I’ve spent parts of Ramadan all over the Middle East including Lebanon, the Sultanate of Oman, and Syria. Without creating serious debate, one of the best places for anyone to be during the holy month of Ramadan is in Turkey. Here, the solidarity of the holiday reaches its peak while honoring many of centuries-old traditions across all parts of the society.

For many outside of Islam, it would be easy to put Ramadan into a bucket of religious holidays, but truthfully it is much more than praying multiple times a day and fasting from before dawn until night. It’s also as much about bringing people together as much as any other kind of biased opinion you may have heard other the years.

In Turkey, Iftar is a daily celebration of the breaking of the fast. Tables are elaborately set where families, friends and neighbors gather around the same table to feast on dishes that are prepared throughout the day. When I recall Ramadan traditions, the first to come to mind are crowded Iftar dinners, delicious treats, and home chefs revealing their culinary skills.

These rich dinner tables, extraordinarily adorned with a large variety of dishes, are an indicator of the hospitality and family values—with very few countries more adept at it that the Turkey people. Iftar is also where you discover that the centuries-old tradition of helping the poor and those in need shine bright. It’s a place where you can invite the needy over for Iftar, or prepare a special dinner for them for a greater sense of community. Even better is the incredible amount of hot food distributed to thousands of people by institutions, organizations, and of course, the locals.

Foods most frequently served on the tables include regional and traditional varieties of lamb and beef dishes, vegetable and legume dishes, soups, pilafs, dates, olives and cheese varieties, soujouk (fermented halal sausages), fattoush salads, various pastries and pies made of thin sheets of dough.

One these long summer days, there isn’t time for more than formal meal, but in the true underlying meaning of unity, Sahur is prepared and consumed in the wee hours of the morning. Only members of the household attend this meal, proceeding the upcoming 12-15 hours fast of the coming day.

Sahur comes from one of the oldest traditions of the month of Ramadan, the mesaharati (or the Ramadan drummer) wandered from one street and neighborhood to another, informing those who fast about the approaching Sahur time. This tradition, which started to make sure that nobody would miss Sahur in an era when not every household had a clock, may have lost its functionality today but symbolically, it continues across the entire country. The drummers are rewarded for their month-long effort to wake up the people by collecting tips on the last night of Ramadan. Sahur tables are highlighted by lighter dishes like yogurt parfait, dates, fruits, toast with lebne dips and cheeses, and the all-important freshly-brewed chai.

An essential part of Ramadan centers on the “Ramadan pita.” In Turkey, it is a traditional delicacy of the cuisine. In pre-COVID days, pita queues in front of bakeries start hours before iftar. These days, takeaway isn’t as readily available, so breakout your chefs hats and baking sheets and let’s make some delicious Turkish pita.

Ingredients
• A pack of yeast (25g)
• 2 water glasses of warm milk
• ½ dessertspoon of sugar
• ½ water glass of warm water
• ½ tea glass of oil
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 5 ½ water glasses of flour (more if necessary)

To be used while shaping the dough:
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 5-6 tablespoons of water
• (Mix the flour and water well; it must be a fluid mix so add more water if necessary)

To apply on the pita:
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1 tablespoon of milk
• 1 dessertspoon of yoghurt
• Plenty of sesame
• Black sesame

Preparation

Put the yeast, milk and sugar in a deep bowl and keep for 10 minutes (until the yeast melts). Add the remaining ingredients in order, knead the flour, and after it thickens, wait for 40 minutes after it thickens (ensure it is a soft dough that does not stick to your hand). Divide the dough into 2 or 3 pieces.

Sprinkle some flour on the surface and take some flour on your hands before spreading the dough. Give it a circular or oval shape. Place the spread out dough on a tray that is either previously oiled or lined with a baking paper. Also sprinkle some corn flour on the tray so it won’t stick. Immerse your hands in the water-flour mixture and give it a square or lozenge shape by first pressing on the edges and then on the middle. The trick is to keep on immersing your hands in the water-flour mixture so that the shapes won’t disappear during baking. The dough is left for half an hour to leaven and the same procedure is repeated on the shaped parts to make sure that they will last. Finish off by applying the sauce on and sprinkling a lot of sesame and black sesame.

Bake in an oven pre-heated to 200°C until golden brown.

Note: This article originally appeared in ALO magazine.

The post Making Turkish Pita: The Ramadan Way appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

Photo credit: Instagram/heinz

Okay, so where am I?

Well, I’m working. More than ever it seems. The COVID-19 lockdown has pinned most to our homes and according to Ladders we are working three more hours a day on average. Nonetheless, I am thankful for the continued employment and remaining safe during this unprecedented pandemic. I carry a heavy heart for those lost and the 20+ million who had to file for first time unemployment benefits. Amidst all of this I must say that I am quite fortunate that my decades of work has paid off for the stakeholders I serve. All of my advertising and marketing numbers show double digit growth as we have shifted every campaign to virtual. The results have empowered other programs that will remain evergreen as we move into a new normal of conducting business.

All of this work hasn’t staved off the need to cure boredom, however. Nights that were spent going to hockey games, writing subsequent columns, and seeing family and friends need to be filled somehow right? You can only clean the house, or rearrange your man cave, or work on your great American novel so much. You need an outlet. My daughter suggested jigsaw puzzles and what a novel idea I thought. The last one I did was at a museum in Helsinki and it soaked up a lot of time and not as mind numbing as I remember.

So imagine my glee when scrolling through Instagram I saw this among all of the cooking displays, Stay-At-Home memes, and throwback sports posts:

View this post on Instagram

This might be the slowest puzzle on earth. 570 pieces. All Heinz red. Tell us who you wish you could finish this with. #heinzketchuppuzzle

A post shared by Heinz Ketchup (@heinz) on May 5, 2020 at 1:15pm PDT

Heinz has really nailed the branding and capitalized on it as of late. Everything from the Oscars Snub Campaign to the real placement of the Don Draper ads that were imagined in Mad Men to this 570-piece all red puzzle. Brilliance quite simply.

Yeah, yeah, I am sure you are thinking, “A puzzle? Brilliant?” Consider this…

Helsinki puzzle completion.

This all-red Heinz puzzle is truly limited edition. You can’t go down to your local Target and buy one along with your shaving cream and shampoo. Heinz has only made this one available through an online giveaway only. What’s more, there are only 57 puzzles to be had. Fifty-seven in honor of the 57 varieties of Heinz that’s labeled on every bottle.

To have a chance to own one of these beauties, you need to comment on the Heinz Instagram puzzle post, telling them who you want finish the puzzle with. From what I can see, some have already won, but there are some of the 57 are still available.

Brian Neumann, senior brand manager at Kraft Heinz Canada, told Clio Muse that, “Heinz is known for its iconic slow-pouring ketchup. In a period when everyone has a little more time on their hands and puzzle popularity has skyrocketed, we wanted to help pass the time by connecting the two. We’re always looking to deliver fun, contextually relevant ways to give our consumers a smile, and this ridiculously slow, all-red Heinz ketchup puzzle seemed like the perfect fit.”

Brilliant.

Even better (for Heinz), those who do get the puzzle will engage with Heinz for hours outside of a meal, because, well, this isn’t your typical COVID-19 afternoon activity. With all 570 pieces the identical red pantone of the famous Heinz ketchup, assembling this one will take quite a while without lines to guide you or an image for reference.

Anticipation…it’s making me wait!

The post An Uncommon Cure for the COVID-19 (Boredom) appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

The answer is…the pandemic!

But never fear, I’ve found just the person who can make everyone look cool in a mask. Meet Irena Murphy, owner and operator of Stitch Bitch Masks.

Irena-approved style…

Her story hasn’t been a simple path to beautifying a pandemic. She lost her job as a hairstylist during the shutdown of Los Angeles and leaned on her two years of tailoring and design skills acquired a lifetime ago and dusted off her sewing machine to craft masks to donate to hospitals. After running out of material and having to buy more it dawned on her that she might be onto something. If she had to buy more, why not do something different, something out of the box. She wanted to curate a look that’s “Irena Approved.” The Irena-approved look quickly moved to Etsy where she developed styles that alleviated a lot of problems she identified with other masks on the market. Then when her website Stitch Bitch Masks website launched she was quickly (and temporarily) sold out of everything. But here she is and with the world short on masks, Irena Murphy is a mask maker and a business owner.

MEDIA GUY: That’s certainly a nice career pivot. Have you always been an entrepreneur by nature?

IRENA MURPHY: I have always been an entrepreneur. I guess being a hairstylist is running your own business. But I’ve also sold other things on Etsy. I tried a small pinup headband thing for a bit and I used to make homemade lip balm, packaging, labeling selling it online and to local salons.

MG: I heard that your masks sold out immediately, why do you think yours stood out above the others?

IM: My masks did sell out immediately and it was overwhelming. I think there are a couple reasons. One, the world was seriously out of face masks. There was a call to action article in Forbes magazine last month asking seamstresses to donate to hospitals because they were out or short. Well, guess what? Regular people couldn’t get masks either. Bigger companies were starting to sell them but they were sold out too. Buying from independent people like me meant we had it on hand and were shipping out sooner than later. But there’s a ton of sellers on Etsy, I think mine did so well because they’re cool. I buy specialty fabric and I’m able to source some designs that you can’t buy at regular fabric places. I also add wire in the nose to make it more form fitting and the elastic I started using is thinner and you can tie it to adjust. I think everyone is scrambling to supply the demand. It’s like the Gold Rush now. But these companies putting out masks are not necessarily designers and they’re putting out masks that are baggy, plain, thin, generally not made well and I think people are catching on.

MG: To get everything going, you hired models for the visuals? Where did you find them?

IM: I’ve been modeling everything because of the stay-at-home order. I have to be my own model. I’ve started using a few friends, popping over and shooting them at a distance. I figure we’re all in masks so it’s a bit better!

MG: How has the transition from stylist to seamstress been?

The Stitch Bitch Ninja Mask

IM: Honesty, it’s been rough. I’ve never worked so hard in my life. (Laughs) I’d get up and start sewing and wouldn’t stop till midnight. But that’s because I’m building something new; both in learning to sew the best mask out there and also learning to grow this as a business. I finally started hiring people to help and it’s been going better! I love creating so the transition with that is easy. Creating new hair as a hairstylist, designing new masks, or creating a new business. As long as things are new and exciting I can handle it well. It’s the monotony of doing the same thing I don’t do well with.

MG: Does this give you aspirations to work on other clothing items?

IM: Yes, my God, yes! I’ve always wanted to go into fashion design. It’s the whole reason I took tailoring to begin with. I just didn’t realize how easy it was till I was pushed to do it. I haven’t had anything mass produced yet but I’ve talked with manufacturers and put together tech packs and tutorials on my sewing techniques and it’s honestly not that hard. You just need money. (Laughs) I really want to focus on masks right now and as long as that’s a need.

MG: Tell me about this vintage van you’re single-handedly remodeling.

IM: aaaahhhh hahahaha! Yes! The Dream Machine! Vanlife baby! #vannin haha! I got so obsessed with van life on Instagram. There’s something about running away and also being at home that just hooked into me. Although I’m not doing a full build out, my plan is to do a rad shagin’ wagon retro conversion that also just doubles as a sort of glamping mobile. I went down the rabbit hole of YouTube videos and learned how to do the flooring and insulation and now I’m reupholstering the walls. I was gonna work on it during the quarantine and then…started a mask business! So it’s on hold. Every now and then when I want to get away and I can’t I just go sit in there and drink my coffee. It’s nice to get out of your house, even if that means going to sit in your car. It’s also nice to have air conditioning, a rad stereo in your car and a fold out futon in your car

#VanLife

MG: You have done everything it seems—actress, writer, screenwriter, model, hair stylist, director, and now a seamstress—which is the most rewarding career choice?

IM: I have done a bit everything and I’m really hoping it all amounts to something some day They are all very useful skills in different ways. But what kind of rewarding are we talking about here? Financially rewarding or emotionally rewarding? They are usually different. I wish they were one in the same. But emotionally rewarding has to have been filmmaking. It’s something I never thought I could do and then I did it. Having an idea, a feeling or even a moment and being able to communicate that in a way that’s exactly how you feel is an amazing feeling. It’s like poetry, or maybe I’m just not the best with regular words, but when people see a film and say, “that’s how I feel!” or “I get that” or “I’ve had that conversation.” It’s all those things that connect us as people that become profound and there are so many moving parts to capture that. It’s a pretty big accomplishment. Financially rewarding? That’s yet to be seen and I really must keep this mask business going, right? So far designing something and making a company around that is like making a film. There’s a lot of moving parts. If I can keep the plates spinning It might take over as the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.

MG: Launching a business in the middle of a crisis can’t be easy in the middle of a pandemic – what were your biggest obstacles?

IM: It’s been crazy and I’m a crazy person for doing it. The biggest obstacles, of course, have been that everything is closed and no one can help me. Seriously! Fabric wholesalers or even consumer fabric shops are closed. I can order online but it’s been a guessing game as to when the supplies will actually arrive. I’ve just had to be creative and really dig for different suppliers and ultimately I’ve had to pay a lot more in both shipping and the cost of fabric and then just wait and make do with what I have. It’s also been hard because I’m picky and want to do everything. But then I tell myself something like, “Bill Gates didn’t create a huge company by demanding that he build every single computer himself…” or something like that. Plus, the world is bonkers crazy right now. These are just some of the problems with trying to grow a business in a pandemic.

MG: Staying sane during all of this – what’s your blueprint?

IM: I am not sane through any of this, let’s get that straight. I wish I had a blueprint. I used to mediate twice a day and you’d think with all this time I would be. I go to sleep with a million thoughts and I wake up with a million to do’s. I guess in a way what’s keeping me somewhat sane is that I have something else to focus on other than the crazy mess that’s going on outside. I rarely go to the grocery store or anywhere. I just make masks. It might be making me a crazy but in a better way because it’s given me a something to talk about and keep my brain turning with creative ways to run a business given the limitations. All of which are not the big overwhelming elephant in the room: The Pandemic along with the depression from loss of income, uncertainty of the future, inability to connect in person. All that isn’t on my mind because my focus has been designing the perfect mask and figuring out how I might be able to grow a business from my home.

MG: Where do you want to see this business go?


IM: I’ve worked consistently for months and put a unreasonable amount of money into this business so… I want to see this business go as far as it can! I could see this being in stores like Urban Outfitters and boutiques. And I’d like to get more sales over seas where mask culture already existed before. I’ve also made video tutorials on how to sew my designs so I could see making that available. I think it’d be so cute to make some mask and matching outfit combinations one day. But for now my immediate goals are to get out all the designs for masks I have in my head and make them available. I still have a lot of ideas for making “Summer Masks” and a retro series and even some different cuts I think would work well with different elastic combinations. So there’s a ton of possibilities!

Connect with Irena… 

Website
Instagram

The post Just Who Is That Masked Lady? appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.