Snow White's Cradle

Kalau nak ikutkan, I've never really been a fan of cutout cookies (maksudnya biskut yang kena terap), simply because I was never rajin enough to roll out the doh and bla3.

And in regards to icing cookies, I'd never go for royal icing finishing if the cookie was for normal makan2, because royal icing, as opposed to normal icing, tends to dry up and harden really fast. That and the decorating technique is slightly trickier (ie. wet on wet, border vs flooding, etc).

Needless to say, if you, like myself, like to work at a snail-like pace, this type of icing can end up fairly frustrating to handle.

However, I must admit, they make for cute gifts come the right occasions.

And the event was a friend for a friend's engagement item.

It was heart-shaped cookies with a white/pink color combo for the initials/deco.

Time buat cookies untuk Aida's doorgift the other day, tak sempat nak snap pics. And nak jadikan cerita, time buat untuk Wawa last Thursday pula tak teringat nak snap photo. Dah siap package dalam see-through case with the ribbons lagi. Aish. .

So, terpaksa lah adopt the leftover cookies dengan icing yang tinggal sikit, baki dari yang tinggal from her order (which would explain the all-white one layer comot icing (-_-') )

Tapi ada cerita dengan icing tu sebenarnya -- the first time bancuh icing tu, tak sukat barang siap2 (sengaja cari pasal, I know). So, with my mixer on beating the egg whites and me adding icing sugar bit by bit, baru perasan there was no lemon in the fridge. Then again, jangankan yang fresh, lemon juice pun nowhere in sight.

I thought I was dead meat.

. . .

Royal icing = Egg white + Icing sugar + Lemon juice

Itu kalau ikut resipi Kak Lynn ~ the one I made for Aida.

Nak keluar rumah pergi kedai, dah malam sangat -- it was sometime around 10++.

Wajib ke ada lemon tu, you ask.

In this case and recipe, wajib, because they're all to be mixed together and beaten. For that technique, acid from the lemon is required -- kalau tak, tak jadi icing - blob campuran macam fondant ada. That was what happened to Batch #1, whose bestfriend that night was the dustbin.

So my Ops Geledah Almari started -- tengok barang apa ada dalam cupboard. Luckily Mrs Cornflour ada. One other option -- kita go with white icing ala Mama Carries.

On mixer again, whipped up 2nd batch. Alhamdulillah kembang macam icing. Cumanya, icing macam ni is a bit runnier than your royal icing. But no choice, pandai2 la~

My surprise finding was that I like the taste of it better than the one with the lemon. Because paired with the almond cookie, I thought lemon was competing with the almond taste. In this case, they match up well together.

Not so good news - terrible consistency for piping, so initials yang Wawa nak tu chubby sikit, because the mix spreads a little.

Lucky me, I think Wawa liked the end product -- domo arigato!

Lalala~

More commonly, people divide brownies into 2 major categories, namely:

• Cake-y brownie (texture closer to cake -- soft & fluffy)
  
• Fudgy brownie (texture = dense & heavier, top is often cracked slightly)
  

Brownies are normally slightly denser/richer than the average cake and is dependent on the sugar content in the mixture. And no, it's not like a muffin either.

The only pantang larang for brownie-baking that I know of is to not over-bake, because if you do, you'll end up with a dry brownie, which is not nice to eat =S

I generally prefer cakes over brownies (not quite sure why) but for a once in a while baking project, it's a nice change. I've made cakey brownies before, so this most recent brownie-attempt @ Raya '09, I went for a supposedly fudgy brownie.

And I tell you, it really is fudgy.
Fudgy as in goo-ey fudgy.
High sugar content & very chocolaty indeed.
Very much different than cakey brownies.

However, I must say, this is not for the faint-hearted.
And I suggest you only take 1 or 2 slices at a time.
Otherwise you'll turn into a Yahoo! emoticon - "S u g a r h i g h"

I think 1 slice is enough to wake you up in the morning since at that point of the day our sugar level is lower (*cough*excuse*cough*)

The only ones from the recent times which I've managed to grab a pic of:

Some others I didn't snap ~ sebab kalut sangat. Aishh. . ~(+_+)~

. . .

Anyway, we're now into the final third of Ramadhan ~ the finish line is nearing. So peeps, if previously we've just been jogging, let us all make an effort to now up the sprint.

Diriwayatkan daripada Abu Hurairah R.A. daripada Rasulullah SAW bersabda, maksudnya:
"Segala amal kebajikan anak Adam itu dilipat-gandakan pahalanya kepada sepuluh hinggalah ke 700 kali ganda.
Allah berfirman:
"Kecuali puasa, sesungguhnya puasa itu adalah untukKu dan Aku memberikan balasan (pahala) kepadanya, (kerana) dia (orang yang berpuasa) telah meniggalkan syahwat dan makan minumnya kerana Aku."

(Hadith riwayat Muslim)

And, if we're lucky enough, we might just meet the jewel of Ramadhan, insyaAllah.

Dari Ibnu 'Umar ra, katanya Rasulullah SAW bersabda:
"Carilah malam qadar itu pada sepuluh malam yang akhir bulan Ramadhan. Jika kamu lelah, maka janganlah dilewatkan pada tujuh malam yang masih tinggal."

(HR Muslim)

Power up! (^-^)/

Imagine your handphone ringing with your favourite ringtone, right about now.

You pick up your phone, see the all-too familiar name of a loved-one popped up across the display screen.

So now think along with me.

How long does it take for you to run your thumb over the 'Call' button and answer?



{. . . }



Surely you answered with something just now didn't you? (in your head counts too!)


But before you answer, let's play simple switch-up.

Switch the ringtone with the sound of Azan.

Change that loved-one name displayed on your screen to Allah SWT.

And your response time to pressing that 'Call' button and picking up, is how fast you attend to Solah.



Does your answer remain the same with the first scenario I gave just now?

If yes, Alhamdulillah ~ only Allah can reward you with the greatest gift in due time.

If no, praise be to Allah still, as perhaps now you're triggered to make your current 'world record' even better than it is.

Don't mind me with my rambling ~ take whatever good you feel you have gained and leave all the nonsense aside.

It was just something that crossed my mind on the first night of terawikh @ NY last Friday.

At that point in time, terasa sebak pula waktu azan dilaungkan untuk solat Isya'.

How often do you contact your loved-ones in a day?

Sayangnya Allah pada kita (yang sedihnya most probably lebih kerap tidak bersyukur daripada mengucapkan syukur, lebih kerap lupa daripada ingat, lebih banyak lalai daripada taat), so much so that He 'calls' us 5 times a day, at the same period of time, *every* day and without fail, from the start of our birth up until the day we get buried six feet under.

Kita angkat call ke, delay time pick-up ke, ignore or reject ke, His calling stands.



So now tell me, how do you take your call?

My sincere apology to anyone I've hurt (however that happens), unintentionally or otherwise; and may the many blessings of Ramadhan fall upon us all, InsyaAllah.

Abu Hurairah r.a. berkata, Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda; “Apabila masuk bulan Ramadhan terbukalah pintu-pintu syurga dan terkuncilah segala pintu neraka manakala sekelian syaitan dirantai dan dibuka segala pintu rahmat.”

(Bukhari & Muslim)*

*Taken from himpunan hadith harian JAKIM @ http://ii.islam.gov.my/hadith/hadith1.asp?keyID=669

What is?

Syaaban! (duh!)



So kids, if you feel cheated because of the title, I'd say "Do I look like I care? Erm, no." (~_~)

And feel free to breeze elsewhere, but you wouldn't be losing a cent should you continue reading.


Onwards -- as I'm not in a mood to write, let's extract from useful articles (here here!) ;-p


So what's so 'sensational' about Syaaban, you ask.

Some others scream: "Mega sale!"

. . .

Right. . .


So anyway, let's make it a 3-point turn of good things which (has) occur(ed) in the month of Syaaban~

1. Pertukaran arah kiblat
   
   
   
   
   
   • From Baitul Maqdis to Kaa'bah
   
   Prior to this, a story that follows:
   
   Baginda SAW bangun pada setiap malam menghadapkan mukanya ke langit menunggu-nunggu wahyu daripada Allah. Sehinggalah Allah mengurniakan dan merealisasikan permintaannya seperti dirakamkan di dalam al-Quran:
   
   "Kerap kali Kami melihat engkau (wahai Muhammad), berulang-ulang menadah ke langit, maka Kami benarkan engkau berpaling mengadap kiblat yang engkau sukai. Oleh itu, palingkanlah mukamu ke arah Masjid al Haram (tempat letaknya kaabah); dan di mana sahaja kamu berada maka hadapkanlah muka kamu ke arahnya."
   (al-Baqarah: 144).
   
   It corresponds to firman Allah SWT:
   
   "Dan sesungguhnya Tuhanmu akan memberikanmu sehingga Engkau reda - berpuas hati." (al-Dhuha: 5)
   
   Sidenote trivia:
   
   

   Abu Hatim al-Busti berkata:
   "Orang-orang Islam solat mengadap ke Baitul Maqdis selama 17 bulan 3 hari. Rasulullah datang ke Madinah pada hari Isnin 12 Rabiulawal dan Allah memerintahkan mengadap ke Kaabah pada hari Selasa 15 Syaaban."

   
   


2. Diangkat amalan
   
   Ketika Usamah ibn Zaid r.a bertanya kepada Rasulullah SAW tentang sebab kesungguhan Baginda SAW berpuasa pada bulan Syaaban, Baginda SAW menjawab:
   
   "Ia adalah bulan yang sering dialpakan oleh manusia, di antara Rejab dan Ramadan. Ia adalah bulan diangkat segala amalan kepada Rabbul 'Alamin (Tuhan semesta alam). Saya suka amalan saya diangkat ketika saya berpuasa". (riwayat al-Munziri)
   
   
   


3. Ditentukan umur
   
   
   

   Pada bulan Syaaban juga ditentukan segala umur, iaitu dizahirkan takdir tersebut. Namun perbuatan Allah itu tidak terikat dengan masa atau pun tempat.
   
   Rasulullah SAW bersabda:
   
   "Sesungguhnya Allah mencatat pada bulan Syaaban bagi setiap jiwa yang akan mati pada tahun tersebut. Maka aku suka ajalku datang kepadaku ketika aku sedang berpuasa". (riwayat Abu Ya'la).

   
   

   Oleh yang demikian, Rasulullah SAW paling banyak berpuasa pada bulan Syaaban kerana itu, Syaaban adalah bulan berselawat ke atas Nabi SAW.

Pada yang suka meneroka sanad hadith, I've found that the hadith excerpted in point 2 is grouped as 'sahih', meanwhile some scholars have regarded the hadith excerpted in point 3 as 'maudhu' (lemah). Jadinya, baca guna akal & mata hati ~ rajin lagi, sila google sendiri. Sekian, harap maklum.

The point across this post is that Syaaban is the month of entrance before the arrival of Holy Ramadhan.
The ultimate gift of Ramadhan is the purification of the heart of soul.
And for any deed, preparation is important.

Macam kalau nak buat kek, kena sediakan bahan dulu. Baru mudah prosesnya. Kalau tak prepare bahan dulu and 'make it up as we go' pun boleh, cumanya nanti berserabut la time baking.

Same simple logic applies here.

Therefore, to maximize our profit in Ramadhan, let's wipe the slate clean in Syaaban.

Mudah-mudahan amal yang baik akan berkekalan bukan sahaja untuk dibawa ke Ramadhan tapi all-year long, insyaAllah.

-Yang baik itu dari Allah SWT dan yang buruk itu dari kita sendiri. Wallahu'alam.-

-Salam Nisfu Syaaban 1430H-

Nisf (Arab def): Setengah/separuh

**For a full-on read, 3-point turn section was originally extracted from:
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0803&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Bicara_Agama&pg=ba_02.htm

Hari-hari yang disunatkan berpuasa dalam Islam*

Diantara hari-hari yang disunatkan untuk berpuasa dalam Islam adalah seperti berikut:

1. Puasa enam iaitu puasa yang dijalankan selama enam hari dalam bulan Syawal.
   (puasa ini dilakukan sehari selepas 1 Syawal sama ada secara berturut-turut atau tidak)
   
   
2. Puasa awal bulan Zulhijjah dari 1 haribulan hingga 8 haribulan Zulhijjah.
   
   
3. Puasa pada Hari Arafah iaitu pada 9 haribulan Zulhijjah.
   
   
4. Puasa pada 9 haribulan Muharram.
   
   
5. Puasa pada Hari Asyura iaitu pada 10 haribulan Muharram.
   
   
6. Puasa dalam bulan Rejab mengikut kemampuan berpuasa.
   
   
7. Puasa dalam bulan Sya'ban kecuali pada hari syak iaitu 30 haribulan Sya'ban.
   
   
8. Puasa pada tiap-tiap hari isnin dan khamis.
   
   
9. Puasa tiga hari pada tiap-tiap hari bulan Qamariah.
   

And suppose if you kids need a refresh on the order of bulan-bulan Islam, here goes:

1. Muharram
2. Safar
3. Rabiul Awal
4. Rabiul Akhir
5. Jamadil Awal
6. Jamadil Akhir
7. Rejab
   
   
8. Syaaban <-- currently we are H.E.R.E ~ in 1430H!
   
   
9. Ramadhan
10. Syawal
11. Zulkaedah
12. Zulhijjah

Hari-hari yang diharamkan berpuasa**

1. Hari Syak iaitu hari yang apabila ia ragu tarikh sebenar Ramadhan (30 Sya'ban).
   Ini berdasarkan hadith dari Ammar bin Yasir r.a yang bermaksud :
   " Sesiapa berpuasa pada hari syak, sesungguhnya dia telah menderhaka Abu Al-Kasim (Muhammad) s.a.w."
   
   
2. Hari Raya Aidilfitri dan Aidiladha iaitu 1 Syawal dan 10 Zulhijjah.
   Ini berdasarkan hadith dari Abu Hurairah r.a yang bermaksud :
   " Bahawa Rasullullah s.a.w menegah berpuasa pada dua hari iaitu hari raya fitri dan hari raya adha "
   
   
3. Hari-hari tasyrik iaitu 11, 12 dan 13 Zulhijjah.
   Ini berdasarkan hadith daripada Imam Muslim dalam sahihnya daripada Nabi s.a.w yang bermaksud :
   " Hari-hari Mina merupakan hari-hari makan dan minum juga hari mengingati Allah s.w.t "
   
   
4. Ulama' Mazhab Syafii berpendapat adalah haram berpuasa pada separuh akhir bulan Sya'ban yang mana ada di antaranya hari Syak melainkan mereka yang biasa berpuasa sepanjang tahun atau bagi mereka yang berpuasa pada hari tertentu seperti hari Isnin dan Khamis yang puasanya berkebetulan dengan hari selepas 15 Sya'ban atau puasa nazar yang tertanggung ke atasnya atau puasa qada' atau fardhu ataupun puasa yang bersambung dengan puasa selepas Sya'ban dan puasa sebelumnya walaupun satu hari sebelum 15 hari Sya'ban kerana berdasarkan hadith yang bermaksud :
   
   " Apabila telah tiba pertengahan bulan Sya'ban, janganlah kamu berpuasa " (Riwayat Ahmad)
   
   Mazhab Hanbali dan mazhab-mazhab lain tidak berpegang kepada hadith ini kerana ia da'if menurut pendapat Imam Ahmad.
   
   Sumber : Fiqh Islami wa Adilatuh - Dr. Wahbah Zuhaili
   
   

This post is just a point of sharing, since I sometimes get asked with:
"Hari sekian2 boleh puasa tak? Sunat kan? Ke haram?"


Counting down to Ramadhan 1430H ~ let's get prepared! \(^-^)/



*taken from: http://soaljawab.jais.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=252&Itemid=85
**extracted from: http://soaljawab.jais.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=85