Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	What Must I Do To Marry a Nigerian?	Welcome to VJ. Everyone prior to me has given good advice. My input - be patient. The visa process may be long, and it is hard. Good luck!	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2006-12-20 16:51:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help...which do we choose?	The purpose of a fiance visa is to get married in the United States. It is not for a visit before the wedding. If you're getting married in England, then you're stuck with a marriage based visa. Time apart is inevitable.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2007-01-30 16:27:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Please i need info...extreme hardship, grant or deny?	Can he get on a boat to meet you? Or have a doctor prescribe him some drugs to knock him out on the plane? Meeting is absolutely essential. I would bet that if you tried for a hardship, you'd be denied. Sorry. Also, as someone who met her husband on the internet, it's also absolutely essential for your relationship to meet in person. Even if you spend 24 hours a day online or on the phone, being together in person is very very different. Edited by rahma, 30 January 2007 - 04:50 PM.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2007-01-30 16:49:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Question about intial K-1 packet	you are quite right. I was not clear. I used the type of binder they were looking for with the proper fasteners. I believe what they are trying to avoid here is bulky binders of the three ring variety. Mine easily fit in a next day envelope and was only about 1/2 inch think I disagree. I believe they'll disassemble the binder and pitch it, so that they can put the papers in the order they want. You'll be able to see your file once you get to the AOS interview stage. All our original paperwork was in a different order than we submitted it, in a manila folder. So you see the initial K-1 file again? Wow, I didn't know that! You see it on the interviewer's desk. Depending on how much evidence you've submitted, it can get pretty thick. You don't actually get to thumb through it yourself, but if you're sneaking, you can kinda glance at it as she's leafing through	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2007-02-19 17:21:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Question about intial K-1 packet	you are quite right. I was not clear. I used the type of binder they were looking for with the proper fasteners. I believe what they are trying to avoid here is bulky binders of the three ring variety. Mine easily fit in a next day envelope and was only about 1/2 inch think I disagree. I believe they'll disassemble the binder and pitch it, so that they can put the papers in the order they want. You'll be able to see your file once you get to the AOS interview stage. All our original paperwork was in a different order than we submitted it, in a manila folder.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2007-02-19 17:17:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	What constitutes a legal marriage after K-1 Fiancee Arrives?	Yup. You need to send a copy of your marriage certificate with your AOS packet, not the marriage license. The marriage certificate is what you get following a ceremony, big or small, with a person dully authorized by the state/county to perform marriages.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2006-06-04 10:38:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	sending it all in...	Acco binder clips are your friends	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2007-02-19 17:18:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help! I have to cancel my wedding !!! ???	We had no one from our family attend our marriage. And yet, here we are, a year and a half later, still married	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2007-02-16 12:16:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	U.S Citizen / Pakistani Fiance	Honestly, it's 6 of one, half dozen of another. Perhaps some people with Pakistani Sos can tell you more, but from what I've seen, there is no such thing as a quick visa with a Pakistani SO. There is a lot of administrative processing/review that can drag on for months and months. Unfortunately, I don't think your fiance/husband will be able to fly back with you, unless you pursue DCF. Again, I don't know the specifics re: Pakistan, so I'm not sure on the residency requirements that you'd need to file that.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2008-10-06 17:52:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Question about age differences	Welcome to the forum! If you haven't found us already, do check out the MENA subforum, where you'll find a lot of people who've gone through Morocco. I'm one of the minority - a woman who's younger than her MENA husband. You'll find yourself in good company	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2008-12-17 12:50:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	very big problem about k1 visa	QUOTE (jettyglenn @ Jan 20 2009, 07:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> about my previous comment in this topic, yes, its visa fraud but there are lots of tourist here who got married and applied AOS.. surething he's like playing in fire but what i really wanted to imply is... PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE!!! apply and wait Thankfully, it's near impossible for the OP to even contemplate this kind of fraud. Getting a tourist visa as a non-fabulously wealthy single egyptian male who's already applied for and received a K-1 is about as possible as a cow jumping over the moon.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-01-21 15:36:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Please Help, Specific Questions Regarding Marriage, Specific Visas, Work Status, Length it takes to come, ect.	The purpose of a visitors visa is to visit (imagine that!). If she were to tell them that her intention with the visitors visa was to get married and stay, um yeah, no Seriously, you're going to have to wait. Read the guides at the top of the page. Apply for the appropriate visa (a k-1 if you want to get married here, a k-3 or CR/IR-1 if you get married in Romania, or if you get married her on a visitors visa and then she goes back to Romania). Then wait. Almost everyone here on this site took that route, and we've survived intact for the most part. If you do things the proper, legal way, she'll be able to obtain a green card, and will then have rights to work. Whether or not she'll be able to get a job is a whole 'nother ball of wax.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-02-06 18:28:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	age difference	QUOTE (Old Dominion @ Feb 24 2009, 04:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> A large age difference counts if there are other little indications of a possible fraud. Best for both man and woman to be present at the interview. I doubt Cairo would allow the american fiancee to attend the interview. OP, visit the MENA forum to find out where a lot of egyptian/american couples hang out. We have several older american women married to younger egyptian men http://www.visajourn...hp?showforum=97	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-02-24 17:14:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help! I am so confused.	Having observed visas through Cairo for 4 years now, I have not noticed a difference in time of k-1 vs. k-3 vs. IR/CR-1. When the embassy is slow, it is slow for everyone, be they applying for a fiance or a spousal visa. When things are moving along (not quickly, because things rarely move quickly through Cairo), it's moving along for everyone. Every visa applicant through Cairo I've seen has had to experience processing after the visa interview. This is where the time really adds up. There it won't matter if you're a fiance or a spouse - they're still going to dig around in the egyptian's past, maybe pester family, friends and neighbors and do whatever else it is they do before they issue the visa.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-04-16 11:09:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I need help.. plz	Not to scare you, but men from the middle east go through a of scrutiny to get a family based visa. The fact that he met you during his previous failed marriage attempt is a huge red flag. To bolster your chances, I'd say go and visit him before you file the petition. In addition to showing that you're serious about each other, you'll meet his family and see how he is amongst them.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-06-05 14:34:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K-1 visa applied for-- now Islamically married	Waaaaaaaay back in the day, we had an unregistered islamic marriage in Egypt and were sucessful in getting a K-1 visa. We did not mention the marriage in the paperwork or at the interview. This was based on the advice we read in an earlier edition of this book. However, hindsight is 20/20, and having followed the visa game for a number of years now, the risk just isn't worth it. There was a case a few years ago here where a couple were islamically married and the husband was arriving on a K-1, since the marriage wasn't legally registered. He refered to his wife as his wife at the POE (point of entry) and was summerly deported and banned from the US. I can't remember the resolution of the case, but I don't think the end was happy. At this point, they might as well make their marriage legal and file for a CR-1. That would be better in the long run anyways - coming on a fiance visa, you have to adjust status, and can be without authorization to work in the US for quite some time. That can be very difficult on egyptian men. With a CR-1, he would get his green card very soon after entering and begin to look for work. QUOTE (Marina-Del @ Jul 2 2009, 10:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (JimVaPhuong @ Jul 2 2009, 10:01 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Gary and Alla @ Jul 2 2009, 05:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Question...if they were to separate, would they need a divorce? Would the Egyptian government allow him to marry someone else without first divorcing your daughter under Islamic law? Golden questions there. Now where the OP to come back and give the answers? Seeing as how egypt allows men to practice polygamy with up to 4 wives, the answer is yes	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-07-02 12:45:00
Middle East and North Africa	Ramadan is just around the corner	For the new muslims in the house, check out the last few pages of the Muslims thread for some free Ramadan courses. Fasting isn't just abstaining from food and drink during daylight - there's the fiqh (rules) of it, and the inner dimensions to consider as well. In particular, check out the Qibla/Sunnipath FREE Living Ramadan course. You can also look at posts tagged Ramadan on my blog for lectures and good reads on my blog. As LP suggested, it's absolutely essential to prepare pre-ramadan. Especially in the summer months, fasting can run you over if you don't train first. Doing mini fasts, first through lunch, then to 1 pm, then 2 pm, until you work yourself up to sunset is a great way to train your body. If you dive in head first, your body and your attitude will suffer. And being crabby, mean and nasty because you're hungry and your head hurts kind of negates the purpose of fasting: Narrated Abu Huraira (ra), the Prophet (saws) said, “Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)” Some people expect very elaborate iftars (meals to break the fast), and will expect huge suhoors (meals before the fast). Some must absolutely have a certain dish or Ramadan just isn't right. But as Mithra said, no need to go crazy. If you spend 5 hours each day preparing fancy iftars, then it cuts into time for ibadah (worship). These last few years, I've emphasized fresh, raw veggies and hearty stews. That's the first and biggest course, so we make sure that we fill up on healthy food and not stuffing our stomach with 2000 calories of #######. Do make sure there is meat on the table. The first ifar I made (the 2nd day after AbuS had arrived in the US back in 2005), I made a typical iftar for me, a light soup and a tuna melt. AbuS looked at it with the saddest look on his face and was like, but where's the meal? I find, in general, that meat is a huge part of the Ramadan culture. As I joke every year, I'm a vegetarian 11 months out of the year, but in Ramadan, I'd starve if I couldn't eat meat (since every iftar we go to only has a wimpy salad for a vegetarian option). One thing to do is to look for email lists for the local muslim community, to see if there are community iftars. Several of our local masjids have iftars throughout the month. Some are sponsored by community members (feeding fasting people is charity, so a lot of people look to do that this month), and some are fundraisers. It's a great way to get to know the local community and meet people. If one isn't arab/pakistani/indian/malaysian/african/insert majority ethnicity here, it can be a little intimidating and you may feel a bit like an outsider - but just put a huge smile on your face, offer to help set up and clean up, and try to strike up conversations and inshaAllah you'll make some friends too	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2011-07-03 18:38:00
Middle East and North Africa	Egyptian Food-- Help!	I think the biggest similarities between Indian and Egyptian foods are they're both non american, non european cuisines. Yup, that's about it ;-) I've told the story a million times, but I'll tell it again. AbuS came at the start of Ramadan 2005. We went to an iftar hosted by the pakistani community, and AbuS gobbled down a plate of food without thinking. 15 minutes later, he came up to me, looking like he was going to die, and said he needed to go home right that very instant. Yeah, the food did not sit well with his bland, egyptian stomach. I tend to think of Indian food as very flavorful, very exciting, with lots of obvious spices. Egyptian food is more bland and is all about the carbs. And lots and lots of meat if you can afford it. Not a lot of dishes made in sauces. One dish that I do still make on occasion are stuffed grape leaves, although I healthify even that. I pulled a recipe from Vegetarian Dishes from Across the Middle East that had more vegetables in the stuffing, and make it with brown rice. The mahshy (stuffed vegetables) is what AbuS misses the most. All the Egyptian ladies in the community think I can't cook, because every Ramadan he gets so excited when they have mahshy at an iftar. Bah!	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2011-06-10 07:04:00
Middle East and North Africa	Egyptian Food-- Help!	This site has some decent recipes - http://members.cox.n...a/Recipnew.html That is an excellent website When I want to cook Egyptian, that's where I turn first. Otherwise, if AbuS wants some Egyptian food, he skypes his mom and has her dictate the recipe to him. But for the most part, we don't eat a lot of Egyptian food. We actually eat a lot of Indian, because I find it easier to healthify by reducing the ghee, upping the veggies and making whole wheat chapati. It's kind of hard to do that with Egyptian food. It took him a few years to build up a spice tolerance, but now he drowns everything in hot sauce and can eat the pakistani iftar fare with gusto. Here are a few, inauthentic "egyptian" healthied recipes we've done recently: http://umms.wordpres...ters-monday-11/ http://umms.wordpres...tters-monday-7/ I used to be pretty good at bechamel, but I haven't made it in years. My other, favorite Egyptian dish we never eat is koshari - carbs on top of carbs on top of carbs, topped with fried onions and hot sauce. I'm drooling just thinking about it. Alas, I've never been able to make it as good as they do in Cairo.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2011-06-09 14:49:00
Middle East and North Africa	declaring marriage to the moroccan consulate.	It protects your rights regarding child custody, inheritance, divorce -- any of the things that pertain to wives under family law (Moudawana). For example, if your husband has property in Morocco name, say something he inherited, and he passes away, you will have no rights to inheritance unless your marriage is "recognized". Inheritance follows Islamic law. Declaring your marriage is probably most important if you will ever live in Morocco because than it would dictate child custody too. Let me just re-emphasize this point for anyone who's planning on living in the ME. I know a lady via one of my wives of egyptians yahoo groups. She was religiously married to an egyptian man, living in egypt. They had several children together. However, their marriage was never registered. Her husband died suddenly, and she was shocked to find herself in a battle with her inlaws re: the custody of her kids, her husband's property, their apartment, etc. I do believe she retained custody of her kids, but for more than a year, it looked like her in laws were going to get everything. It's absolutely essential to take every legal recourse to protect yourself when moving abroad, and even if one doesn't think they'll move abroad now, it can't hurt to do what you can at the present, in case circumstances change in the future.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2006-06-03 18:26:00
Middle East and North Africa	declaring marriage to the moroccan consulate.	At least in Egypt, if you didn't register it within 6 months, you had to pay an extra fee. We went to the Chicago consulate 2 days shy of 6 months We could have sent everything in the mail, but knowing Egyptian beuracracy, we didn't trust them with husband's passport etc. I'm still peeved that they won't put me on his passport though. Only egyptian wives get that	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2006-06-02 08:42:00
Middle East and North Africa	MENA class of 04-08 ladies	Good to see everyone Ahhhh, Rahma! My orange-kitteh living friend! Girl, so glad to know you're well. Congrats on your trip...how amazing for you! This wasn't your Hajj, was it? I always imagine going to Mecca is like going to Rome for us practicing Catholics. So holy, you couldn't pick a better place to be. I'll have to check out your tumblr some day...I need an orange kitteh fix. Peace be with you. Hajj is the major pilgrimage, this was the minor one, umrah. People usually perform the umrah with their hajj, but it can also be done outside of the hajj season as well. Instead of being a multiple day affair that includes the movements outside of Makkah, umrah is limited to the Haram (the mosque where the kaaba, the black cube is). You circle the kaaba 7 times, drink from the well of zam zam and then make 7 circuits between the mountains (hills, mounds really) of Safa and Marwa. It can all be done in a few hours or less, so the rest of the time is spent in prayer and contemplation, and visiting of other significant and historic sites. It was an amazing experience, one that I really can't describe. It's the place we face when we pray every day, and the place where the Prophet (saws) and his companions lived. I've tried to describe it, but I really can't, other than to say there are no words. Pictures on flickr - http://www.flickr.co...s/76868981@N04/ More orange kitty available upon request	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2012-05-01 08:11:00
Middle East and North Africa	MENA class of 04-08 ladies	People! I know! I guess it is about time for that once yearly check in. Nothing much has changed since last year. Or even 3 years ago. Married going on too many years. Husband has been a US citizen for 3 years. Squeaky is still the most adorable fat cat in the world. I still work too much. The only real exciting thing is that I went on umrah a month ago. T didn't have the necessary time off, so I jumped through a loophole that allows under 45 female converts to make umrah without a mahram. It was an amazing experience, despite the troubles. About halfway through, on our last day in Makkah, I missed a step in the Haram and fell at 3 am. Being a stubborn midwesterner, I continued on my way and sat until fajr time. When I stood up, I realized I had made a big mistake. Hobbled back to the hotel (thank God we had one literally right outside the haram) and found one of the bazillion doctors in my tour group. Rather than waste the last day in Makkah in the hospital, we decided just to watch it and re-evaluate the next day. Next day, after having half a dozen doctors poke at it, the verdict was that it couldn't be broken, since I was walking around without screaming in pain. Fast foward to home, I go to the doctor just to be on the safe side. Um yeah, I walked all over Medina on a broken foot :/ I got a walking cast last week and alhamdulilah it was literally the best day of my life. You don't realize how wonderful it is to be able to get around until you can't. The other downer part of my adventure was that the Saudis almost didn't let me go home since I didn't have a mahram with me. Um yeah no, you give me a visa, you let me in, now you tell the airline to issue me my freakin tickets and let me go home! I was rather undignified and reduced myself to a tearful mess at the airport. In my defense, it was 4 am, I hadn't slept in 24 hours and they pulled me out of line without letting me grab anyone from my tour group for help. Next time, I'll make sure to bring a mahram. But despite it all, I really really miss Makkah and Medina. I wouldn't ever want to live there, but there was just so much sakina in the air in the 2 mosques that I could sit there forever. I haven't been blogging much - no time or energy after work - but I do have a tumblr. Been doing short little things on umrah, in case anyone is interested - http://umms.tumblr.com/tagged/umrah One of the highlights of the trip was being invited to dinner at Sh. Abdullah bin Bayyah's house. Alas, it was late at night by the time he started to talk, and my foot was killing me (having broken it earlier that day). But alhamdulilah, the talk is on youtube - at 42 seconds in, there's a head in a hot pink hijab that may or may not be UmmS. http://www.youtube.c...player_embedded Let's see, what else? I took a sewing class, and once my foot is better, I plan on attempting to make some costumes. Star Wars and Doctor Who. Still a geek at heart. And I've been doing cross stitch And finally, it wouldn't be a complete post unless I put up a picture of my cat. Here she is trying to steal my dates, despite the fact she knows she doesn't like them. And, from yesterday, sitting on clean laundry and my star wars novel. She has good taste Edited by UmmSqueakster, 30 April 2012 - 04:20 PM.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2012-04-30 16:19:00
Middle East and North Africa	Ramadan 2012	Ramadan Kareem all A few Ramadan linkies for you all: Ramadan Chronicles by Tariq Ramadan Ramadan Reminders by Sh. Faraz Ramadan Joy crafts A Crafty Arab Live Streaming from the Haram	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2012-07-25 09:49:00
Middle East and North Africa	MENA Baby Names	Rrrr, Jannah is the name of our (future inshaAllah) daughter We called dibs on it in, like, 2003. It was Mom'en and Jannah. Other names: Rabia (as in al-Adawiyya), Tasneem (for the fountain in Paradise) for a girl Salah (as in Salahuh Deen) for a boy If I knew I were having 4 boys, I'd name em Abu Bakr, Uthman, Umar and Ali. But I'm thinking after 2 or 3 I'll have had enough.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-10-28 13:54:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	MrsAmera - Oo, I'm jealous re: CSA. Which one are you doing? I almost had AbuS convinced, but then he said he wanted to see what a basket looked like first, and the pictures on the website weren't enough. But, a small victory in that he said that we can arrange some weekend outings to various locally owned farms to see the whole CSA process first hand and then next year, get a CSA share. I think perhaps this year I'll just purchase most of my produce from a farmers market. But here in the cities, that doesn't always = buying local. The downtown minneapolis one allows people to sell stuff from california. Sure, it's from a farm somewhere, but not quite what one has in mind re: farmers markets. zahra - thanks for the link! I'm going to read it through with AbuS. We drink a lot of milk and eat a lot of apples (and quite a few potatoes. Hmm, I wonder about onions, cuz we go through probably 3 lbs of those a week). Maybe we can integrate one new item in every few months. Henia - oh, don't I know it! Apparently in Egypt, they don't follow the manufacturers' instructions on assorted pesticides and other nasty chemicals, and apply them way too late in the growing process, so there's even more dangerous ####### in the produce than there should be. Make sure you're washing everything super well	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2010-03-03 13:56:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	Ooo, you're doing better than me! While we've chucked all the processed food stuffs, I'm still working on the organic. We've watched Food Inc., and I'm currently sending him pictures and videos of poor featherless chickens stuffed in cages who've never seen the sun to bolster my argument that we need to buy free range eggs. AbuS is a huge budget person, so I'm trying to figure out how we can buy more in the way of organic without going over his carefully crafted budget. Budgets, meh. Are you guys going to do a CSA this year? That's also on my list of things to convince the husband about.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2010-03-02 13:46:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	Since I started in the middle of February, I've lost 8 lbs. That's the most I've ever lost in my entire life in such a short period. I usually suck at dieting and eating healthy, but this really isn't too hard. It's about changing the way you think about eating - avoid refined foods like white flour, rice and sugar. Avoid junk food and highly processed food stuffs. Cut down on meat and dairy products. Greatly increase your consumption of whole plant based foods like fruits, veggies, legumes and whole grains. And don't beat yourself up for cheating, so long as you don't cheat too often. I don't know if you can order the book in Algeria, but do look into it. It's really worth it, although I don't know how much the first half about big agro business would apply to food production where you are. The recipes in the second half are fabulous.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2010-03-02 09:18:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	I *heart* food matters. Never before in my life have I had success losing weight, but now that I'm following it's suggestions, the weight is literally melting off. And I was so crazy busy with work when I started, I didn't make it to the gym, and I STILL am losing weight. I can eat pancakes for breakfast, PANCAKES, and still lose weight. I'm in heaven AbuS has also enjoyed every recipe I've made from here so far, which is quite a feat, considering they're light on the meat. Whole Grain Pancakes The secret to light whole grain pancakes is to beat the egg whites really well, so the batter can support not only all whole grain flour ? no mean feat ? but small amounts of add-ins as well. Some ideas to get you started: ½ cup cornmeal, rolled oats or oat or wheat bran in place of ½ cup of the flour; up to 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed; add up to ½ cup of any light, cooked grains like couscous, millet, or quinoa; freshly grated orange or lemon zest; chopped nuts or chopped dried fruit. For an exotic bread replacement, omit the sugar, increase the salt a bit, replace the cinnamon with cumin, and serve the pancakes as flatbreads with soups, stews or salads. Butter as needed 1 2/3 cup whole wheat flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon ground coriander or cardamom (optional) [UmmS note ? cardamom makes these taste awesome even without a topping) ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional) ½ teaspoon salt 2 large eggs, separated 2 cups milk Melt 3 tablespoons butter. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer or a whisk until still peaks form, but do not overbeat. In a separate bowl beat the yolks, milk and melted butter until foamy, a couple of minutes. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and give a couple of good stirs, but do not overmix. Fold in the egg whites and stir until the batter is just evenly colored and relatively smooth; it?s ok if there are some lumps. Heat a large skilled (preferably cast iron) or griddle over medium heat until a few drops of water dance on its surface. Add the butter as needed (or use a thin film of vegetable oil) [UmmS note ? I used natural cooking spray]. When the skillet is hot, spoon the batter into pan. Cook until bubbles form and pop, about 2 minutes; you may have to rotate the cakes to cook them evenly, depending on your heat source and pan. Then carefully flip pancakes. Cook until well colored on other side, another minute or two more. Serve or keep in warm oven for a few minutes. Serve with maple syrup, fruit compote, jam or caramelized apples UmmS also adds ? I make 8 to 9 very large pancakes, and eat one each day at breakfast with a light drizzle of real (no fake cra*p allowed) maple syrup). They last about a week in the fridge, so if it?s going to be just you eating them, I?d freeze half after making them. Edited by UmmSqueakster, 26 February 2010 - 04:01 PM.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2010-02-26 16:01:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	WOM! ~Flower~ - thanks for the pdf. I actually just picked up a vegetarian MENA cookbook recently on one of my used book weekend digs - Vegetarian Dishes from Across the Middle East. I haven't tried any yet (that's what I get for collecting cookbooks faster than I can cook), but it does show promise.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2010-01-25 10:46:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	Another great cookbook find - Whole Food - found it at my local used bookstore. Looks like they printed too many, because you can get one new from amazon for a penny. With shipping, that's like $4! It's mainly vegetarian/vegan, but it does have a meat section. I haven't made anything from it yet, but I've read through it and plan to make the vegetable tangine and some kind of grain pilaf this weekend inshaAllah. It also has a good selection of dairy free and gluten free recipes, if you ever have to cook for anyone who has dietary restrictions. The recipes do have A LOT of ingredients, so I probably won't be typing out too many of them. It can be kind of intimidating to look at, but I think most of the time, a lot of the ingredients are herbs and spices.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2010-01-06 10:02:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	Awesome, I'll definitely get it next time around inshaAllah, along with the Blue Corn and Chocolate book. Also, I am beyond in love with the Kneadlessly Simple book. I made light whole wheat bread this weekend, and it was fabulous The only problem I encountered was that it rose too much the second time around and overflowed the pan, but I think that's because it calls for a cool room rise the first time around, and we don't really have a cool room in our hot hot hot apartment. Also, I let it rise for 3 hours while I was out shopping, instead of the 2 it called for. But, it was still very very tasty. I've got another batch of the pot bread rising at home right now and inshaAllah I'll bake it tonight. I'm going to have to start buying flour in bulk I also made creamy potato and roasted garlic soup from the love soup book, and it is delicious too. I *heart* garlic. Here's a picture of my first pot bread attempt. I ended up getting a 5 quart dutch oven, which is alas, too big. The loaf ended up a little flat, but it was still very very tasty. I'll have to keep my eye out for a 3-4 quart dutch oven on sale some time Edited by UmmSqueakster, 28 December 2009 - 09:03 AM.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-12-28 09:00:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	Tell us how the Macaroni one is! I did decide to make the potted peasant bread using my casserole dish. I mixed it up last night, then stuck it in the fridge overnight, and took it out this morning to do the first slow rise. Then tomorrow, I think I mix it some more, let it do a quick rise of a few hours, and then pop it in the oven. inshaAllah if all goes well, I'll have fresh bread tomorrow night with starberry-rhubab jelly	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-12-23 16:49:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	I gave up on half.com and just ordered a few more from amazon. Ordered the newest version of How to Cook everything by Mark Bittman, the Curry Book, and a Mutts comic I also received my first amazon shipment today, and both books look fabulous I can't decide what to make first. I'm thinking Red lentil and Squash soup with a homemade veggie and ginger broth with a simple crusty white peasant style pot bread. Oops, the only problem is I don't have an appropriate pot Guess I'll have to look more. She rates the bread recipes by easy. With my track record of bread failures, I think I'll try all those that are super easy first (short ingredient list, readily available ingredients, no hand shaping).	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-12-22 14:40:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	Also, major I just checked my half.com order and everything was canceled, because they "checked their inventory and found that it wasn't there." Then why are you STILL selling it???????????? http://product.half....infoQQprZ459461 <-- seller alibris	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-12-21 10:04:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	Ooo, some of those look good. I've been flipping through the Clean Food cookbook at B&N over my lunch hours for the past few weeks and debating getting it. It does look good, but even at 30% off, I don't know if I can justify spending $20 on a cookbook. Maybe I'll see if I can get it from the library and see how it is first. Also, consider adding the Greenbush cookbooks to your list. They're full of very simple italian (wisconsin) american dishes. I think they're simpler than a lot of other cookbooks, because a lot of the recipes must have been modified during the depression era for simplicity and frugality. They're great for quick and easy dinners. http://www.greenbushcookbooks.com/ And finally, alas, my adventures in stock making weren't quite up to expectations. I guess I had hoped for some fabulous soup and it was just kind of meh. I made this basque pumpkin and white bean soup. I used a pie pumpkin, and it was kind of bland. I think if I tried to make it again, I'd use an acorn or butternut squash. The recipe also said the pumpkin would melt into a mush, but it didn't so I had to puree.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-12-21 09:44:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	Alhamdulilah for half.com. Between there and Amazon, I've ordered these cookbooks: The Minimalist Cooks Dinner : Mark Bittman How to Cook Everything : Mark Bittman The Curry Book : Nancie McDermott In a Persian Kitchen : M. Mazda Love Soup Kneadlessly Simple Is anyone else a cookbook fanatic? I actually enjoy sitting down, reading one from cover to cover and dreaming of everything I can make. I read through The Greens (I have the first edition that I found for $2 at a book sale. If there's one thing better than getting new books, it's gettingbooks for a good deal) yesterday and have grand plans to attempt to make my own stock this weekend.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-12-18 10:09:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	I had borrowed the curry book from the library and made probably half a dozen recipes from it that were fabulous. I made the curried butternut squash soup from it for thanksgiving and everyone loved it. Guess I'll just pick a few others from random and see how it all turns out. Looks like I"ll be needed to get a new bookshelf as well	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-12-16 17:35:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	Thanks for the info re: cooking sprays. I have crisco original and no flour sprays at present. It only looks like the olive oil one specifically says no alcohol, so I guess I'll be calling them to see. re: lima bean puree. It's a day late for yesterday's dinner, but a lot of the recipes I saw online used fresh or frozen beans instead of dried. I may try that next time I make it to see if it tastes any different. Also, I have my end of the year bonus, and I thought I'd purchase a few more cookbooks (because 2 dozen aren't enough yet). Here's my wishlist. Anyone have any from there that they really like? I'm definietly getting the Curry Book and Love Soup, and probably Vegan Soul Kitchen. I'd like to get a bread book, and have 3 on my wishlist. Anyone know which one they'd get first? We Called it Macaroni – an American Heritage of Southern Italian Cooking The Curry Book Easy Family Recipes from a Chinese-American Childhood Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland A Cook's Tour of Minnesota Blue Corn and Chocolate Biscuits, Spoonbread and Sweet Potato Pie Dungeness Crabs And Blackberry Cobblers: The Northwest Heritage Cookbook Love Soup Vegan Soul Kitchen Veganomics Eat, Drink and Be Vegan Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients < Kneadlessly Simple: Fabulous, Fuss-Free, No-Knead Breads Momofuku How to Cook Everything I'd also like to get a good comprehensive Middle Eastern cookbook. Any suggestions? It could be MENA as well, so long as there's a good selection of levantine-esque recipes in it as well. Edited by UmmSqueakster, 16 December 2009 - 04:18 PM.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-12-16 16:17:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sultan's Kitchen	Here's a recipe for Lima Bean Puree from the New Vegetarian Epicure that I made this weekend. Gets high marks from both myself and AbuS. It's kind of hummus-y in consistancy, and can be eaten like hummus - on chips, veggies, in salad, on a wrap or sandwich, or just warm straight from a bowl, mmm. AbuS says it's like some egyptian dish that he'll make for me now that he knows I like stuff like that (I'm not a huge fan of foul, so he must have thought I didn't like all pureed bean things), but I can't remember the name 1 lb dry lima beans salt 1/3 cup olive oil 5 cloves garlic, chopped 2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary leaves, or 1 tsp dry pinch of red pepper flakes 1-2 Tbs fresh lemon juice fresh ground black pepper to taste garnishes - additional olive oil and chopped flat leaf parsley Soak the lima beans over night with plenty of water. Drain them, rinse and put in a heavy bottomed pot with water to cover by at least 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil, lower the heat and simmer the beans for at least an hour, and perhaps longer, until they are perfectly tender. Add more water, if necessary, to keep the beans just covered. Toward the end of the cooking time, add about a teaspoon or salt, or more to taste. In a small skillet, combine 1 T of olive oil, about a third of the garlic, the chopped rosemary, and the pepper flakes. Warm the oil and herbs on medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Drain the cooked lima beans, reserving the liquid. Combine them in a food processor or blender with 1/2 cup of their cooking liquid and the warm oil with the herbs, and puree. Add the remaining minced garlic, the unheated olive oil, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and salt and pepper to your taste, and process again until everything is thoroughly blended. Taste, and correct the seasoning with a touch more salt or lemon juice if you like. If the puree seems to thick, add a little more of the cooking liquid. It should be light, but hold a shape. Allow the puree to cool. Spread it in a pretty, shallow bowl, drizzle some fruity olive oil on top, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.	UmmSqueakster	Female	Egypt	2009-12-15 14:51:00