The month of food?

This Ramadan has been like no other. Alhamdulilah, I have been more spiritually productive and we have enjoyed social time via iftars with friends on most nights. I've become a bit of a traveling barista with my infused waters and half-caf coffee. 

It's been strange that food has somehow become a central focus of my daily activities. My "Ramadan soup" and samboosa rolls (both borrowed from Abyssinia) were a big hit. I set a formal table (and washed a ton of dishes) at two of my iftars and I developed a couple of new dishes. One being an "Italian" baked haddock that ended up being quite tasty that I drizzled in olive oil and topped with sautéed peppers, onions, tomatoes, and thyme. The other was spectacular quinoa stuffed mushroom that I served the same night in order to present an additional dish and use the CSA mushrooms that I generally waste...I essentially mixed the same topping with some Parmesan cheese and seasoned quinoa and they were a hit. 

I began the month with a cow share, 40 pounds of chicken drumsticks (on sale from WF), and some trout and scallops. These items, along with the CSA have guided my menus. Tonight I am doing oxtails melange (I created a mirepoix from what was in the fridge and then seasoned with what I'm calling an Afro-Caribbean blend)...here's hoping for good results when they come out of the crockpot at Iftar time. 

I bought a bag of spelt flour and my daughter became a baking machine. It started with a blueberry loaf that I topped with cream cheese icing, that was followed by a blueberry apricot loaf. Now, in almost a state of mania, she is making banana muffins and carrot cookies for sahur. And she's already talking about the chocolate chip cookies and carrot cake muffins we MUST make for eid in a few days.

This has been a month of festivities, spiritual reflection, and good deeds and I'm loving every moment of it.