There are so many reasons to partner with UNHCR. I could never do justice to the incredibly important and life-saving work they do in one simple video or blog post, but I do want to talk about why I decided to partner with them this Ramadan, and it’s very personal to me. You can watch the video below to listen and comment here on this blog post or on my YouTube channel below the video.
If you’re not subscribed to my Youtube channel, please do. I post interviews and videos more often these days.
You can catch my broadcast tomorrow with Mohammed Abu Asaker, UNHCR @refugeesSenior Islamic Philanthropy and Partnerships Advisor, in a LIVE interview on the MHK FB page at Noon PST /3PM EST. If you miss the live interview, you can watch the replay later on my YouTube channel. Subscribe to notifications there so that you will know as soon as a new video is uploaded.
Recently I spoke with two experts about the pediatric vaccine for covid-19 that was approved for use in the general population of children. Physicians Sarah Mbaeyi, MD from the CDC and Nour Akhras, MD a representative of the American Muslim Health Professionals, joined us live for a webinar to discuss many questions that have come through about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. The questions were great, the answers were very helpful, I believe. You can also see the live feed webinar on the My Halal Kitchen Facebook page here where you can see some of the live questions and answers.
Feel free to leave more questions or comments on this page after this post.
It is with great pleasure that I was able to bring to all of you an enlightening discussion with the authors of the book, Halal Food: A History, the first and only book (that I know of at least), which covers the complete history of Halal food up to our current times.
You can order the paperback book here. Kindle version here. Audiobook version here. Hardcover here. Audio CD here.
The book is a fascinating read that spans the historic inception of halal as a dietary custom all the way up to today’s halal business industry of food certifiers, global standards, bloggers and chefs. They cover the topic of halal and tayyib and ethical halal (my favorite topics) as points of reference to which the basis of halal has historically stood, including in it examples of consumer goods that aim to reflect such values. I won’t say more here, because now you can watch the livestream that was recorded on Friday at 8AM PST/11AM EST/7PM ISTANBUL time. Hop on over to the My Halal Kitchen Facebook page to see the live stream or watch it here.
Author Bios
Febe Armanios is a Professor of History at Middlebury College in Vermont, where she is also co-Director of the Axinn Center for the Humanities. Her research focuses on comparative religious practices between Christians and Muslims, and among Christian communities in Egypt as well as throughout the Middle East and Balkans. She is a former Fulbright scholar who has authored or co-authored two books, including Coptic Christianity in Ottoman Egypt (Oxford UP, 2011), as well as several articles, chapters, and blog entries. In her writings, she looks at everything from the veneration of saints and pilgrimages, to diverse food and fasting traditions, comparative gender roles, and (recently) at the history of Christian television in the modern Middle East.
Boğaç Ergene (Bo-Atch Air-gen-a) is Professor of History at the University of Vermont. He’s the author and co-author of three books, including Local Court, Provincial Society and Justice in the Ottoman Empire (Brill, 2003) and The Economics of Ottoman Justice (Cambridge University Press, 2016). He also edited or co-edited two books, including Judicial Practice: Institutions and Agents in the Islamic World (Brill, 2009). He’s published multiple articles in major history, law, and economic history journals. His research over the past two decades has focused on Islamic law and legal practice in the Ottoman Empire, a topic which he has explored both qualitatively and quantitatively. He is currently working on a book project that explores perceptions of corruption in the Ottoman context.
Have you dreamt up what your perfect home would look like?
And your dream kitchen where you would enjoy cooking up a storm for your family?
How about a lush garden?
And a place to eat outside in the summertime?
And of course, a place for your children to play safely within your vision?
Lastly, you can’t forget a place to cozy up indoors at the end of the day…
Most of us have done the dreaming at one point or another in our lives, and more often than not it’s the financial part of the dream that crushes our hopes- not always because there isn’t money saved up for a nice down payment, but because many fear the affordability of our dreams without getting into the interest paid in exchange for sheltering our families in a safe, cozy, beautiful space.
Is home ownership right for everyone? Of course not. We all have different life goals, lifestyles, timelines, family situations, financial responsibilities and the like. But more often than not, especially in these uncertain times, people want some semblance of stability and security in their lives and for their children – and a home (not just a house)- does serve that purpose.
I went through all of these same thoughts, dreams, hopes and fears for years, living in tiny apartments even though my dream of having a home with an enormous organic garden and a fully-functioning kitchen with a dreamy walk-in pantry was never far from my mind. There just wasn’t the money to pay for it in full, but there was enough to put down a deposit, however at the time very few banks recognized Islamic banking or ‘halal finance’ as a viable option.
But all these years later, so much has changed in the recognition of halal- halal food, halal fashion, halal finance- all of which make up what is known as the Islamic Economy. With 1.2 billion Muslims around the globe who have to eat, dress and shelter themselves, these three very important areas were bound to explode in demand and sure enough, they have. I’ve seen things change dramatically, in a very positive and powerful way in the past 10-11 years I’ve been in the halal industry and it’s comforting to know that the vision for a future in which Halal would be recognized, respected and promoted as part of a lifestyle, is finally coming to fruition. It’s an incredibly exciting and empowering development for Muslims, but I would also say for just anyone who takes an interest in transparent, ethical and value-based, socially-driven paradigms for business.
That’s why I’m collaborating with UIF Corp. – the #1 rated Islamic Financing Company in the country. I am hoping my readers can learn from UIF professionals and the educational tools UIF has created over the years. As they say, an educated customer gets the best deal when it comes to home financing. UIF operates in 23 US States and has been in business for over 15 years. Their home financing program is based on an “Installment Sale” process and has been approved by reputable scholars and various Sharia Boards. Equally important from what I hear their pricing is very competitive and service second to none based on the Google reviews and recommendations of past customers. I would love to see our community accomplish their personal dreams of home ownership. If you want to learn more about UIF please visit their website: www.myUIF.com
Watch some of their informative videos on YouTube like the ones in which Olympian athlete, Ibtihaj Muhammed learns about Islamic home financing.
One Saturday morning last month I conducted a cooking class for the winners of an auction at the Stars for Hope event back in January of this year. The auction item they bid for and won was a basket of MHK products combined with an in-home cooking class that I would eventually teach in their home. I’ve also taught this same class to a group of women in Cleveland- that was so much fun!
A few of the goods I brought to teach the class
In this class I teach people how to create a Sicilian dinner party, complete with Chicken Cutlets (which can easily be turned into a Chicken Parmesan dish), Quick Tomato Sauce, Sicilian Roasted Pepper Salad and for dessert, a completely halal Tiramisu.
A few of the cooking tools used to create the recipes
I love these small and colorful peppers that we have at our grocery stores right now for $1.99 for the whole bag. If you can’t get these, you should be able to find regular size multi-colored peppers which are inexpensive this time of year since they are seasonal.
We started out the class by roasting the peppers so they would have ample time to sweat before having to do the dirty job of peeling the skins off so you can get down to the best tasting ever pepper. Ever.
You can put the peppers in a plastic bag, though I prefer a brown bag just because I don’t like the idea of plastic up so closely against my food. In this case, I just didn’t have a paper bag. If I did, however, I would put the paper bag into a plastic bag to catch any of the juices that inevitably come through the bag.
That’s what I love about cooking. Improvising where needed.
We moved on to bread the chicken with rustic bread crumbs flavored with dried Italian herbs. See the shredded fresh Parmesan on top? It should have been included in the bread crumb mixture but we were so busy gabbing we forgot to put them there. They were just fine sprinkled on top.
I like to use grape seed oil for frying because it’s light and has a netural flavor. I don’t fry anything on super high heat so, but grape seed oil has a good tolerance or heat so it’s a nice alternative to using olive oil, which I like to save for uncooked foods as much as possible.
Doesn’t it look good and golden? Don’t think about calories. It’s real food. Moderation is everything….
Next, we peeled the peppers- actually, my assistant Stephanie did most of that work. She’s a trooper. Hopefully you guys will meet her soon.
We added some extra virgin olive oil, fresh minced garlic, capers and Kalamata olives and sea salt to create a Sicilian Roasted Pepper Salad— not from a jar.
Moving on to dessert- the best part….
Making Espresso for Tiramisu
I made a big old pot of espresso with this vintage espresso maker my mom gave to her friend who gave it to her mother who didn’t know what to do with it so gave it back to my mom. It ended up in my kitchen. I make enough coffee to fill it up every day.
With all that extra coffee, you can soak Italian cookies (called Savoiardi, or lady fingers in English) in cooled coffee.
A perfect blend of mascarpone cheese, sugar and a few other good things, you have the cream to spread on every layer of soaked cookies.
The top is dusted with cocoa powder, a bit of coffee grinds and nuts, if you like. I had a whole lot of walnuts I wanted to use up, so I added them to the top.
Keep in the fridge for a couple of hours to set and serve to guest who will be happy and energized. Tiramisu literally means, ‘pick me up’.
Slices so nicely and firmly, doesn’t it?
I’ll fill you in on the full recipe in another post so you can have it for an Iftar or ‘Eid party, insha’allah.
Cooking Halal Cooking Classes by Yvonne
If you’d like me to come to your home, school, business or organization for a cooking class in any ethnic cuisine or subject, check out this page for more details and/or send me an email to: co*****@************************************ps.com to arrange a phone call about your individual needs.
I have to admit, I’ve been really glued to the television and any news media outlet to catch updates on the situation in Japan. It was hard for me to write about food or develop recipes when all I could think about was the hardship and suffering of the Japanese people and how the nuclear radiation could affect the entire world. Currently, they are even running out of bottled water as radiation has leaked into the tap water as far away from the failed nuclear reactors as Tokyo. Radiation has been detected in spinach and even in their milk supply. I haven’t even heard about radiation levels in the fish and other marine life—I don’t want to think about it. The first focus is on the people themselves—how will this affect the people of Japan, its neighbors and the rest of the world?
Last Friday and Saturday I had an incredible two days attending the Family Farmed Expo: Good Food, Good Know-How, Good Fun right here in Chicago at the UIC Forum. I needed the break in my daily routine and wanted to be surrounded by people who are doing something to change the tide of our national {and global} food crisis by providing alternatives to dependency on unsustainable farming and consumption habits. This was definitely the place to be for that.
You can order the paperback book 
Last Friday and Saturday I had an incredible two days attending the Family Farmed Expo: Good Food, Good Know-How, Good Fun right here in Chicago at the UIC Forum. I needed the break in my daily routine and wanted to be surrounded by people who are doing something to change the tide of our national {and global} food crisis by providing alternatives to dependency on unsustainable farming and consumption habits. This was definitely the place to be for that.