One Year and Six Kilos Away.....Blessed Ramadhan To You!

Assalamualaikum peeps! I'm back (briefly) after a long hiatus. Well, when I quit work I thought that I would have more time to myself, but I got that wrong ....and no I am not complaining. I have been baking a lot, more than I expected...well, to make ends meet. But really, I just couldn't turn down orders, tak sampai hati....last Saturday I baked 12 cakes, 50 mini pavlovas, one pavlova and 2 double deck chocolate pavlovas....a record, I think! I always think that at the end of the day come what may, enough sleep or not, collapsed meringue, overfold macaron batter, all orders were delivered...on time, maybe a few slight delays...so we just had to do it!

What I wanted to ramble here is not about my daily chores, I mean nowadays its private classes on Mondays and Tuesdays, baking on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and classes on Sundays. My off day is usually on any of those days that there weren't any orders or classes. Since working on my own going to favourite hang out KLCC is just to get some air...but hey, I realise that I don't draw any salary, but I buy a shirt or two and hijabs almost weekly, hehe.....

Thursdays were supposed to be my soul feeding session with Ustazah Fatma Zahra, however, after Eid last year I was tested with orders so much so I dodged quite a number of sessions. Thank god I went to her last session before we begin our Ramadhan session this Thursday....I have missed a lot to my dismay!

Since working on my own I was tested many many times, not in monetary terms but others...and I realise that it was almost a year ago that I left permanent work and became a self employed in the beginning of Ramadhan (1.7.2013 was the official day I left work, and Ramadhan was about 7 days away). That time the Ustazah said we were entering Madrasah Ramadhan....a school ie a month where /when you learn to cleanse yourself, discover yourself, feel hungry and empathy for others. And just before Eid, the Ustazah reminded us that let the teachings from the Madrasah remain even after we left the Madrasah and breath through to the other months....

I failed miserably, I was tested......

And now, we are on the eve of Ramadhan again...fasting to me is a challenging ibadah since I love to eat! But , since last year I am embracing the month with open arms....this year I have decided to limit my orders so as not to tire myself. Allah is great, since that is my niat, I had a handsome figure confirmed corporate orders came in last month. I wanted to do only 2 classes in Ramadhan , however, the requests were overwhelming and I'd rather fulfill people's hopes, so classes will be on 5, 6, 7, 8 and 12 July. I will be honouring only one or two cake orders daily and inshaallah I will open for Raya orders soon! Raya orders will only be for Victoria Sandwich Cakes and Chocolate Cakes only. With this, I pray that I will have the energy to do all the ibadahs, inshaallah...

Well, it is also during this month that I will plan for the next moves for TheKitchenGuardian.... the studio needs a facelift, I need to do proper accounts, I need to compile my recipes, I need to register my mark, I need a fulltime assistant, I want to incorporate a private limited company...I need to draw a salary....

I will be attending a few short courses in Paris in October, I will share the knowledge in the classes held in the last quarter this year. In the mean time Alhamdulillah we are booked till November. I will also spend more time in food photography as in using my dslr instead of my smartphone! Looking forward to a food photography workshop with some food bloggers in Europe or US....America more likely next year!

......and I need to lose this 6 kilos that I have piled in the last 12 months, haha.....I have tried meal replacement diet, no carbo except my cakes diet.....but it is water therapy that seems to work, gulp 3 litres of water daily...your skin will plump up, you will feel full and food intake is less, hence weight reduction....I have not lost any kilos since this, however by BMI, bodyfat have reduced and I lost some inches too!

Okay enough rambling for now. I still owe you the Cookie Dough Nutella Cheesecake recipe. Will upload soon. In the mean time here's wishing you a blessed Ramadhan...ampun dan maaf di atas segala kesalahan kekurangan, be good folks! Bye!