Freshly baked scones :)

I decided to do some baking on Sunday evening. I have a billion cake books with recipes for every cake possible, I thought I would bake something that would appeal to all, so I decided to make scones. The recipe is really simple to follow. We ate the scones straight from the over still warm with clotted cream and strawberry jam..................YUM!

The scones were very tasty if I do say so myself so I thought I would share the recipe with you guys.

Pre heat the oven at 220C/ 425F/ Gas 7.

Place 375g of self raising flour (sifted), 1 and a half heaped tea spoons of baking powder and 75g of butter (room temp) in a bowl. With your fingers mix together the butter and flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. (Add in raisans and glazed cherrys if you like)

Using a wooden spoon create a well in the middle of the mixture and pour in 110ml of milk and 2 large whisked eggs. Start mixing the egg and milk with the flour in circles but start from the centre and mix outwards until you are left with a dough like mixture. Leave for five minutes.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour (make sure the surface is clean!) and place the dough mixture on the surface. Knead the dough until it is soft.

Roll out the dough so that it is about 1 and a half inches thick, using a cookie cutter which is about 3 an a half inches wide cut the dough. Cut as many as you can and with the remaining dough re roll it and repeat the process. You can usualy make around 12-16 scones depending on how thick and wide you cut them.
Place the scones on grease proof paper on a baking tray and lightly brush on some whisked egg.

Leave in the oven for about 20 mins.

Eat when hot with clotted cream/ double cream and jam :)

Happy Baking.....

Inna lillahi Wa inna ilaihi Rajioon

Inna lillahi Wa inna ilaihi Rajioon- To God we belong and to Him we will return. Surah Al Baqara- Verse 156.

A colleagues grandfather passed away today, she found out while she was in the office and was obviously very distraught. It's hard losing any member of your family or a friend, but losing a grandparent, someone who was head of the family can throw the whole family into disarray.
I lost one of my 'grandfathers' just under a year ago and even though he was my grandfathers brother I felt a great loss when he passed away.  Grandfather A (lets call him) had bought up my father as his own son and because he was the centre of our family here in the UK (my dad's dad was in Pakistan) I had a closer connection to him. Before last year I hadn't experienced a death of a member of the family so closely so never came to trully appreciate the heart ache one goes through. Even now when I think of Granfather A I feel a shiver run down my spine and feel my eyes fill up with tears as my last memory of my grandfather was seeing him lying peacefully in his coffin just before the namaaz e- janaaza. I don't think a day goes by when I don't think of him but losing someone so close helps you realise that, "To God we belong and to Him we will return."
It's such a simple prayer yet it so clearly explains the belief of Muslims such that is it God who gives and it is He who takes away too, the prayer provides reasoning during times of turmoil and calamity.


The Prophert PBUH said "If any Muslim man or woman suffers a calamity and keeps it in his memory, even if it happened a long time ago, saying each time as it is remembered, "Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un," Allah, who is Blessed and Exalted will give a fresh reward each time it is said, equivalent to the reward when it happened."
Tirmidhi: Ahmad and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it

Like a Garment

Jummah Mubarak people!

I've joined the facebook group called "Ahadith per day Keeps Shaytaan away," and they send out a hadith with an explanation once a day. Yesterday the hadith I receieved was titled 'Like a Garment: Husband and Wife.' I thought I would share it with you guys.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, "A believer must not hate (his wife) believing woman; if he dislikes one of her characteristics he will be pleased with another". [Muslim]

Commentary: Love does not mean that we should always agree with or feel good about our partners. A man may like a quality not in his wife, but he should be conscious of the fact that she might have other qualities that are even better.

Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) says that spouses are like clothes for each other. They hide the defects in the body, and beautify the body. Each person wears clothes that are just the right size for their body. So also Allah gave you (or will give you) the spouse just right for you, somebody who complements your strengths and compensates for your weaknesses. Therefore, never compare your partner with others. Somebody else’s clothes may look great on them but terrible on you.

The same applies to the wife regarding her husband. Perfection in humans is only possible in Jannah; it does not exist in humans on earth. So don’t look for it here.
As clothes and bodies go together but are not the same, so also yours and his strengths will be different. Do not expect your spouse to be good at the same things as you. Do not compete with each other, nor expect the other to become just like you.

What happens if something falls on your best clothes? You carefully wash the stains off them. You don’t junk the clothes or exhibit the stains, but make the clothes all beautiful again.

Sometimes the clothes are perfect. Everybody says they look great. But you don’t like them. Then it is your own sight that needs to be fixed. When partners are able to accept and live with their differences, love and respect will grow and that is how this relationship stays.

So, this Hadith contains a very wise counsel for a happy married life. It tells us that every person has certain good qualities as well as some shortcomings. Man has been advised here to overlook the shortcomings that he does not like in his wife and appreciate her good qualities. Similarly, a woman is advised to ignore the shortcomings of her husband and admire his good qualities.

A gentle reminder for all the men out there, whether you a husband yet or not :)

Je Roche

A few months back I attended a charity dinner in Manchester held by Imran Khan's Flood Appeal charity. I took part in the raffle and actually won :) I didnt win the two tickets to Pakistan which I was hoping to win but I did get the second best prize which was £500 vouchers for Je Roche Fashion House. I haven't had a chance to go back to Manchester and pick out the clothes I want (Je Roche is based in Manchester, on Wilmslow Road) but I do keep going on their website and drooling over the really pretty outfits. Hopefully I'll get to go in a few weekends time, can't wait!!!!