Living in two homes is something I have been doing for the past 5 years. I would find one place I am really happy at.. and then would almost immediately find the other. So I would be shuttling between the two.
First was a charming Soviet flat in central Moscow with wooden creaking parquet, quite yard and a Siberian flatmate. It got competing with a large modern flat of my then boyfriend at the up-and-coming suburb where I spent way more time.
Until I packed my stuff from both and (still not sure how) fitted it into a shoe-box of a flat 10 minutes cab drive away from work (read, unachievable luxury for many in Moscow). That was mostly weekends as I spent my working week in the huge apartment in a small and impossibly European city of Western Ukraine.
I then thought I found my ideal house in Istanbul - spacious flat with a big kitchen in my favorite neighborhood. Until a large studio at our countryside property in Sapanca became my second home. As if a subconscious refusal to settle at one place keeps me shuttling between two.
Leaving one for another is always difficult. When I leave Sapanca for Istanbul I am thinking how many times I have not kissed my husband, how bad daughter-in-law I am to leave anne at the kitchen in the midst of the full-fledged cooking action, how I have those Bursa peaches in the fridge which would be too late to turn into an upside-down-cake when I come back.
When I leave Istanbul I regret not spending enough time at my kitchen there, not taking time to go to a new eatery and write about it, not seeing my friends who have given up about me. It is almost that Kafkian epic impossibility to finish whatever I strive to accomplish.
My mind sometimes refuses to leave either place yet and gives me sensible reasons to return. I have this maniac notion I have forgotten to.. Switch off the iron. Lock the door. Close the window.
Once as we left the house in Moda and got on a ferry to Beşiktaş I realized I could not remember how I had switched off the stovetop heater under the steaming Turkish teapot. Not going back was out of question. We did not get off the ferry at Beşiktaş hoping to get back with the same one. Only that it was going empty to Ortaköy where we eventually got off and had to change 3 transportation modes to get back to Moda and find out that the stovetop was off.
Packing is another hassle when I leave one home for the other. I need to narrow down the range of my wants to the size of my handbag. However small. I used to carry a backpack but since every load now results in a back pain I am even more minimalistic.
I thought I can’t live a day without my laptop and camera. Because they help me register impressions - both verbally and visually - full-fledged. But leaving them behind I have learned that it is not registering my impressions but the schedule of my food walks and cooking classes that is most important of all. And it does not weight extra to carry.
Living in two house and shuttling at least one a week has taught me how illusive our the desire to embrace the vast is. And that we all can do only this much within the time given to us at a particular place. Whatever is left before the departure to another one.
So I am trying to live my life in those short spans as if that is all I have. Be the best of me, experience the most I can and and cook something worthwhile. Like my prawns with loquat en papilote.
Prawns with Loquat En Papilote
Prawns en papilote - sealed in baking paper and steamed in its own juices - is a winning idea for a good summer meal
Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 10 Min
Total Time: 25 Min
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 0.5 kg fresh prawns shelled
- 8 loquat (malta eriği) can be replaced with peaches or juicy apricots
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 green pepper
- 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic
Directions
- Prepare key ingredients: Peel the prawns. Skin and seed loquat and then cut each into 6-8 segments. Seed both peppers and chop into rather thin stripes. In a mixing bowl toss all the ingredients and set aside. Pre-heat the oven to 220 C.
- Prepare your envelops: It’s great to make a paper envelop for each serving. Cut a parchment sheet 30 cm long and transfer half of the prawn mix closer to one side of your to-be envelop. Fold the paper in the middle to cover the shrimps. Start working from the corners to close the envelop. The process is kind of like finishing an open pie: take a pinch of paper from the corner – fold it inside, take a pinch of paper 5 sm down from them corner – fold inside and continue in this fashion. You will end up with a lovable paper object looking like Italian calcioni. Make sure the folds are rather tight – keeping the juices and smells locked in is the whole point of the venture. Brush the op with water and sent it to the oven. Bake until the parchment turns is golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Serve: Transfer packages to the serving plates and opening each by making a cross cut on the top of the envelop with scissors, to release the aromas and enjoy the flavors.
Emily Kimelman June 17, 2012 at 12:11 am
I used to feel the same way, always in love with more place than one, feeling anxious to be onto the next. But now I live on a boat and I never have to leave my home, I can just move her. I bet Istanbul would be a wonderful place to live a boathemian lifestyle.
I’m going to Turkey in July and will be staying with friends in Cesme. I think I will try this recipe out on them. What do you usually serve with it?
Olga Tikhonova June 17, 2012 at 11:39 am
Fantastic solution, Emily! My husbands’ family used to own one when they lived in Istanbul and they have many dear memories about the time spent on the boat. I would serve the shrimps with some really fine bulgur (which does not require cooking but will be only soaked in boiling water: 1 measure bulgur with 1 measure water) or plain white rice. Have a great time in Turkey!