A quiet, homey kind of day (2nd post of the day)

Li'l Miss cloud-gazing mA :)

Salaam ya'll! It's been a quiet, homey kind of day. We stayed in, did some chores, and just enjoyed each other's company. It was gorgeous outside, subhanallah. Warm with a cool breeze, sunny... the kind of day that makes you wanna lay a blanket down on the green green grass and spend some time just contemplating life.

That's what Aaminah did. :) She also brought her bicycle outside and she really did great learning. With training wheels. ;) The type of things that require me being outside, standing, moving, bending... those are the things that we have had to put off due to my health issues. I am stable now alhamdulillah but still very ill. Today was a good day. :)

Aaminah is learning how to pedal, brake and steer. She got frustrated a few times but I refrained from getting up and going to help her. I told her, "I know you can figure it out!" and sure enough, she found a way to get it done. I am really proud of her. :)

Today was get stuff done around the house day. I did some laundry, cleaned my room, stripped off my bed and washed all the bedding then re-made it. Really for many people that is not a big deal but for me that is a lot of physical work in my weakened state. Short arms + deep mattress = frustration! lol Anyway, I vacuumed the entire house and we cooked nice, from-scratch meals all day. I already posted breakfast but here is what we had for dinner:



This is mine and Aaminah's; I plated it together for the pic. :)

Earlier in the day I roasted some baby potatoes. I love these little guys! So tender and versatile with a very thin skin. They cook really quick and hold their shape. So I decided to throw them in my well-used clay roasting pan and drizzled them with a little olive oil. I added some frozen green beans and salt and pepper. I put in the oven for about 25 min at 350.


I love the color of the beans before cooking!

After the first stage, I took them out and added half a sliced yellow onion. I didn't want my onion to cook down too much or even burn so I opted to do it in stages. I put them back in the oven for another 20 minutes or so; just watch them and when the green beans wilt and the potatoes are slightly wrinkled, they are done. Here is the finished pic of just the potatoes:


My grandmother made the potholder on an old-timey metal loom. I have several of them!

I let these sit out and just re-heated them briefly in the microwave. I'll probably send some in Aaminah's lunch tomorrow as she really liked them. I love roasted potatoes but sometimes when I'm cooking the other parts of the meal I just don't get them done. So I do them a few hours before and I always make a full pan. The leftovers are great the next day. :)

I took the tilapia fillets from the freezer. It said you can cook them from frozen so I thought I would try it. I made a simple dredge of cornbread mix (cornmeal and flour) with some pepper, salt, and smoked paprika. Simple. :)

I did rub the frozen fillets down with a tsp of vinegar; my friend's husband suggested it and as he is also from the Carribean (he is Cap'n's best friend) I heeded his advice. I then flipped them in the cornmeal mix and set them aside while the cast iron skillet heated. I placed about a tbsp of oil in the skillet and as soon as it sizzled dropped the fillets in.

I also cut them in half so they would cook fully. I do not cook a lot of seafood so I am still kinda of trial and error with it. I cooked them about 4 minutes per side in a medium-hot skillet. I did break them apart to make sure the flesh was white and "flaked easily with a fork" as I've read in countless recipes. Success!

I put a little mayo and ketchup on the side and we both really enjoyed our dinner. Alhamdulillah! I really don't like battered, deep-fried fish; it tastes ok but it's just sooo greasy! :( This was really good and iA we will make it again.

Well, thanks for listening to me again. See you next time, ma salaama!