Chemo or Alternative Medicine

Bismillah (In the Name of Allah)

I have so neglected this blog. One good thing that came out of this is that now people who read here know how much I slack at posting and won't expect much activity here. This lets me relax and just do it at a comfortable pace. sigh...

I've been pondering about something insightful to blog about and started a post about simplicity and living a slow-paced life. After working on a draft for a couple of evenings I realized that I still have to find my place in this area; there are things which I dream of doing but don't know yet if I'm ready to undergo what it takes to live more simply than what I do now. As I grow in this area and find my balance I will share. Perhaps, you can grow along with me into a more simple person.

For now my post on simplicity will have to wait...

Something happened today: I learned that a Muslim woman I know has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. It made me think of what would I do if I find myself in her situation. Had I nobody in my life I would probably not undergo chemotherapy and try alternative medicine and see if it works. If it did, then I would let people know and encourage them to not resort to chemotherapy and conventional medicine as their first means in fighting this disease. If it didn't I would not be leaving loved ones behind thinking: "Had she only done what doctors told her to."

Having a family, however, I feel this would be selfish of me to do. I feel I'd be following my desires and my ideologies against the procedure that's endorsed by the medical community and putting my life in jeopardy without need.

Of course, I understand that only Allah knows when we're going to meet our death and how that's going to happen and I'm at complete ease with this in my mind, alhamdulillah. What I'd like to have more certainty about is the way I'd deal with a disease of this kind if I happened to be affected by it.

Perhaps, it should be a decision taken by the entire family and not just by the affected person. This is a very sensitive matter that here and there we should contemplate.

What are your thoughts on cancer and the methods out there to treat it?

An Update

Bismillah (In the name of Allah)

It's been a while since I posted here. I've been so busy taking up new interests and trying to keep up the old ones. I have to admit I yet have to come up with a plan that helps me include all my hobbies and obligations in my weekly routine so I don't feel frustrated for not having time for the things that help me relax and the things that need to be done to have a household with three children under five years of age running smoothly. Now, that was a run-off sentence!

As I have shared here in the past I started making my own bread from my very own home-milled flour. It's been a very satisfying experience but like anything worthwile it requires time. I'm more than willing to invest the time needed thus a plan needs to come into effect so this new chore blends in smoothly with all the existing ones.

I have also started speaking my mother-tongue with my children inspired by Itto and it's going well but it could be draining, mashAllah. I don't speak Spanish much since my husband doesn't speak it and I have very few friends who do, whom I see rarely. I started to read Don Quixote de la Mancha not so much to polish up my Spanish vocabulary but to fall in love with the language of Cervantes once again; I think that'll help me get the encouragement I need. I'm also going to be watching the news online from a Colombian news channel. InshAllah that goes well and I can gift my children with bilingualism.

Oh yeah, last but not least, I've taken up knitting :o) and I made a hat for my oldest one after about two weeks of practicing over and over the knit and purl stitches. The actual hat only took a week of knitting in the evenings. What can I say? I love the craft! It's relaxing, satisfying and you can make things you and your family can wear. I would have loved to have that done for me when I was a child and I can see that my son was very happy and proud of his new hat, yay! Now I have to hurry and make something wintery for my two girls before the season is over.

InshAllah, I also want to take up sewing partly because I have a sewing machine sitting in the box it came in for about three years but mainly to ba able to make skirts for my little girls and maybe thowbs (Muslim men's long robes) for my husband and son.

I want to try and keep it at this for now, perhaps for the next year or so. I am craving making things with my hands, things for the home, the family, but I have to be realistic with the season I'm going through right now in my life: The child rearing season. I want to savour it and live it. I want my kids to grow up to have fond memories of their childhood and also to have good characteristics and love for Islam. And, yes it can be done! We just have to put our minds to it; but foremost we have to put our affairs in Allah's hands and never underestimate the power of our dua's (supplications.)

InshAllah you all are having a productive and blessed week.

Sourdough Bread, yum!

Bismillah (in the name of Allah)

So, baking bread with regular store-bought yeast was not cutting it for me. I decided I would give one more try at sourdough (last time I did, about 2 years ago, I ended up with two rocks instead of bread) MashAllah this time with Allah's help and the informative details from Mike I'm succesfully baking sourdough bread. Smells heavenly, tastes deliciously sour and apparently is good to our health.

This is my culture

And this is my first loaf fresh out of the oven

If anyone is interested in details about this ancient art of sourdough making, I would gladly share; otherwise head over to Mike's website, he has an amazing amount of information on anything sourdough related.

It feels so good to eat bread the way it was eaten by our ancestors, whom without any knowledge of healthy bacteria and lactobacillious managed to master this method by trial and error, I imagine. It definately involves some work and time but I believe that anything that is wholesome and beneficial to us does.

I hope you all are enjoying these winter days and take advantage of it to learn the art of homemaking and while you're at it some sourdough making :o)

What Happens in my Kitchen Doesn't Stay in my Kitchen

Bismillah (In the name of Allah)

Some time ago I found a simple yet delicious apple sauce recipe when visiting Muslim Hippie and I got my hands on some apples, which were given the honour of becoming part of this sweet treat for my munchkins.

I am not a measurer thus you might want to head over to her blog if you need more specific measurements; I peeled, cored and chopped 7-8 apples.

Next I put them in a pot with just a bit of water, about 1/4 cup of honey and sprinkled cinnamon on top. I think next time I might want to put less cinnamon, but that really would be up to your individual taste.

And, after simmering this for about half hour you can mash this into whatever texture and consistency you prefer. It was a hit in my house and even my littlest picky eater had no trouble devouring a cup of this yummy treat.

Oh, and I can't describe the beautiful aroma that spread all over my house, I would do it again just for that, mashAllah.

As for my bread baking season, I have a lot to share in my upcoming post. I have taken the whole thing to a new level and am very satisfied with the results I have obtained so far :o) It's been time-consuming but I'm very thankful to Allah that he's allowed me to put my time and attention to it. I believe and hope that this will become a tradition of my family that will be passed down to the coming generations.

Home-made Bread

Bismillah (In the name of Allah)

Since the bread baking bug got in my kitchen I've been very busy. The first night, without having the necessary supplies, I could not wait and decided that I was going to make bread with what I had at hand. And, this came out of the spur of the moment:


          

It was good but, of course, I could not stop there. It was only the beginning of a very satisfying new season of my life: The bread making season.

Next day I went on a mission to stock up my kitchen with what I needed to make bread from scratch. Fresh organic wheat, more yeast, some spelt and rye, amongst other things. And, without hesitation I moved onto making whole wheat bread from freshly milled wheat.

           

It has been an amazing experience; not only baking these breads but feeding them to my family as well. They love it and I love giving them something so nutritious. Especially because I'm milling my own wheat, so it's fresh and it isn't stripped off anything; all the goodness of wheat goes into my loaves of bread.

Have you ever heard of Ezekiel bread? It's a recipe that has been interpreted from the bible. I made my own version of this bread as follows:

3 1/2 cup of hard wheat, 1/2 cup of (kidney beans, lentils, chick peas and spelt) and I'm planning on interchanging the legumes that I add to this mix, and possibly making it 1 cup instead of just 1/2. Will update when that happens, and at this rate it could be anytime within the next few days :o)

 Let me get back to my recipe. All gets milled and it yields approximately 6 cups of flour which I mixed with 2 1/2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of oil, 1/4 cup of honey, 1tbs of instant yeast, 1 tbs of wheat gluten, 1 tbs of salt. I kneaded this till smooth, by

hand I would guesstimate it could take 10 min approximately. I let my machine do the work, I know I'm spoiled! It should be ready when you can stretch a piece of it, without tearing it, and see light through it. Then I formed into loaves, placed in a warm place till they about doubled in size and baked at 375 degrees fahrenheit for 1/2 hour. I skipped one rise that typically takes place when making bread, but it worked for me and it saved me time.

This is what I've been doing in these cold days. Perhaps this is yet one more blessing that Allah brings along with winter; we spend more time indoors and become more creative and even take up on new interests.

I Name you....

Bismillah (In the name of Allah)

A lot has been going on in this house lately; a lot of planning, baking, some more planning, and of course winter fun outside with the kids.

Meanwhile, I thought of a more suitable title for this blog and came up with something I liked. So as of today 'Profession: Mom & Wife' gets replaced by tatata.... 'The Art of Learning' which I believe suits more the reality of the author of this blog, that is me :o) It suits me better from every angle I look at it since I find myself learning every single day in every aspect of my life as a Muslim, wife, mom, homekeeper, etc. And I believe/hope it's never going to change; I am destined to learn for the remaining of my life InshAllah and am very pleased with this notion.
I want to leave you with this:

And will share more about baking on my next post inshAllah (God willing)

"Profession: Mom & Wife" sounds kinda corny doesn't it?

Bismillah (In the name of Allah)

I've made up my mind and will change the title of my blog inshAllah (God willing) I want something less dry, more homey, cozier... And I would love any suggestions as to what I should tittle it. I want a title that says more about whom I am and what I dream of rather than some executive type of title.

In a nutshell, I am a convert Muslim (which means I was born something else and when I grew up and learned about Islam I chose it as my way of life), a stay-at-home-mom/wife, I currently live in the city but dream of one day moving my tribe to a more secluded region of, perhaps, this beautiful country (Canada) or somewhere in the middle East, I strive to live a simple life and love everything that relates to it, I love outdoors thus have a little misunderstanding with Mr. Winter, which happens to be very long in these lands.

Don't you agree that 'Profession: Mom & Wife' is a corny title.What y'all think I should title this blog of mine?