Category Archives: Living in Turkey

October 9, 2011

Being a Sous Chef

My customers are a constant source of inspiration and thoughts for me. Especially the couples: it is amazing how much of relationships dynamics you can grasp by spending 5-6 hours with people. Especially if you cook together.

The other day I had a cooking class with a lovely couple, T&A. As we toured the Kadıköy market to get ingredients A was talking about their passion for cooking and division of labor at the kitchen, “T cooks and I bake“. “What a great arrangement!” I replied. It was T who did the booking and whom A allowed to do most of the cooking too. Every time A would emphasize, “I am T’s sous chef: I am happy to do chopping and cutting”. Things turned interesting few hours later.

5978744105 41cfbedfe9 Being a Sous Chef

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Written By Olga Tikhonova     See more: , | Leave a comment
September 4, 2011

What It Takes to Rent a House in Istanbul

I moved out of my old place and I have rented a house in Istanbul. And moved in with the guy. Second time. Second time with the same guy. Because two months earlier we have moved in our new lovely place in Sapanca. Now we are living in two houses. One on a hilltop over a lake of Sapanca and the other one at the bustling metropolis of Istanbul.

6112628684 ab67b95a19 What It Takes to Rent a House in Istanbul

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Written By Olga Tikhonova     See more: | 1 Comment
August 18, 2011

Dealing with Failure: Horse-Riding and Cooking Lessons

There are no handy tips or recipes today. I am still gathering my courage to continue posting any. Today I am sharing a story. A story of my kitchen failure. Failure to use the right ingredient and do justice to it. Failure to cook something decent in the eyes of Zeliha Hanım, a strict judge of all my cooking endeavors in Sapanca. Failure to show up at the kitchen for a few days after.

4438677822 5aee9c0fcf Dealing with Failure: Horse Riding and Cooking Lessons

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Written By Olga Tikhonova     See more: | Leave a comment
June 28, 2011

My Turkish Potluck: Turkish Boyfriend, Turkish Mother and Turkish Zucchini Fritters

One of the greatest food excitements I have experienced in Turkey was introduction to the local food which real people eat at home. You don’t think people in Turkey survive on eating kebabs all the way, do you?

As a visitor to Istanbul you can get a flavor of homemade Turkish food if you venture into one of “mama”- run places found aplenty in Moda. Moda feels old Europe with its culture, education and class which all have conditioned the abundance of matriarchal food institutions instead of the men-run and men-frequented kebab shops dominating the rest of the Istanbul food scene.

My luck got me beyond Moda though: when I first came to the farmhouse in Sapanca and got “adopted” by the farmhouse owner and talented cook Zeliha Hanım I realized what it means to have a Turkish mother and eat excellent homemade Turkish food.

5884193138 da06c0cac7 My Turkish Potluck: Turkish Boyfriend, Turkish Mother and Turkish Zucchini Fritters

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Written By Olga Tikhonova     See more: , , | 2 Comments
September 23, 2010

Real Food of Real Turkey: What People Eat at Home

I woke up in my tiny attic room: ignoring the chill on my skin I bravely got out off my thick blanket, did a quick morning brush-up and came down to the kitchen to figure I was right on time - the guys were running around and taking things upstairs for the breakfast. Pure luck! Here in Turkey, just like anywhere else I lived a big challenge of getting accustomed to a new culture for me is figuring out meal timing and customs.

5017572829 72ff4a05be Real Food of Real Turkey: What People Eat at Home

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Written By Olga Tikhonova     See more: , | Leave a comment
September 17, 2010

My Istanbul Food Walks Started at a Sapanca Farmhouse

So here I am in the midst of my 3-month sabbatical. For starters I wanted to discover the Balkan region I had been itching to see for too long, to find out vegetarian origins of some of the most meat-reputed national cuisines, to share food and stories with like-minded foodies and yet more importantly - to give myself space and freedom and define the exact place that food has got to take in my life. Quite a mission!

4996338553 b37970c7a5 My Istanbul Food Walks Started at a Sapanca Farmhouse

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Written By Olga Tikhonova     See more: , | Leave a comment
June 12, 2010

Ode to Turkish Breakfast

Only half-awake, barefoot, wearing the gotten-as-gifts pink-bears-patterned chemise and little heart-shaped pendant on a silver chain I was sitting at the kitchen of Reyhan Hanım* and could not believe my luck - a most elaborate breakfast was served on the table. I seemed to have scored the highest points in the life draw: not only I met the love of my life, this wonderful Turkish man, and now his lovely and welcoming parents but also the whole heritage of Turkish cuisine is pouring down on me.

4986165376 b43be0673f Ode to Turkish Breakfast

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Written By Olga Tikhonova     See more: , | Leave a comment