Turkish Delight

Gluten Free, Low Sugar Date Nut Balls

2011-12-26T12:13:00.001-05:00

Here's a recipe from my childhood that I updated to my new health standards. The recipe was always gluten free, but by using coconut sugar with its lower glycemic index (35 compared to table sugar at 80), I was able to make it a refined-sugar-free treat. (Note that it still contains natural sugars in the dates, coconut sugar, and coconut.)

As a child, my mother and I made these every year as a special Christmas gift for my Great-Aunt Sophie, who loved them. After she died, we went several years without making them at all. I recently began shopping at a new Mid-East store where I can get dates quite cheap, so decided to try this recipe again and update it.

My kids LOVED it! The first batch got gobbled up so quickly. And I was able to share them in Christmas goody bags as well. I think even Aunt Sophie would approve.

I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

8 oz dates, pitted and chopped
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
3/4 - 1 cup coconut (palm) sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
If you opt for less sugar, you may want to supplement with 4 tiny scoops stevia (using the scooper inside, or whatever 4 servings is of your choice of stevia)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup nuts (I used walnuts, but use your favorite)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
2 cups puffed rice (preferably brown rice w/ no added sugar!)
plus about 2 tablespoons each of the coconut and coconut sugar mixed together to roll balls in

Directions:

Combine the dates, butter, coconut sugar, and stevia (optional) in a pot and cook on medium until the butter melts and the mixture begins to boil. Stirring constantly, cook the mixture 4 minutes more. Remove from heat.

In the pot, add the vanilla, chopped nuts, and coconut and stir to combine. Cool for a few minutes. Add the puffed rice and stir.

While the mixture is warm enough to work with, but not so hot to the touch, form the mixture into small balls and roll in the coconut/coco sugar mixture. You may want to coat your hands with a bit of butter for the rolling.

Makes about 3 dozen, depending on the size of your balls. Store these in an airtight container...if they make it that long!

Also, for any writer or Harry Potter fans among you, I'm offering a free book on Kindle through Dec. 28 -- The Boy Who Lived Comes to Die, a literary analysis of the final chapters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for writers and fans.

Pickled Jerusalem Artichokes

2011-12-15T14:14:00.000-05:00

If there's one thing Southerners and Turks can agree on, it's a love of a variety of pickles, or tursu as they are called in Turkey.

Here's an unusual but delicious recipe for pickled Jerusalem artichokes that I think would satisfy both Western and Mid-Eastern palates. It's from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee; Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-Be Southerners.

Makes 2 pints
Time: 4 hours soaking, 45 minutes preparation

Equipment:
2 pint-sized, wide-mouth Ball jars, with rims and lids

Ingredients:
1 3/4 pounds Jerusalem artichokes, washed and patted dry
1 quart water
2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 cups cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon coriander seed
3 whole allspice berries
1/2 teaspoon whole red peppercorns (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 dried red hot chiles (Thai or chiles de arbol)

Directions:
1) Bring a 3-quart pot, three quarters full of water, to a boil. Carefully set the jars on their sides, along with their lids and a slotted metal spoon, in the boiling water to sterilize. Allow to boil for 15 minutes then remove from the water carefully with a pair of tongs or a jar lifter and set aside.

2) Peel and trim the artichokes, separating them into smaller lobes. Cut them further down into chunks that are sized about halfway between a chestnut and a grape (you should end up with about 4 cups of artichoke chunks).

3) In a bowl, combine the artichokes with the quart of water and one tablespoon of the salt, stir to dissolve, and soak for 4 hours on a shady countertop or overnight in the refrigerator. Then drain and rinse the artichokes and pat them dry with paper towels or a clean dishcloth.

4) Bring the vinegar and the cup of water to a boil in a 3-quart stockpot with the remaining salt, the sugar, and all the spices except the red chiles, and boil for 4 minutes. The steaming-hot vinegar brine will become fragrant as it steeps the spices, but its viscosity will still be quite thin.

5) Using the slotted spoon, place one pepper in each of the jars, then carefully pack the jars with the artichokes and carefully pour the hot vinegar brine over the artichokes up to 1/2 inch below the neck. Divide any spices that remain in the pan between the jars. Seal the jars, allow to cool, and store in the refrigerator. Pickled artichokes will keep for about 4 weeks in the refrigerator.

Pumpkin Soup with Yogurt

2011-11-20T18:20:00.000-05:00

With Autumn and cold weather here, I love making soups. And as Thanksgiving approaches, I'm already making plans for creative ways to put leftover pumpkin to good use.

Here's a delightful Turkish recipe from The Complete Book of Turkish Cooking by Ghillie Basan where you can introduce a new spin to your old pumpkin recipes.

This simple pureed soup -- Bal Kabagi Corbasi -- is a great winter treat. Pumpkin seller set up their stalls in the streets and deftly peel and seed huge wedges of pumpkin for passers-by... Traditionally, a melted butter is drizzled over the top. -- Gillie Basan

Serves three to four.

Ingredients:

1 kg / 2 1/4 lb prepared pumpkin flesh, cut into cubes
1 litre / 1 3/4 pint / 4 cups chicken stock
10 ml / 2 tsp sugar
25g / 1 oz / 2 tbsp butter, or ghee
60-75 ml / 4-5 tbsp thick and creamy natural (plain) yogurt
salt and ground black pepper

Cook's Tip:
If pumpkins are not in season, you can use butternut squash instead.

Directions:

1) Put the pumpkin cubes into a pan with the stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender.

2) Liquidize (blend) the soup in a blender, or use a potato masher to mash the flesh. Return the soup to the pan and bring it to a boil again. (I love using my hand blender for this, keeping the soup in the pot as I do so.)

3) Add the sugar to the pan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep the pan over a low heat while you gently melt the butter or ghee in a small pan over a low heat.

4) Pour the soup into a tureen, or ladle it into individual serving bowls. Swirl a little yogurt on to the surface of the soup and drizzle the melted butter over the top.

5) Serve immediately, offering extra yogurt so that you can enjoy the contrasting burst of sweet and tart in each mouthful.

Nutritional Info:
Per portion:
Energy: 97 kcal / 406 kJ
Protein: 2.6 g
Carbohydrates: 9.3 g, of which sugars 8g
Fat: 5.8 g, of which saturates 3.6 g
Cholesterol: 14 mg
Calcium: 104 mg
Fibre: 2.5 g
Sodium: 51 mg

Squash & Carrot Tarator

2011-08-10T14:10:00.001-05:00

My it's been forever since I updated this blog! I got busy with writing, work, and other projects and sort of let this slide.

But recently I've been very into fermenting. Uh, not me...milk. I had access to fresh milk and started making cheese for the first time as well as revisiting other milk ferments I used to do frequently, like kefir and yogurt. So, I decided it was about time that I start sharing again.

Today, however, I'm not starting with a cheese but with a Turkish meze dish my husband made the other night for the first time, and I've been so in love with it that I've made it three times since. And it's easy! All it is is sauteed vegetables with yogurt-garlic sauce.

I'm sure there's lots of variations, but here's how he did it:

Ingredients:

onion - 2 small or 1 large, minced
garlic - about 6 cloves, pressed or finely chopped
carrot - 4-5, finely grated
zucchini - 3-4, finely shredded
olive oil - 1/3 - 1/2 cup
salt - couple of teaspoons
plain yogurt - about 2 cups (or more)

Directions:

Basically, you just saute the vegetables until soft, let them cook, then mix them with an abundance of yogurt-garlic sauce.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet, then add the onion and let cook a few mins. Add garlic and cook another minute more, then add chopped/shredded carrots and the zucchini. Let them all cook together until soft, about 20 - 25 mins.

Remove from heat and let cool. In the meanwhile you can mix up a batch of yogurt-garlic sauce which is a few minced garlic cloves and about a teaspoon of salt mixed in 2-3 cups of plain yogurt (the best you can get! or make!)

When the veges are cool, mix with the sauce, let sit a bit or cook in the fridge. This is a meze which is typically served before meals, but I love it so much that I've been making it as a side-dish and a snack to have any time.

Here's a picture of a tarator someone else made just with carrots to give you and idea of the mix of veges to yogurt: Havuc Tarator

Two Cheese Risotto

2008-12-05T20:08:00.002-05:00

I love rich rice dishes in the winter, and this is hearty enough to serve as a light meal.

This undeniably rich and creamy risotto is just the thing to serve on cold winter evenings when everyone needs warming up.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:
1 litre / 3/4 pints / 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
7.5 ml / 1 1/2 tsp olive oil
50 g / 2 oz / 1/4 cup butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
275 g / 10 oz / 1 1/2 cups risotto rice, preferably Vialone Nano
175 ml / 6 fl oz / 3/4 cup dry white wine
75 g / 3 oz / 3/4 cup Fontina cheese, cubed
50 g / 2 oz / 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra, to serve
sea salt and ground black pepper

Directions:
1) Heat the stock in a pan and leave to simmer until needed.

2) Heat the olive oil with half the butter in a pan and gently fry the onion and garlic for 5-6 minutes, until soft. Add the rice and cook, stirring all the time, until the grains are coated in fat and have become slightly translucent around the edges.

3) Pour in the white wine. Cook, stirring, until it has been absorbed, then add a ladleful of hot stock. Cook, stirring, until the stock has been absorbed. Gradually add the remaining stock, a little at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the liquid before adding more, and stirring constantly.

4) When the rice is half cooked, stir in the Fontina cheese, and continue cooking and adding stock gradually. Keep stirring.

5) When the risotto is creamy and the grains are tender but still al dente, stir in the remaining butter and the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, then remove the pan from the heat. Cover and leave to stand for 3-4 minutes before serving

Variation:
Stir in a handful of chopped fresh herbs with the Parmesan.

This recipe is from Italy's 500 Best-Ever Recipes edited by Jeni Wright.

Fresh Fig, Apple & Date Dessert

2008-11-29T19:48:00.000-05:00

This dessert is totally out of season now, but with such a low sugar content, only in the marzipan, I just couldn't resist posting it.

Sweet Mediterranean figs and dates combine especially well with crisp dessert apples to create this appetizing dessert. A hint of almond serves to unite the flavours.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

6 large apples
juice of 1/2 lemon
175g / 6 oz fresh dates
25g / 1 oz white marzipan
5 ml / 1 tsp orange flower water
60 ml / 4 tbsp natural yogurt
4 ripe green or purple fresh figs
4 whole almonds, toasted

Directions:

1) Core the apples. Slice them thinly, then cut into thin matchsticks. Put into a bowl, sprinkle with lemon juice to keep them white and set aside.

2) Remove and discard the stones from the dates and cut the flesh into thin strips, then combine with the apple slices. Toss to mix.

3) In a small bowl, soften the marzipan with the orange flower water and combine this with the yogurt. Mix well.

4) Pile the mixed apples and dates into the centre of four plates. Remove and discard the stem from each of the figs and cut the fruit into quarters without cutting right through the base. Squeeze the base with the thumb and forefinger of each hand to open up the fruit.

5) Place a fig in the centre of each apple and date salad, spoon in some yogurt filling and decorate each portion with a toasted almond. Serve.

Cook's Tip:
When choosing fresh dates, select those that are fat and shiny, with skins that are golden and smooth. You may wish to remove the skin by squeezing the stem end, but the figs, however, have thin skins that are edible.

This recipe is from Italy's 500 Best-Ever Recipes edited by Jeni Wright.

Heaven and Earth

2008-11-18T09:57:00.004-05:00

or Himmel und Erde in German.

I love traditional foods. I enjoy learning about other cultures. And I'm fascinated with history. All these interests are satisfied in a fabulous cookbook my sister gave me years ago -- Elisabeth Luard's The Old World Kitchen. Actually, I don't think my sister so much as gave it to me as that I borrowed it and never returned it! :-) Then, much later, she said I could keep it. Thanks, sis!

Here's a very simple, traditional German recipe that combines three distinctive flavors, potatoes, apples, and bacon. For the bacon, I recommend if at all possible that you get some locally raised, pastured, without the nitrates and nitrites.

The German kitchen has some particularly good potato recipes, inluding delicious pancakes made with raw grated potatoes and served with apples or stewed fruit; and an excellent dish known as "Heaven and Earth" which mixes boiled potatoes with apples and crisp fried bacon. This mixture of fruit and vegetables, sweet and sour, is characteristic of northern country cooking -- Holland, Belgium, Alsace, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Scandinavia all have similar mixtures. Immigrants to America, particularly the German and Dutch settlers in Pennsylvania, took their sweet-salt dishes with them and adapted the recipes to local ingredients. The resident Indians already used sweet maple syrup to dress their meat. Thence developed those peculiarly American dishes such as pumpkin-and-marshmallow pie to eat with the Thanksgiving turkey. Waffles with maple syrup and bacon, even the peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich, belong to the same tradition.

This makes an excellent supper or light luncheon dish.

Serves 4

Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2 pounds (6 medium-sized) potatoes
2 pounds apples
one 8-ounce slab of bacon in thick (1/4 inch) slices

Directions:

You will need a large saucepan and a small frying pan. If the potatoes are new and small, you merely need to wash them. If they are old, peel them closely and quarter them. Put them to boil in plenty of salted water. Peel and cut the apples into chunks the size of the potato pieces. Add them to the potatoes after 10 minutes. Finish cooking both together. By the time the potatoes are cooked, the apples will be soft but still holding their shape.

Meanwhile, dice the bacon and fry it in its own fat. Drain the cooked apples and potatoes. Pile them into a hot dish and scatter the crisp bacon, with its cooking juices, over the top. Serve immediately.

Suggestions:

Cook 1 pound of fresh sausage (bratwurst would be most appropriate) with the bacon. Serve all together.

Fry a handful of fresh bread crumbs in the bacon fat until crisp and golden. Scatter of the potatoes.

Rhonda's Apple Butter

2008-10-22T20:15:00.001-05:00

(Image from http://www.organicgardenfood.com/rts/index.asp?action=page&name=14690&siteid=1507).

Fall! Apple Season!! ! Make your own healthier version of apple butter. With a slow cooker, it's easy.

Makes about 2 pints apple butter.

Ingredients:
4 lbs. apples
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves

Directions:
1) Peel, core, and slice apples. Place in slow cooker.
2) Cover. Cook on high 2-3 hours. Reduce to low and cook 8 hours. Apples should be a rich brown and be cooked down by half.
3) Stir in spices. Cook on high 2-3 hours with lid off. Stir until smooth.
4) Pour into freezer containers and freeze, or into sterilized jars and seal.

This recipe is from Rhonda Burgoon in the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook.

Rice with Lamb, Carrots, Onions and Spices

2008-10-05T09:01:00.002-05:00

Lamb, rice, and yogurt go awesomely wonderful together. Here's an ancient dish that is as nutritious as it is delicious. It's also fairly easy to prepare. And alternate method to that described below -- instead of precooking the lamb, saute the cubed lamb along with the onions, garlic and oil before adding the rice and the other ingredients. This will allow the lambs' natural juices to add flavor to the rest of the rice.

The recipe below is from Ghillie Basan's The Complete Book of Turkish Cooking All the Ingredients, Techniques and Traditions of an Ancient Cuisine.

An ancient Mongolian dish and a great Anatolian favourite, this pilaff -- Kasgar Pilav -- is cooked in a large pan and eaten communally with yogurt as a meal on its own. As you travel further east in Turkey, variations of this dish appear under different names, identifying it with Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan.

Serves four

Ingredients:

30 ml / 2 Tbsp ghee, or olive oil with a knob (pat) butter
2 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
about 450 g / 1 lb cooked lamb, cubed
2 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
350 g / 12 oz / 1 3/4 cups long grain (brown) rice, rinsed and thoroughly drained
5 ml / 1 tsp ground cinnamon
10 ml / 2 tsp ground allspice
1 litre / 1 3/4 pints / 4 cups lamb or chicken stock
sea salt and ground black pepper
a few parsley sprigs, to garnish
thick and creamy natural (plain) yogurt, to serve

Directions:

1) Heat the ghee, or olive oil and butter, in a heavy pan and stir in the onions and garlic. Cook until they begin to colour. Toss in the cubed lamb and cook for 1-2 minutes, then stir in the carrots.

2) Toss in the rice with the spices and pour in the stock.

3) Stir the rice and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and boil for 1-2 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes (for brown rice this will be around 30 minutes), or until all the liquid has been absorbed.

4) Turn off the heat, cover the pan with a clean dish towel and place the lid on top. Leave to steam for 10-15 minutes.

5) Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with the parsley sprigs and serve with dollops of creamy natural yogurt.

Per Portion:
energy 621 kcal / 2590 kJ
protein 30 g
carbohydrate 77.1g, of which sugars 4.2g
fat 21.2g, of which saturates 9.5g
cholesterol 86 mg
calcium 51 mg
fibre 1.1g
sodium 100 mg

Ancient Quince Wine

2008-09-29T10:12:00.007-05:00

Image from http://www.allotment.org.uk/greenhouse/fruit/assets/quince.jpg.

I have a new cookbook which delights both my love of healthy foods and history. It's Roman Cookery: Ancient Recipes for Modern Kitchens by Mark Grant. I see Amazon has a new revised version listed with a different cover than mine, but I'm assuming the recipes will be the same.

I love fermented beverages, both for their health and their nutrition. This one is from Bassus in the tenth century AD, in Geoponica (Country Matters), which refers to sources from more ancient writers. This fruit wine is quite easy to prepare even today.

Oinos Dia Melon

"Put the sweetest smelling quinces into an earthenware jar and pour over some wine. Then, having poured over the wine, leave for three days, and use on the fourth."
-- from Bassus in Country Matters

Quinces have a most attractive scent when ripening on the tree. For this drink you really need freshly picked quinces, as those bought in shops have already lost that heady aroma. This capturing of the perfume of a fruit recalls an Italian dessert described by Elizabeth David which consists merely of placing a peeled and sliced peach in a glass of wine. Quinces, however, have too much tannin in them for this, and I think they impart a finer flavour if left whole in the wine.

Ingredients:

1 bottle sweet white wine
3 fresh quinces

Directions:

Wash the quinces in cold water. Decant the wine into a glass jar with a lid. Place the quinces in the wine, seal the jar and leave for three days. The wine will have a strong bouquet of quinces for serving with a dessert.

Turkish Music

2008-09-03T13:19:00.004-05:00

Take a music break and watch this music video from one of my favorite Turkish artists, Mustafa Sandal. Enjoy the sites around Turkey, especially Istanbul.

This one is a bit different, but interesting.

Green Beans with Tomatoes and Dill

2008-08-21T09:01:00.002-05:00

Here's one of my favorite ways to fix green beans. This recipe is especially good with the broad, flat type of green bean.

This is a delicious "olive oil" dish. As part of a meze spread, it is served at room temperature, but in a Turkish home, it may be served hot as a side dish to accompany grilled, broiled or barbecued poultry and meat, or as a main course with a dollop of creamy yogurt. When runner beans are in season, it is a favourite family meal, served with yogurt and lots of warm, fresh crusty bread to mop up the sauce. The taste of fresh dill is an essential part of the dish. These olive oil dishes, which have survived from the Ottoman Empire, include leeks cooked in olive oil, celeriac, green beans, artichokes, and borlotti beans.

Ingredients:

1-2 onions, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
30-45 ml / 2-3 tbsp olive oil
500 g / 1 1/4 lb stringless runner (green) beans, trimmed and each cut into 3-4 pieces
15 ml / 1 tbsp honey or a sprinkle of stevia
2 x 400 g / 14 oz cans chopped tomatoes
a handful of fresh dill, roughly chopped
sea salt and ground pepper

Directions:

1) Put the onions, garlic and oil in a wide heavy pan and stir over a low heat until they soften. Toss in the beans, coating them in the onions and oil, then stir in the sugar and lemon juice.

2) Add the tomatoes and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and add the dill. Cook gently for 35-40 minutes, or until the beans are tender and the tomato sauce is fairly thick.

3) Season with sea salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Serves 4 (as a main dish)

From Turkish Cooking: Classic traditions, Fresh ingredients, Authentic flavours, Aromatic recipes by Ghillie Basan.

Home-Style Tomato Juice

2008-08-05T20:23:00.001-05:00

Now that tomatoes are so plentiful, here's a great way to make your own tomato juice.

Makes 4-5 1-cup servings.

Ingredients:
10-12 large tomatoes
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. sugar

Directions:
1) Wash and drain tomatoes. Remove cores and blossom ends. Place in slow cooker.
2) Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours,or until tomatoes are soft.
3) Press through sieve or food mill.
4) Stir in seasonings. Chill.

This recipe is from Jean Butzer in Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook.

Cacik -- Cold Cucumber Soup

2008-07-04T10:42:00.001-05:00

Happy July 4th! In celebration of this year's holiday, I'm going to repost a recipe from last year's July 4th. We're eating a lot of cacik this year. With the heat and fresh cucumbers and garlic, this cold Turkish soup just can't be beat. My kids guzzle this down. I can never make enough.

Ingredients:

3 medium cucumbers (400 g)
3 cups yogurt (plain, good quality) (770 g)
2 cloves garlic (6 g)
2 teaspoons sea salt (12 g)
1 cup water (250 g)
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil (20 g)
3-4 sprigs dill (10 g)

Directions:

Combine finely chopped or shredded cucumber with yogurt. Mix thoroughly. Add crushed garlic. Season with sea salt. Dilute with cold water. Mix well.

Pour into individual serving bowls. Sprinkle with olive oil. Garnish with coarsely chopped dill.

Chill and serve.

Cultural Notes:
This soup is a popular way of serving cucumbers and yogurt all over the country. Served with meat dishes, pilafs or boreks. In winter, lettuce or shredded carrot is used instead of cucumbers. dried mint is substituted for dill.

This recipe is from Samples from Turkish Cuisine by Ayse Baysal.

Pesto

2008-06-25T08:57:00.002-05:00

We've got fresh basil in the garden! And with fresh basil, you have to make pesto.

I love pesto because it's so easy and delicious AND nutritious. Plus my kids gobble it down.

Ingredients:
2-3 cups fresh basil
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic
3-4 TBSP pine nuts
1/4 cut up hard cheese, like Parmesan

Directions:
Here's the hard part -- place all the ingredients in a large capacity food processor and turn it on. Gosh, I'm tired. :-)

Serve over your favorite pasta and enjoy!

Roast Garlic with Goat's Cheese Pate

2008-06-15T22:54:00.003-05:00

This recipe is from Italy's 500 Best-Ever Recipes, edited by Jeni Wright.

This pate is particularly good made with the new season's walnuts, sometimes known as "wet" walnuts, which are available in the early autumn.

Serves 4

4 large garlic bulbs
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
8 fresh thyme sprigs
60 ml / 4 tbsp olive oil
4-8 slices sourdough bread
sea salt and ground black pepper
shelled walnuts and fresh thyme sprigs, to garnish

For the pate:
200 g / 7 oz / scant 1 cup soft goat's cheese
5 ml / 1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
15 ml / 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
50 g / 2 oz / 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
15 ml / 1 tbsp walnut oil (optional)

1) Preheat the oven to 180 c / 350 f / gas 4. Strip the papery skin from the garlic bulbs and place in an oven proof dish large enough to hold them snugly. Tuck in the rosemary and thyme sprigs, drizzle the olive oil over and season with a little sea salt and plenty of ground black pepper.

2) Cover the garlic tightly with foil and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes, opening the parcel and basting once halfway through the cooking time. Set aside and leave to cool.

3) Preheat the grill (broiler). To make the pate, cream the cheese with the thyme, parsley and walnuts. Beat in 15 ml / 1 tbsp of the cooking oil from the garlic and season to taste with black pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and chill until ready to serve.

4) Brush the bread slices on one side with the remaining cooking oil from the garlic, then grill (broil) until lightly toasted.

5) Divide the pate among four individual plates, drizzle with walnut oil, if using, and sprinkle with black pepper. Add some garlic to each plate, garnish with shelled walnuts and thyme sprigs, then serve with toasted bread.

Energy 371Kcal / 1534 kj; fat 32.7 g; saturated fat 11.3 g; carbohydrate 5.1 g; fibre 1.7 g

Dilled New Potatoes

2008-05-15T10:52:00.001-05:00

Now that the small, red new potatoes are coming in, as well as the dill in my garden, I'm discovering a great way to serve the two together. The dill adds a delightful touch to a basic buttered potato recipe to really herb it up.

Ingredients:
red new potatoes
butter
sea salt
pepper
bunch of fresh dill
chives

Directions:
Cut potatoes in chunks and boil until soft. Transfer to serving bowl and toss with butter, sea salt and pepper to taste. Then top it all off with a bunch of minced dill and chives.

Greek Chicken in Slow Cooker

2008-05-07T11:03:00.000-05:00

Here's an easy, healthy dinner that can be started in the morning and ready when you come home.

Ingredients:
4-6 potatoes, quartered
2-3 lbs. chicken pieces
2 large onions, quartered
1 whole bulb garlic, minced
3 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions:
1) Place potatoes in bottom of slow cooker. Add chicken, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle with seasonings. Top with oil.
2) Cover. Cook on high 5-6 hours, or on low 9-10 hours.

This recipe is from Judy Govotsus in Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook.

Happy Children's Day

2008-04-23T11:19:00.003-05:00

Today is Children's Day in Turkey -- a national holiday established by the Republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, to celebrate children and help their elders to remember it is our responsibility to guarantee them a peaceful future.

Children's Day is celebrated in Turkey with children taking the lead in some government offices, folk dances, parades, and kids get this -- NO SCHOOL!

So, happy Children's Day, one and all, to kids in Turkey, China, Ethiopia, Iraq, US, and everywhere!

Slow Cooker Chicken Broth

2008-04-03T10:47:00.002-05:00

Here's a great recipe for fixing a healthy chicken broth in a slow cooker.

Makes about 6 cups broth.

bony chicken pieces from 2 chickens
1 onion, quartered
3 whole cloves, optional
3 ribs celery, cut up
1 carrot, quartered
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 cups water

1) Place chicken in slow cooker.
2) Stud onion with cloves. Add to slow cooker with other ingredients.
3) Cover. Cook on high 4-5 hours, or medium 6-8 hours.
4) Remove chicken and vegetables. Discard vegetables. Debone chicken. Cut up meat and add to broth. Use as stock for soups.

This recipe is from Ruth Conrad Liechty in Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook.

Bodrum

2008-03-18T07:25:00.001-05:00

Spring is coming to North Carolina and with it my thoughts turn to springtime and summers along the coast in Turkey. So, I thought I'd share some beautiful, inspiring pictures with you.

(http://www.living-turkey.com/living_in_bodrum/bests_of_bodrum.htm)

Bodrum is my favorite city in Turkey, and someday we hope to have a vacation home there. Located where the Aegean meets the Mediterranean, Bodrum is a lovely city of low-rise white-washed buildings, beautiful mountain-meets-sea vistas, and an eclectic menagerie of local Turks, artistic liberal Turks who have chosen to make their home here, and tourists from all over the world, especially western and northern Europe.

Home of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world -- the mausoleum -- one of the biggest site-seeing opportunities is the Crusader castle located in the center of the harbor. Many of the mausoleum's columns and building blocks were recycled into the building of the castle.

http://e-turkey.net/v/mugla_bodrum_peninsula/bodrum_halicarnassos_castle3.jpg.html?g2_GALLERYSID=265fc66e903280c485cda6c08dc400c0

Bodrum provides an excellent central location from which to explore the abundant ruins dotting Turkey's ample Aegean and Mediterranean coastline. Within a few hours drive, you can view the tomb and church of St. Nicholas, explore the immense ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus, or head inland to the wonderful natural thermal spas of Pamukkale. Or you can hop on a boat and cruise the Turkish Riviera, including many nearby Greek islands.

http://www.zephyriayachting.com.tr/burcu_zafer.htm

I know I sound like a travel agent, but I love this city. If you ever get a chance to go -- take me along and I'll be your tour guide! :-)

Chicks!

2008-03-06T13:06:00.006-05:00

Ahh, springtime madness. I have 75 of these temporarily peeping away in my living room. (In a chick-box, of course)!

Turkish Tea -- Cay

2008-02-19T10:05:00.009-05:00

It seems incredible to me that I've posted here for a year and a half, almost 70 entries, without once posting Turkish tea! Maybe because it's so common place to me now, we drink it every single morning, that I've started to take Turkish tea for granted.

Growing up in the South, as a child I never imagined that anyone would drink tea other than the way I always had, ice-cold and heavily sweetened. Then my family took a trip to Canada and at a restaurant ordered our normal tea. We all looked at each other surprised when we were served hot tea. The beginning of cultural awareness for me. :-)

In Turkey, tea is the life-blood of the nation, and most certainly of the economy. People outside of Turkey hear a lot about Turkish coffee, but that is usually drunk mostly in the evenings, after dinner, as a dessert drink, and usually on special occasions, not an every-day beverage. Tea, however, is consumed all day long, continuously, several glasses per person.

When visiting Turkey, you'll be invited to drink tea in every home you visit and every shop or place of business you enter if you're spending much time there (especially if you're buying a carpet). You'll see tea sellers (caydanliks) carrying their swinging tea trays going from shop to shop, business to business, selling their freshly prepared tea. The economy would come to a halt if the tea supply was wiped out.

I heard a funny joke once about a lion who escaped from the Ankara zoo and hid in the bottom floor of the parliament building in downtown Ankara. He caught and ate the Turkish Prime Minister first, and no one noticed. Then he gobbled down a couple of other party leaders and important bureaucrats. Still, no one was interested. He munched on some newspaper editors and business CEO's. No one cared. But when he made a snack out of the cayci (the tea seller) the city got up in arms, searching and scouring each building until they found and captured the missing lion.

No one messes with a Turk's tea and lives to tell the tale. :-)

Turkish tea is always served freshly made, very hot, in small tulip-shaped glasses, which permit the drinker to absorb the warmth of the tea into their palm while admiring the amber-colored liquid. It is also prepared in a Turkish teapot (caydanlik), which is a double-boiler teapot with a smaller kettle which sits on top of a larger one. I've often seen both Turkish teapots and tea glasses in Middle Eastern groceries and markets here in the US. Or simply use your double boiler.

Ingredients:

water
tea (in Turkey, everyone uses loose-leaf black tea, but bagged tea will work)

Directions:

Fill the bottom kettle with cold water. To the top kettle, add one well-rounded teaspoon of tea (or one teabag) per serving desired. Place top kettle on top and heat on stove until the water boils in the bottom. Lower the heat in the bottom kettle and continue boiling for about 5 minutes. This heats the tealeaves in the upper kettle before adding water.

Then add water from the bottom kettle to the top, about 3-5 ounces per serving, leaving at least half the water in the bottom kettle. Return both pots to position and continue brewing on low heat for at least another 10 minutes.

When you serve, pour the tea from the top pot into each tea glass until about half full, then top it off with the hot water from the bottom tea pot. In this manner, individual preferences as to how strong or light someone wishes their tea can be fulfilled. For those who prefer a lighter tea, simply pour more water and less tea.

Sweeten with stevia, if desired, and enjoy while hot!

Notes:

If using loose-leaf tea, you can use a strainer to ensure that no leaves get into your tea glass. However, once a pot of tea has been properly prepared, most of the leaves will have settled to the bottom and not much will enter the glass. If you still have leaves floating on the top of your brewing tea, then it probably hasn't brewed enough.

Preparing tea in this manner gently heats the tea, releasing its full flavor, without harshly boiling or scalding the tea leaves.

Other Options:

Recently we've been adding a few cloves and about an inch of cinnamon bark to our tea as it steeps. I really love the tea like this, and one of my daughter's friends guzzles it by the gallon when she visits she likes it so much. Others like to add lemon to their tea.

Experiment with different spices and enjoy!

Acili Bulgur Pilavi -- Bulgur Pilaf with Peppers and Tomatoes

2008-02-12T13:50:00.006-05:00

I remember having bulgur served in this manner in Turkey several times, and always thought it was fabulous. But when I tried to fix it on my own, I never quite got it right. This recipe, however, from a new cookbook I recently bought (Sultan's Kitchen by Ozcan Ozan) is just perfect. I fixed this dish last night for my family, and my kids just devoured it. I'd increased the recipe to have some leftovers for lunches -- but there were none!

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted clarified butter (I used olive oil)
1 large Spanish onion, diced (1 cup)
1 small Italian green pepper, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
1 1/2 cups coarse-grain bulgur, washed and drained
3 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped (2 cups)
2 1/2 teaspoons Turkish red pepper or ground pepper paste **see note below
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or hot water
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley

Directions:

In a heavy, medium-size saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat and cook the onion gently for 2 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it's softened but not brown. Stir in the green pepper, bulgur, tomatoes, Turkish red pepper, and stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat, cover the saucepan, and cook gently for about 15 minutes, or until the bulgur has absorbed all the liquid. Let the mixture stand, covered, for about 5 minutes; then stir in the parsley, and serve.

Note:

The Turkish red pepper or ground red pepper he's talking about is usually not a very hot pepper, but extremely flavorful. The pepper paste, which is very popular in Turkey and good in this dish, is called biber salci, and can be found in many Middle Eastern grocery stores, or online at the link below:

Baked Ricotta Cakes with Red Sauce

2008-02-04T07:02:00.000-05:00

There are so few really good dessert recipes that don't use white flour and sugar, but here's one. These cakes are delicious, but if you're trying to loose weight, you might want to use less honey and add stevia.

These honey-flavoured desserts take only minutes to make from a few ingredients. The fragrant fruity sauce provides a contrast of both colour and flavour. The red berry sauce can be made a day in advance and chilled until ready to use.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

250 g/9 oz/generous 1 cup ricotta cheese
2 egg whites, beaten
60 ml/4 tbsp scented honey, plus extra to taste
450 g/1 lb/4 cups mixed fresh or frozen fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and cherries

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 180 c/350 f/gas 4. Place the ricotta cheese in a bowl and break up with a wooden spoon. Add the beaten egg whites and honey, and mix thoroughly until smooth and well combined.

2) Lightly grease four ramekins. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the prepared ramekins and level the tops. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the ricotta cakes are risen and golden.

3) Meanwhile, make the fruit sauce. Reserve about one-quarter of the fruit for decoration. Place the rest of the fruit in a pan, with a little water if the fruit is fresh, and heat gently until softened. Leave to cool slightly and remove any stone (pits) if using cherries.

4) Press the fruit through a sieve (strainer) (or puree in a processor), then taste and sweeten with honey if it is too tart. Serve the sauce, warm or cold, with the ricotta cakes and decorate each serving with the reserved whole mixed fruit.

Cook's Tip:
If using frozen fruit, you will not need to add extra water, as the fruit usually yields its juice easily on thawing.

This recipe is from Italy's 500 Best-Ever Recipes, edited by Jeni Wright.

Ode to Kokorec and the Southern - Turkish Bond

2008-01-18T10:29:00.000-05:00

Turks and Southerners have a lot in common. I've learned this well over the 23 years since I first met a Turk and started experiencing Turkish culture. For one, both American Southerners and Turks like to stuff their guests with food. I'd never met anyone who could compete with my Southern grandma for number of dishes she set on a dinner table...until I met my Turkish mother-in-law. Honestly, I think my grandma still comes out the winner, but not by much, and that's mainly because Grandma had a bigger table allowing her to cover more space.

Two, Turks take great pride in their cuisine, just like Southerners do--and both rightly so. The Turkish cook prides herself on a wide variety of fresh ingredients prepared in a healthy and delicious manner. All types of greens are cooked or eaten raw in salad, even those many consider weeds, such as arugula (roka), purslane (semizotu) and tere--a type of cress. The Southerner can identify with this with our love of collards, mustard and turnip greens, and for some, even poke salad. It's also been my experience that most Turks and Southerners love to cook their vegetables until practically mush. "Al dente" has no meaning here.

And finally, Turks eat lamb like Southerners eat pork--every part of it prepared in many different ways, including--some of you guys may want to cover your eyes a sec--the testicles. You may find this hard to believe, but the food my son enjoyed the most in Turkey this past summer was kokorec -- a street sandwich made of roasted lamb's intestines, sprinkled with cumin and red pepper and served on a half-loaf of warmed crusty bread. Kokorec is the Turkish version of chitterlings (commonly called chit'lins), or vice versa since the kokorec propabably predates chit'lins.

I've eaten both. I like kokorec better. But then chit'lins might be just as good if they were roasted. The only way I've had them before was boiled and then fried. And it's been years since I've eaten chit'lins, not since my Grandma died.

So, if you get a chance to visit Turkey, look for a street vendor like the one above, and don't hesitate. Set any queasiness aside and enjoy this humble delicacy. For Southerner and Turk alike, kokorec and chit'lins are a traditional food of the country person, the poor, those who couldn't let a scrap of food or any part of the animal go to waste.

Just for fun, here's a YouTube video showing the rhythm of preparing kokorec:

And finally, here's an interesting article on the Turks' love of kokorec that you might find interesting.

Meatballs with Porcini

2008-01-08T07:54:00.000-05:00

Here's another recipe from Italy's 500 Best-ever Recipes. I'd never had porcini before, and thought these meatballs were fabulous!

These meatballs, flavoured with Italian mushrooms, are delicious served hot with pasta or rice. They are also good cold as picnic food.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

7.5 g / 1/4 oz/ 2 tbsp dried porcini mushrooms
150 ml / 1/4 pint / 2/3 cup warm water
450 g / 1 lb / 2 cups lean minced (ground) beef
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
60 ml / 4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
45 ml / 3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 egg
90 ml / 6 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs (whole grain)
30 ml / 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
60 ml / 4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, very finely chopped
50 ml / 2 fl oz / 1/4 cup dry white wine
chopped fresh parsley, to garnish
sea salt and ground black pepper

Directions:

1) Soak the dried mushrooms in the warm water for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid, and chop the mushrooms finely. Strain the soaking liquid through a sieve (strainer) lined with kitchen paper and set aside.

2) Combine the meat with the chopped mushrooms, garlic parsley and basil in a mixing bowl. Stir in the egg. Add the breadcrumbs and Parmesan, then season with salt and pepper. Mix well with clean wet hands, then form into small balls about 4 cm / 1 1/2 inch in diameter.

3) Heat the oil in a large heavy frying pan. Add the onion and cook over low heat, until soft. Increase the heat and add the meatballs, rolling them often to brown them evenly all over. After about 5 minutes, add the strained mushroom soaking water. Cook for a further 5-8 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through.

4) Transfer the meatballs to a heated serving plate with a slotted spoon. Add the wine to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes stirring to scrape up any residues on the bottom of the pan. Pour the sauce over the meatballs. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Energy 389 Kcal / 1623 kj; fat 20.3 g; saturated fat 7 g; carbohydrate 16/1 g; fibre 1/1 g

Aubergine Fritters -- Eggplant Fritters

2008-01-02T22:28:00.000-05:00

I visited with my brother and sister-in-law for New Year's Eve, and she'd received a fabulous Italian cookbook for Christmas. So, of course, I had to steal a few recipes. :-)

Italy's 500 Best-Ever Recipes, edited by Jeni Wright, is originally a British publication, so eggplants are called aubergines. Also, they wonderfully include both metric and English conversions of measurements and heating.

While Turks are famous for their eggplant dishes, and truly have some of the best I've ever tasted, the Italians definitely know their way around the eggplant as well. This one is quite delicious. Where noted, (***), I've adapted this recipe to fit with my nutrition guidelines.

A classic antipasto, these simply delicious fritters also make a superb starter or a vegetarian supper dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 large aubergine (eggplant), weighing about 675 g / 1 ½ lb, cut into 1 cm / ½ inch thick slices
30 ml / 2 tbsp olive oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 garlic cloves, crushed
60 ml / 4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
130 g / 4 ½ oz / 2 ¼ cups fresh breadcrumbs (***wholegrain)
90 g / 3 ½ oz / generous 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
90 g / 3 ½ oz / generous 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
45 ml / 3 tbsp whole grain spelt flour ***
olive oil, for shallow frying ***
sea salt and ground black pepper

To serve:
natural (plain) yogurt, flavoured with fried red chilies and cumin seeds
lime wedges

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 190ºC / 375ºF / Gas 5. Brush the aubergine slices with the olive oil, then place them on a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, until golden and tender.

2) Chop the aubergine slices finely and place them in a bowl with the egg, garlic, parsley, breadcrumbs, Parmesan and feta. Add salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.

3) Leave the mixture to rest for about 20 minutes. If the mixture looks very sloppy, add more breadcrumbs.

4) Divide the mixture into eight balls and flatten them slightly. Place the flour on a plate and season with salt and pepper. Coat the fritters in the flour, shaking off any excess.

5) Shallow fry the fritters in batches for 1 minute on each side, until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

6) Serve the fritters warm, accompanied with the flavoured yogurt and lime wedges.

Energy 508 Kcal / 2122 kj; Carbohydrate 38.3 g; Fat 31.4 g / Saturated Fat 10.4 g; Fibre 5.1 g

A Look Back

2007-12-30T21:35:00.000-05:00

Like many people, I'm feeling very nostalgic as we approach the end of 2007. This has been a very good, highly productive, year for me.

Bear with me as I celebrate a few of this year's personal and career highlights:

presented my first online workshop
wrote and completed Writing with Magic (for Muggles) as a nonfiction writer's guide
enjoyed a fabulous conference, as well as my first Cajun crawfish bowl, as I presented two workshops at Nicholl's State University Jubilee Jambalaya Writer's Conference
celebrated the release of "Grandma's Cupboards" in On Grandma's Porch from BelleBooks
published two editorials, One Last Memory as a feature editorial, and Egyptian Myths in Harry Potter as a three-part series, on Mugglenet.com
along with other authors from The Plot Thickens, was a featured Harry Potter expert on the Barnes and Noble book club boards for the months of June and July
presented two workshops at Sectus, an unofficial Harry Potter conference, in London, during the time of the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
enjoyed a two-week trip to Turkey with my family to travel and visit family there
wrote and completed my first young adult novel -- Southern Fried Wiccan
finaled in three contests with Southern Fried Wiccan and An Illegal Affair
watched my children grow another year older and infinitely more beloved

Carrots with Olive Oil -- Zetinyagli Havuc

2007-12-26T18:45:00.000-05:00

This is the best recipe I know for cooked carrots. It's simple, nutritious, and delicious. A great way to fix carrots, especially in winter.

Ingredients:

2 medium onions (150 g)
5 cloves garlic (15 g)
9 medium size carrots (1 kg)
3-4 sprigs parsley (10 g)
1 1/2 tbsp brown rice (15 g)
1/3 cup olive oil (80 g)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt (9 g)
1 tsp honey or rhapadura (4 g)
3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp water (200 g)

Directions:

Peel onions and garlic. Wash. Cut onions into half. Slice into 1-2 mm thick slices. Crush garlic. Slice pared (or scraped) carrots into 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick pieces. Saute onion in olive oil in a covered saucepan for 4-5 minutes.

Add water, garlic, salt and sugar. Boil. Add carrots. Sprinkle with rice. Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until tender.

Remove from heat. Place in a serving plate and garnish with parsley. Serve cold.

Cultural Notes:
This dish is usually cooked in winter and served for lunch or supper as a side dish with yogurt mixed with garlic (yogurt garlic sauce).

This recipe is from Samples from Turkish Cuisine by Ayse Basal.

Updated St. Nicholas of Myra

2007-12-15T13:08:00.000-05:00

Last year, I posted an entry about St. Nicholas of Myra, but thought a seasonal update might be interesting.

As mentioned in the last post, St. Nicholas was an early Christian saint who served as bishop to a then thriving port city, Myra, which is in modern-day Turkey. He was revered for his generosity and kindness, especially to children.

Nicholas reportedly attended the First Council of Nicaea, which was held in 325 CE in what is the modern city of Iznik, Turkey. This council is best known for its opposition of Arianism (the belief that Jesus was created by God and not divine himself), and the establishment of the Nicene Creed, which is still said in many churches today.

One thing I forgot to include in my original post were a couple of pictures of the frescoes in the church of St. Nicholas. The church was built sometime in the sixth century CE, and repaired many times since. The frescoes are not in the best of shape, but still quite beautiful and interesting. As the pictures I took of the church when I visited in the early 1990s were not digital, I've used pictures from Sacred-Destination.com.

This first fresco of the apostles covers the ceiling of the dome. The dark blue of the background must have been quite striking when it was fresh.

This fresco from a niche in the church is, I think, of Nicholas.

And here is the exterior of the church, showing both the older sections and some newer additions.

Garlic-Roasted Potatoes with Black Olives

2007-12-07T22:35:00.000-05:00

This is not a Turkish recipe, but one I got from Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: A Delicious Alternative for Lifelong Health by Nancy Harmon Jenkins.

Ingredients:

2 pounds potatoes, unpeeled, cut into chunks, or whole small new potatoes
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 small hot dried red chili, crumbled
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
24 large black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, toss the potatoes with the garlic, rosemary, chili pepper, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Spread the potatoes about an inch or more thick in a small roasting pan or a grating dish--thick enough so that you can't see the bottom of the pan through the potatoes. Roast, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 25 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Remove from the oven and stir in the olives. Taste and add more pepper and salt if desired--the olives may be sufficiently salty. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Makes 6 servings

Grated Beetroot and Yogurt Salad

2007-11-28T16:56:00.003-05:00

I've devloped a real love-affair with beets since discovering Sally Fallon's Beet Kvass recipe and learning how nutritious and delicious beets can be. Here's a great recipe for an unusual salad using two fabulously healthy foods: beets and yogurt. Recipe is from Turkish Cooking: Classic traditions, Fresh ingredients, Authentic flavours, Aromatic recipes by Ghillie Başan.

With its beneficial nutritional properties, yogurt is used frequently in meze dishes. It makes a tasty dip combined with mashed or grated ingredients, and mixed with a little vinegar or lemon juice it is good as a sauce over grilled or fried vegetables.

Ingredients:

4 raw beetroot (beets), washed and trimmed
500 g / 1 ¼ lb / 2 ¼ cups thick and creamy natural (plain) yogurt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
sea salt and ground black pepper
a few fresh mint leaves, shredded, to garnish

Serves 4

Directions:

1) Boil the beetroot in plenty of water for 35 - 40 minutes until tender, but not mushy or soft. Drain and refresh under cold running water, then peel off the skins and grate the beetroot on to a plate. Squeeze it lightly with your fingers to drain off excess water.

2) In a bowl, beat the yogurt with the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Add the beetroot, reserving a little to garnish the top, and mix well. Garnish with mint leaves.

Notes:
Warm Beetroot Salad: In some households, the beetroot is diced and stir-fried with coriander seeds, sugar and a splash of apple vinegar. Then it is served warm with the cooling garlic-flavoured yogurt and garnished with dill.

A Carrot Version: Cut four carrots into chunks and steam for about 15 minutes, until they are tender but still with some bite, then grate and mix with the yogurt and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with mint or dill.

Per Portion: Energy 95 kcal / 403 kj; Protein 7.8 g; Carbohydrate 14/4 g, of which sugars 13 g; Fat 1.4 g, of which saturates 0.6 g; Cholesterol 2 mg; Calcium 249 mg; Fibre 1/3 g; Sodium 137 mg

Jillian Michael's Diet Drink

2007-11-14T18:05:00.004-05:00

I discovered this drink on AOL from Jillian Michael's as a diet drink to loose excess bloat as it's a natural diuretic. I've been drinking this for a few weeks now, and have discovered another awesome effect of this all-natural tea -- it lowers my blood pressure! In fact, I've been able to significantly decrease my medicine dosage.

60 ounces distilled water (I just use water from my well...love those natural minerals)
1 tbsp cranberry juice (100% juice, sugar-free)
1 dandelion root tea bag
2 tbsp lemon juice (I use fresh lemons)

Note: I sweeten mine with stevia to taste.

Brew dandelion root tea. Mix all ingredients. Serve warm or cold.

Jillian Michael's video on AOL.

Of course, please know I'm not a doctor and not giving advice. I'm simply relating something that has helped me, alone.

Jerusalem Artichokes with Olive Oil -- Zeytinyagli Yerelmasi

2007-11-09T18:53:00.000-05:00

We've got Jerusalem artichokes in the garden! Loads of them. Enough to enjoy several dishes of zeytinyagli yerelmasi during the winter. If you've never tried Jerusalem artichokes (also known as sunchokes) before, you're missing a wonderfully delicious and nutritious tuber.

High in iron and potassium, Jerusalem artichokes are recommended over potatoes for diabetics and people choosing lower-carbohydrates due to the fact that their carbohydrates are in the form in inulin rather than starch, which are much less absorbed by the body. Thus sunchokes do not seem to affect a person's blood sugar like some other high-starch root vegetables. Also, Jerusalem artichokes are excellent in aiding the healthy establishment of lactobacilli in the intestines.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Jerusalem artichokes (1 kg)
1 tsp lemon juice (5 g)
2 small carrots (125 g)
2 medium onions (135 g)
2 tbsp rice (25 g)
1/3 cup olive oil (80 g)
3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp water (200 g)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt (9 g)
2 tsp honey or rhapadura sugar (8 g)
6 sprigs parsley or dill (12 g)
1/2 medium lemon (50 g)

Directions:

Peel and cut Jerusalem artichokes in 2 - 2 1/2 cm (3/4 - 1 inch) cubes. (I don't peel my sunchokes, but just scrub them well with a potato brush). Sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent darkening. Cut pared (or scraped) carrots into half lengthwise. Slice each half diagonally in 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick pieces.

Combine Jerusalem artichokes and carrots with finely chopped onions. Place in a saucepan, spread rice over. Add olive oil and hot water. Sprinkle with sea salt and sugar.

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables and rice are tender. Remove from heat. Cool

Garnish with parsley before serving. Serve cold.

Cultural Notes:
This dish is a tasty winter dish favored generally in the Marmara and western regions. It is served with lemon slices for lunch or supper as a side dish after a main meat dish. A very good way of serving Jerusalem artichokes.

This recipe is from Samples from Turkish Cuisine by Ayse Basal.

Leek Soup with Feta, Dill and Paprika

2007-10-26T13:08:00.000-05:00

As the weather is starting to get nippy, I'm thinking of warm, homemade soup. Here's a great recipe from Turkish Cooking: Classic traditions, Fresh ingredients, Authentic flavours, Aromatic recipes by Ghillie Basan that I think is absolute delicious.

Creamy leek soup is a popular home-cooked dish in Turkey. Flavoured with dill and topped with crumbled white cheese, this one is warming and satisfying. The saltiness of feta is good in this soup, but you could just as well us Roquefort or Parmesan, both of which are equally salty, and you could substitute croutons for the cheese. Serve with chunks of fresh, crusty bread.

30 ml/2 tbsp olive or sunflower oil
3 leeks, trimmed, roughly chopped and washed
1 onion, chopped
5 ml/1 tsp honey or Rapadura
1 bunch of fresh dill, chopped, with a few fronds reserved for the garnish
300 ml/1/2 pint/1 1/4 cups milk
15 ml/1 tbsp butter
115 g/4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
salt and ground black pepper
paprika, to garnish

serves 3-4

1) Heat the oil in a heavy pan and stir in the chopped leeks and onion. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.

2) Add the sugar and chopped dill, and pour in 600 ml/1 pint/2 1/2 cups water. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

3) Leave the liquid to cool a little, then process in a blender until smooth.

4) Return the pureed soup to the pan, pour in the milk and stir over a gentle heat until it is hot (don't let it come to the boil).

5) Season with salt and pepper, bearing in mind that the feta is salty. IF using the butter, drop it onto the surface of the soup and let it melt.

6) Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the crumbled feta. Serve immediately, garnished with a little paprika and the dill fronds.

Eye of Horus and Nazar Boncuk (Nazar Boncugu)

2007-10-20T10:21:00.002-05:00

As anyone who has read any of my Harry Potter analysis essays will know, I'm fascinated by the Eye of Horus. I've written a series of editorials on Mugglenet.com (pre-Deathly Hallows) that analyzed Egyptian Myths in the Harry Potter series, including the Eye of Horus.

One thing that's always struck me was how similar the Turkish nazar boncuk (below) looks compared to the Egyptian Eye of Horus (above). The single, staring eye, with black pupil, surrounded by white and shades of blue, warding off evil--to me, it seems obvious that the nazar boncugu is a direct descendant of the Eye of Horus, However, I've found very little online making this a direct link. Perhaps this is because most of the information would be in Turkish, or perhaps it's just so obvious that no one feels a need to analyze it.

But I do. I find it fascinating that we have an amulet, very much alive and in constant use today, that is descended from an amulet worn by ancient Eygptians (and Sumerians and Hitittes) 4,000 - 5,000 years ago! That's one powerful amulet!

So, if you know more details of the history of how the Eye of Horus traveled from Egypt to Turkey to become the nazar boncuk, I'd love to hear it!

Sultan's Chickpea Pilaff

2007-10-16T09:12:00.000-05:00

Rice is eaten frequently in Turkey. But it's rarely served as just plain rice; it's almost always combined and cooked with other ingredients, such as meats, organ meats, vegetables, and other legumes or pulses. Here's a common and wonderful pilaf from Turkish Cooking: Classic traditions, Fresh ingredients, Authentic flavours, Aromatic recipes by Ghillie Basan that combines rice and chickpeas.

There is a story that Mahmut Pasha, the Grand Vizier of Mehmet the Conqueror, used to invite his ministers to lunch every Friday, when he would serve a special mound of rice and chickpea pilaff at the end of the meal. As each minister dipped into the rice with his spoon, solid gold balls the same size as the chickpeas would be revealed, bringing good fortune to those who managed to get one on their spoon. A classic buttery pilaff, fit for a sultan, this dish is a perfect accompaniment to almost any meat or fish dish.

Ingredients:

50 g / 2 0z / 1/3 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight
30 ml / 2 tbsp butter
15 ml / 1 tbsp olive or sunflower oil
1 onion, chopped
225 g / 8 oz / generous 1 cup long grain brown rice, well rinsed and drained (and preferably soaked overnight in water and whey)
600 ml / 1 pint / 2 1/2 cups water or chicken stock
sea salt and ground black pepper

Serves 4

Directions:

1) Drain the chickpeas, tip them into a pan and fill the pan with plenty of cold water. Bring to the boil and boil for 1 minute, then lower the heat and partially cover the pan. Simmer the chickpeas for about 45 minutes, or until tender. Drain, rinse well under cold running water and remove any loose skins.

2)Melt the butter with the oil in a heavy pan, stir in the onion and cook until it softens. Add the rice and chickpeas and cover with the water of stock. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, partially cover the pan and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until almost all of the water has been absorbed.

3) Turn off the heat, cover the pan with a dish towel and put the lid tightly on top. Leave the rice to steam for 10 minutes, then fluff up with a fork before serving.

Per Portion:
Energy 328 kcal / 1368 kJ; Protein 7.1 g; Carbohydrate 52.3 g, of which sugars 1.2 g; Fat 9.9 g, of which saturates 4.4 g; Cholesterol 16 mg; Calcium 36 mg; Fibre 1.6 g; Sodium 51 mg

Iskembe Corbasi -- Tripe Soup

2007-10-05T11:43:00.000-05:00

This is my husband's recipe. He says tripe soup is very popular in Turkey. It's used to warm the body and clean out toxins. It's also recommended to use after a night of drinking to recover from a hangover. Tripe soup is so popular in Turkey that there are restaurants which specialize in serving it alone.

If you've never had tripe soup, don't be unfairly prejudiced against eating cow stomach. My kids absolutely love this recipe and ask their dad to fix it frequently.

Instructions:

1kg / 2 lbs cow stomach (tripe)
2 tbsp whole spelt flour
2 tbsp olive oil; 3 tbsp olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
3/4 cups vinegar or lemon juice
1 tbsp cup red pepper
sea salt

Directions:

The directions for washing the tripe is based on buying raw tripe fresh from the butcher's in Turkey. Most tripe you will buy at a supermarket today, on those little styrofoam plates, has already been cleaned, and probably bleached as well. :-(

1) To wash the stomach: pour a palm-full of salt over the stomach, then roll the stomach up, with the salt covering it, and set it aside to sit for a few hours. Later, scrape the salt off with a knife and wash the stomach good with a lot of water.

2) Boil the stomach in 8-10 cups of water, on low heat, until tender (probably a couple of hours). Reserve the liquid in the pot.

3) Cool the stomach and cut into small pieces.

4) Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan, add the spelt flour, and stir until brown.

5) Add this gravy slowly, stirring constantly, into the reserved liquid (heat on medium). Add the chopped stomach and return to boil.

6) Saute the red pepper with 3 tbsp olive oil and pour over the soup.

7) Mix the crushed garlic with the vinegar or lemon juice. To serve, add this garlic/vinegar/lemon juice to soup bowls according to taste.

Kuru Yemis -- Turkish Gorp

2007-09-22T18:20:00.000-05:00

Americans didn't invent trail mix. Turks have been eating it for centuries.

During my family's recent summer visit to Turkey, I was reminded of one thing I loved during my years of living in that country, which, unfortunately, is being encroached upon. Turks eat very little junk food. Though they love their desserts after dinner, for snacks during the day, they naturally reach for fruit or a handful of what they call kuru yemis, which translates as "dry snack."

Kuru yemis is a very wholesome, healthy mixture of dried fruits and nuts. It's a traditional staple in almost every home, and is gobbled down by young and old alike.

You'll see people walking down the street, dipping their hand in a pocket, then popping a seed or a nut into their mouths. School children carry them in their lunch bags. And many dinner guests in a Turk's home are greeted with bowls of dried nuts and fruits.

Kuru yemis is as varied as the host who puts it together for their guests and mothers who pack it with their children's lunches. It's any combination of a variety of dried fruits and nuts, which are plentiful and convenient throughout the whole of Turkey.

Here's a list of some typical ingredients:

peanuts (salted in their skins)
almonds
pistachios
hazlenuts
leblebi (roasted chickpeas)
raisins
sunflower seeds
pumpkin seeds

Not as common, though can be included, are other dried fruits such as apricots, dates, and figs, but any dried fruit or nut can be included.

Almost all of these nuts and fruits can be found in the US. For good quality dried apricots and dates, you'd want to visit your whole foods or natural grocer. And if you're lucky enough to have a mid-eastern grocery nearby, you can probably find leblebi as well.

So, dip in, and have a snack attack, Turkish style!

photo credit: http://www.sihirlitur.com/haber/cerez_haritasi/index.html

A Few Left-Over Pictures

2007-09-19T11:20:00.000-05:00

As I've uploaded most of the pictures of interest from this summer's trip to Turkey, I thought I'd post just a few that didn't fit into any of my prior posts, but that I think are interesting or beautiful.

I wonder if these Turkish kitties feel very protected sleeping near this wide assortment of nazar boncuk?

Here's a spectacular view of some vacation homes on the hills of the Aegean.

And this picture is taken looking out to the Aegean from one of those homes, owned by my brother-in-law.

Pamukkale -- Hierapolis

2007-09-01T20:37:00.000-05:00

Even though I lived in Turkey for years, it was during my visit this summer that I first visited Pamukkale, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are some Greek/Roman ruins (Hierapolis) to see here as people since antiquity have enjoyed and worshiped at this natural phenomenon. As our time was short, I did not get to explore the remains of Hierapolis, but hope to do so next time.

The biggest attraction here, however, are the white mineral covered hills and the natural thermal baths. The area's Turkish name, Pamukkale, translates at Cotton Castle, and indeed when you look at the white limestone covered hills, it's easy to imagine that you're looking at a very large castle made out of fluffy cotton balls.

My picture is not the best of the limestone hills, but if you follow the links at the bottom, you'll find some truly spectacular pictures.

Swimming in this thermal pool, on top of ancient fallen columns and porticoes, was something I'll never forget. The water was so warm and buoyant, with little bubbles rising constantly to the surface. And it was neat to imagine people 2,000 years ago enjoying the warmth and healing benefits of these same waters.

To find out more about the natural wonders of Pamukkale, visit these sites:
Pamukkale at Wikipedia
Pamukkale at AllAboutTurkey.com

Hagia Sophia -- Aya Sofya

2007-08-27T21:02:00.000-05:00

Hagia Sophia (also spelled Haghia Sophia) is absolutely incredible. You simply must visit it if you ever get to Istanbul. Although three churches occupied the site, starting with one built by Constantius II in 360 CE, the current building dates to the reign of Justinian I in 537 CE.

I found much to be fascinated by at Aya Sofya, even though I'd visited before, and could have spent a whole week simply studying every detail of this remarkable work of art and spirit, and absorbing all its long, immense history. As there are many better pictures on the web that show the basilica and the famous mosaics, I've mostly decided to post here pictures of small details that caught my interest.

This sheep and date palm is a detail from the earlier church, built during the reign of Theodosius II around 415 CE. Unfortunately, this basilica was destroyed during the Nika revolt of 532 CE.

This panel with its motif of hearts caught my eye.

The light flooding in from these many high windows was quite beautiful.

One of the most famous mosaics, at the apse of the basilica, is of the Virgin and Child.

There was a remarkable variety of marble in many colors used in the building and decorating of the building.

Here a tourist sticks her thumb in a hole in the pillar of St. Gregory, which is supposed to grant wishes or healing powers.

From what I have read, these green pillars were supposedly brought from the ancient temple of Artemis at Ephesus, after its destruction, and recycled here.

I found the dolphins scattered throughout this building particular interesting. Notice the trident in the second picture between the two dolphins.

This spider web was located high in a corner on the higher level. I would love to know more about the meaning behind it, but haven't so far been able to find out much behind the symbolism.

The House of the Virgin Mary -- Meryem Ana Evi

2007-08-19T11:36:00.000-05:00

Most people are surprised when you tell them that according to one legend, the Virgin Mary, after the crucifixion, in the care of John, lived out the rest of her days in the hills above Ephesus, in what is now Turkey.

I mentioned the House of the Virgin Mary last December, when the Pope visited here. This summer I got to return for another visit. Below are some pictures of the restored first century home and the sign that gives a brief history of the site. Click on the picture of the sign for a larger view.

Visit this site at Sacred Destinations to learn more.

Ephesus -- Efes

2007-08-16T14:13:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Ephesus! The jewel city of Greek/Roman Turkey, and an absolutely fabulous place to visit. I've been here several times, and I still look forward to visiting any time I'm in the area. There's always something new to see as the city is immense and excavations continue.

Unfortunately during our recent visit, the temperature was well over 100F, and thus we didn't take the time to explore like I usually do. However, I did get to shoot a few pictures, and thought you might enjoy these.

Above is the Odeum. The advisory council of the city of Ephesus met here. It is a smaller theater than the grand theater, pictured below, and was covered. The Odeum seated 1500. I love climbing around the Odeum. It has a more intimate feel than the great theater.

Above is the famed Library of Celsus. This is one of the most famous views from Ephesus. The library has been partially reconstructed.

I couldn't decide which view of the theater I liked best (above and below), so I decided to include both of them. This theater held 24,000 spectators, the largest of its sort in Turkey. It was in this theater that St. Paul came into conflict with the citizens of Ephesus regarding their worship of Artemis.

The Harbor Street, running from the theater to the harbor, which is now silted up.

Turkish Women Making Gozleme

2007-08-14T20:22:00.000-05:00

Above is a great picture of some Turkish women in village dress rolling out lavas to make gozleme for the tourists near Ephesus. Gozleme is a type of traditional fast food that is popular for lunch.

Gozleme is almost like a quesadilla, except it's made from lavas (a wheat flour dough rolled out into paper-thin circles) The lavas is then filled with any combination of several savory topping -- white cheese, spinach, parsley, ground beef and onions -- and baked on a griddle.

I'm including this here as a cultural note rather than a recipe, because gozleme as I've seen it is almost always made with white flour, and I avoid that. However, a healthier version of gozleme would be to use sprouted wheat tortillas, which you can find at may health food stores, and then fill with your own healthy toppings.

Istanbul Underground Cistern

2007-08-13T14:36:00.000-05:00

This place was absolutely fabulous! Yerebatan Cistern is right across the street from the fabulous Haghia Sophia. The cistern was built in the 4th century by Constantine the Great and features 336 columns.

We visited on a very hot day in July, and it was such a refreshing break to stroll in the underground, dark coolness with soft classical music playing in the background. My children loved to watch the fish swimming in the water. We also enjoyed the tear-drop column (see picture below).

Here's an ancient example of recycling. Builders of the cistern took these two Medusa heads from another site and recycled them here at the base of columns. No one is very sure why one is put on her side and the other upside down. It could be be that they chose the best side to support the column above, or perhaps they put the dark goddess upside down to limit her power to harm the workers.

Finally, this might be hard to read, but here's the posted information and history regarding Yerebatan Cistern. Click on the picture and you'll get a larger view that you can actually read.

Hunkar Begendi -- Sultan's Delight

2007-08-07T13:44:00.002-05:00

My family and I just returned from Turkey where we spent a few weeks touring Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale, and Ankara, visiting family, and eating our way through absolutely delicious Turkish food. I'll post soon some pictures from our trip, but I must post this recipe for Hunkar Begendi, compliments of my siser-in-law, Ummuhan. She made it for us during our visit, and when I tasted it, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. It's the most divine recipe for eggplant I think I've ever tasted. Obviously, a long-dead sultan once thought so too as the English translation for this traditional recipe is usually Sultan's Delight.

I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

for the eggplant puree:

6 eggplants
1 tbsp whole grain spelt flour *my revision is for whole grain spelt in place of white flour
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp kasar cheese (or hard cheese of your choice)
1 cup milk
1 bunch parsley
sea salt, pepper to taste

for the meat kebab:

1 kg. cubed meat (lamb or cow)
2 onions
2-3 tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

Saute the chopped onion in olive oil until translucent. Add the cubed meat and fry.

Add the peeled and chopped tomatoes and continue cooking until soft.

Add 2-3 glasses of water to the meat/tomato mixture and cook until the meat is soft. Add salt and pepper. The amount of water in the level should be about 1-1.5 large tablespoons.

Grill the eggplants on the stove starting from the eggplants' tips. Then split the skins of the eggplants and chop the eggplant fine. (Or you can roast the eggplants in the oven or on a grill until soft and blackened).

Fry the eggplant in the flour with oil until they are pink. Add shredded cheese, milk and cook. Add salt to taste. (NOTE: This is the direction in the book, however, my sister-in-law says that it is better to make the besamel sauce first by browning the flour in the oil, then gradually adding the milk and finally the cheese and salt to taste. Once this sauce is fixed, then you mix it with the eggplant, and warm together. I've tried it both ways, and Ummuhan is, of course, right!)

Serve the mashed eggplants over the meat. Garnish with parsley.

This recipe is translated from Bereketli Olsun by Gonul Candas.

Deathly Hallows, and ME, in London

2007-07-21T20:54:00.000-05:00

Finally! The day Harry Potter fans have waited for for years! The release of the last book of the quest of the Boy Who Lived in his battle against He Who Must Not Be Named.

I cannot express what it means to me to be able to be here in London, at ground zero, in the middle of this once in a lifetime excitement.

So, since a picture paints a thousand words, I'll share a few (or more likely, enough to make my server crash!).

These are taken earlier in the day on July 20, of the crowds gathering hours in advance in front of the Waterstone's in Picadilly:

The evening of the release:

A luscious Lucius to die for!

Give it up for the Gryffindor Quidditch team:

A mini Harry and Draco start a street duel:

Trying to see over the crowds. Couldn't they just use a levicorpus spell?

And finally, the front of the line:

The Delights of the British Museum

2007-07-19T19:55:00.000-05:00

I'm here! In London! On my trip to present a couple of workshops (Writing with Magic (for Muggles) and Seeking Egyptian Myths in Harry Potter) at the Harry Potter Sectus Conference. To be here, in London, for the release of the final Harry Potter book, Deathly Hallows, is just unimaginably exciting. But my first excitement was a fabulous tour of the British Museum.

I admit it. I'm such a nerd. Or would that be geek? Seeing the Egyptian gallery almost blew my nervous anticipation of my presentations and the excitement of the big book release totally out of my mind. I truly had tingles race up and down my spine when I saw the Rosetta Stone, below. After spending so much time studying Egyptian myths and legends to help unlock the secrets of Harry Potter, I just ate up this whole Egyptian exhibit.

And I didn't even have to go to Turkey to see this amazing Turkish treasure. Actually, the Nereid Monument from Xanthos predates the Turks (but to be truthful, the Turks are a mix of the locals who were there and the Turks who invaded), but I bet they'd like to have this back in Anatolia rather than in the British Museum.

Then I turned a corner, entered a new hall, and there, much to my surprise, was this:

The Queen of the Night. I'd seen her online and been struck by this ancient image of female power, but somehow hadn't connected that she was housed right there in the British Museum. Seeing her upfront, in the flesh, so to speak, was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Cold Cucumber Soup -- Cacik

2007-07-04T19:48:00.001-05:00

This is a fabulous summer soup. Served cold, it's refreshing on a hot day.

Ingredients:

3 medium cucumbers (400 g)
3 cups yogurt (plain, good quality) (770 g)
2 cloves garlic (6 g)
2 teaspoons sea salt (12 g)
1 cup water (250 g)
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil (20 g)
3-4 sprigs dill (10 g)

Kisir -- Tabbouleh

2007-06-23T14:16:00.000-05:00

Kisir, also known as tabouleh or bulgur salad, is a wonderfully delicious mix of green salad and bulgur wheat. I love making kisir whenever I need to carry a dish to a friend's house or potluck. This is a great recipe that's easy to make.

Ingredients:

2 cups fine bulgur
1 onion
7-8 green onions
3 tomatoes
1 bunch parsley and dill
4-5 banana peppers
2 lemons
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper or 1 tsp pepper paste
1 head romaine lettuce
sea salt to taste

Directions:

Sort and wash bulgur. Cover bulgur with 1-2 cups of boiled water and let absorb.
Clean and chop green onion, parsley, kill, tomatoes, and pepper into small pieces.
Chop the dry onion and mix it well with the red pepper. Mix it with the raised bulgur.
Add the salad to the bulgur, then add the olive oil and lemon juice and mix well.
Serve on a plate of fresh and crisp lettuce.

This recipe is translated from Bereketli Olsun by Gonul Candas.

Natural Shampoo

2007-06-15T11:31:00.000-05:00

Last December I read some posts online about replacing your shampoo with a more natural combination of baking soda and vinegar. So I decided to give it a try.

I've been using baking soda and vinegar for several months now, and have to say I am extremely pleased with the results and will probably never go back to regular shampoo. I have very fine hair with natural curl, but most shampoos tend to weigh my hair down and make it straighter. Not so with the BS/V. I've got more curl than I ever remember having before, plus no split ends.

The BS/V is very easy to do. Most of the info I saw online said to make a paste in the palm of your hand with about a tablespoon of baking soda and water. But my hair's so long, that I just sprinkle the baking soda all over my scalp. Then, working with the pads of your fingers, scrub the baking soda into your scalp good. This not only loosens the dirt and oils, but stimulates the blood flow into your scalp.

After rinsing the baking soda out of your hair well, then spray or pour a combo of apple cider vinegar and water. Rinse immediately. The vinegar seems to act as a conditioner, and if I don't rinse it out immediately, my hair gets a bit limp.

That's it.

BS/V shampoo will not only be easier on your hair and scalp, but also your wallet and the environment.

Chocolate Bark

2007-06-04T21:02:00.000-05:00

I discovered the idea for this recipe on The Coconut Diet's website a few months ago, and was thrilled that I didn't have to give up chocolate to go sugar free (and synthetic sweetener free as well). Since then, I've played with the original recipe a lot and figured out ways to make it even better.

I make a large batch of chocolate bark at the time and keep it in my freezer. One, this aides me in getting in the coconut oil daily that is recommended in Sally Fallon's Eat Fat, Lose Fat. Second, I always have my "safe" chocolate available when I have a chocolate attack.

The basic recipe is just the coconut oil, cocoa powder, and stevia. All the rest can be played with and varied depending on your particular favorite chocolate bar combo.

I added the cayenne in after I watched Chocolat with Johnny Depp. Now I wouldn't make it without the cayenne. Use enough to give it zing, but not enough to overpower the chocolate.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups virgin coconut oil
6 well-rounded tbsp cocoa powder, or freshly crushed cocoa nibs
stevia to taste (about 1 1/2 tsp of the white, or a few shakes of the white stevia and 1 1/2 tsp of the green herbal stevia)
1 tsp vanilla extract (I've also played with alcohol free flavorings and found lemon and almond to be very good)
1/2 tsp cayenne

"Goodies" to sprinkle on bottom of pan, add any combo of these to taste:

goji berries
roasted or dried nuts, I particularly like pecans
shredded, dried coconut
cocoa nibs
raisins
whatever your heart desires

Directions:

Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes a metal cookie sheet (with sides) or a couple of glass large baking pans. I also line my cookie sheet with wax paper. You'll need to have a flat space reserved in your freezer so the chocolate will form level.

Warm the coconut oil gently to liquid form. Add in the cocoa powder, stevia, vanilla, and cayenne. Stir with a fork and blend well.

Sprinkle any of your goodies on the bottom of your cold pan, then pour the chocolate mixture over top and level off.

Put it in your freezer for at least 10 minutes. Then remove, pull the chocolate carefully off the wax paper, break it into snack-sized portions, put into a large plastic bag, and return to storage in the freezer.

Enjoy!

Leek-Meat Stew with Egg-Lemon Sauce -- (Terbiyeli Etli Pirasa)

2007-05-22T15:24:00.000-05:00

I did not grow up eating leeks, but once I tasted this dish in Turkey, I became an instant fan. Now with leeks coming in fresh in the garden is an excellent time to make this stew, which is a meal in itself.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups boneless lamb shoulder or shank (or ground beef) (250 g)
1 medium onion (75 g)
1 1/2 tbsp butter (20 g)
1 1/4 cups water (300 g)
2 tsp sea salt (12 g)
6 medium leeks (1.5 kg)
1 egg (50 g)
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (20 g)

Directions:

Cut meat into 2 1/2 cm (1 inch) cubes. Combine with finely chopped onion. Brown in butter for 8-10 minutes; drain.

Add water and salt. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until meat is tender.

Remove unwanted parts of leeks. Cut into 2 1/2 - 3 cm (1 - 1 1/4 inch) long chunks. Add to simmering meat, mixing thoroughly. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until leek is tender. Reduce heat.

Combine well beaten egg and lemon juice, blending thoroughly. Stir in simmering mixture gradually, mixing well. Remove from heat. Serve hot.

Cultural Notes:
This dish is cooked in the Aegean, Marmara and Black Sea regions in winter and served for lunch or supper as a main dish with pilaf and hosaf or yogurt.

This recipe is from Samples from Turkish Cuisine by Ayse Baysal.

Garlic in Olive Oil

2007-05-14T10:44:00.000-05:00

Here's a great idea I got from Donna Gates' Body Ecology Diet.

If you're like me, and always cooking with both garlic and olive oil, you spend a lot of time every day peeling and pressing fresh garlic. I don't like to buy those little jars of already crushed garlic in the grocery stores, because I just don't feel they're as fresh, and sometimes they contain preservatives.

But you can make ahead of time your own version of garlic olive oil so that you will always have on hand crshed garlic when you're ready to cook. And it's extremely easy to do with a stick blender.

Ingredients:

2 bulbs garlic (whole bulbs, not just cloves)
2 cups olive oil

Directions:

Peel your garlic bulbs and place in the bottom of a wide-mouth quart jar. Place your stick blender on top of the cloves and process until creamy.

Pour the olive oil on top of the processed garlic, and again using the stick blender, process until garlic and oil are well-blended.

Cover your jar and keep in a handy place by the stove ready for use.

I'm not sure how long this will keep, as I use mine up before it goes bad. Also, I found a 6-cup coffee carafe with a wide mouth, lid and spout at my local thrift store that is perfect for making and storing my garlic olive oil. Having that spout really helps with pouring.

Lebanese Garlic Sauce

2007-05-05T21:55:00.002-05:00

Some good friends of ours are Lebanese. I find the Lebanese cooking, not surprisingly, very similar to Turkish. One thing we both seem to love is lots of garlic!

Here's a great recipe from Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: A Delicious Alternative for Lifelong Health by Nancy Harmon Jenkins -- a fabulous cookbook!

This garlic sauce, toum bi zeit or garlic with oil, is a Lebanese version of aioli minus the eggs. Zahle, a town on the Damascus Road at the edge of the great central Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, was once famous for the quality of its grilled chcken. Travelers en route to Damascus or to the impressive Roman ruins at Baalbek always scheduled a stop at a roadside restaurant in Zahle for grilled or roasted chicken served with toum bi zeit. This is also a critical ingredient in my favorite Beirut street food, a humble chicken sandwich made on small loaves of French bread and glorified with a thick smear of toum bi zeit. It is as delicious with grilled, poached, or roasted fish as it is with chicken.

This is for people who truly adore garlic.

Ingredients:
6 garlic cloves, coarsely choppd
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1-inch slice of counry-style bread (whole-grain), crusts removed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons boiling water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Directions: Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic with the salt until you have a very smooth paste. Tear the bread into chunks and place them in a bowl. Cover with warm water, then squeeze the bread as dry as you can. Add the bread to the garlic, a little at a time, and continue pounding to get a smooth paste. Now, using the pestle, stir in the olive oil, 1 tablespoon after another, and then the boiling water, 1 tablespoon after another. Stir in the lemon juice. You should have a smooth, thick paste. Serve in a bowl to accompany chicken, fish, or steamed vegetables. Makes 1/2 cup, enough for 8 servings

Eggplant Salad

2007-04-30T22:00:00.000-05:00

This recipe is from my good friend, and fabulous Turkish cook, Umit. She served this when we visited her recently, and it was thoroughly delicious.

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant
1 small bell pepper (red, green or yellow)
1 large tomato
2 small onions
1/2 bunch parsley
2 cloves garlic
juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbs olive oil
salt, pepper

Directions:

Wash the eggplant and prick all over with a fork. Place on a grill and cook evenly by turning occasionally in the oven. When the skin of the eggplant looks quite burnt, test it with fork and make sure the flesh is soft right through.

Let eggplant cool down while preparing the others ingredients. Cut tomato, bell pepper, onion, and parsley into small pieces> Add crushed garlic and mix. Slice the eggplant and add to others. Season with salt pepper, oil and fresh lemon juice.

Turkish Pop Music -- Mustafa Sandal and Yasar

2007-04-14T13:52:00.001-05:00

I thought I'd give you all a taste of some modern Turkish culture with a couple of clips from some of my favorite Turkish singers.

I absolutely love "Divane" by Yasar. The guitar, the singing, and the atmosphere are fantastic.

This song, "Jest Oldum," is from Mustafa Sandal (Musti). Musti is one of the most popular Turkish pop singers.

Both of these are from 1996 because that's during the time I was living there. Yasar and Musti both have more recent stuff out, but these are two of my favorites.

Ummuhan's Green Beans with Eggs

2007-04-11T13:35:00.003-05:00

Here's a recipe that my beloved, and very, very funny sister-in-law sent me. She says this is a great recipe, simple to make, and quite delicious.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups green beans
2 eggs
2 TBS butter
salt to taste
red pepper flakes
yogurt garlic sauce

Directions:

Cut green beans very short (0.25"). Fry two eggs until they are all solid, then mash them with a fork into small pieces. Stir the cut green beans and eggs together, then cook in a covered skillet over low heat. Green beans will cook with beans juice. As they cook, add salt and red pepper flakes. Serve topped with garlic yogurt on it.

Beet Kvass

2007-03-27T20:43:00.000-05:00

This recipe is from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, my most reliable source for healthy, traditional recipes and information. Even though beet kvass is considered a Russian or Ukrainian beverage, my husband recognizes it as very similar to a traditional fermented Turkish beverage called salgam. He loves this stuff.

Ingredients:
3 medium or 2 large organic beets, peeled and chopped up coarsely
1/4 cup whey
1 tbsp sea salt
filtered water

Directions:

This drink is valuable for its medicinal qualities and as a digestive aid. Beets are just loaded with nutrients. One 4-ounce glass, morning and night, is an excellent blood tonic, promotes regularity, aids digestion, alkalizes the blood, cleanses the liver and is a good treatment for kidney stones and other ailments. Beet kvass may also be used in place of vinegar in salad dressings and as an addition to soups.

Place beets, whey and salt in a 2-quart glass container. Add filtered water to fill the container. Stir well and cover securely. Keep at room temperature for 2 days before transferring to refrigerator.

When most of the liquid has been drunk, you may fill up the container with water and keep at room temperature another 2 days. The resulting brew will be slightly less strong than the first. After the second brew, discard the beets and start again. You may, however, reserve some of the liquid and use this as your inoculant instead of the whey.

Note: Do not use grated beets in the preparation of beet tonic. When grated, beets exude too much juice resulting in a too rapid fermentation that favors the production of alcohol rather than lactic acid.

Whey and Cream Cheese

2007-03-14T20:05:00.001-05:00

This recipe is from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions

Makes 5 cups whey and 2 cups cream cheese

Ingredients:

2 quarts piima milk,
OR whole-milk buttermilk,
OR yogurt,
OR raw milk
(I use yogurt, and find it very easy to work with for whey)

Directions:

We call for the use of whey in many recipes throughout this book (Nourishing Traditions)-- as a starter culture for lacto-fermented vegetables and fruits, for soaking grains and as a starter for many beverages. The cream cheese, which is a by-product, is far superior to the commercial variety, which is produced by putting milk under high pressure and not by the beneficial action of lactic-acid-producing bacteria.

If you are using piima milk or whole-milk buttermilk, let stand at room temperature 1-2 days until the milk visibly separates into white curds and yellowish whey. If you are using yoghurt, no advance preparation is required. You may use homemade yoghurt or good quality commercial plain yoghurt. If you are using raw milk, place the milk in a clean glass container and allow it to stand at room temperature 1-4 days until it separates.

Line a large strainer set over a bowl with a clean dish towel. Pour in the yoghurt or separated milk, cover and let stand at room temperature for several hours (longer for yoghurt). The whey will run into the bowl and the milk solids will stay in the strainer. Tie up the towel with the milk solids inside, being careful not to squeeze. Tie this little sack to a wooden spoon placed across the top of a container so that more when can drip out. When the bag stops dripping, the cheese is ready. Store whey in a mason jar and cream cheese in a covered glass container. Refrigerated, the cream cheese keeps for about 1 month and the whey for about 6 months.

Notes:
Whey is such a good helper in your kitchen. It has a lot of minerals. One tablespoon of whey in a little water will help digestion. It is a remedy that will keep your muscles young. It will keep your joints movable and ligaments elastic. When age wants to bend your back, take whey....With stomach ailments, take one tablespoon whey three times daily, this will feed the stomach glands and they will work well again.
Hanna Kroeger Ageless Remedies from Mother's Kitchen

Cream of Red Split Lentil Soup -- Ezme Sutlu Kirmizi Mercimek Corbasi

2007-03-01T20:43:00.000-05:00

I know I've put up a lot of soup recipes, but that's one of the things I think Turks excel at. Salads, boreks and dolmas, fish, and soups!

Of all the great Turkish soups, red lentil is one of my favorites. I make this about twice a month in winter, and my kids just gulp it down.

Once when I made it for a sick friend at short notice, I had to substitute a few ingredients, and found out they worked fabulously as well. So I've indicated substitutions in parentheses.

Ingredients:

2 small onions -- 80 g -- (or leeks, or a combo of leeks and onions)
3 tablespoons butter -- 40 g -- (or olive oil)
2 tablespoons whole spelt flour -- 12 g
4 cups water -- 1 liter -- (or broth)
2/3 cups red split lentils -- 120 g
2 teaspoons sea salt -- 12 g
1/2 teaspoon black pepper -- 1 g
1 egg -- 50 g
3/4 cups milk -- 200 ml -- (or plain yogurt)
juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

Saute chopped onion in melted butter for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour, blending well. Add water gradually, stirring constantly.

Stir in washed red split lentils. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until red lentils are tender.

Remove from heat and using a stick blender, process the soup until creamy. Season with salt and pepper.

Return to heat and simmer gently for 2 minutes.

Beat egg and add milk, mixing well. Blend this egg/milk mixture gradually into the soup, stirring constantly. Boil gently for 1 more minute.

Serve hot with lemon juice added to taste.

This recipe is from Samples from Turkish Cuisine by Ayse Baysal.

My Favorite Turkish Meal

2007-02-28T10:02:00.000-05:00

Two of the foods I think Turks excel at come together beautifully to form my absolute favorite Turkish meal: fish and greens. I've never eaten fish as good as in Turkey. Maybe it's the quality of the fish -- salt water fish freshly caught -- or maybe it's the way the Turks prepare them. Either way, Turkey is blessed with four seas (Black, Marmara, Aegean, and Mediterranean) and a wide variety of excellent seafood.

Then, they've learned over centuries the best way to prepare the fish and the best foods to serve the fish with to enhance their flavor. And the most popular seafood accompaniment is a simple green salad, or preferably several varieties of salad. Turks will make a salad out of any vegetable. And unlike the loaded salad bar with heavy dressing that most Americans are used to, most Turkish salads are made out of one or two very fresh vegetables, thinly sliced or shredded, and topped lightly with salt and an olive oil/lemon juice dressing.

Some of my favorite fish I ate in Turkey:

lufer -- from the Black Sea and Maramara. Even though lufer is translated as blue fish, I believe there must be something different from the Turkish variety and those available in the US, because the one time I ate blue fish in the US, I didn't like it at all. I first ate lufer in Turkey on an evening picnic with a childhood friend of my husband, grilled over an outside bar-b-que and served with lots of green onions and a salad of shredded romaine lettuce. I decided I could eat this simple meal every day for the rest of my life and be very happy. Lufer is one of the most popular fishes in Turkey. You'll find it featured in many fine restaurants. It can be prepared both grilled and lightly fried.

mezgit -- Even though mezgit (blue whiting) is from the Aegean and Mediterranean, the first time I had it was in an outside restaurant on the shores of the Black Sea. It was served lightly battered and fried with a parsley, red onion and sumach salad. I decided I had to have two favorite Turkish fish dishes as the mezgit was just as delicious as the lufer.

hamsi -- anchovy. If all you've ever had of anchovy come from little tin cans or on top of a pizza, then you're in for a true delight if you ever get to try fresh Turkish anchovy. The best hamsi from the Black Sea. I first ate a plate-full of this little fish in the home of my mother and father in-law. I initially turned up my nose at eating the whole of the small fish, head and all, but after I tried it, I couldn't stop myself from eating more. It was like scarfing down chips or popcorn. They're just so delicious, you can't stop.

Some of the most elegant Turkish meals I had were based simply on fish and salad. I remember the dinner following our niece's wedding at my sister-in-law's home. She'd prepared a huge platter of istavrit (horse mackerel), battered and lightly fried. This was accompanied by 4-5 different greens or salads: a plate of whole green onions, a large bowl of whatever greens she could find mixed together, a salad of chopped parsley, and a platter of salted whole romaine leaves.

When a fish is battered, it's usually coated in corn meal, salt, and pepper, and it's almost always fried in olive oil. My husband says that the most important thing to accompany fish, besides the greens, are onions, either green or dry, because the taste of onion brings out the full flavors of the fish.

Besides being nutritious, this simple, elegant meal is also incredibly nutritious. For more information on the variety of fish served in Turkey, check out this website: Seafish in Turkey.

Wrapped Grape Vine Leaves

2007-02-23T08:33:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't love wrapped vine leaves, called dolma by many, called yaprak sarmasi by Turks. They are so delicious, that I wish I could make them all the time. Though I have to admit, my favorite wrapped leaf is cabbage, which my mother-in-law makes divinely.

This is a Turkish recipe for Wrapped Vine Leaves with Olive Oil (Zeytinyagli Yaprak Sarmasi). This is not difficult, just time consuming.

Ingredients:

150 grams vine leaves ** I used one 16 oz jar
2 1/4 cup (550 g) water
1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
6 large size (600 g) onions **note, although the recipe calls for this many onions, it seemed excessive to me and I used about half
2 tablespoons (20 g) pinenuts
2/3 cup (150 g) olive oil
1 1/4 cups (240 g) rice ** I used brown rice
2 teaspoons (12 g) salt
2 teaspoons (8 g) sugar ** I omitted the sugar
2 tablespoons (20 g) currants
1 small bunch (40 g) parsley
1 small bunch (30 g) dill
10-15 medium leaves (10 g) fresh mint
3/4 teaspoon (1.5 g) black pepper
1/2 teaspoon (1 g) allspice
3/4 teaspoon (1.5 g) cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoons (20 g) lemon juice
1 medium (100 g) lemon

Directions:

Wash and remove stems of vine leaves. Reserve stems. Heat salted water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add vine leaves. Simmer for 4-5 minutes or until tender. Remove from liquid; drain. Complete volume of liquid to 2 1/4 cups. Set aside.

Combine finely chopped onions and pinenuts in a saucepan. Add oil. Saute covered for 20 minutes or until onions are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in rinsed and drained rice; mix well. Saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring again.

Add salt, sugar and 1 1/3 cups of reserved liquid; stir. Sprinkle currants over. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes; drain. Remove from heat. Let stand covered for 10 minutes.

Stir in finely chopped herbs. Season with spices. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Toss slightly.

Place 1 tablespoon of filling over wrong sides (non-shiny) of the grape vines. Fold sides over filling. Roll into oblongs 2 1/2 cm (1 inch) in diameter and 5-6 cm (2 - 2 1/2 inch) long.

Spread hard stems of vines, and stems of parsley and dill on bottom of a shallow saucepan. Arrange wrapped vine leaves in saucepan. Heat remaining reserved liquid. Add to wrapped vegetable. Cover and simmer for 50 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat; cool.

Garnish with lemon slices. Serve cold with lemon juice drizzled on top.

This recipe is from Samples from Turkish Cuisine by Ayse Baysal

Garlic Mayonnaise

2007-02-16T21:19:00.001-05:00

This is not my recipe, nor is it Turkish, but is one I find quite wonderful. It is from Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: A Delicious Alternative for Lifelong Health by Nancy Harmon Jenkins.

Aiolo, sometimes called the "butter of Provence" because it is so integral to the cuisine, is simply a mayonaise incorporating quantities of fresh garlic--usually two cloves per person in Provence. That is a lot, and you might wish to use less (I do--three or four cloves for this recipe), but since the whole point of aioli is garlic, by all means don't stint. The quality of the garlic is most important--it should be fresh and plump with swollen cloves. Reject any shriveled cloves or any in which the core is developing a green sprout.

Traditionally aioli is made with egg yolks and garlic pounded in a mortar. A lighter sauce can be made in the blender with a whole egg and an egg white, but the blender does odd things to the taste of garlic, so I prefer to make the lighter mayonaise in the blender, then fold the garlic paste in separately by hand. I always use organic eggs, but if you're not sure of your egg source and worried about salmonella, don't try this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 whole egg
1 egg white
salt to taste
1 to 1 1/2 cups fruity extra-virgin olive oil as needed
juice of 1/2 lemon or more to taste
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Make the mayonnaise by whirling the egg and egg white in a blender with a little pinch of salt. Remove the center knob from the blender lid and, with the blender churning, start to pour in the olive oil, a very thin thread at first, until the mixture starts to thicken. Stop the blender and pour in a few tablespoons of lemon juice, then start the blender again and continue adding oil, a little more thickly as the mixture emulsifies and mounts. When all the oil has been added, turn the blender off and set aside.

Combine the garlic in a small bowl or a mortar with a teaspoon of salt and pound the garlc or crush it with the back of a spoon until you have a thick and homogeneous paste. Now use a spatula to scrape the mayonnaise into the garlic paste and turn gently to incorporate everything. Taste and add more salt and lemon juice if desired.

If the mayonnaise breaks down and separates while you're blending it, remove it all from the blender and start over again with a fresh egg. Whirl the egg until it is light and add, bit by bit, the broken-down mayonnaise and more oil and lemon juce. It should be easy to reconstitute the mayonnaise. Then proceed as directed.

Makes about 1 1/4 cups; 20 servings

Purslane Salad with Yogurt--Semizotu

2007-01-31T20:44:00.000-05:00

I first discovered purslane when I lived in Turkey and fell in love with it as a salad green immediately. I especially love it fixed in this recipe.

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea), is usually regarded as a common garden weed today, but it has been cultivated as a succulent food crop for more than 2000 years in India, Persia, and the Middle East. From these areas the plant spread to Europe during the sixteenth century where it gained in popularity and was thought to ward off evil spirits.

Purslane is high in vitamin C, and, when eaten raw, has diuretic properties. An excellent crunch salad plant, its cooling leaves blend well with hotter-flavored salad herbs.

You can find purslane growing wild if you are familiar with the plant, or many health and specialty groceries carry it.

Ingredients:

2 cups (300 g.) purslane
1 3/4 cups (440 g.) plain yogurt
2 cloves (6 g.) garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons (9 g.) sea salt

Directions:

Wash purslane thoroughly; drain. Chop coarsely.

Combine with yogurt, salt and crushed garlic.

Chill and serve.

Cultural Notes:

This salad is prepared in Mediterranean and Aegean regions. Wild purslane "tohmeken" is used instead of cultivated.

This recipe is from Samples from Turkish Cuisine published by the Turkish Ministry of Culture, 1993.

Yayla Corbasi -- High Plateau Yogurt Soup

2007-01-19T04:52:00.000-05:00

This is one of my all time favorite Turkish recipes. I have adapted it slightly by changing the white rice to brown rice and the white flour to spelt flour or whole wheat pastry.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup (60 g) brown rice
3 1/3 cups (800 g) water
1 1/2 cups (360 g) plain yogurt
3 tablespoons (18 g) flour (I recommend whole grain spelt flour or whole wheat pastry)
1 medium size (50 g) egg
2 teaspoons (12 g) sea salt
3 tablespoons (40 g) butter
2 tablespoons (2 g) dried mint

Directions:

Put rice in a saucepan with water. Simmer for 35-40 minutes or until rice is tender.

Combine yogurt, flour and slightly beaten egg in a bowl, mixing well. Stir in some soup liquid gradually, mixing thoroughly. This helps to warm up the yogurt and egg so that they don't curdle.

Blend the yogurt/egg mixture into the rice and water slowly, stirring constantly. Season with salt. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Melt butter in a skillet. Add crushed mint; stir. Sprinkle over soup. Turks also often sprinkle some red pepper into the butter/mint mixture.

Serve hot.

Cultural notes:

"Yayla" means high plateau. Since milk could not be well preserved during summer months in the old days when ice-boxes were not available, milk would be used to produce yogurt. The best yogurt would be obtained from high plateaus. The name comes from this practice. It is a delicious soup, very popular all over the country.

This recipe is adapted from Samples from Turkish Cuisine by Ayse Baysal.

Eggplant Moussaka -- Patlıcan Musakka

2007-01-08T20:22:00.002-05:00

Turks know 101 ways to prepare eggplant, and this is one of the best. I'd recommend soaking the eggplant slices in salt water for about an hour before frying. Also, if you'd like your eggplant to absorb less oil when frying, then first bake the slices in the oven until slightly tender.

The eggplant usually found in Turkey is the smaller, slender Asian variety, thus if you're using the Black Beauty eggplant more commonly found in the US, you'll probably only need 1-2 to reach 2 pounds.

Ingredients:

6 medium size (1 kg / 2 pounds) eggplant
3 ½ tablespoons (50 g) olive oil (absorbed during frying)
1 ¼ cups (250 g) ground meat
2 small size (100 g) onions
2 medium size (250 g) tomatoes
2 teaspoons (10 g) tomato paste
2 teaspoons (12 g) sea salt
¼ teaspoon (0.5 g) freshly ground black pepper
½ cup (120 g) water
2-3 sprigs (6 g) parsley

Directions:

Pare eggplants in strips and cut into 1 cm (½ inch) thick slices. Brown lightly in oil in a non-stick pan until lightly browned on both sides. Remove from pan, reserving oil. Layer eggplants in a shallow pan.

Add ground meat and finely chopped onions to oil left in pan; stir. Brown for 8-10 minutes or until meat is crumbly; drain.

Stir in 1 diced tomato, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add water, mixing well. Bring to boil.

Pour mixture over eggplants and spread. Top with sliced tomato. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes (or bake in a moderate oven for 15 minutes) until tender.

Remove from heat. Garnish with parsley leaves before serving. Serve hot.

Makes 6 servings.

Cultural notes:

Patlıcan musakka is a very common dish during the summer months in Turkey. It is usually served as a main dish for lunch or supper with pilaf (rice) and cacık (cucumer/yogurt salad).

In the winter it was traditionally made with dried eggplant.

This recipe is adapted from Samples from Turkish Cuisine.

Chick-Pea, Chicken, and Rice Soup from Aleppo

2006-12-31T08:39:00.000-05:00

My sister and her family visited over the holidays and we did a lot of cooking together. She made this delicious soup from the Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: A Delicious Alternative for Lifelong Health by Nancy Harmon Jenkins.

This soup has been a favorite since I first had it years ago in a restaurant off Hamra Street in Ras Beirut that specialized in cuisine from Aleppo. The cinnamon marks it as from the region of the Lebanese-Syrian-South Turkish littoral, where flavors that we associate with sweet cakes and cookies, like cinnamon, clove, and allspice, are used very successfully in soups and stews. Don't let the simplicity of this deceive you--it's an astonishingly good dish for cold days and nights.

Ingredients:
¾ cup dried chick-peas, soaked overnight **
2 quarts clear white chicken stock with the breast meat of the cooked chicken diced and reserved
½ cup long-grain [brown] rice **
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cumin
[sea] salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a covered heavy kettle or stockpot, simmer the drained chick-peas in the chicken stock for an hour or more, until they are thoroughly cooked but not falling apart. Add the rice and continue cooking until the rice is tender but not bursting, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the reserved chicken and continue cooking just long enough to heat it through. Taste the stock and adjust seasoning if necessary. Cover and keep warm.

In a small skillet, gently sauté the onion and garlic in the oil until soft but not browned--about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the cinnamon and cumin and cook 5 minutes longer or until the aroma of the spices begins to rise. Stir the mixture into the soup, return to a simmer, taste, adding salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Although this recipe is from Syria, it reminds me very much of some dishes I encountered when I first moved to Turkey in the early 1990s. My husband and I lived in Antalya, on the southern Mediterranean coast, and I had a great friend who was also an American married to a Turk. She and I would share lots of Turkish recipes and she had one that I thought most unusual, but extremely delicious--it used cinnamon as the flavoring in a meat/rice dish. I'll try to track that recipe down, or one like it, and post it here as well.

** I like to soak both my rice and chick-peas overnight. Soak in water with a couple of tablespoons of liquid whey added to aide in the lactic acid fermentation. Read an article by Sally Fallon at the Weston A. Price Foundation for a good explanation of this process, or check out her wonderful cookbook, packed with nutritional information as well as great recipes: Nourishing Traditions.

St. Nicholas of Myra

2006-12-26T11:42:00.000-05:00

Did you know Santa Claus was originally from Turkey? Well, actually, Asia Minor didn't fall under Ottoman control until a few centuries later, but Nicholas was Bishop of Myra, outside present day Demre on the south-western Mediterranean coast of Turkey. I went to visit the ruins of Myra and the church built in his honor when we lived in Antalya.

St. Nicholas is best remembered and revered for his generosity. Numerous legends abound of him giving money and aid to people in need. One of the most popular, and most tied to the Santa Claus story, is of how St. Nicholas tossed gold at night into the window of a poor family in order to give the three daughters a dowry.

At the time Myra fell under Seljuk Muslim control, raiders from Italy stole the bones of St. Nicholas from his tomb (see picture at right, note where it was broken into) in his church and brought the bones to Bari. A few small pieces that were left behind are on display in the museum in Antalya.

There are some wonderful icons at the church in Myra, but unfortunately they are not in the best preserved shape. Still, the church is largely intact, and coupled with the wonderful rock-cut tombs and theater at nearby Demre is a wonderful place to visit should you get the chance.

For more on St. Nicholas of Myra check out:
Sain Nicholas on Wikipedia
St. Nicholas of Myra, Legends and Sources

Stuffed Foods -- Dolmalar

2006-12-09T06:41:00.001-05:00

Here's the first in a series of recipes translated from a collection by my Turkish mother-in-law.

Dolmas -- stuffed foods, usually vegetables -- are a delicious mainstay of the Turkish Diet. Turks will stuff almost any vegetable, and many fruits, that stays still long enough to get caught. :-) The choice of what to stuff today is usually determined by what can be bought fresh at the pazar -- the open air farmer's market. During the winter, when little is fresh, they'll stuff dried versions of many of their favorite vegetables.

Here is my mother-in-law's recipe for the basic process of preparing a variety of foods with meat stuffing. Keep in mind that I use the term "recipe" loosely. She's the type of well-experienced cook who chooses by what ingredients are available and measures by what feels right.

Also for your convenience, here's a list of ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 cup rice (she uses white, I would choose brown)
2 medium onions
bunch of fresh parsley
small bunch fresh mint
small bunch fresh dill
2 tomatoes
vegetable to stuff (see list below -- you'll need enough to fill a fairly large pot)
olive oil -- enough to cover bottom of pot
tomato paste -- about 1 well-rounded tablespoon
water -- enough to fill pot and cover the dolma

There are two types of dolma -- with olive oil (served cold) and with meat (served hot).

Meat stuffed vegetables:
bell pepper, eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini and artichoke can all be used for stuffing.

Preparing the Stuffing:
For one pound ground beef, add 1 cup of well-washed rice and 2 medium sized onions, chopped. The onion should be chopped very fine. Chop the parsley, mint and dill and add to the ground beef. Grate two tomatoes and add to ground beef with black pepper.

Next, empty the inside of the vegetables (for example, cut the top off a bell pepper and empty and wash out the inside). Then fill the empty vegetable with stuffing.

Cooking:
Put oil in a large pot and add tomato paste, stirring it in. After a while, add water into the stirred paste, and warm the water. You should add enough water to cover the dolmas. Cook until tender and rice is done.

If you want the dolma to cook better, cover them with a porcelain or heavy plate, something that presses slightly down on the dolma so that the stuffing will hold together better.

Portrait of a Turkish Woman

2006-12-09T06:25:00.000-05:00

My Turkish mother-in-law is a very special woman. She has survived the death of two husbands, raised three wonderful children, cared for an ailing mother for years (then an ailing brother followed by her husband) -- and still at 78 she has the strength, energy, and spirit of a woman half her age.

When I first moved to Turkey in the early 1990s, my husband and I lived for several months with his parents in Ankara until he started his position in the university in Antalya. While I always loved and respected my mother-in-law, I will have to admit that as a result of culture shock and cultural differences, I didn't always recognize and appreciate her advice on food preparation or nutrition (not to mention in other areas!). Now I'm happily eating my words -- as well as her recipes.

I still prefer to drink my milk cold first thing in the morning (she insisted cold milk would give me a sore throat), but now I wish I could buy the good, fresh, raw milk by just yelling to the sütcu passing outside my window every morning as she did. I've learned the value of slow food preparation, fermented vegetables and drinks, as well as lots of healthy fish and a salad at every meal (including breakfast!).

So, when my husband traveled to Turkey recently, I asked his mother to write down as many recipes and traditional nutritional advice as she could remember. I'll be sharing these with you over the next few weeks.

Thank you, Anne! (Anne is the Turkish word for mother.)

Pope in Turkey

2006-12-06T23:24:00.000-05:00

Well, I didn't see any news coverage as to what Pope Benedict ate during his recent trip through Turkey, but it was very interesting to me to follow his journeys to places I've both visited before and also written about in my novels.

First, Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of the modern Republic of Turkey's founder and first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatűrk -- is literally just a couple of blocks from where my husband grew up and I first lived in Turkey when we stayed with his parents. I haven't written about Anıtkabir in a story though...yet.

Then, near the Aegean Coast outside Ephesus, Meryem Ana Evi, or The House of the Virgin Mary -- I absolutely love Ephesus and this nearby site. If you ever go to Turkey, in my opinion, Ephesus is a must. Here's a link direct to Ephesus as well.

I have definitely used Meryem Ana in a story -- a story I started writing a few years ago. Now my fear is that it will seem I cashed in on the Pope's visit. Oh, well.

Although the Pope only briefly visited Haghia Sophia in Istanbul, it's a fabulous church/mosque/museum that I also highly recommend to anyone visiting Turkey. The history of this church, and its mosaics, are truly inspirational.

A couple of years ago, I visited the Met in New York City. Imagine my surprise when I turned around, and over the door in one of the rooms, found myself staring at a recreated mosaic from Haghia Sophia.

Haghia Sophia figures into the same story in which I used the House of the Virgin Mary. Across the street from Haghia Sophia is the Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet Camii, which the Pope also visited. I've used the Blue Mosque as a setting for another novel I've written.

Wonder if the Pope made it to the Covered Bazaar, and if he got invited to drink Turkish tea while examining a Turkish carpet? :-)

Other Turkish Herbal Teas

2006-11-30T21:46:00.000-05:00

Some other wonderful herbal teas that I became familiar with in Turkey and would like to recommend:

Ada Çayı (sage tea) -- very good for stomach upsets and colds
Kuşburnu Çayı (rose hips tea) -- high in vitamin C
Lemon/Mint Tea -- also good for stomach upsets

When I first moved to Turkey, whenever I had a sore throat or upset stomach, my Turkish mother-in-law would make me fresh lemon/mint tea. Just steep fresh mint in hot water, then add lemon juice and sweeten. She sweetened with sugar, but now I prefer to use stevia.

Lemon/mint tea is really wonderful whether you're sick or not. Fresh mint is preferable to dried.

Linden Flower Tea -- Ihlamur Çayı

2006-11-30T20:29:00.003-05:00

One of my absolute favorite herbal teas from Turkey is linden flower tea. It's wonderful and warming on a winter day, or really any time of the year.

If you can find some good dried linden flowers, simply brew it up in a tea pot by adding to boiled water and steeping for 10-15 minutes. Linden Flower tea is so good that many people don't need to sweeten it, but if you do, just sweeten to taste with stevia.

One place you can find ihlamur tea / linden tea is at Tulumba.com an online Turkish grocery and market, but many herb stores or natural food stores will carry it as well.

Linden flower is reportedly good for calming nerves, soothing upset stomachs, and relieving cold-related coughs. To read more, check out this site or here (scroll down).

Carrot Salad -- Yoğurtlu Havuç Salatası

2006-11-18T08:34:00.000-05:00

Here's a delightful Turkish carrot salad that's easy to make. It's a good, hearty salad to serve this time of year and is one of my family's favorites.

At home, we simply take about 3-4 large carrots, wash well, and run across a a grater, slicing them fine into a bowl. Then make a salad dressing of olive oil and lemon juice and toss along with a bit of salt. That's it. Simple, yet wonderful.

Here's another version, a bit more complicated and involves slight cooking, but also very good.

Ingredients:

3 large carrots
1 cup yogurt (250 ml)
5 cloves garlic crushed with ½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
a few mint leaves or 1 teaspoon dry mint
a few black olives

Directions:
Scrape and wash carrots; cut into two. Cook in boiling water for 10 minutes. They should be barely cooked and not soft. Drain and cool. Grate carrots into a bowl.

Place yogurt in another bowl. Add garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, oil. Mix well. Add yogurt mixture to grated carrots and mix.

Garnish with whole mint leaves or crushed dry mint. If desired, arrange a few black olives on top.

Serves 5.

This recipe is from The Delights of Turkish Cooking.

Mushroom Soup with Yogurt -- Mantar Çorbası

2006-10-26T12:00:00.001-05:00

Here's another good cold-weather soup that's easy to make fresh at home and very delicious. Though the recipe doesn't call for it, I like to add fresh lemon juice--usually just a dash per bowl when serving it up hot.

Ingredients:

8-12 large mushrooms (150 g)
3 2/3 cups water or broth (900 g)
1 1/3 cups yogurt (330 g)
½ cup whole-grain flour (55 g)
2 teaspoons sea salt (12 g)
2 cloves garlic (6 g)
3 tablespoons butter (40 g)
½ teaspoon red pepper (1 g)

Directions:

Cut mushrooms into quarters. Place water or broth in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add mushrooms into boiling water. Reduce heat. Simmer for 30-35 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.

In a bowl, combine yogurt and flour, blending well. Stir this mixture into mushrooms gradually and stir constantly. Reduce heat.

Season with salt. Simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add crushed garlic; mix.

Melt butter in a skillet. Stir in red pepper; mix. Dribble red pepper/butter mixture over soup. Serve hot.

6 servings.

Regional Characteristics:

The original recipe comes from Bolu province. Usually, a small type of mushroom, called "Mihtepesi," is used in soup making. This dish is also prepared in the Aegean Region.

This recipe is adapted from Samples from Turkish Cuisine.

Cream of Tomato Soup -- Şafak Çorbası

2006-10-19T09:24:00.000-05:00

As the weather gets a bit nippy, I love a good, warm soup. And Turkish cuisine offers several. The first I'd like to share is one most people are familiar with, but made fresh at home -- Cream of Tomato Soup, or Şafak Çorbası. This recipe is easy and excellent.

Ingredients:

½ cup whole grain flour (55 g)
3 tablespoons butter (40 g)
5 cups water or broth (1200 ml)
3 medium size tomatoes (375 g)
2 teaspoons sea salt (12 g)
1 small egg (50 g)
3/4 cup + 1 ½ tablespoons milk (200 g)
½ teaspoon black pepper (1 g)
2 thin slices whole grain or sprouted bread (40 g)

Directions:

Brown flour lightly over low heat in melted butter. Add hot water or broth, stirring thoroughly. Bring to a boil.

Add peeled and sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt. Simmer for 30-35 minutes, or until tomatoes are very tender.

Place into a food processor or using a stick blender, process until well blended and creamy.

Bring soup back to a boil and simmer for 1 minute.

In a small bowl, combine well beaten egg and milk, blending well. Stir egg/milk mixture into soup, adding gradually in a stream and mixing thoroughly. Boil gently for 1 minute.

Sprinkle with black pepper. Top with toasted bread cubes. Serve hot.

8 servings.

Regional Characteristics:

This soup is cooked in different parts of the country. When fresh tomato is not available, tomato paste (or canned tomatoes) can be used instead).

This recipe is adapted from Samples from Turkish Cuisine.

A Well-Stocked Turkish Kitchen

2006-10-09T07:54:00.001-05:00

My husband returned from Turkey yesterday from a 3-week visit (part of the reason I didn't blog as I was so busy with extra work), and brought me several goodies. Olives, feta (beyaz peynir), pastırma, dried apricots (unsulphured) -- lots of good, healthy stuff.

So, I thought I would create a list of the well-stocked Turkish kitchen, ingredients so common on the table, that a Turkish cook would almost always have them in the cupboard, or buy them fresh frequently.

Oils

olive oil (extra virgen, cold pressed best)

butter (the real stuff, not that nasty margarine)

Dairy

milk (sometimes still sold fresh off the street)

feta (beyaz peynir)

yogurt (and lots of it, whole milk)

Meats

(usually used sparingly because of cost):

lamb

pastırma

ground beef

Fish

(This is just a small selection. As Turkey is surrounded by 3 seas (Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black) plus many rivers, there is a wide variety of fish, and it's eaten frequently. I've never eaten better fish than in Turkey.)

lufer (a type of blue-fish, but a whole lot better)

anchovy

sardines

trout

Fruits

--all kinds, whatever's fresh in-season:
Turks love fruit, and use it as a common dessert

quince

apricots

peaches (from Bursa are heavenly)

grapes

apples

pears

figs (another fruit divinity)

lemons (used in almost anything, freshly-squeezed, not bottled)

olives (most commonly served at breakfast, but really at any meal)

Dried Fruits

dates

apricots

figs

raisins

Nuts

(I'll blog about kuru yemiş one day):

almonds

pistachios

walnuts

hazelnuts

peanuts

Vegetables

(again, what is fresh and in-season):

eggplant

leeks

tomatoes

okra

celeriac

squash

carrots

onions

cabbage

garlic (used year-round in almost everything)

Beans, Legumes and Grains

white dry beans (canneli)

chick peas

lentils

bulgur

rice (Turks usually use white, but I always use brown)

Greens

arugula

purslane

lettuce (usually Romaine)

parsley (used as a salad, too)

tere

green onions

Herbs & Spices:

dill

parsley

mint

pepper paste

Drinks:

tea (loose leaf, black)

coffee (Turkish ground)

dried ihlamur/ linden flowers (makes a great tea)

rakı (a type of Turkish alcohol)

Misc

eggs

honey

tarhana (a base used to make a delicious soup)

I'm sure this list will grow as I remember certain items, or someone reminds me. Plus Turkey is a huge country and I did not experience all the various regional cuisines, unfortunately.

Ayran -- Turkish Buttermilk

2006-09-15T09:04:00.000-05:00

While I'm on a yogurt craze, here's a recipe for a very popular drink in Turkey that is easy to make out of yogurt. It took me a while to get used to it, but I love it now. It's nutritious and delicious.

When we make Ayran at home, we keep it very simple. Mix plain, whole yogurt with a bit of water and salt to taste. You want the consitency to be like buttermilk. Chill, or serve with ice. I usually prefer mine chilled without ice.

Here's a recipe from Samples from Turkish Cuisine that's a different version:

Ingredients:

3 cups yogurt (750 g)
2 cups milk (500 g)
2 ½ cups water ( 600 g)
1 ½ teaspoons salt (9g) (I use sea salt)

Directions:

Place yogurt in a bowl. Beat with a fork or a hand mixer untill well blended. Add milk gradually, mixing well. Stir in iced cold water. Add salt; mix well. Serve cold.

Cultural Note:

[Ayran] is a very popular drink all over the country. It is served with kebabs, kőftes, meat dishes and pilafs as a beverage or it is just served as a refreshment during summer months. Amount of yogurt can be reduced to 1/3 cup per person for a thinner consistency. Only milk, or only water, can be used a liquid. It should always be served cold.

Great Turkish Cookbook

2006-09-15T08:48:00.000-05:00

One book that I highly recommend, if you can get your hands on it, is Samples from Turkish Cuisine, edited by Ayşe Baysal. This is a fabulous collection of authentic Turkish recipes and is by far the Turkish cookbook I use the most.

My copy was a gift from my husband when we were living in Turkey. He got it free through his job. Now I see it's selling for quite a bit online. But I'll try to provide as many of the best recipes as I can without violating fair use.

One of the things I like best about this cookbook is that it includes measurements in both metric and English systems. Thus I was able to use it easily while living in Turkey and then back in the US.

I have another Turkish cookbook I like quite a bit: The Delights of Turkish Cooking by Neşet Eren.

I prefer Samples from Turkish Cuisine because its recipes are the more common, everyday foods Turks cook themselves, whereas The Delights of Turkish Cooking tends to be a bit more gourmet, though it does have delicious recipes, and I will include some in this blog.

Homemade Plain Yogurt

2006-09-14T10:20:00.000-05:00

Here's a snippet from the vows for marrying a Turk: "I promise to love, honor, and eat yogurt every single day of my life." Well, practically... Turks love their yogurt!

Yogurt is very easy to make, once you've tried it and are familiar with the process. Homemade yogurt may not be as thick as commercial, but tastes better without the additives.

Ingredients:

1 quart whole milk (nonhomogenized if you can get it, thus cream will form on top)
a yogurt or candy thermometer
½ cup starter plain yogurt (can be from commercial--make sure with live cultures, or from a previous batch of homemade)

Directions:

Slowly heat the milk to 180 degrees F, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and allow milk to cool to 110 F. Stir in the starter yogurt. Transfer the mixture to a container for incubating and leave for several hours or overnight (6-9 hours). The longer you leave, the firmer it will get, but also the taste will get more bitter.

There are cheap yogurt incubators on the market that do a great job. You can also put it in a glass, enamel, or stainless steel container, cover, and put in a warm spot. Some people have success in the oven with a pilot light on or in a dehydrator. I've wrapped mine in towels or a blanket and put in a warm spot. The best reults I've had were with the incubator, but also in the oven with a pilot light have yielded good results as well.

Learning how to make good yogurt at home will save money and provide a better quality yogurt than what is readily accessible in many parts of the US. Until my local co-op opened, if I wanted good, plain whole yogurt, I had to make it myself. Many, many Turkish recipes call for plain whole yogurt. And the health benefits are wonderful. See a few links from the post below on Garlic-Yogurt Sauce.

Fried Eggplant

2006-08-20T21:51:00.000-05:00

Eggplant, or aubergine, is probably the favorite vegetable in Turkey. I rarely ate it growing up in the South, but I've developed a passion for it now--especially drizzled with garlic-yogurt sauce.

There are many ways to prepare eggplant to fry, but here's my favorite:

Peel strips of skin off the sides of the eggplant so that it's left in stripes (some skin on and some cut away). Then cut the eggplants into about 1 inch thick slices. Soak the slices in salt-water for about an hour, or omit the water and just sprinkle the slices heavily with salt (which you would then wash off).

Next, I like to layer the slices on a broiler pan and pop them in the oven for a few minutes (around 350 degrees) until tender. That way they don't soak up as much oil when frying.

Heat a skillet (I prefer cast iron) on the stove and add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. After the oil has heated, add your eggplants and fry until golden on both sides (probably about 7-8 mins on each side).

Remove eggplants as they're ready and place on a paper towel to dab up remaining oil. Serve either hot or cold. Spread some Garlic-Yogurt Sauce on them, and enjoy!

Garlic-Yogurt Sauce

2006-08-20T20:38:00.000-05:00

Tonight I'll start the recipes out with a double header. First a wonderful Turkish sauce which can be used on many different foods (fried or grilled vegetables, meat balls, pasta), and then one of my favorite vegetables to go with it.

Garlic-Yogurt Sauce is a staple in the Turkish kitchen. And it's wonderful. In order to make good sauce you need good quality yogurt, PLAIN yogurt. Get the best quality yogurt you can afford, or make your own (I'll post directions tomorrow). Also, I highly recommend yogurt from whole milk, not low fat, and definitely not non-fat. If you have concerns about using full-fat milk products, check out one of my links to the right, Eat Fat Lose Fat.

This is one of those recipes that I didn't learn from a cookbook, but rather by cooking around Turks, so I don't have specific measurements.

Ingredients:

plain yogurt
garlic
sea salt

Directions:

For a family of four, I'll usually mix up at least half a quart of yogurt for this sauce. But as the garlic-yogurt sauce keeps well, you could easily mix up a whole quart and keep any leftover in the refrigerator.

Mix the yogurt with a fork or small whip until creamy. Then crush the garlic (2-3 cloves for ½ a quart, but this is to taste) and add to the yogurt. Last, mix in sea salt to taste as well.

That's it. Pretty easy. But it's sooooo good!

Nutritionally, yogurt is a wonderful food. It provides protein and calcium in a very digestible form and is a natural probiotic.

Here's some links for more information on yogurt:
Wikipedia article on yogurt
AboutYogurt.com
article from MedicinalFoodNews.com

Introduction

2006-08-19T21:39:00.000-05:00

For a long time I've wanted to explore and record my journey into healthy eating, traditional foods, and especially Turkish cuisine. This blog shall be my tool.

I hope to share what I've discovered as well as learn from others who choose to share back.

Even though the title of this blog is Turkish Diet, the recipes and information posted here are in no way limited to the wonderful Turkish foods, but that shall be its center -- along with a smattering of Turkish culture and history.

Also, I'm sure many of my other interests -- including writing, mythology, and the search for the Divine -- will creep in here from time to time.

Please share your recipes and insights into traditional, healthy foods through the comments section, but I'll state upfront that I tend to lurk rather than respond, even on my own blog. :-(