Venison Tagine?

The fall is a special time of year in New England. The changes are stark and easily recognizable. The days become shorter; the air has a crispness not felt since early spring and the leaves provide an amazing display of colors that highlight this annual transition.

Growing up I remember the smell of burning wood as people warmed their homes during the morning chill. Grassy green fields covered in dew glimmered in the soft morning light.

The fall was also a time when certain foods would return to our home. Nantucket bay scallops, stripped bass and various types of game—rabbit, pheasant and venison all represented the bounties of the fall.

I remember watching rabbit meat being coated in flour and prepared for frying. Pheasant and venison were mostly broiled and served with traditional sides—canned vegetables, mashed potatoes and an occasional sheet of cornbread. This is how grew up. Probably not very different than many American kids whose families hunted or fished.

Over the past ten years I have returned to harvesting game in the fall. I have had the blessing of harvesting many deer with a bow and arrow. My wife and I have tried a few different recipes when preparing venison. Some very traditional, and others which incorporated terriyaki marinades and some as simple as rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper. All of them have been a blessing, and we have shared many meals with family and friends.

However, this year, I plan to attempt a fusion dish. I want to incorporate the delicious Simmer Sauces from Saffron Road and make it a true East West fusion—I can see Kipling turning in his grave! I am willing to say that not many people have tried a traditional Moroccan Tagine Simmer Sauce with tender fresh venison. This represents a great opportunity to incorporate Saffron Road’s sauces with a great American tradition--harvesting a North American whitetail. I can already taste how amazing this is going to be!

I am inspired by the work of Saffron Road. They are committed to providing the highest standards of halal foods to the general public. They are making a huge impact on the industry and helping the American Muslim experience find its way to the forefront of our diverse society.

But why should I limit myself to only their sauces, that would be selling myself short? Thus, keeping in the tradition of true cross-cultural culinary "coolness"--I also plan to begin the meal with Saffron Road, Turkish Figs & Goat Cheese Hor D’oeurves. Maybe Globalization is not such a bad thing!

I have to state this publicly; I like to cook, but I am not the best chef in town. So if anyone has any tips or advice, I am more than willing to learn some new culinary possibilities.

Look for my other posts as I share my time in the woods with my bow.

Searching for West -- Short Film

Those who know me, know that I love hunting and the outdoors. I thank Mark Seacat and his team for their remarkable work in capturing and sharing with us the spirit of hunting and the beauty of the outdoors!

Watch...and enjoy!

Searching for West from Helio Collective on Vimeo.

Moose--In your face!!!

Could you handle this?

Saffron Road...Go Get Some of Halal Goodness!

My trip to the Bay was like returning to the comfort of a family member's home. The people and places are all very familiar, and the hospitality is always amazing. And this trip was no different!

Photo from the Muslim Community Association in Santa Clara, CA

Actually, it was a little different.  This summer I was not teaching Arabic at Zaytuna College. My time in the Bay was spent connecting with people and informing them about Saffron Road's incredible work.

Summer Arabic Language students at Zaytuna College

This trip had me thinking a lot about Ramadan, not only about the physical struggle of fasting. It also made me think about the struggle in following God's command to eat from that  which is halal and pure!

Ramadan is about reduction, and it is through reduction that we find the blessings of God's generosity, grace and benevolence showered upon us like no other time. And it is during this month where the connection between food and spirituality becomes very clear. I have made a conscious decision to eat from that which is halal and pure, and after spending almost the entire month of June on the road visiting the Saffron Road farm and production facility and speaking about this product, I am even more impressed by the vision of this company.

The Abbasi family [Hamza will attend Dartmouth in the Fall]

While on the road Mustafa and I met many people, and consistently from NY to the Bay, people who tried Saffron Road expressed to me that the food was absolutely delicious. However, as the conversation moved beyond taste, it was apparent that people are most impressed with the standards that Saffron Road established in the halal food industry.

This is the game changer! This is why I leave my family and get on the road and promote this product, because I feel an obligation to inform as many people as I can about halal food that is "mainstream" and has not compromised or abandoned any of the ethical or moral values that are important to everyone of us regarding our food.

Pertaining to spirituality in the Islamic tradition, a Muslim should be concerned with what comes out of their mouth and what goes in it, because with both are consequences. Being scrupulous in what we eat leads to greater spiritual clarity and it proximity to God. Truly, I am grateful to have a food option like Saffron Road.

The Future!

When I became Muslim in the mid-nineties there were not many halal food options beyond major cities, and the halal options were very limited, nearly unregulated and not even considering issues around humane, antibiotic free and hormone free products.

However, in  a relatively short period of time all of that has changed. For example, this past weekend I was in Amherst, Mass in the Western part of the state. An area which is relatively isolated, definitely not a bustling hub of Muslim activity. Nonetheless, in "small town America" there are halal food options. This is the type of societal integration that is meaningful, productive and produces lasting relationships.

It is my sincerest hope that the future will continue to motivate pioneers like the Saffron Road team. All of us benefiting through their foresight and forward thinking.

The rising tide lifts all boats equally!

Saffron Road--Rocky Mountain High!

The first thing you'll hear when you get to Denver is, "we get over 300 days of sunshine!" I loved hearing that! We set up on this beautiful Friday morning at one of largest Mosques in the metro-Denver area ready to engage people and tell them about Saffron Road and all the halal goodness that awaits them. The weather was text-book, clear skies and lots of sun! The Friday sermon was a great reminder that small actions yield large spiritual returns. However, when we came out of the mosque the weather had changed, the skies opened up it poured rain and hailed! Paradoxical maybe, Providential, definitely!

After the sermon we made our way outside to meet the outpouring of people. As I mentioned before, the moment you see people's eyes light up is when they learn that the products are certified humane, halal, antibiotic free and hormone free. The great thing about promoting Saffron Road is speaking from a position of complete confidence with regard to the integrity of this product. Oh yeah, it’s not too hard to convince people when the food tastes this good.

This meeting set the tone for the rest of our time in Denver. People are super nice, incredibly supportive and ready to partake in halal goodness.

While in Denver I stayed across the street from Whole Foods mega-store. This store carried all of Saffron Road's products; of course this meant I had these options available for my meals as well. Did I tell you how many times I ate Chicken Tikka Masala and Lamb Saag? That's another story! While in Whole Foods I met an employee who saw my shirt and asked if I worked for Saffron Road. He immediately engaged me with the shrinking world/global village talk and told me how he thought Saffron Road was at the forefront of bringing global cuisine to local markets. His next question: "Do you have any coupons?" I smiled and handed him a few, he promised me he would "spread the love" with his friends! To me this is Denver, happy people, supportive and always willing to engage.

The rest of my stay in Denver was filled with spending time with leaders of the various segments of the Muslim community. One of the greatest blessings of traveling in the Muslim community is realizing that the spirit of hospitality is alive and well.  Brunch with the Azim family, dinner with Waseem Khan, Monir Ludin and the Nawaz family or coffee with individual members was uplifting and invigorating. Community members opened their hearts and their homes and demonstrated the true meaning of fraternal love and friendship. During one of our meetings a group mentioned that they would serve Saffron Road products at their next community pot-luck dinner. That's amazing!

One of the most interesting segments of the Denver Muslim community was engaging individuals from the Independent Limousine Drivers of Colorado. This service group "ate up" the information about Saffron Road. Many on the drives eat at least one meal, sometimes two while at the airport. One driver said, "this is great brother, I was tired of eating burritos all the time!" Another driver contacted me and told me that he finally bought his first Saffron Road product and..."it was the healthiest frozen entree I have ever tasted, and its perfect for my bachelor lifestyle!" I am not one to say I told you so, but concerning the taste, you can quote me, "I told you so!"

Food is such an integral part of one’s spiritual being and people have been waiting for a product they can trust. As someone asked, “where have you been, I have waiting for this for so long!” Well now you have it, and God willing it will only get better!

I look forward to the hearing feedback from all the people I met during the Denver trip.  Please share your thoughts I will continue to do the same!

Much love!

Arizona--96 Degrees in the Shade!

I like the sun, don't get me wrong! However, 112 degrees was a little too much for this Northerner! You know the heat is problematic when the locals are complaining!

I arrived in Phoenix late Thursday evening and my plan was to confirm a meeting with community leaders in Tucson. All went well, and after a light breakfast I headed to Tucson.

I-17 South brought me straight into Tucson, and I pulled up to the Islamic Center of Tucson. This mosque is in the middle of the ASU campus, surrounded by the University on all sides.

My contact here was a young man named Jameel, he met me outside and ensured me that the board had approved my presence. I set up a display table under the blazing sun and quickly ran inside to the coolness of marble floors and spiritual tranquility that is found only inside the mosque.

This week's sermon was a reminder of the virtue of patience and it was right on time, I needed to hear that! After the sermon I made my way outside and began to engage folks telling them about Saffron Road. I can't say this enough, so you will have to bear with me. When I engage the Muslim community the selling point regarding this product is the standard of certified humane antibiotic free, hormone free raising and production! All the lights go on with that phrase. Jameel introduced me to a young man and told me he was a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine and an acupuncturist. Obviously concerned with holistic well-being he listed intently to what I had to say, he remained quite until I reached the point of certified humane, antibiotic and hormone free. He smiled grabbed my hand and said, "that is what I have been waiting to hear! There has always been this mystery behind halal products, without knowing what we are buying how can you trust what you getting? May God bless you in all that you are doing. You have a customer in me!" Priceless!

Many people took coupons and listened for a few minutes, but the blazing sun was wearing at their cordialness. Next, Jameel introduced me to the Imam. An amazingly spiritual awakened individual with a warm smile and big heart. A gem from Baghdad, classically trained in the tradition of Suffi masters. The first thing he said was, "where have you been? I was expecting you last night, we wanted to take you to dinner and invite you to give a lecture!" I smiled and reminded him that we plan, but God is best of planners.

From that point on the Imam did not let me leave his side, he invited me to lunch and on route we passed by a Whole Foods. I took him inside to show him our products. He like many others, had made the mistake of thinking our products are in meat section not the frozen entree section. He asked about Costco and told me we should visit one. Back in his car again we headed out.

He was nervous that they may not let him in without a membership, I told not to worry "I got you covered." We entered Costco and headed to the frozen entree section. I grabbed two boxes for the Imam and in typical fashion he tried to snatch them from me insisting he would pay. You could say that I "threw my weight around" and the Imam had no chance of getting the boxes out of my hands. At the checkout he tried to cancel my transaction and prevent me from paying. However, he was not successful!

As the day moved on I was constantly looking at my watch, I have a tentative appointment in the evening in Phoenix at the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix. The Imam insisted that I stay for the evening prayer and at least to give a short talk on any subject I wanted. I knew how this would end, after the prayer and talk he would insist that I stay to eat and then he would tell me that it was too late and should stay with him in Tucson and leave in the morning.

Well I was right! He did insist that we ate, however I persuaded him that he not cook a meal, rather we would eat the Chicken Tikka Masala we bought at Costco. He agreed! About six of us headed to the Imam's house and as he put together a salad I took care of the Chicken Tikka Masala. I could hear the group in the other room, is this going to be enough, how will it taste, is 5mins sufficient? I was quietly laughing out loud as I prepared the meals.

We sat on floor and broke bread at 11:15pm. I asked the Imam to take the first bite, any fatigue that shown on his face was gone, once he put the first morsel of food in his mouth. He looked at me and confirmed what I already knew, "wow...this is good!" Everyone in the room except me were native Arabic speakers so the rest of the comments and expressions of joy were in Arabic and I don't want things to get lost in translation, so I will let them be! Sufficient to say the Imam told me he will let his congregation know that they need to head out and treat themselves to a bounty of halal goodness!

Halal Food We Can Trust

For the last week I have been in the metro Denver area connecting with Muslim communities and speaking to them about Saffron Road and it provides a halal, certified humane, and organic chicken entree to COSTCO. The responses have been extremely positive!

I met with a group of activists that work to build bridges within the greater Denver community, this group is part of a larger community service organization called MILA Muslims Intent on Learning and Activism.

While at their meeting, I began to speak about Saffron Road and what the brand has to offer. As I was speaking the women hosting us stood up and with saying anything began to walk into the kitchen. When she returned she presented me with a 28oz. box of Saffron Road Chicken Tikka Masala from COSTCO. She said, "is this what your talking about? We already buy it!" She began to tell her guests ~15 how much she and her husband loved the product. She politely ordered all of her guests to head to COSTCO and get some of this halal goodness!

The real selling point however, was evident in my ability to answer questions concerning the raising and production of the chickens. Saffron Road products can be trusted! Their products are what they claim to be--halal, certified humane and organic!

During the trip many Muslims looked at me trying to figure out if I used the words certified humane and organic to describe a halal product. At first I feel bad, because people have been waiting so long for a quality product like this. However, that bad feeling soon fades away, when I see them smiling. Their smiles say two things, they are relived that they have a halal option they can trust, and they are similarly excited about halal products entering mainstream retail markets.

This is the way forward. Follow the Saffron Road!