About Me

Hello! I'm Laila. I taught Social Studies and Arabic for 3 years in Massachusetts as a public school teacher, and am now settled with my husband in North Carolina. Talk about a move! In addition to food posts and recipes, expect to get to know me via my occasional chat posts and check-ins and essentially whatever else is on my mind.

I grew up with four brothers, and I'm the second child out of my siblings. Growing up, I always helped my mother in the kitchen and was amazed at how delicious meals came to fruition. As the years passed, I found myself watching The Food Network religiously and jotting down recipes and techniques that I'd see my favorite celebrity chefs make. I would immediately take myself to the kitchen and recreate what I just saw. But I found myself running into some issues. For starters... bacon? Ham? Sausage? Alcohol? I can't use any of that! Islam prohibits us from eating any pork products and anything containing alcohol, and as a Muslim, I have abided by that my whole life. So, I took matters into my own hands and worked my way around recipes and found myself developing and creating my own dishes that accommodated my religious diet and were just as delicious.

Through tons of recipe testing, LOTS of trials and errors, and the support of my family and friends, I have always been encouraged to continue to pursue my passion for cooking and baking. And with the support of my husband (my biggest fan!), I started this blog. I will also forever be indebted to my brothers, family, students, and coworkers who were always willing to taste-test my food and always reported back to me with great feedback, suggestions, or constructive criticism. They helped shape me into the skilled food maker I am today.

I hope you will all learn from me and I hope to learn from you all as well! Please always feel free to leave a comment on my posts. I'd love to get to know you all!