All posts tagged: baking

semolina cake

Healthy Semolina Coconut Revani with Grapefruit Syrup – Tricks for Moist No-Sugar Cake

Published by

Yes, the title is correct. If you love the classic Revani soaked in a pool of syrup, it’s great! Otherwise, you’d be pleased to learn that you can replicate the decadent dessert without sugar yet as delicious as the original, which can be also healthy. You don’t believe me? Then, read on. I say healthy because semolina is indeed more nutritious and tastier than normal flour. But the problem of baking with semolina is the gritty and dry texture it creates. So syrup is crucial in making it moist but the dense and heavy taste isn’t for my palate. After several trials and errors, this is the best version that everyone loved. You might consider adding this to your Easter table if you want something traditional but with a modern twist. It’s light and moist without compromising the taste, though Revani would turn in his grave seeing his favourite quintessential Middle Eastern dessert being adulterated. Who is Revani? It’s said to be named after the 16th century Ottoman poet, Revani, who was the governor of …

nutella bread

Boozy Naughty Nutella Flower Brioche

Published by

Belated Happy New Year to all my readers! Another year has rolled in silently, and my first post in the new year is a sunflower Nutella brioche. My mind has been racing with many thoughts and some new plans to simplify my life are brewing slowly, which explains the silence. 2017 was a very volatile year in terms of relationship and work, which involved two-city life. It has finally come to an end and we will start 2018 with more stability. Fingers crossed xx What it would mean, though, that I won’t be able to eat with you in Istanbul as much as I’d like to. It’s already happened, I know, since I took a semi-permanent séjour at the winery. Having said that, my winery posts are among the most popular posts on my blog! Anyway, I’ll continue to inspire with delicious stories, travels, more adventures as a cellar rat and a WSET Dip student, and the stories of living in Canakkale. Nutella… Mr.O has a weakness for it.  Hey, who isn’t? But not for …

Persimmon Banana Buckwheat Bread

Published by

At this time tomorrow I’ll be in Korea… for another wedding or two, first mine and then my brother’s. How lucky am I to have two weddings? Oh, three actually. You bet! Nah…. However, the traditional Korean wedding ceremony might be quite interesting, lots of bowing, throwing live chickens, lots of noise from SamulNori(Traditional music performance), lots of food and drinks, and above all, beautiful Korean traditional clothes, Hanbok. Everyone around is excited about experiencing a traditional wedding, which is long forgotten as almost all couples do a western wedding these days. So it’s going to be a memorable event for all … …..especially for in-laws and Mr.O’s friends coming all the way to the far away land full of rumours and myths. “Do they have cheese? Do they have bread? Do they really eat rice for breakfast?” and many more. Anyway, we’re taking lots of bread and cheese with us, and even Simits for my nephews, who liked them so much when they came to Turkey last year. As I was trying to empty out the fridge …

Ricotta Yogurt Salep Cheesecake

Published by

I’m tackling the Turkish cuisine today. I love discovering unusual and native ingredients and incorporating them into cooking. I was given this strange looking fruit preserve, turunç, whose identity was revealed through the google search as bitter orange or Seville orange. Of course, I knew  Seville orange but not in this look, which reminded me of animal intestines or something. So when Mr.O’s mum, with a suggestive look, held one piece up to my curious face, I was a bit scared.  But after knowing what it was, I was amused by the discovery because we have similar fruit called Yuja, which is unedible sour citrus, therfore made into marmalade or tea. My mum uses the marmalade when cooking for its aroma and effect of getting rid of odors in fish or meat. Anyway, it was very sweet and apparently according to the Ottoman customs, was offered as a spoon sweet (Aegean Eating) to show the host’s hospitality. Another recipe for Bitter Orange Jam is found on Give Recipe. Compared to the look of Yuja, this jam …

Fig Hazelnut Caraway Rye Bread – No Knead

Published by

These days I enjoy writing up a menu and taking orders from it as if I were a restaurant host or something. It is like playing dolls or role-play, which was my favourite games in my childhood because I was a shy and timid kid, who would retreat to the room and narrate to myself. I sometimes wonder if I am an inate actor. I used to love being on stage, dancing or acting. I should have chosen dance for my career. I formed a dance group and led it throughout my school years and I studied plays and received a best performance award at university. Uh hmm…sometimes shouting out self-praise is needed when the world doesn’t recognise your talent.

leek feta chilli muffins

Leek Feta Muffins with Green Chillies

Published by

Sometimes I wonder which country I live in. My fridge and pantry are filled with foreign food items and French wines, but when I look out of the window I see red flags hanging out on the window seals of people’s houses. And I hear the call to prayer in the evening while eating dinner – now I sleep through the morning call that strikes at 6.30 and it doesn’t bother me any more. Other things that remind me of where I am include these white mulberries, the taste of dill and huge yogurt containers, which have many uses. As I am petite and good at climbing trees, I was asked to pick mulberries. These mulberry trees are everywhere across Turkey and the sweet fruit drop on to the streets, making footpaths sticky, and sometimes they will hit your head or drop on to the screen of your iPad when you’re lounging in the shade of those trees. They are so sweet that they can be boiled down to syrup or molasses and used as …