leafy greens Archives - My Halal Kitchen

Ingredients to Stock Up on for Ramadan

by Yvonne Maffei | Jun 5, 2015 | Cooking Techniques & Kitchen Tips

If you came up with a list of the most essential ingredients to have on hand during Ramadan, what would they be? Year after year, I seem to return to the most basic things that are versatile and healthy, too. You may have more to add or tweak this list, but I think it’s worth a share.

1. Oatmeal- Yes, you can use them to make cookies, but they’re really best in Ramadan for Suhoor, or even in soups like this one for Chicken and Oats Soup.
2. Creme Fraiche– this wonderful and silky condiment is great at shoot time for adding to bread with jam and honey, but it can also be added to soups to give it a silky texture. It’s also pretty easy to make it yourself. See how to do that here.

3. Jam-Since Ramadan falls in the Summer this year, there should be no lack of an amazing array of fruit jams, or just make your own quick version (no canning required) like my delicious mission fig jam, one of my absolute favorites.

4. Honey– great for cooking, great for drizzling on salads, in smoothies and of course with the Sunnah combination of honey and black seeds.

5. Raw Milk– raw milk gives you much-needed energy, which is quite simply an amazing natural food source. Check your local area for legitimate vendors and always be sure the farm in which the milk comes from is impeccably clean. See how and where I get mine.

6. Leafy Greens– Spinach, kale, Swiss chard can all be used in cooking but also in smoothies (though I don’t use Swiss chard in my drinks). Get some recipes here. And don’t forget the smoothie packs!

7. Melons– also for smoothies, but also great in salads, things like cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew are at the top of my list.

8, Coconut Water– If you can get your hands on fresh coconuts, that’s the best, but most people don’t (although here in Chicago in the summer, Devon Avenue is a great place to find them); if not, a good quality coconut water is a super hydrator that everyone should have stocked in their pantry during Ramadan, especially if you’re super sensitive to the heat.

9. Nuts– Great on top of salads or just to stick in your purse for those munch-time moments in between taraweeh prayer at night, all kinds of nuts will be satisfying when it’s time to eat.

10. Non-Caffeinated Herbal Teas– When it’s time to sleep during Ramadan, get your sleep! To stay hydrated, drink herbal teas instead of the caffeinated ones, even letting them cool to drink at warm temperature or even cold during those hot evenings.

11. Dates– last but not least, you’ll absolutely want dates to break your fast, as it’s not mandatory, of course, but definitely a Sunnah, or a tradition of the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him). If you think you or your guests won’t like dates, you can try this very popular recipe that has already changed a lot of people’s minds-and taste buds- about how they like dates. And remember, they’re not just for eating as an Iftar starter, but you can also add them to salads and make a milkshake out of them.

Creamy Fusilli Pasta with Swiss Chard and Chicken

by Yvonne Maffei | Sep 20, 2013 | Dinner, Pasta Dishes, Recipes

I have the most convenient times for food cravings. Right now my kitchen is completely unusable while it’s under construction. The stove is off the gas line, the sink is not even anywhere in the kitchen but resides in the middle of the living room hanging out and waiting for the demolition to be over and the re-building to begin again. All in the name of kitchen renovation.

I’m not sure I ever want to go through this again- but ask me six months from now and I may want to redesign something in the kitchen, or paint a wall a different than is there now…

Back to the food craving part.

Yes, it’s Fall. My favorite season of year. It reminds me of starting school (I loved that), going to farmers markets, and the smell of pies. As my taste buds grew more sophisticated and I learned all about fall produce, which includes leafy greens like kale, spinach and Swiss chard I decided to make what every good Italian woman would do- add them to pasta. Not make smoothies out of them.

I love this recipe so much I’ve actually shared it often. I’ve made it for my family a lot but I’ve also shared it for the Quick Weeknight Meals section of SISTERS magazine earlier this year, and I taught a cooking class at the non-profit organization, the UMMA Center, where class participants loved it so much they actually came back and told me they made it at home using whatever leafy greens they had.

You can make it with or without chicken, but you may also want to add beef or fish, too. Very versatile. That’s the way I like it- don’t limit the variety of possibilities in food. That’s what makes things stressful.

I bread the chicken lightly with all-purpose flour, not bread crumbs, for this dish. Otherwise you’ll have lots of crumbs getting into the pasta and that’s not very appealing. The flour bag- don’t mind it. I fold mine up and put the bags in the freezer to keep them fresher for longer. It works.

Get some really nice Swiss Chard- even the kind that has yellow stems.

Separate the stems from the leaves. The stems take longer to soften up during cooking.

Chop up the stems small, they’ll cook more quickly.

The pasta needs to be prepared ahead of time so that it can be quickly incorporated into the dish when the chicken and Swiss chard are finished cooking.

Sprinkle the pasta with olive oil to prevent it from sticking until you’re ready to add it to the dish. It’ll also help make it easier to fold into the other ingredients during the cooking process.

I use a lot of Swiss chard- about a head for this dish, and it shrinks up so much, you may want to use to. Get in all those vitamins and minerals- Swiss chard and other leafy greens are high in Vitamins K, A, C and magnesium, potassium and iron.

Wow, that’s a mouthful.