Put on Hold

Once again I have not wrote on my blog for over three months :( !!The blog hasn't been forgotten just put on hold for awhile. I have lots of things going on right now, but I do hope to write about these things soon.

These include :

• I am currently teaching ESL lessons to 3-14 years old at a local mosque every Wednesday. So the preparation for these classes takes up time.
• Expecting baby number 2 again in February 2015, so being pregnant and having a 1year old running around all the time doesn't give me a whole lot of free time!
• Still working as a music manager for two groups, this as well takes up a lot of time
• Striving to be a better Muslim through studying different subjects and teaching others
• Plus the usual household responsibilities and endless errands and the what seems like weekly appointments

I hope to get back on track soon and find time to sit and write about my experiences, adventures, successes, failures and ideas!

 

Playing catchup soon

Last time I wrote was sometime in the middle of Ramadan, and then my sister came to visit at the end of Ramadan for two weeks and now I'm getting back into my work, plus I have little Fatima to run around with. So there has been no time to write about my adventures.

But, I do hope to finish my adventures in Turkey series soon and possibly get back on track with the French cooking series.

While you wait check out some of these other blogs or news articles :
Michele from Cincinnati (stumbled upon her blog looking up French nationality stuff) http://lifeenfranglais.blogspot.fr/
Paris Daily Photo http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/
http://kathandroger.wordpress.com/
Tintin - a beloved comic strip - http://us.tintin.com/



 

Do not try this at home

There is a video circulating on Youtube of a guy jumping onto the roof of a moving metro...like I said don't try this at home.
There is buzz going around if he is a stuntman or attempting suicide. I guess we will not know unless he attempts it again. At the end of the video he states, 'that it didn't goes a planned but I'm still living" and that he now has ideas for the future on how to make it better.

What would you do if you saw someone jumping on to the roof of a moving metro ?

 

Ramazan Pide / Turkish Bread for Ramadan

The other day we were out of bread, my husband eats bread with everything and by everything I mean even pasta and potatoes. Talk about a lot of carbs.

So we were out of bread ...I decided since it was Ramadan and I had a recipe sitting around for Ramazan pide, I would try to make it. But the one I had seemed kind of complicated. So, I looked up Ramazan pide english recipes online and stumbled across this one.

The final result was 100+% husband approved. He said it was so much better than the store bought and that would like it a few times a week if possible. And because this recipe is easy I think that I can do that.

 Afiyet Olsun / Bon appétit!


 

Adventures in Turkey : Driving

While in Turkey we ended up buying a car (due to some family issues), a Renault from the 80's for 7,000 lira (2500 euros at the time).

driving to Elazig from the village, dirt roads the whole way till the expressway

Here we are getting the 80's material out and getting black and red retro style in (which somehow I don't have a picture of)

Driving in Turkey is a nightmare. If you have ever driven in Paris, its 10 times worse. I thought that the French drive horrible, with no respect for traffic laws, but Turkish drivers are worse. Since we were in Eastern Turkey, there are not a whole lot of women who drive for reasons I couldn't figure out. So everytime I was driving or got in the car, I got stares, but I brushed it off because I am just as comptent or more as the other drivers on the road.

There is no respect for traffic laws, like there would be stop signs and no one would stop. Or the round about, which I don't even understand in the first place, and people would just all go in at once. Or they would drive without their lights on in the middle of the night. People crossing the street right in front of you (I decided I would honk the horn everyone did this). Lots and lots of stories. And apparently the traffic is worse in Istanbul than where we were!!

Every time we left the city there would be a police check and I kept telling my husband I hoped that we would get pulled over, so that I can give them a discourse on driving in Turkey and how they really aren't doing their job. The one time we almost got pulled over was a false alarm, the police wanted the car in front of us, but I told my husband it was because I was a woman and they didn't want to deal with me!


Have you ever driven in Turkey or do you have a French driving experience ??

Adventures in Turkey : Landscapes

I have finally had the time to literally sit down, upload my pictures from Turkey and write posts about them and did I mention we got back from Turkey over a month and a half ago?

Upcoming blog posts about my adventures in Turkey will be about mushroom hunting, fishing, driving, village life, and tourist spots in Elazig, where my husband is from.

Elazig is located in the eastern part of Turkey, it is neither north or south. There  is a huge military presence at least 3 or 4 military stations scattered across the region. We saw military planes when we were near Tuncelli, it reminded me of the opening of the movie "Gunesi Gordum" (great movie by the way, with English subtitles). There are quite a few tourist spots, I met some Romanian students while we were in Elazig city.

We stayed mostly in my husband's village and we were in Turkey for almost a month. We had wonderful weather, it was hot a few days but only rained three times!






Now for pictures of the countryside

Everywhere there are mountains. Not a whole lot of vegetation on the mountains. They are harder to climb than it looks.

 

France vs. Germany

Who will win the match today ?

France or Germany

I think that Germany is going to win in the last few minutes of the game, because that's how they have won the past few matches.

 Post your choice below!

 

Ramadan has started....

and therefore, there has been a lack of posts. I have currently been busy because it's Ramadan.

Ramadan for Muslims is not just about fasting from food and drink from sunrise to sunset, in our case from 3:50 am to 10:00 pm, but it's about striving to become a better Muslim. There is a saying that says Ramadan is 10% Fasting and 90% changing your heart and habits that you will incorporate throughout the coming year.
Visit this link to learn more about Ramadan.

For example, my Ramadan goals this year are to :

• memorize some short chapters and a long chapter from the Quran
• read 20 pages a day in English or French from the Quran and listen to the same reading in Arabic
• reflect every day on a verse or on my experience
• eat healthier and better and exercise daily 
• power naps throughout the day, because sleeping 7 straight hours is not possible!!

If you are not Muslim, but interested in learning more about Ramadan or joining on a 1-day fast please do not hesitate to comment below.

Paris Daily Photo blog

I ran across a new blog when I was looking for pictures for the love lock bridge post, called Paris Daily Photo. And just like it's name everyday there is a daily photo from Paris with a little caption about the photo.

Copyright +ParisDailyPhoto 

Copyright +ParisDailyPhoto 

Copyright +ParisDailyPhoto 

 This website is really interesting it has different sections like typical Paris, unusual, must see, restuarant and so much more. It is a good source of inspiration for my blog and for those of you interested in seeing a new photo of Paris everyday!

 

The Pont des Arts (love locks) bridge is falling down...

literally. Earlier last week a 2m section fell from the bridge, because the bridge could no longer hold on to the love locks. There are currently 700,000 locks on this bridget and you can add 300 kilos for each meter of railing.
According to most Parisians, the love lock bridge has gotten out of hand and they are scared for the security of the bridge either walking across it or taking a boat ride along the Seine. There is even a petition that has been started by No Love Locks, their motto is Free your heart Save our bridges! So far there are 5000 signatures!

Copyright ©No Love Locks. - The bridge before any locks

Copyright ©No Love Locks. - And today with the piece of plywood added

Recently other bridges and other places have been targeted love lock places such as the Eiffel Tower, Canal Saint Martin (where Amelie skipped rocks),


Paris is the city of love, but I don't know if attaching a lock to a bridge and throwing away the key equals everlasting love. Have you locked your heart in Paris ?

Eiffel Tower Copyright ©No Love Locks.

Canal Saint Martin Copyright ©No Love Locks.

 

It's hard to get around Paris or rather France recently

Today is the 6th day of a rail/transport strike. And let me tell you it has been a pain in the neck for my husband who takes the train to work everyday. Often he has an 1hour 30minute commute which is doubled or tripled when there is a strike. Take a can of sardines or tuna and imagine you are in the can, that's what it feels like to be in a train when they're on strike. So pregnant women, the elderly, tourists going to the airport or babies in strollers should not attempt to take the train during the strike, because people will literally push and shove to get a spot on the train. Sometimes blocking the doors to close, people think that a 1cm spot is big enough for them! It's not a fun adventure in Paris or other cities for that matter.

This weekend to make matters worse, there were only two trains every hour going in the direction of the airport CDG and the south of Paris on RER B!!

Why are they striking ?

 Over government plans to bring the SNCF rail operator and the RFF network under the roof of one holding company, while keeping their operations separate.They fear the proposals will hurt working conditions and want SNCF and RFF fully merged into a single company as they were before 1997.They also want the government to take on some 40 billion euros ($54.5 billion) in debt owed by the two firms.The government says the reform is needed to create a coherent structure for the railways as France and other European countries gear up for full liberalisation of the railways in coming years. (france24.com)

Ok it's a good thing that these people are striking for their retirement and jobs but its not good that it is causing people like my husband to lose work time and pay due to the strike.  And also according to a video that I saw, the union said they would take their time to respond to the government because the government has been taking it's time.

So the question is, how long will the strike keep going ?
 

In memory of D-Day

This week was the memory of D-Day, so I thought I would show some pictures that I took from previous France trips when I was younger.

imagine walking up this mountain from the beach having no clue what would lie ahead

but don't worry today there is a path!

this bomb made the hole below

this picture shows how deep the bomb holes are still today!

 

Back from Turkey!!

I got back from Turkey a few weeks ago and just got back from Metz a few hours ago.
 I will be updating my blog later this week, new posts about my fantastic trip in Turkey and driving the toll road in France. I will try to updating the 44 meals list ( I know I have fallen way behind, that's what a month long vacation does).


 Meanwhile enjoy a few photos from Turkey.

At a friend's family's garden

Harput, a castle and a tourist destingation

a drive through the mountains

 

French Cuisine Fridays : Tarte Tatin

Note : This is part of the French Cuisine Friday Series which is now based off the list of 44 classic French Meals You Should Try Before You Die 

This post was originally posted back in April of 2010 or dessert of #3

How to cook French without leaving the states

Tarte Tatin - the French apple pie

5 to 6 pounds tart apples (I like Braeburns, Jonathans, Honeycrisps, Jonagolds, or Fujis)
25g unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Pâte Brisée, chilled  I didn't make the homemade crust  and instead I bought it at Carrefour
Crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream for serving
cinnamon (optional)


I usually cut the butter and sugar in half because the apples are usually really juicy.

1.in an oven-proof skillet, place the butter and the sugar
2. Peel, core and cut the apples with the round part facing up and place in the skillet forming a circle
3.  When all the apples are in the skillet, start on med-high heat. If the juices from the apples becomes too much, boil it into caramel in another bowl.
4. Cook the apples for 20 minutes until soft
5. Roll out the pate brisée and place on stop of the apple mixture, creating openings with a fork.
6. Bake at 425 or 220 for 45 minutes

7. When turning it over,  becareful as the juices are boiling hot.
Then eat while warm with creame fraiche, yogurt or ice cream. It also makes a good breakfast.

French Cusine Fridays : Moules

Note : This is part of the French Cuisine Friday Series which is now based off the list of 44 classic French Meals You Should Try Before You Die  

This recipe was posted in January 2011 and is # 3 on the list

From the French Kitchen: Mussels

Mussels are a French staple: they are cheap, easy to make, filling and good for you.

We usually eat them once a week. A few days ago, I experimented and made two different kinds. They are so easy to make, so do not complain that you cannot do it.
1. Heat oil in a pan and cook onions.
2. Put the mussels in the pan and add water. The water should at least be semi-covering the mussels.
3. Add any spices in whatever amount. I usually make 1/2 crushed red pepper and 1/2 indian ( curry, paprika and ginger).
4. They are perfect with fries or bread.
5. Enjoy!

French Cuisine Friday : Poulet au Citron et au Moutarde

Note : This is part of the French Cuisine Friday Series which is now based off the list of 44 classic French Meals You Should Try Before You Die  

This was posted in November 2013
Back in 2008, when I studied abroad in Paris, ISA (the company that I used) took us to a French chef's apartment to get a hands on cooking class. I used to have the printed out recipes and the woman's backgrond but I don't know where the papers are. The only thing I remember that we made was chicken that was marinated in oranges, lemons and dijon mustard. Tonight for dinner we are having that chicken but without the oranges.

This is a rough recipe
Chicken - either breasts, a whole, wings, any part really - I am using wings
Lemon juice - 2- 3 tbs
Lemon slices
Dijon Mustard (that's the spicy one) 1-2 tbs
olive oil
salt and pepper, dried parsley (optional)

Mix the lemon juice and mustard and some olive oil in a cup.

 Salt and pepper, parsley the chicken

and then brush the lemon mustard sauce on the chicken

 Put the lemon slices on the chicken.

Put in the oven at 350°  until the mustard sauce is nice and golden. and then enjoy!