Yummy cake!

I was in the middle of doing some work (plodding along with an assignment at an appallingly slow rate) and got too tired to concentrate. Obviously that's my cue to have a nap, which I did. Waking up 3 hours later (I was hoping to have a 1 hour nap) I started working again, about half an hour in I realised that I must make a cake.

I had to make it because:
1) I've been craving cakes/ pastries for some days
2) That way I won't go to the local 'boulangerie' too often
3) I found an interesting recipe online that I wanted to try
4) My flatmate made a cake yesterday and I stopped myself from eating some of it
5) I now had the energy to make it.

So I made the cake. It was a recipe that substituted the butter for oil; this trick saved me going to the shops to buy butter, and to use up some extra oil I had about. Gosh! I must be the laziest person I know.

Anyway, the result was absolutely amazing. The cake is soft, yummy and very quick and easy to make. The only (quite big) problem was that it's so soft that when taking it out of the mould, some of it broke apart, which I obviously tried to put back together. But when I tried to re-flip it so it would be the right way up, I realised that I might just end up with a big pile of crumbs, so I left it. It was so soft that when I was checking if it was cooked, I saw that the top was cooked but very bouncy so assumed the inside was still all batter but it wasn't! I was actually surprised that a cake could be that bouncy.

Apparently the thing with oil cakes is that they don't solidify like butter cakes (as you can imagine why) so my cake will stay this soft for as long as it's not been eaten by me :)...

I followed this recipe:

http://acookatheart.blogspot.fr/2011/03/simple-vanilla-cake-using-oil.html

and just halved it.

Anyway, I was rather fascinated by this cake so I had to write about it; this is what happens when work is going slowly and you haven't left the flat in 3 days...

Not exactly a moment of deep reflection about our relationship with food, but food-related nonetheless. I ought to find something else to speak about...

Relationships

A strong and positive relationship with God will result in a strong and positive relationship with all those around you, be they friends, family or complete strangers.

Therefore we must always be honest with ourselves about our relationship with God. It is the only way we can truly start to improve it and thereby improve our relations with others. In actively doing this, a relationship will never go 'stale'; it will always be developing alongside your relationship with God.

Quick! Catch Up!

I have so much to catch up on. Not been very good with this blog. I think I just don't have anything meaningful to share. Well I'll give you a few brief snippets of what I've been up to and pop a few pictures in along the way. If an inspiring thought comes to mind, I'll share it, if not, make what you will of it.

I visited Annecy with some international students. It was nice. I think I would go again. It's got a rather famous and beautiful lake and we had a nice walk around the city centre. It's a small city and yet cute and touristic. Apparently a very expensive place to live though. I did a little bit of shopping there too.

I don't know what the building in the middle of the river actually is, but it's cool :). 

The second picture is of the lake. It's a bit misty but you'll see a water feature on the right to the trees. The water is incredibly clear; you can see right down to the bottom! It was beautiful and would put the Thames to shame!

In preparation for a little dhikr/ dawah workshop/ gathering, a few of us (me and 2 others) ended up practising some qasidahs to just sing on the evening. Met up at one of the girls' flat on the Wednesday to just get us a little organised (know what we've got to sing, get the tune going and what we need to fix). It was quite hard because I'd never heard the qasidahs before so I was learning the words and the tune completely from scratch- and the event was on Friday night- and I had a test on Friday morning! I managed though and I was pretty impressed with myself.
   On the Friday afternoon we went back to her flat to bake some cakes for the event too. I made a very successful chocolate fondant cake (I was just given the recipe and followed it). Had a lovely couple of afternoons and the evening was lovely, although not many people came but we all had a nice time together. The view from her flat's living room was pretty impressive.

Although it looks quite grey here, it was a beautiful day but it did rain later on. I loved the view because of the three layers; the city buildings, the green hills (that were covered in snow not that long ago) and the snowy mountains.

The next day, a few friends had organised a rather French 'repas du fromage' for lunch, just to give us a taste of the regional cheeses. Although they did go easy on me and all the cheeses were tolerably mild and creamy. Maybe next time they'll turn it up a notch? Anyway, I survived that one! Then we went out for ice cream (and it was super-yummy!).

So I visited a cute little village in the mountains just outside of Grenoble called Saint-Hilaire. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and although the intention was to visit a lady I knew and meet up with  her daughter (whose flat we made cakes at) for a bit of dhikr, her daughter couldn't make it so we went round for a little stroll around the village instead.

A popular pastime is a little parachuting from about April until October. During the winter people come to the village to ski too. 

OK, so a little bit of a stream but look how clean and clear the water is! It's remarkable! I keep seeing clean water around and it's refreshing to know that it still exits. I can't remember seeing really clean water like this at home...

In between this, I've had a few exams. They were alright.We will see how the results are. Got one big one left and got to do some assignments. However, I have no more lectures! I was supposed to be doing some more work on one of the assignments and then I realised that it was imperative that I update my blog... :)

It was a lovely day yesterday (weather-wise) so I wanted to go for a walk. Ended up visiting a deer farm for a short walk and it was really nice. Got to feed two of them with some leaves too but one got more than the other because he wouldn't share. It was so peaceful and calm there. Took a couple of pics of the two- though there was a whole field of them.

This is the big, greedy deer (or should I say stag?) who kept munching the leaves. He even followed us after when we'd 'finished' so we found some more to give him. 

This is the little deer who would have liked to have been fed some more but got chased away by the bigger male. 

Also, a quick note for my Mum here. I made a real curry yesterday. By real, I mean that I spent 1 hour carefully browning the onions so that they wouldn't burn and had got to the right colour and texture in order to make the base sauce for my curry. To be fair, it did turn out really well and tasted like a curry should (on the spicier side of course) so it was rewarding. Whether it was 'worth it' and whether I would choose to do it often is another matter.

I do need to do another blog post on my thoughts on our relationship with food. I few interesting things have come to mind and I've eaten some yummy things while I feel like I'm 'learning more about the world' (yes, dramatic I know) through food encounters. But that's too deep for the moment- I'm sleepy thinking about the work I should be doing...
- I will organise my thoughts and get back to you.

I will try to add things more regularly now.

Musée des beaux arts

So I visited Lyon a couple of weeks ago and we briefly popped into the Musée des Beaux Arts. I didn't really get to see as many paintings as I would have liked because we were short for time, but there are some gems in there. I liked this one because it reminded me so much of what our states ought to be.

Sorry the quality isn't great (my phone's camera isn't amazing). I don't recall who painted this but it's on the second floor of the gallery in the 15th-19th century collection for the record and maybe if I get the chance to go again, I'll note it down.

Anyway, painters aside, I sat looking at the painting for some time, quite disturbed at first that there were angels under the feet of Mary- almost being treaded on- looking rather squashed. I also found it rather interesting that many paintings of Mary in this time period were without her head covered in the nun-like fashion we're used to seeing in churches. But back to the angels being stood on: I looked closely at the rest of the painting to see that the cloud-like composition was in fact many more angels surrounding Mary, so they were representing the celestial realms or at least the Omnipresence of the Divine for it then appeared more sensible that these angels were 'beneath' Mary when I looked more at her positioning- not in the Christian narrative as the mother of God but physically in the painting.

So Mary is evidently looking heavenwards, with the light behind her indicating the Divinity she is seeking and looking towards. Her arms are open, and most importantly, receptive. They are receptive to the Divine, to knowledge of Him and her bosom is open to receiving the Light of Faith. She is opening herself up like a vessel ready to contain the Divine Truths and Secrets. She is wrapped in the blue garment of Truth and of course with the red/ pink it de-genders her because she represents both man and woman. Now as a person who is open and receptive to God and His Truth, I realised why angels were surrounding her and especially beneath her. For when we open our hearts up to God and truly seek Him, God, in His Infinite Power, elevates our status, and our rank in this world to take us closer to Him in the spiritual realms. The whole of the universe, in His Power, comes together to elevate us and take us closer to Him (hence the angels taking Mary upwards), presuming we seek Him and want Him,  because by doing this we are finding our original states again, returning to Him.

And if you want to add another dimension to the human-angel positioning, we just need to recall the concept that humans, when they are purified and submit completely, transcend the level of the angels because humans have desires that the angels do not have to fight against.

But ultimately, we need to be Mary and God will take us to Him.

Munchies!

I'm going so barmy that I've started talking to myself and therefore thought I'd rant out on the blog- that's what it's there for, right?

I'm munching wayyy too much these days. I don't know why and I need to stop! I've just been to the shop and bought goats' cheese, tomatoes, spinach and bread... Of that list, only bread was on my original list. I'm losing control over myself and although I am going to make something yummy with it shortly, I can only thank God for fasting! It's the only way I'll stop!

However, my culinary experiment shall be fun... since I am hoping to turn bread into toast without a toaster. The Google community really supported me and showed me that others are suffering the same fate; but we can make toast on a frying pan (with butter on either side apparently) or dry, or put the bread in the oven. I'm scared of using ovens that I don't 'know' so I'll avoid that option unless the frying pan option fails miserably. I think it's good for my sense of innovation in the kitchen, but not good for my soul.

Eating even when I'm not hungry is always dangerous. I keep munching on the bag of raisins in my room- the last 500g packet lasted me a month- this one will not make it to that noble standard. I bought dried figs too with the hope to keep my diet "healthy"- I even resisted the pains aux chocolats in the shop! My general moto in terms of 'healthy lifestyle' is to eat as much as you will use in physical activities. I do very little and therefore need to eat very little... This extra food literally has me wanting to go for a run (for which I am too unfit!).

Let tomorrow come and bring peace in fasting- and a stronger sense of discipline! I have a beautiful week ahead where I can try to focus!

Trip to town

Yes, I've visited the city centre before now but today I learnt a few new things. On the way there, on the bus, I saw an advert at a bus stop.

It made me think- nothing profound I'm afraid- but a thought nonetheless. It's roughly translates into 'For the (mid) afternoon hunger', basically the afternoon 'elevenses' / post-school munchies but what came to mind was- since when was a Kinder Bueno filling? Since when did it hit that spot of hunger? It tastes lovely, no doubt, but if I was peckish, I would much rather go for a Snickers bar or a Twix for they're relatively filling. I think they need to realise the Kinder Bueno is purely a pleasurable chocolate to eat- there's no other justification or excuse. For the record, in the white strip at the bottom there is the standard health advice to exercise regularly and maintain a healthy lifestyle etc. 

Alright, so I was in a bookshop and, by chance, I ended up in the religious books section. Taking a little browse around the bookshelves, 'La Bible' and Jewish texts were easily visible and after taking a closer look for something Islamic, I found that it was on the bottom shelf- quite hidden. Rather symbolic positioning if you ask me, since it is one of the largest religions in the world, it wasn't given near as much space or attention. Being a foreigner (I quite like the excuse) I sat myself on the floor before this small collection, looking at the French translations of the likes of Irshad Manji to Imam Al Ghazali and Rumi. One of the books I found was called something like 'These Great Minds against Islam'. A passage under the section of Charles de Gaulle seemed to ring true to what's still happening in France, regardless of the 'Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite':

Apologies for the blurriness of the photos. 

Very rough translation (i.e. please don't shoot me if I make a mistake/ it sounds off in English):

It's very good that there are yellow, black and brown French people. They show that France is open to all races and that she [France] has a universal calling. But, under the condition that they remain a small minority. If not, France would no longer be France. We are, before anything, a European people of a white race, of a Greek and Latin culture and Christian religion. [...] Are you going to see the Muslims? Have you seen them with their turbans and robes [abayas]? you can see clearly that they are not French. Those who advocate integration have an intellect of a hummingbird, even if they are very wise/ intelligent. Trying to mix oil and vinegar; shake the bottle; suddenly they'll separate once again. Arabs are Arabs, the French are French. Do you believe that the French body can absorb ten million Muslims, who tomorrow will be twenty million and thereafter forty? If we were to integrate, if all the Arabs and the Algerian Berbers/ Arabs were to be considered French, how will you stop them from coming to settle in the Metropole [France] while the standard of life there/ here is significantly higher. My village would no longer be called 'Colombey-The-Two-Churches' but 'Colombey-The-Two-Mosques'. 

Too tired to translate the second part, but nonetheless, we can get the idea that France loves being the 'pays d'acceuil' (welcoming country) but perhaps it doesn't make the best host. I was told by a lady that once, because she was fasting, her work colleague became rather hostile and aggressive. I feel like France is often either hypocritical in its values or simply a little schizophrenic. 

That book cost 18€ so it was a little dear for me... And I guess it means the wealthier of French society will have the benefit of engaging in this level of critical thinking. That is, if they can find the book hidden on the bottom shelf of the rather hidden religious books section. 

Good times

Long time no speak.
I've been not-that-busy but just not really felt like writing anything in some time.

I'll just give some short, interesting snippets of things I've come across.

Some weeks ago I was at a friend's place with an expectant couple and so, baby names came up in the conversation. While discussing this, and cultural factors (meanings, discrimination, pronunciation by the French, Africans, potential of it being used/ seeming like a swear/ pejorative term) it came about that someone had suggested that everyone in the country ought to choose their names by the calendar. I was going with the flow of the conversation until that point. I let it continue and then just asked, 'calendrier?" and of course I was met with.. "oui, a calendar" at which point I was like, 'what's the connection between names and a calendar?'. And then I was shown a French Calendar. Every day of the year has by its side a name, of a Catholic Saint, and although how it's used to name children has varied over time- people (can) use it- and you also have the day of the saint after whom you're named as a second birthday almost.
I was fascinated- so much so, my friend let me keep the calendar... :)

I was at another friend's house over the weekend for the afternoon and she was making a yoghurt cake. I feel rather out of touch with the culinary world because... I am and because I've never come across that in my life. So she went ahead and carried on making the cake, adding whatever she wanted to along the way. She planned to add some orange juice and remembered at the end that she hadn't. Opening the fridge she saw she didn't have any, and so, without a second thought, she took out the lemon Fanta and poured that generously into the mixture. Evidently, I was a little shocked and couldn't stop laughing. And then I reminded her she had oranges in her fruit bowl and could've squeezed one of them- so she took the advice on board and added that too... We had to add flour to balance the mixture again but with the cranberries, cinnamon, fanta, yoghurt and all.... I was a little worried about the end result.
Alhamdulillah it turned out to be a rather good, moist and well-risen cake. It had a nice taste, but I couldn't tell you what it tasted of. It was good and that's all that mattered.

French-wise... I feel like my brain is too tired to learn/ use more of the language. I need to wake-up again just to start being more in French mode. It's such a big push just to consistently speak in French without using English words. I've got a presentation this afternoon- in French- so I'll see how that goes!

Also, my internet at the flat is playing up again. I think it's my laptop because I've Googled the problem and it seems to be common amongst people of my "laptop community". Insha' Allah it'll be resolved soon.

Anyway, I'd better do some work...
A bientot!