All posts filed under: Mains

roast quail, Christmas, New Year

Roast Quail with a Chestnut and Prune Stuffing

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Christmas this year was the quietest in my living memory, though not the most modest in the gastronomic sense. I had the pleasure of cooking the last jar of duck confit I made last winter and this decadent roast quail stuffed with the season’s staple vegetable. It being my LM’s 300th day birthday gave more of a reason to celebrate over this special meat and wine. My little mouse has been enjoying chestnuts, which are, strangely, recommended after 2 years of age in the west, 1 year in Turkey, and 6 months in Asia. What is allowed for a baby varies depending on the country and I get confused because our baby is mixed. So glad that the LM is now at the stage where she can eat almost everything we eat and her latest obsession is toasted seaweed 🙂 These birds had been providing my LM with fresh eggs over the past 3 months and, when they stop laying eggs, they finally ended up on our plate. Quail eggs are another forbidden food item …

healthy meal, jujube, turkey

Turkey Necks with Ginger and Jujube: Cheap, Healthy Lockdown Meal

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We are under the national weekend lockdown again last weekend. I was meant to write this post earlier but I have absolutely zero time these day to do anything else besides chasing after the little mouse, who crawls and tries to get into all drawers around the house. When she sleeps, unlike the pre-solids days, I’m busy either cooking baby food or searching for baby food ideas. I refrain myself from talking about baby stuff not to give the impression that this blog is turning into a mummy blog. However, it’s inevitable to mention her here and there since I spend all day with her and all I do involve her. I even did the 2020 harvest with her at the winery! Though it was an exciting and unusual experience, I felt sorry, even guilty for having put her through the tough situation where she was left in the hands of strangers while I was working and was restricted to the room without her favourite toys since the outside was too cold. I was absolutely …

bone soup

Oxtail Soup: Natural Healing and Immune Booster for Winter

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The second half of 2018 has flown by while I was lost in the vine and exam. What a remarkable year it has been, with many new opportunities and challenges thrown at me… all at once… I’ve muddled through somehow, despite some physical and mental hurts. Now that all wines are resting after pressing, it’s time for me to heal my burnt-out self with this soulful soup and prepare for the next rounds. You might think I’m being overly dramatic but surely, being responsible for an entire harvest for the first time is a full emotional ride. However, it has been such an enriching experience and I’m so glad that I was given the chance, even though, as they say, precious things come with a price. The price of not being able to share everyday moments with my family was one, but the bigger price was not being able to write for my blog or study for my WSET exam. I really missed the joy of writing and of course, cooking. December is a festive month …

globe zucchini

Stuffed Globe Courgettes: Turkish Red Pepper Paste and Siyez(Spelt) Wheat

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I’m sorry for having been slack in blogging. In case you’ve been wondering… When you read this, I’ll be on the plane to or already in London for my first WSET Dip exam. Juggling work and study has been quite a task. So I thought I’d go a bit early to give myself a few days to cram. I hope all the wines to try AND the world cup won’t be too distracting! Last month, I went on a spontaneous road trip, which combined many celebrations into one: hitting the 40s bracket, friendship, new adventures, etc. Gosh, what an ecstatic holiday it was! I struggled quite a bit trying to get back to the grind after such a long crazy holiday with endless eating and drinking. But it was well deserved and that’s what life is about: being happy. A fabulous boat trip and swim in Bodrum and an unplanned catch-up with an old friend in Cappadocia… I came home with such lovely memories that I wished I could have been a full time traveller. By the way, …

duck confit

Making Duck Confit at Home in Gascon Style: Ultimate Slow Food, A Tradition to Preserve

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Yes, I repeat. Duck Confit is the easiest yet the most misunderstood food in the world. Let me explain why in this post and show to how to tackle the most sublime epicurean delight, which some might consider ‘too classic’. But as a devoted listener of A Taste of the Past, I have deep appreciation for traditional foods. This post inevitably made me dig into the album of the best moments in my life. It was supposed to be written before the duck season in February, or even earlier. Despite its delay, I thought I’d post it after tucking away my second batch of duck confit this week at the winery, in the deepest corner of the fridge, not to be tempted and open it up any time soon. It will sit there for at least one month to further develop the true confit flavours. If I can make duck confit with a small convection oven, so can you! Neither slow cooker nor sous- vide is required. Imagine numerous dishes I can make with this …

pork kimchi

Slow Roast Kimchi Pork with Super Crispy Skin – Paired with Mavroudi or Mavrud of Thrace

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Celebration and indulgence… That night marked the end of the long-distance living or dual location households. It’s OVER! Hooray! It was hard; it was costly; it was stressful; it was emotionally damaging. I know many couples are doing this, whether or not by choice, and I wonder how they manage it. Well, it didn’t fit for us and the biggest struggle was not being able to eat together and, for him, not finding any food outside. When I asked what he wanted for dinner on his moving day, he screamed ‘PORK!’. So I took out two packets of pork shoulder cut from the freezer the first thing in the morning. I scored the skin in a criss-cross pattern and rubbed it generously with coarse salt. I also drizzled some kimchi juice over the meat and sprinkled Schiuan pepper and rosemary. After resting in the fridge the whole morning, it was ready for the oven. Since the cut was individually packaged, not in whole, I had to find a way to make it sit with the skin …