All posts tagged: cheese

baked fig

Baked Fresh Fig, Cheese, Lavender Filo Pie

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Morning air is getting crisper and I watch the vine leaves changing their colour everyday. I have no idea how fast summer has slipped away without having a proper swim! Despite the hectic daily routines at the winery, I thought I’d be respectful of those who are wondering about my whereabouts and waiting for delicious stories. I’m far from my kitchen and real life, and am living a dream life. I’ve lived through the full ripening seasons here and the harvest has started and the daily work leaves me little time to go online. I’ve learned and am still learning a lot and I’ll share my experiences here once the most important part of the harvest ends. Are the figs still around? Before coming back to the winery for harvest, I had a short break at home. Whenever I’m back, I just dive into the kitchen and get cooking, though there’s no one else to eat with. Farmers markets and streets were full of figs and other forest fruits that show up for a short …

fig jam cheese platter

Tradition vs Reality: Unripe Fig Jam and Summer Scents

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Summer finally! I’ve started to drink white wine! Especially this kind of job can’t be done without wine, can it? I miss those gypsies (or flower ladies) peeling and selling them in streets of Istanbul. I couldn’t see any peeled ones being sold here. So? I decided to do it with skin on but still had to trim them. Alas, I immediately regretted my decision as soon as I got on to it. Why? The sap was sticky! Yes, I was wearing gloves but still it was sticking to the gloves and everywhere. I mainly followed this recipe and this and this (video) when I could easily ring up my recipe source! Basically, you need cleaning out the bitterness, squeezing the little figs and a heck of sugar. I’d seen this jam flashing the vivid green colour and had only tried it once because of the sugar. I am human and I do like desserts – I eat sweets after every meal! – but there’s a level of sweetness I can tolerate. I always ask ‘az serbet(less syrup)‘ …

Review: Memorable Wines at Raw Wine London-Part 2

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I hope you managed to get through Part 1 without too much struggle. I agree that it was rather long but I hope it broke down the notion of natural wine, which is a bit confusing to grasp for many ‘wine lovers’ – hubby didn’t understand a thing in my post, haha. So I’ll keep Part 2 short..ish. The stalls were arranged by country in one big open space, which made it easier to mingle with visitors and stumble upon different stalls, compared to last year. I didn’t take photos of all the wines I tasted but the wines that are featured here are the ones I thought worth a note. I took time, scanning the stalls, relying on my psychic power to lead me through the sea of wine and writing down tasting notes. Though I didn’t taste them by country, I’m going to mention by region for convenience. Now, let’s start with France. Among the few I tried from Languedoc, Chateau La Baronne gets an honourable mention. Their wines were all vibrant with lush fruit and elegance, which people don’t really associate …

cigar borek

Cigars two ways, savoury and sweet

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Börek is a big part of Turkish cuisine and there is a börek shop(börekçi) at every corner. It is the cheapest way to fill oneself up but bad for the waistline. “If you don’t like pizza, you’re not human. If you don’t like börek, you’re an alien.” I just made that up. Ah, those good old days when I was eating spring rolls and beer, spring rolls for a starter, spinach ricotta filo for lunch…. now that I’m cutting down on carbs, it’s nothing but an occasional treat. However, it is always a crowd-pleasing finger food at parties but the frying part I’m not so keen on. Also, the problem is the dough, and my type of börek isn’t easy to find here among a myriad of börek shops as most of it has too much dough than filling. The closest I’ve found is Çengelkoy Börekçisi, which has generous filling and is not too greasy. One evening Mr.O’s parents came to help me put up wallpaper because Mr.O wiggled out of the job again, saying he …

Autumn Colours of Jura / Seafood Tartare / Blue Prawn Gratin / Fondant Ice Cream

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Yesterday I made tartare au saumon fumé, well, smoked salmon tartare;please excuse my overuse of French. I’m still in the holiday mood. The smoked salmon was a gift from a Canadians guest, which is home-made. I happened to have some avocados so I threw it in a bowl with chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic, dill, etc. It’s simple but delicious. That dish reminded me of this post I had been meaning to post but been delaying because there is so much rambling in it. I hope you don’t mind it but at least enjoy the magnificent photos of the Jura mountains at their best. Just down the road from the house there is a path in the woods that leads to a bridge or a river. We set off for a walk to look for mushrooms, but the walk was the main and the mushrooms were just extra bonus, just the way one’s life works. Reaching a goal isn’t important; what’s important is what you meet on the way there. We didn’t have much luck with …

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Lentils / Wine Tasting Revision

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I will be cramming for the next few days using the period of the calm before the storm as I have so many stories from my holiday that I’d like to tell you, whether you’re interested or not. But I can make you interested with my food shots or make you stop doing whatever you’re doing and put little thoughts into food and life for a few seconds. I made this dish from leftover confit de canard that I cooked on the previous night. I couldn’t eat two legs but Cyrille, the gourmand, easily finished two legs. I saved one leg for next day’s lunch but I didn’t eat it. Instead I used it for the dinner menu. Without the confit, this can easily make a beautiful vegetarian dish as in the one stuffed with wild rice and nuts. So-called stuffed cabbage rolls exist in many countries. Polish Golumpki is one example but all eastern European countries have it one way or another. Turkish dolma is one variation and Morrocan stuffed cabbage, stuffed with rice …