More peanut butter

 

Hi Natty!  How are you today, Honey?  I hope you are healthy and safe, and having a marvelous time.  Oh there's not much going on over here.  I spent most of the day in the kitchen.  The basil insisted on being harvested, so I made spaghetti sauce.  It was simple.  Just basil, garlic, onion, tomato puree, and a touch of salt.  No sugar!  The hardest part was peeling the garlic and pulling off the basil leaves.

I bought raw peanuts the other day at the Chinese market.  I also bought a bag of the cooked peanuts that I usually buy.  The peanuts I consume are called "Shandong" peanuts, noted for the long seed.  Costly stuff: the half kilo raw nuts were RM6.50 while a 900g bag of cooked peanuts cost 13 bucks.  I got the raw peanuts to make another batch of peanut butter.  I roasted it myself with a little oil and salt.  It looks OK, don't you think?  It had snap and a nice taste, but the fried peanuts I usually buy are way superior.  Those guys have the magic routine with these peanuts.  And it is magic because it's just peanuts, oil and salt.  But my intention was to make peanut butter.  I'm getting the hang of it, but I still need a little oil to get the mix going.  Cleaning up is a bitch, as you can probably tell from the snapshot below.  If there is something that's both sticky and greasy, it's peanut butter.  It was more practical to use my finger to clean the blender rather than a brush or scrubbie, then lick the peanut butter off.

Qur'an 20211005

 In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

63.  Say, "Who is it that delivers you from the dark recesses of land and sea, when you call upon God in humility and in silent terror, 'If God only delivers us from these, we shall truly show our gratitude'?"

64.  Say, "It is Allah that delivers you from these and all distresses, and yet you worship false gods!"

65.  Say, "God has power to send calamities on you from above and below, or to cover you with confusion in party strife, giving you a taste of mutual vengeance, each from the other."  See how We explain the Signs by various ways, that they may understand.

66.  But your people reject this.  Say, "Not mine is the responsibility for arranging your affairs."

(The Cattle 6:63-66)

So how's Vancouver doing?

 

Hi Natty!  How are you today, Honey?  I hope you are doing well, and enjoying yourself.  It's been a busy Monday for me.  I went around paying bills this morning.  I suppose I could do it online, but the queue is ridiculously long for the power bill.  Days long, at times.  It's quicker to go to the kiosk and feed the machine with cash.  My Internet bill isn't like the power bill, because the process is instantaneous.  I suppose the logistics are different but whatever the problem is with the power company, it's not the bank's fault.

So how's Vancouver doing?  I suppose I could look it up but I'm asking you, Honey.  You are Canada.  Over here, the price of the kitty litter I always buy has gone up RM2.50!  Yikes!  Serves me right for buying name brand, but I do have a pair of pampered pussycats.  Poultry has gone up, as well.  Eggs are RM10.80 for a grade D 30 tray, when 3 months ago it was RM6.  But otherwise, there doesn't seem to be a supply chain problem.  Everything is available, even easily available, so alhamdulillah.  Now if only I had lots of money...

Now check this out.  Even the water supply is cut.

Qur'an 20211004

 In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

56.  Say, "I am forbidden to worship those whom you call upon other than Allah."  Say, "I will not follow your desires.  If I did, I would stray from the path, and be not of the company of those who receive guidance."

57.  Say, "For me, I be on a clear Sign from my Lord, but you reject God.  What you would see hastened is not in my power.  The command rests with none but Allah.  God declares the Truth.  And God is the Best of judges."

58.  Say, "If what you would see hastened were in my power, the matter would be settled at once between you and me.  But Allah knows best those who do wrong."

(The Cattle 6:56-58)

Good food

 

Hi Natty!  Oh sorry I'm running late, Honey.  I had a late start on dinner.  I hope all is well with you.  I have a feeling you are enjoying much good food lately.  If so, I wish you would take snapshots and share it with us.  Perhaps you and I could recreate some of these culinary experiences when we are together inshaAllah.  Of course it would be easier if you took snapshots of these memories.

Yeah, I had a late start on dinner.  I was still eating dinner when they called the sunset prayer.  The food has been good today.  For lunch, my Mom gave me some rice with chicken, squid, prawns, anchovies and a boiled egg.  Dinner was just chicken tenders with fries.  I didn't have any spuds, so I had to go out and buy them, then get home and prep them for home fries.  That's what took so long.  The boiled potatoes need to cool down in the fridge before frying them up, but I didn't have much time for that.  So there was a lot of potato debris at the bottom of the wok.  What made dinner really good was the home made hot sauce.  I know a place that sells the purest chilli puree.  All I did was blend the puree up with fresh garlic, pickled soybeans and some anchovy bouillon.  No sugar!  No corn starch!  It was a perfect dip for both the fries and chicken tenders.  Better than ketchup.  Those orange breadcrumbs make a great backdrop, huh!

Qur'an 20211003

 In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

50.  Say, "I tell you not that with me are the Treasures of Allah, nor do I know what is hidden, nor do I tell you I am an angel.  I follow what is revealed to me."  Say, "Can the blind be held equal to the seeing?"  Will you then consider not?

51.  Give this warning to those in them is the fear that they will be brought before their Lord: except for God they will have no protector nor intercessor, that they be wary.

(The Cattle 6:50-51)

An emotional issue

 Hi Natty!  How are you feeling?  Don't worry so much.  I want you to know that I love you with all of my heart, and I will marry you inshaAllah.  Everything will work out just fine for us inshaAllah.  Are you back from France yet?  That must have been fun.  I just got done with dinner.  Oh nothing special, just beans with sliced bread.  This evening I tried another take at the hihat for Shadowplay's next album, "Rise of the Horizon Creature" aka "Search for the Beast".  It was stressful.  My emotions are fucked up, and it affects my drumming.  I did manage to get a take, however.  I was clumsier than usual afterwards, knocking over drinks and dropping dishes.  But no matter.  If I can't use this take, then I'll keep trying until I get something worthwhile.