Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an

Did you know that Thomas Jefferson had a copy of the Qur'an in his personal library?  Impressive huh?  Jefferson read and collected a great number of books from his youth.  His collection totalled about 6500 books by the time he sold all of them to the Library of Congress.  The subjects ranged from philosophy to cooking. 

Jefferson bought his Qur'an around 1765, when he was still a student of law at the college of William & Mary in Virginia.   



Did you know that Morocco was the first country that Jefferson negotiated with which was a foreign power?

Almighty God hath created the

mind free all attempts to influence

it by temporal punishments or

burthens---are a departure from

the plan of the Holy Author of

our religion---no man shall be

compelled to frequent or support

any religious worship or ministry

or shall otherwise suffer on

account of his religious opinions

or belief, but all men shall be

free to profess and by argument

to maintain, their opinions in

matters of religion.  I know

but one code of morality for

men whether acting singly or

collectively.

Thomas Jefferson 1777

They move their hips, they swirled, they danced...

It was hot, oh so hot. The only air that was moving came from my fan. But the dance was inside and wanting to come out.

Their hips swayed with the music

 They twirled

Happiness was on her lips as she danced

Up and down went her hips

  Her veil was as light as a feather, 

as her body moved with the music

Oh they were beautiful, as beautiful as can be,

Maybe one day this will be me

The Art of Collecting

I hadn't collected much in a few years.  But lately, I have discovered that I really enjoy looking at and using Japanese bowls.  I think that they are lovely.  The intricate designs that swirl around the bowls are pleasant to the eyes.  However, I am not the normal collector of things.  I don't care if I have "odd" ones.  If I only see one of something, I buy it and maybe I will find another one somewhere or maybe not.  If they are all are in the same color group then they blend with each other, at least that is my logic.  Sometime when setting the table I will use two sets of china which are different colors.  It can make the table look very pretty.  Here is what I have found lately:

I only have two of these

Four of this one

One of this

and one of this too

I bought myself a bouqet today and wanted to share it with you.

Art of a Temporary Kind

This week in Fort Wayne is the 3 Rivers Festival.  We start off with a parade and end with fireworks.  Then there is the food.  Oh my!  Over time the festival dwindled down to nearly nothing.  However, this year the vendors selling their wares came and then there were the artists. The sun is blaring and the artists are on the pavement trying to put the pictures in their minds on the ground.  I had artist envy as I walked the street looking at all of the pictures.  Stick people are a challenge for me. 

Green Eyes

This reminds me of a mural that is on the wall of the Hyde Brothers Bookstore

Great detail of the face

Escaping hell.  At first, I didn't want a picture of this.  As I studied the picture more I decided that it was worth capturing.  We are all escaping a "hell" of some sort.

Parrots

An artist at work

One eyed one horned flying purple (green) people eater

More parrots

Another artist at work

Spanish Beauty, this is my favorite

Even though the artist had pink hair this was not a self portrait.

Amazing color and detail

Three boys at the park

It is a shame that once it rains all of this hardwork and visonary art will go down the drain. 

I wish that I could fly

I have a dream. It is but a small one, but a dream nonetheless. Dreams don't always have to be life changing. Have you ever written down the things that you would like to accomplish before you die?  I have. Just seeing the hot air balloons was thrilling enough for me right now.  But one of these days I will ride in one.

 

I would like fly to a land far far away

 

In a multicolored balloon

after a while the sun went down

 and the lights came on

 

I had a wonderful time

Geni's Amazing Shoes

 While I was in Chicago, I saw the most amazing shoes. I nearly jumped up and down with delight when I saw them. Ok, so I am a bit weird. Anyway, they were made in Pakistan and made of leather. The lady told me they were wedding shoes.  But I wanted them anyway.  I can wear them inside with a caftan on one of my rare lazy days.                               

 I have this fetish for pointed toe shoes.  They look somewhat magical with the toe pointed in the air.

 Or there are the nicely decorated shoes with a variety of colors

 

Then there are those shoes which come from Morocco.  

The shoes are so pointed it is a wonder a foot can find its way it.  

           But it does somehow

A Taste of India at Tahoora in Chicago

Ghee is used mostly in Arab and Asian cuisines. However, ghee is used in countries all over the world.  On a recent trip, I encountered a new version of ghee or I thought that I had.  While visiting a friend, she pulled out a very large container of ghee.  It was freshly made and I begged her to tell me where she got such a prize.  It was purchased at a place on West Devon Ave in Chicago called Tahoora.  This place is wonderful.  We wanted to go there for breakfast but things didn't work out like we wanted.  Instead, we came later and had chai tea.  They sell Indian sweets.  Besides that they make desi ghee. Desi means that it is of Indian origin. The only ghee I have ever been able to get was in a jar.  The color is very different than what comes in the jar, the taste is too.

 

Next, we ordered halwa puri, which is a typical Indian breakfast. It consists of  aloo ki bhuiya (potatoes with spices),halwa (sweetened semolina with orange or yellow food coloring), Cho lay (garbanzo beans with spices), and a yogurt sauce and all eaten with bread called puri.  Just like Morocco, no utensils needed, the bread is your fork and spoon. 

 

My friend Sabrina made halwa one morning for breakfast along with eggs and paratha, which is a flaky flat bread.

picture came from here.

Belly Dancing and Shaking my Stuff

I love belly dancing.  I wasn't so sure about it before I signed up for class.  However, I am always willing to give something a try.  Shakira is a wonderful belly dancer.  The first time I had heard of her was in Morocco. While watching videos on one of the local channels,  I sat in amazement watching her body contort into many different positions, wondering how she did it.  Oh how I wished that I could move like that!  This was my first experience as seeing belly dance in action. 

 

Since taking the class I have basically lusted for one of the hip scarves.  I told my friend Sabrina, who lives in Chicago, about my desire for a hip scarf.

 

While visiting with her, she presented me with this lovely scarf. Needless to say, I was in 7th heaven.  I could hardly wait for class tonight so that I can  wear it.

A weekend in Bangladesh

 
I have just returned from a wonderful weekend with a friend and her family.  I met Sabrina when we worked at the same company. Many years ago, I ate goat meat with rice for the first time at her home.  It was wonderful. I kept eating and eating. This weekend we had a feast. We ate and slept and ate and slept some more. 

 

 You start off with rice and start adding the toppings

   

 There was shrimp with coconut milk 

  

Egg Curry

 

 Goat meat with spices 

 Roasted Chicken Curry

  

 Turkey Kabab

 

 A mixed salad with lime or sometimes with yogurt

I have begun collecting recipes and will be posting them as soon as I have tested them in my own kitchen.  If I can cook Moroccan food, then maybe I can cook dishes that come from Bangladesh too.