A story of Experiment, Failure and Relative Success: Barbecue Fish in Banana Leaves
Not every experiment can succeed but also not every failure is bad.
Since we watched salt, acid, fat and heat, we wanted to try barbecuing something in banana leaves. Last week we went shopping in an Asian store for the gyozas and we were very happy to find banana leaves! And when we found some fish yesterday it was a done deal.
However there was one thing that we did not think, it's winter and no one is selling charcoal! And we were out of it (at least we thought we were, a bit too late ...
Infused Oliveoil Workshop
From time to time I prepare infused olive oil but since I found that book on citrus, I want to try a few. I was thinking of getting a few bottles so I started making a list. I ended up 20 I wanted to try so I decided to find smaller bottles and turn it into a workshop!
I used two technics for fresh herbs: for most I just washed and pat dried. For a few I blanched in boiling water for 20 seconds then cooled in cold water, then I dried them. The unblanched ones look better in the bottle but we ...
Duck Confit Gyoza
Wherever the food is from, I think my favourite food is dumplings! I cannot resist any of them. Even though we are still in a ketogenic diet, we don't miss the chance to ditch it for whatever we are craving for -in moderation, of course. So in order to not to go empty handed to a friend's place for dinner (!) we made gyozas (why, it has nothing to do with the fact that we really wanted to eat some!)
Steamed dumplings are traditional for many asian countries. In fact, it's a common food even ...
Lamb Shank with Mastic Gum
We have this spice called mastic gum or tears of Chios, which is the resine of the gum tree. Originally it is from Chios, a Greek island we call "Sakız Adası" (Gum Island). The island has the story of trees crying tears of this gum for this or that mythologic or religious reason. The spice has a very unique taste and it is not very well known other than by Greeks, Turks and a few other eastern mediterraneans.
In Turkey we mainly use it for desserts. But I have been thinking we should ...
Unexpected desire to leave the house and eggs benedict
Eggs benedict was never a favourite dish of mine. This was probably because poached eggs were never a thing in our house when I grew up. Thanks to Ürün, I am trying to learn new things, and this is one of them.
You drag me to a meeting? Then I shall eat
My breaking point was during a breakfast at Apex Hotel in London. I saw eggs benedict on a menu at the hotel we for staying for a meeting, to which I was basically dragged. As I usually do in these circumstances, I tried to direct my ...
Only jelly lovers can appreciate aspic!
The first time I met with aspic was about 7 years ago, at a Polish friend's house for a classic Polish Christmas. I think Alp hated the first time he tried (although he was happily eating the fish version the next day!) but I loved the idea! I love jelly. I know it is ridiculus but that doesn't stop me from loving it. But why is it always sweet? Why not savory? Same thing with the soft drinks, why are they always sweet? There is only ayran (yoghurt drink) and nothing else! What the ... Ehem, ...
Make your peace with Ketogenic
We are not writing. Not because we are lazy or we don't care, but because we are not eating anything interesting.
A bit for shortcut, a bit because it is easier to avoid carbs althogether than to lower, we are on a ketogenic diet. So we eat lots of leafy greens, a bit of nuts and meat and fish. No more exviting fruity sauces, no more colorful salads, pastas... So I don't have much to write about. Actually no, I would still be happy to write but you wouldn't be interested! "Do you know what ...
Vietnames Food 101: Bún Chả
I really want to know Vietnamese kitchen better. Even though they have an important amount of sea food, which is not my favourite, I enjoy Vietnamese food more and more each time I taste. Last weekend we had a Vietnamese-Swiss friend, Hoang, visiting us. She came with food! We ate Bún Chả accompanied with Turkish mezes. Even though it was a bit of cultural reunion on the table, we had a great meal, and guess what, I have a recipe for you.
Bún Chả is a Hanoi dish that you can eat warm ...
Verrines and Fingerfood
Today I want to complain about having guests abroad. If the guests are from our part of the world, they certainly miss rakı nights. And Alp wouldn't miss rakı night for the world if he is with good company. So we alwaysa prepare meze. If the guests are from somewhere else, then they want to try original Turkish cuisine (as I would for their own cuisine) so we end up with mezes, again! So we end up making mezes whenever we have guests instead of trying new recipes the way I love to experiment. ...
The Shortest Way From Under the Duvet to Sourcherry Cake
Ü: (07.00 a.m., under the duvet, sick) Honey, can you bake me a cake? I want warm cake.
A: What are you talking about? You need to eat well. And also you won't be able to exercise today.
Ü: But plum cake?
A: Come on, forget about it. Look, I made you breakfast, come and eat. Also please don't bake when I'm away.
Ü: (Grumbling) Hmm ok hmm.
We almost exclusively bake two coloured cacao & vanilla cake (marble cake). If one of us wants another type, she (!) has to fight her way and win. But ...
