A Look Back

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

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

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

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