Monday, 15 February 2016

Lasagna Dip by Quick & Tasty


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Lasagna Dip

Last week when I made the lasagna stuffed spaghetti squash I tried to keep things nice and light and healthy but I could not help but think about doing something similar only a bit naughtier, a hot melted cheesy lasagna dip! I am a huge fan of dips, especially when they have plenty of hot melted cheese and since lasagna is one of my favourite meals I knew that a lasagna dip was sure to be amazing! The basic idea behind this dip was to use the layers of a lasagna in a dip including a base of cheese and a quick, easy and tasty tomato meat sauce all topped off with plenty of melted mozzarella! My mom always made lasagna with cottage cheese for the cheese layer so I am rather partial to that but ricotta or even cream cheese would also work well. For the tomato based meat sauce I kept things lighter and healthy going with turkey for the meat and I packed the sauce with plenty of flavour! I have to say that this dip is truly spectacular and it really does remind me of lasagna, though it is a lot easier to make and perfect for enjoying while watching the game! 

You really cannot go wrong with a hot melted cheese dip with all of the flavours of lasagna! 

Lasagna Dip

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutesTotal Time: 45 minutes Servings: 4

All of the flavours of lasagna in a hot cheesy dip with no regrets!

ingredients1/2 pound ground turkey1 cup lasagna tomato sauce (see below)1 cup low fat cottage cheese or ricotta or cream cheese1 cup partially skim mozzarella, shreddeddirectionsCook the turkey, add the tomato sauce and simmer until it thickens a bit, about 3-5 minutes.Spread the cottage cheese over the bottom of a baking dish, followed by the sauce and finally the mozzarella.Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until the top is a light golden brown and the sides are bubbling, about 15-20 minutes.

Slow Cooker: Implement step 1, layer everything in the slow cooker the same as in the pan and cook until the cheese is nice and melted about 1-2 hours on high or 2-4 hours on low.
Option: Use ground beef or Italian sausage instead of ground turkey or omit the meat entirely.
Option: Use marinara sauce or your favourite tomato sauce instead of making the lasagna sauce from scratch.

Nutrition Facts: Calories 289, Fat 19g(Saturated 4.6g, Trans 0),Cholesterol 80, Sodium 812mg,Carbs 29g (Fiber 6g, Sugars 14g),Protein 35g

Nutrition by: 

Lasagna Sauce

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutesTotal Time: 25 minutes Servings: 2cups

A simple and tasty tomato sauce that is perfect for pasta, pizzas, lasagna, etc.

ingredients1 tablespoon oil1 onion, diced2 cloves garlic, chopped1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed (optional)1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or oregano1 bay leaf1/2 teaspoon paprika (optional)1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional)salt and pepper to taste1 tablespoon basil, chopped (optional)directionsHeat the oil in a pan over medium heat, add the onion and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes.Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and fennel and cook until fragrant, about a minute.Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, paprika, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, simmer until until it thickens, about 5 minutes, and then mix in the basil and remove from heat.

Option: Cover and simmer for longer to develop more flavour.
Option: Add one 2 inch piece of parmesan rind to the sauce while it simmers.

Wednesday, 6 January 2016

The largest blue star sapphire has been discovered in Sri Lanka

The largest blue star sapphire has been discovered in Sri Lanka, said the country's gemologists. The gem is said to weigh 1404.49 carats, and the owner estimates that it could sell for up to US$175 million at auction.

Monday, 4 January 2016

Periodic table's seventh row finally filled as four new elements are added

Periodic table's seventh row finally filled as four new elements are added

Discovery of four super-heavy chemical elements by scientists in Russia, America and Japan has been verified by experts and formally added to table

Kosuke Morita, the leader of Japanese team at the Riken institute, smiles as he points to a board displaying the new atomic element 113. Photograph: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images

Guardian staff

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Four new elements have been added to the periodic table, finally completing the table’s seventh row and rendering science textbooks around the world instantly out of date.

The elements, discovered by scientists in Japan, Russia and America, are the first to be added to the table since 2011, when elements 114 and 116 were added.

The four were verified on 30 December by the US-based International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the global organisation that governs chemical nomenclature, terminology and measurement.

IUPAC announced that a Russian-American team of scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California had produced sufficient evidence to claim the discovery of elements 115, 117 and 118.

The body awarded credit for the discovery of element 113, which had also been claimed by the Russians and Americans, to a team of scientists from the Riken institute inJapan.

Kosuke Morita, who was leading the research at Riken, said his team now planned to “look to the unchartered territory of element 119 and beyond.”

Ryoji Noyori, former Riken president and Nobel laureate in chemistry said: “To scientists, this is of greater value than an Olympic gold medal”.

The elements, which currently bear placeholder names, will be officially named by the teams that discovered them in the coming months. Element 113 will be the first element to be named in Asia.

“The chemistry community is eager to see its most cherished table finally being completed down to the seventh row,” said Professor Jan Reedijk, president of the Inorganic Chemistry Division of IUPAC.

“IUPAC has now initiated the process of formalising names and symbols for these elements temporarily named as ununtrium, (Uut or element 113), ununpentium (Uup, element 115), ununseptium (Uus, element 117), and ununoctium (Uuo, element 118).”

New elements can be named after a mythological concept, a mineral, a place or country, a property or a scientist.

The four new elements, all of which are man-made, were discovered by slamming lighter ­nuclei into each other and tracking the following decay of the radioactive superheavy elements.

Like other superheavy elements that populate the end of the periodic table, they only exist for fractions of a second before decaying into other elements.

Thursday, 31 December 2015

4 Reasons Why Muslims Should Not Celebrate the New Year1

4 Reasons Why Muslims Should Not Celebrate the New Year1

 
Every year, a large number of Muslims get into the festive spirit and celebrate New Year's day. Whether it's Facebook status updates, Twitter messages or even holding New Year's Eve parties – many Muslims (especially, but not exclusively in the West) go the whole 9 yards when it comes to ringing in the New Year. But is this a harmless cultural practice with no faith based significance or a step in the wrong direction? I believe that it is the latter.

Here are 4 reasons why I believe that Muslims should not celebrate the New Year:

4. It is Technically Inaccurate and Pagan

As Muslims, we have our own calendar that has been in constant use for 1400 years1. Even though we may end up using the Gregorian calendar due to circumstances beyond our control, we know for a fact that Allah has ordained the use of the lunar calendar for us in our worship. According to our Hijri calendar (initiated by the great Sahaaba Umar , the new year actually begins on the first of Muharram. To learn more about it click here.

The Gregorian calendar (so called because it was developed by Pope Gregory) decided on the 1st of January as the New Year to celebrate the circumcision of Jesus. Its origin – like so many modern-day holidays – lies in the pagan Roman festivals associated with Janus – the two headed deity who symbolised change.

3. What Exactly is There to Celebrate?

Any celebration by Muslims needs to be put into context of the local and global situation of our fellow human beings. The two Eids amply do so by encouraging prayers, duaa for those suffering and alms to the needy. However, celebrating the New Year does no such thing.

It is a celebration that is cut off from the reality of the rest of the Ummah. The starvation in Somalia, the murder in Syria, the imprisonment of Gaza, the ethnic cleansing of Burma – celebrating the New Year is pretty much exactly the opposite of the “fever and wakefulness” that the Prophet  spoke about when he said we were like one body.

Salahuddin Ayyubi was once asked why he hardly ever smiled even though this was a sunnah of the Prophet . He replied, “How can I smile when I know that masjid Al Aqsa is being defiled and the Muslims are suffering?!” That attitude, dear brothers and sisters, is why he achieved what he did and why we're still debating on whether or not it is acceptable to send “Happy New Year” messages.

2. They may involve Un-Islamic Practices

Let's be honest. When you picture New Year's Eve celebration, you don't picture people sitting in a gathering that could take place in a mosque or with the local imam around. Instead, they are (and I know this is a generalization) usually events that mirror the celebrations of where this holiday originated from. It is usually an Islam free zone, which is not entirely surprising given that it has no basis or relationship to Islam.

1. It is Against the Spirit of Islam1

I am well aware that there is a difference of opinion on this matter between scholars, and I respect that. However, there are a few points I'd make to that.

Firstly, the number of scholars who condone the celebration of the New Year are in the minority.

Secondly, the scholars who do condone it almost never actually celebrate the New Year themselves or with their families – at least not in public – showing that even though they may believe it acceptable, it is not preferable.

Thirdly, many of them predicate their views based on a number of caveats – that it is no longer a pagan or Christian ritual, that it is good da'wah to non-Muslims and that it not involve any un-Islamic element. Most of these caveats are difficult to satisfy adequately.

This is meant to be a gentle reminder and not a harsh rebuke. It would be against the spirit of Islam to not show kindness and respect to non-Muslims. We are encouraged to be warm and welcoming, not least because it will attract others to our faith. By the same token, it is against the spirit of Islam to do any of the above by subordinating our own faith, culture or heritage.

There are many ways to showcase our manners and act as ambassadors for our faith without having to adopt the celebrations of others. By adopting the celebrations of others, we may be harmlessly saying a few words or just enjoying ourselves. Equally, we may be opening the door to disappearing within the dominant culture and to a future which of blurred boundaries for our community and children.

This issue occupied the minds of greater people than us – Uthman , Ali  and many other of the greatest Sahaaba. When the great assemblage of the companions of the Prophet  had discussed this issue at length, the matter was brought to a close by the wise words of Caliph Umar  that are as relevant today as they were then. He said,

The Hijrah has separated truth from falsehood, therefore, let it become the epoch of the era.” 

So this year – as the clock strikes midnight on the 10th of Rabi` al-Awal, 1436 A.H. – thank Allah for the blessings of having our own calendar and the two Eids. May Allah give us all many, many more in happiness, health and unity for the whole of the Ummah. Ameen.

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