Reys's quick and easy bread pudding recipe

Almost every second night my mom has been spoiling us with freshly baked bread pudding after
the evening prayers. It tastes absolutely delicious especially on a cold winters night. Today I decided to share the recipe with all my friends and fans....

                                                   1. Pour 3 cups milk into a liquidizer machine

                                                    2. Add 3 eggs to the milk

                                                    3. Add a half a cup sugar

                                                    4. Blend all of the above ingredients together

                                                     5. Pour the mixture into a medium size

                                                        oven proof bowl

                                                      6. Smear apricot jam on three slices of bread

                                                     7. Stack up the bread slices and cut into 

                                                         cubes as depicted below

                                                      8. Add the bread cubes to the milk 

                                                       mixture 

                                                     9. Now add 2 dessertspoons coconut

                                                      10. Add 1/2 teaspoon ground elachi

                                                      11. Add 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

                                                      12. Add a hand full of almonds. Crush 

                                                       it into smaller pieces in your hands

                                                      13. Mix all of the above ingredients

                                                       thoroughly. Then take 2 ounce butter

                                                       and cut it into blobs.. Scatter all over the

                                                       mixture

                                                      14. Preheat oven at 180 degrees. 

                                                      Bake until golden brown...It takes

                                                      approximately a half an hour to bake

Words of wisdom and inspiration

Kindly share this post with all your friends!!

In response to my blog article " Life is what you make of it", I received this comment from Dr. Ahmed Adam. I was left speechless and almost in tears after reading his very touching story. I would like to commend him and thank him for sharing his very inspirational story to the world. Dear Dr. Ahmed, I pray and make dua that Allah grants you complete shifa and may He fill your life with patience always. May you endure all of life's trials and tribulations with a positive attitude knowing that whatever He has written out for us is the best for us. In every negative situation there is always some positive that comes out of it. Allah has used you as a tool to inspire and motivate others. God bless you.

"Hi Desert Moon, I thoroughly enjoyed your post “Life is what you make of it.” I also commend you for giving advice to our youth that the time spend at University is a Golden Opportunity and should not be wasted. In brief, my story, so that hopefully someone may realise that Life can change in an instant. I am a Medical Doctor (I have 4 Tertiary Degrees); Executive Director of a large Private Hospital; Executive Director of a TV Broadcast Company on which I presented many shows; Vice Chairman of Human Rights Foundation; Author of 3 published books; Gym fanatic. I was at the top of my game: superb physical fitness and sharp mental acuity (telling myself that I will do this for the rest of my life). One fine morning, I awoke with partial paralysis and severe pain over my left arm (could be a heart attack); Investigations showed multiple Disc prolapses and severe spinal stenosis in C4-C7. Then followed a series of tests and further deterioration. In brief: I have had several minor strokes (TIA); Pituitary infarct; gunshot chest and leg; IBS; Accelerated osteo-degenerative changes; lax ligament syndrome; sleep most days on a recliner (cannot go flat otherwise my breathing stops); in constant pain every single day (tablets are useless and they don’t help; cannot drive a car; have difficulty in moving my neck; unstable legs which meant that I feel recently with bleeding in the brain leading to further memory loss (plus a few more, but you get the idea); so from riding the Crest of a powerful exhilarating wave, I fell to the bottom and felt the crushing weight of tons of water pressing me down; I use a wheelchair on the rare occasions when I go out; so the advice for some youth: next time when you are complaining of the traffic jam, remember that there is a Doctor who can no longer drive; next time you are lazy to study , remember that there is a person who would love to read and study from large textbooks, but cannot lift anything heavier than 1 kg; next time if you complain that your car is parked very far from the entrance to a shopping mall, remember that someone has not seen a shopping mall in 2 years and needs crutches or a wheelchair just to get from point A to point B. We need to look at our own life and count our Blessings, before we lose something and then realise how important a person or body organ has been to our life. Fortunately, perhaps because of my training, I have no regrets, no grief, no sadness; I have embraced my new life and look for opportunities within that limited scope, to make the best of everyday. The best years of my life were at Varsity, and it is sad to hear that some Varsity students are wasting this awe-inspiring phase of their lives. Thank you for a wonderful article and may all that is good for you come to you in great abundance, warmest regards, Dr Ahmed Adam [South Africa]."

Live and let live

                                                Picture: www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk
                                          
So this morning whilst driving to work, I took a closer look at my surroundings and I noticed an amputee struggling to cross the road. I observed a lady with a child in a pram walking hastily towards the shopping centre across the road. Cars were speeding in all directions. Some people were probably going to work, others were probably on their way to a meeting or a conference. Each and everyone of these individuals are going through the trials and tribulations of life. All of these individuals have dreams and goals that they wish to achieve in life. Some may have experienced heartache and disappointment others may have had a rosy life from birth. At a traffic signal I noticed a man looking visibly upset and angry. He turned his head towards me and I smiled. Suddenly the frown changed into a slight smile. The key to leading a happy life is being respectful to everyone you meet. Be kind to everyone you meet and don't hurt people because you have no idea about their life story thus far. Recently I have been receiving inbox messages from people telling me that so and so person on your facebook page is gay or lesbian or this woman is having an affair with that man etc. Please refrain from sending me such messages. I will block you. I mind my own business and I am not interested in other peoples affairs. I was brought up to respect everyone. I have many friends who are homosexual and when they call me or visit me I treat them with respect and dignity. Their sexuality and what they do in their personal lives is between them, and their Creator.Which brings me to another pertinent point on the topic of respect. There are elements within our community who feel as though they own the masjid and hence they prevent religious scholars from other countries from visiting the masjid calling them all sorts of names. The masjid does not belong to you and neither does it belong to me. It is the house of God Almighty and everyone should be welcomed, respected and made to feel comfortable, even the Non-Muslims who wish to visit. Since when does a masjid belong to a certain sect or group of people. Whilst there are many ulema who are doing good work, by the same token there are scholars out there who are deliberately dividing the community rather than uniting the community. This needs to stop.

Life is what you make of it

Everyday, I come across people who inspire me and make me realize how grateful and thankful I have to be for everything that God has blessed me with.A few days ago we had a couple that came to the pharmacy. They were deaf and unable to speak and yet they had perfectly normal kids. What amazed me was how normal they were as a family. The kids communicated with their parents in sign language. We also have another couple that frequent the pharmacy often. The husband and wife are both blind, yet they are well educated holding university degrees.They have their own home and lead perfectly normal lives. We view their loss of vision as a disability but for them it isn't. They full of enthusiasm. They travel, they go to the movies etc with their driver. They such an inspiration to me. The only time my heart breaks is when they call the pharmacy to ask us if its going to rain as they wish to make a barbecue. These people have turned their disabilities into a strength and have made a success out of their lives. Yet on the other hand we find individuals who have no disabilities at all, but are unable to make their lives successful. I have come across university students who simply go to campus to have fun, wasting their parents money. I have come across men who are too lazy to work and depend on their wives to support them. Life is what you make of it. You can be poor but still become successful or you can be from a rich home and be unsuccessful. Life is short. So make the best of everyday that goes by. Wake up in the morning with a positive mind set and tell yourself that you are going to achieve your goals for the day. Rise up at the crack of dawn telling yourself that you are going to make a difference in someone else's life. Simple acts of kindness like smiling or listening to someones else's problems all constitutes towards making a difference. Live each day as though its your last. Live happily and forgive easily. Go to bed every night with a clean, happy heart.