All posts tagged: quick easy meal

Top 3 Most Delicious Brussels Sprouts Recipes

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Mr.O says, “I like the way you cook Brussels sprouts. Why is there no bitterness?” Hahaha, it’s unusual for a Turkish guy to admit that my food is better than his mum’s. He didn’t like Brussels sprouts like any others but I love them, probably because I’ve never had bad experiences. So he complimented my Brussels sprouts miso soup a lot. These days I’m trying to make Mr.O eat while food is warm instead of taking photos before eating. So I’m not taking as many photos of what we eat on a daily basis. However, the bigger reason is that he is losing friends or being ridiculed for eating food, weird food as his Turkish friends call it. Three two and a half years on, we still eat a different food every day. Ok, today let me try this new way of attracting audience. Why are many articles titled as The 10 Most delicious…. The 5 best ways to…etc. But in fact, they are not the best and I think it’s somewhat misleading. I’m not …

Smoky Eggplant Mushroom Risotto

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On a rainy evening, what can be better than a bowl of warm risotto? A warm lentil or pumpkin soup for lunch, and a risotto for dinner will set you right even if you’re not big on carbs like myself. The weather and the month December are two good excuses to indulge in dishes you don’t normally eat. And this risotto will be THE ONLY risotto I’ll be making repeatedly from now on, and I actually have made this three times already! Char-grilled eggplant puree, Patlıcan Salatası in Turkish, is my favourite meze and I can eat it every day ONLY IF grilling eggplants over the open fire was a less messy job, though it’s usually one of Mr.O’s jobs in the kitchen. Which version do you like the best? With yogurt, with tahini, or with olive oil, or with a bit of all? Do you have your own secret method of char-grilling eggplants? While I was looking for an idea, I came across two articles on the best way to char-grill eggplants. The first was …

spinach meatball

Spinach Kale Cheese Balls with Quick Harissa

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What I love about my new neighborhood, which is one of the best areas as far as the livability goes, there is a huge park where you can jog or play tennis or all sorts of activities happen all the time. I watched a classical concert and Eurasia dance show all by chance. On top of that, you can eat a big open-buffet breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning. Every Monday a big, I mean a HUGE farmer’s market (you can check go on to Son Mastori and click on the link) and there is also an organic market every Wednesday. If not at those farmers’ markets, there is still a small indoor traditional market where I usually shop for my everyday needs. “Let’s support small grocers!” I never buy groceries at supermarkets. No matter how cheaper things are in supermarkets and no matter how many ‘Buy 1 Get 1 Free‘ deals there are to tempt me. I love the interactions with people. I don’t get ripped off in this neighborhood as I used to. …

Zucchini Series #2

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Now it’s no joke any more. I haven’t been able to go grocery shopping for two weeks now because of the constant supply of zucchini. Last week we moved in to a new flat – congratulations! – and I’ve been enjoying my new place and new neighbourhood, where our close foodie friend lives. Mr.O and I keep turning up at his apartment unaccounted and I think he will be annoyed soon and move out eventually. I don’t know why but here in Turkey when people move house, they take ceiling lights with them, so reconnecting lights is one big job to do, yet, my dear man and many men nowadays don’t know how to fix the lights. So Mr.O’s dad was called in and he brought these lovely home-grown foods as well as olives from Çanakkale to our new flat. I was so glad to have finished all the zucchini then but now I got even bigger ones and Mr.O was grinning at me, saying “I love zucchini!“, and I was at a loss. Ok, there …

Rice Noodles with Asparagus and Mushrooms

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Yeah! The cherry price is going down! Guess how much the cherries are here per kilo? I’ll give you a hint…. It’s $29.99 for California cherries in Australia and down to $9.99 in season near Christmas. So here in Turkey? $3 per kilo!! And the price will go down further later. If you’re a cherry devourer like me, it’s good enough a reason to live in Turkey. Actually, I teased my friend the other day by sending a photo of cherries spilling out of the bowl and she was so tempted and traumatised since she loves all kinds of fruit. The cherries won’t be as plentiful as last year because of a few storms that have passed here. I saw the poor cherries fallen off the trees rotting on the ground when I was in the village haven last week. Anyway, I’m enjoying them as much as I can while they last. The apricots will come out followed by sour cherries, etc. When there are fresh veggies and fruit around, why would one bother to …

Pasta with Roasted Capsicum and Kavurma (Beef Confit)

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There is a dish called Kavurma, a slow-cooked meat dish, which is also common in Balkan countries. But the kavurma I’m talking about is a charcuterie version, specifically called Rize (a name of a region famous for Turkish tea, butter and bread, etc.) Kavurma. As good jambon or ham is always missed here, I look out for an alternative when I’m not smuggling some from neighbouring countries. When I was at Beykoz for Mother’s day brunch, a small village less than a 30-min drive from where I live – 10 mins from my previous flat, I found a new delicacy called Kavurma, which is like beef confit. This natural greenery is a haven for me and I’m blessed to have it at an arm’s reach. It’s a breathing place for my soul enduring the honking cars and crowded streets throughout the week. While in a small butcher’s there, buying some meat for dinner, my eyes caught something that looked like the confit one would see in European delicatessens. I jumped at the opportunity to have …