All posts tagged: seasonal

stuffed artichoke

Stuffed Artichokes with Shrimps and Peas

Artichokes! It’s that time of the year again. Since last year, I’ve been buying whole artichokes, not only the bottoms, and enjoying stuffing them with various ingredients. This time, I decided to stuff them with peas and shrimps. The peas, which tend to appear all around the year in the west, are a seasonal delicacy. So it becomes a family sport to shell kilos of them for freezing. I often see a woman or husband and wife or a mum and a kid or bearded manly men sitting around the table and shelling the peas outside small restaurants. In my house, peeling garlic and shelling peas or nuts is hubby’s job. I would then freeze some to use for the next few months. It might sound tedious but it’s quite relaxing and even romantic when you do it together! While hubby was working at the peas, I prepared the artichokes. I usually trim them before boiling but this time I boiled them first before scraping out the hairy choke with a spoon. I think it was easier this way so I’ll stick to this method. Don’t throw …

Jerusalem Artichoke Leek Soup with Perilla Seeds

It’s been absolutely cold and snowy for a few days now. I haven’t felt this cold for years! Blocked roads, suspended transportation, closed schools(yipee!), snow storms are wreaking havoc in many parts of the country. Even my new city has seen snow of this level for the first time. The only thing anyone wants to do is to snuggle up inside the house, cuddling a hot cup of tea or sipping wine, listening to the hissing sound of wind and watching the snow dancing wildly. However, even in such a cold weather, one can’t avoid the dog routine and I try to keep it as short as possible. BUT Dusha was running around, oblivious to me getting frozen. Why do dogs love snow so much? “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” “Yahoo!!! It’s so much fun, Anne!” “It’s warmer, too, under the snow!” She digs it up, rolls in it, and runs so wild that she didn’t seem like the same dog. She disappeared out of my sight a few times and came back running, all exhilarated. I would have made a …

stuffed quince

Lamb-Stuffed Quince – A Turkish Persian Twist

Right after I got back from Korea, I got sick with a cold, which didn’t surprise me, considering how burnt out I felt during the trip. I drank tons of quince tea, honey tea, pear and ginger molasses to ease a coughing fit. As soon as I felt I’d got over it, I found myself standing at the kitchen bench with a desire to cook up something nice and nourishing. In autumn and winter, quinces are everywhere and Turkish people even eat them raw. Yeah, I know you’re wincing saying TART! But you know what? Apparently, there are different varieties and the Turkish variety isn’t that tart, as they were known as golden apple and enjoyed by the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Persians. So do I eat them raw? Yes, I do in Turkey but I’ve never done it in anywhere else. Koreans eat them for medicinal reasons and my mum makes a huge batch of quince preserves like in the picture every year as  they’re good for cold symptoms. Many Turkish cooks use the quince in different dishes, …

Baked Artichoke Bottoms Stuffed with Mushroom and Goat Cheese

If you follow me on FB or Instagram, you’d probably have seen some photos of the lovely weekend trip to Çanakkale. I did a wine tasting, ate local specialities such as cheese helva (peynir halvasi), ice cream, and oğlak(kid), yeah!, which can be eaten only through March and April. I’ll dedicate a whole post on the trip later because I think what I saw and did there is worth a whole page and it wasn’t all about food this time. Also, April is extra special for that area because of the Battle of Gallipoli and Anzac Day. So today let’s just talk about food and sharing food. Spring conjures up asparagus and artichoke. Do you remember I was eating lots of white asparagus in France? I sometimes see them in jars at Metro supermarket but I don’t buy them of course – strictly shop locally and find alternatives! In Turkey, when you go to farmers’ markets these days, you see many guys trimming artichoke bottoms. The artichokes here are bigger and how they are cooked …