not a state of being but it is a process of becoming,” – becoming more, become better, striving to reach that state of perfect submission and connection with Allah Most High, and May He help all of us achieve that, ameen."

The second article holds so much truth. It made me realize why it is so hard to attain true constant happiness, because when our happiness is defined by something that is changing, something that is not temporary, something that will someday perish; our happiness and our inner peace will do so too. How can we hope to find constancy if what we hold on to is inconstant and perishing?

To attain true peace, don’t let your source of fulfillment be anything other than your relationship with God. Don’t let your definition of success, failure, or self-worth be anything other than your position with Him (Qur’an, 49:13). And if you do this, you become unbreakable, because your handhold is unbreakable. You become unconquerable, because your supporter can never be conquered. And you will never become empty, because your source of fulfillment is unending and never diminishes.