A bell's not a bell till you ring it...

I'm all about the meat.  When Eid-ulAdha rolls around, that's all I care about.  We don't normally eat a lot of red meat in my family, but this is one week during the year where we go all out.  Fried liver for breakfast, stewed meat for lunch, and kababs for dinner.... I could go on to tell you what the rest of our week looks like,  but I don't think my keyboard can take any more drool after the last slobber session my daughter had on it. This Eid was no different... I didn't even dress up today.  There wasn't any point... the only guest I greet on the first day of Eid-ulAdha is the goat that arrives in a straw basket.  So imagine my surprise when in walked my maid wearing golden clothes, a ton of make-up, and tinkling jewellery on every visible part of her body.  My mother and I were walking around in regular home clothes... and for those of you who know me at that level know my knack for wearing randomly paired shalwar kameez when I'm home.  The maid went about doing her work all the while tintinnabulating.  I wanted to tell her to take some of those bells off.  I mean what if someone thinks we still have a cow we haven't slaughtered yet, right? Okay fine that wasn't why I wanted the ringing to stop... it was just annoying.  We didn't make the maid do a lot, she mostly just sat around waiting for instructions on what to do next.  My mother said she didn't have the heart to make the girl work in those clothes... but me? I just didn't want to hear that tinkle of her anklets again! So she sat around and watched our every move, which was again very annoying.  I had to put off making my carrot cupcakes till after she was gone.  I finally got around to making them once Yums was secured in bed with her favorite blanket and drifting off to Gabba Land.  They turned out nice...  Something to balance off the salt in the meat.  I couldn't even get around to icing them! Mom, dad, and I finished off a third of them minutes after they got out of the oven.  I'll frost them tomorrow and post a picture.  For now, I'm going to tuck myself into bed with my daughter and watch her favorite episode of Yo Gabba Gabba. :)

UPDATE 11/9/2011

So I never got around to frosting those carrot cupcakes.  We had visitors late night after I'd gone to bed and another few of the cupcakes were polished off.  Personally I think they tasted yum on their own, so I dropped the idea of making creamcheese frosting for them.  As they sat overnight something marvelous happened.... the flavors amalgamated, the sugars from the carrots bled out into the crumbs and the next morning when I popped one in my mouth it was gooey goodness! A picture's worth a thousand words so see for yourself...

 Check it ouuuuuut!  I LOVE the color of carrots in Pakistan during winter.  Which reminds me of something.  A couple of years ago, I had a difference of opinion with a friend about produce in Pakistan.  She insisted that fruits from our own country are scrumptious, and I insisted that I've had better quality abroad.  I still think some things grown in other countries (berries, kiwi, etc.) are so much better, but other than those few things we don't grow here, Loopy Loo you were right... fruits (and veggies) in Pakistan really are awesome. Our peaches, apricots, green grapes, mangoes, and plums are unparalleled!   What sucks is the handling of the produce.  If only people's hearts were pure, imagine where just this one industry would take our economy!