Suddenly April comes to its end, and we are racing with time here in Alaçatı. As if someone in the weather department banged the table with their fist and barked, “Enough rain and chill!” Summer arrived the very next day with a sly smile knowing better than anybody that it has been late this year. That’s right: from winter we have moved right into the summer. Last week we shared breakfast with our friends Figen and Oğulcan, owners of Kesre Hotel, in their lovely garden. T-shirts and all, after breakfast we had to move away from the generous sun under the shade to continue drinking tea and chatting about the final preparations for the season.
How to Prepare and Cook Artichoke
Artichokes start flooding Istanbul food markets in March, and the peeled, ready-to-go-in-your-pot artichokes hearts are hard to ignore. However, my first spring in Istanbul I was watching artichokes from a respectful distance.


