Soup beaucoup

 Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh :) how r u?

Today I went to do groceries, how else.. alhamdulillah. Yesterday we had a date night with hubby, had some quality time and I got to eat a whole pizza. Before dinner we walked by the seaside. Today I just stayed the rest of the day at home, and had my guilty pleasures: coffee and mints. It's not gonna be a habit, just a little side quest. Now I'm here, and hubby and Suttis are finally sleeping, so I have time for all of you :) 

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Yesterday's pizza was a nice treat, we hardly eat out or order take out. But today I got the sweetest treat: the first strawberry of the summer. I bought this ready grown plant from the supermarket, and it's already making a lot of berries. Also I fed some of the leaves to Suttis, it's good to broaden his diet even though he's a bit of a picky eater. 

Made a nice dinner for myself too, chicken soup. I want to share the recipe because it was so delicious (I also made accidentally a whole big pot of it.. gonna eat it all weekend). Sorry to disappoint all the vegetarian and vegan readers, I'm not there quite yet but I'll try better after this in sha Allah. So you can skip this part..

Easy chicken soup (4 portions)

- 1 chicken breast

- marinade:

* olive oil

* soy sauce

* ketchup

* chicken spice

* cayenne pepper

* garlic powder

- roots of your choice (I used 3 potatoes and a ready cut mix of swedes, carrots, parsnip and leek)

- 1 onion cut small

- 3 cloves of garlic

- 1 veggie stock cube

- black pepper powder

- potato spice

- dried thyme and basil

- fresh basil leaves

- cream cheese for serving

Prepare the chicken by cutting the chicken breast to smaller pieces, put them in a small bowl, and add the marinade. Let sit for at least 15 minutes, but more the better. Peel and cut the potatoes and other roots to small cubes. Cut onion and garlic too. Take a medium size pot and add water to it, approximately half way or a little more. Heat it to boil. Then add all of the ingredients, chicken with its marinade and all the chopped vegetables and spices. You can add the fresh basil leaves as whole. Boil in reduced heat as long as chicken is cooked and the roots are cooked too, you can try them with a fork. You can let it cool down for 30 minutes, and let the flavors settle. Serve with cream cheese (I used chive flavored, but also chili, bell pepper or garlic flavors work, for example) and if you want, some fresh bread. 

You can also add lentils or beans, or replace the chicken with tofu. 

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Now I have my cup of hibiscus and rosehip tea, and I feel relaxed. I have been more on the vain side of things: today I have thought a lot about dressing and clothes and less of worries or other deeper thoughts. And that's how it goes, we are in a constant movement and there's place for all kind of moods. I've been thinking of all these summer outfits I could wear, because lately I've worn the same outfit everywhere, just changed my scarf for each day. I would like to be more creative in how I dress, but also same time I don't want to stand out. It's a bit of a paradox, because being a hijabi and also Finnish/revert makes me stand out anyways. Maybe I don't have to care so much. My husband just said to my tumult of thoughts that "wear your clothes, they are your clothes, as long as you dress modestly".. well, that's a good guideline hehe. Often we laugh together to all these silly worries I have.

Maybe I need a kick on my butt and more attitude! And also, all these years of my life I've been wearing so many different styles, no one ever has had rude comments, at least to my face. Rather I've gotten compliments. And I wanna stay true to myself, and also find something new in form of ideas and inspiration. I've put some outfit photos on Insta, but I'm still learning (hey I'm old in this way :( ), I'll try to step up my game in sha Allah.

But also, clothes on or off or whatever, it's all about being authentic. I don't use filters, I wanna show everything as it is. No sugar coating.. it's what I like to see too. Real people with real skin, stomach rolls, hole in a sock, house a bit messy. U know. Sparkles are inspiring, but do they make us feel? Maybe dream, and that's great too. But we need to have balance and that's why I want to be on the side where we are just regular people, having regular lives, and showing that that's more than fine too.

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Time goes so quickly, I have to hurry and pray maghrib. I hope you are doing fine! Take care and until next time,

Aisha