Everyday it baffles my mind on the lack of knowledge we Muslims have in the United States in regards to food items that are not halal; so when Brother Maddox called asked me for an article on halal eating or recipes...I was elate! In my pre-shahada days I had the pleasure of growing up in a household that was kosher, we ate Orthodox Kosher foods from the hospital where my mother worked. Our family celebrated the traditional American Holidays like all other Baptist families, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter....however I noticed we would never mix meat with dairy, or eat pork. I think this began my fascination with foods from other cultures! Fast forward to post Shahada roughly 1993, I begin to notice Muslim friends that were completely ignorant of the pork and the "creative" names associated with pork, not to mention alcohol. I sometimes become fearful of accepting dinner invitations from Muslims because of the lack of knowledge regarding true halal food consumption; with local Masjids selling Cheetos and Doritos (fried in lard), local Halal grocers selling Kraft singles (pork rennet cheese), and my all time favorite-Muslims drinking flavored lattes on a daily basis sweetened with syrups that contain alcohol... that ain't halal brothers and sisters! Unfortunately, we live in capitalistic society that is driven by the sell of pork bellies and futures, the more pork bellies sold/traded the more money is made. In the coming months I will begin the basic education of eating Halal, I look forward to this challenge every month.(inshallah) In the meantime, please check out my blog on a daily basis cheftonne.blogspot.com... share recipes, events, ideas, even ask questions. You can also friend me on facebook...chef tonne! Inshallah we will meet, eat and discuss soon.....chowbaby!
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