When on holiday all I need is peace, space, good food and inspiring people. That’s why when choosing where to stay I prefer small family-run hotels with thoughtfully done rooms, enthusiastic owners and lovingly prepared breakfast. What could be better? Only a vacation house - your own or rented from a nice host. I found Sara’s house almost immediately when I was looking through the listings in the Aegean region where we were heading out with Özgür, my visiting parents and sister, and at once I knew we had to stay there. Our whole trip was planned in a way to make it to Köyceğiz by the time Sara had her house available.
Stunning Courgette Flowers Stuffed with Cheese and Herbs
Red Lentil Patties
What happens when I go to the countryside these days? Not much. I switch on the autopilot mode and get plenty of sleep, eat, play with the dogs, read, hang out, occasionally set up a table for a meal, wash up afterwards and generally act a visiting relative rather a tiresome member of my family undertaking various garden and kitchen projects under the fearless leadership of my mother-in-law. I migrate into the autopilot mode naturally as I find myself at a safe place where unconditional love and good food are awaiting for me.
Sun-Dried Red Pepper Salad
Sunday feels like a middle of a working week. The borderline between weekend and week days has been blurred for me. Because I don’t work in the office I can stay back at home and do some work on Sunday to avoid the weekend crowds, however hard it is with the windows open in the middle of Moda. I then can choose a quieter day during the week to rest. This rhythm is in sync with my family, and you understand me if you have ever worked in the hospitality.
5 Secrets to Perfect Hummus
I thought I was never going to write a post like this, but the more I read the more obliged I feel to. I am going to tell you about perfect hummus. I mean it. I know, the originality of my intention is zero. Who has not posted a hummus recipe or two with claiming a reasonable perfection? Hummus is not longer viewed as an exotic dish coming from the Middle East, but a simple fix of the ingredients readily available to a modern day home cook. Maybe that explains the whole deal of the wanna-be-hummus recipes out there which do not get you anywhere close to the real deal. Unlike the one I am going to share.
Stuffed Green Pepper Boats: Why We Go To Restaurants
The other day I had a glimpse of what it feels to be a chef (as opposed to a cook). We had a family of regulars over at our countryside restaurant. They are an Istanbul couple whose weekend house is conveniently located near to our place in Sapanca. And they are parents to a little blue-eyed girl, a dream of any Turkish mother or grandmother (ask my mother-in-law). Placing their order they inquired whether I can make “my pasta”.
Fresh Green Beans Cooked in Olive Oil: Back to Simple
It is fashionable to speculate on minimalism. Run minimalism experiments in clothing, eating, working and living in general. Cut down, get rid of, recycle, re-use, reduce. Sometimes out of real need. Sometimes of plain curiosity.
I must confess I have had a few minimalism projects in progress too. No clothes shopping, no coffee, no alcohol, no meat, no Twitter, no email, no television. These projects are at the different stages currently. With different results. Yet with the single learning.
Flaky Phyllo Triangles: Swiss Chard and Pastırma Börek Recipe
My mother-in-law (anne) had been unwell for a while: not really eating anything, getting quickly tired and easily irritable. She’s got diabetes which explains some of the symptoms but not all. So she thought it was time for a thorough check-up. Anne went to her doctor in Bolu, a small town in the North-Western Turkey, who was so determined to find out the wrongs that he hospitalized her for a week.
Friday came and anne still was not sure whether she would return the next day. Who will make the fresh pastry for the guests Sunday morning? I said, “No problem. I can make börek“. Özgür called his mom and got the authorization. “Olga has seen me making it many times. But she can call me in the morning for directions,”- anne said on phone.
She came back Saturday night canceling the need for my help. But I was impressed she granted me the permission to step into the sacred territory she has not been sharing with her assistants - making pastry. Letting in me, the one who does not know her bulgurs? What happened?
