Ginger Shrimp and Veggie Casserole

Today was one of those blah days... I didn't want to go grocery shopping, didn't have a plan for dinner and I didn't have any leftovers. So I raided the pantry and the fridge. Here is what I've found. 

2 medium zucchinis

1 medium onion

1 orange bell pepper (I could've used any color)

3 cloves of garlic

1 medium potato

ginger root
olive oil

2 tablespoons cream cheese

1/2 handful of grated romano cheese

panko bread crumbs

shrimp (not that many)

I cooked the shrimp halfway in boiling water and then put them in cold water to stop the cooking process, drained and diced, and set aside.
Diced and sautéed all the veggies in olive oil until everything is softened. Then I mixed the veggies, the shrimp and the cream cheese in a baking dish, put the romano cheese and the bread crumbs on top and baked it in a 375 F oven until the top was golden brown.

I served this dish with a side of steam white rice, but it can also be complemented with a hearty soup or a thick slice of home made bread. Enjoy!

PALACE WALK

I've just finished reading "Palace Walk" by  Naguib Mahfouz, the first book of the Cairo Trilogy. What a feast it was! If you like books written in the tradition of great novels by Flaubert, Tolstoy or Dickens to name just a few, you will love this book. It is set in Cairo at the end World War I, where and when the defeat of the Germany and the Ottoman Empire leaves the Egyptian People under the occupation of the English. After Sa'd Zaghlul, the leader of the Nationalist movement is exiled, comes the social upheaval and demonstrations led by the youth, and spreads to the whole country. This, setting the background and the social circumstances to the novel, there is another force that shapes and determines the lives of the  family ruled by al-Sayyid Ahmad, the psychopathic patriarch, and that force is male domination, secured itself through the centuries old  traditions backed up by religion.

The book inspired me the way a masterpiece by a master does. While I was reading the book, it was not the pages and the words that I was seeing, but I was walking through the streets of Cairo, hearing the cacophony on the streets, breathing in the smells like a man, or experiencing life through a peephole or a crack in the shutters like a woman and thinking that I am safe and secure thanks to my master, my husband. I hated the story of Amina and her children, especially her female children, but I loved the way how it was brought to life through Mahfouz's incredible voice.

In Istanbul, in my home town there is a Spice Bazaar, a small replica of the Grand Bazaar, in the old part of the city, and in Turkish we call it the Egyptian Bazaar. It was and it still is the center for spice trade. When I was a young girl my grandparents used to take me there, and I would be delighted by the sounds and smells and the lights. I make a point of visiting Spice Bazaar every time I go home.

The last time I was there, my mom, my daughter and my best friend were with me, and it was amazing to share the experience with them. 

So last week I was inspired by Mahfouz, by the Spice Bazaar and my childhood memories and decided to try a colorful and spicy chicken dish.  How did it turn out! You decide it yourselves:)))

I am not going to give you a recipe, but I am going to tell you how I made it.

I got whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and bay leaves

and by the power invested in me by the Goddess of Spices I bloomed them. Blooming is frying your spices in medium hot olive oil. Then I added my chicken, I prefer skinless, bone-in thighs, because the meat is tender and juicy. After browning the meat on each side, I took it out and added diced vegetables. Any kind of seasonal vegetable will do, I like to eat locally grown vegetables in season. With the veggies went in garlic and onions, ground turmeric (because I did not have the fresh roots), cayenne, zest of a lemon, salt and pepper. I sauteed the vegetables for a couple of minutes, put the chicken back into the pot, added the juice of a lemon, enough water to slightly cover everything and put a lid on it. When it was done I  used chopped parsley for garnish. Served it on plain, steamed rice. It was what I craved for and what I was imagined  would be. Enjoy!



Necib Mahfuz'un Kahire Uclemesinin ilk kitabi olan Saray Gezisi'ni (Palace Walk) bitirdim. Muthis bir solen! Dickens, Flaubert, Tolstoy gibi buyuk roman geleneginde yazilmis kitaplari seviyorsaniz, bunu da seveceksiniz.
Baskent Kahire...1.Dunya Savasi sonrasi, Osmanli ve Almanya yenildikten sonra Misir Ingiliz isgali altinda kalmis, Milliyetci Hareketin onderlerinden Sa'd Zaghlul surgune gonderildikten sonra ogrenci gencligin liderliginde gosteriler ve sosyal sarsintilar baslamistir. Hikayenin geri planinda bu sosyal gelisme ve degisiklikler anlatilirken, psikopat aile reisi al-Sayyid Ahmad ve ailesinin hayatlarini belirleyen baska bir guc vardir; sirtini dine dayayarak yillarca hayata hukmetmis geleneklerle guclenen erkek egemen yasam bicimi.
Bu roman beni bir ustanin yarattigi bir baseser olarak cok etkiledi. Okurken gordugum sayfalara basilmis kelimeler degildi. Bir erkek gibi Kahire sokaklarinda dolasip, sehrin gurultusunu yasiyor, kokularini soluklaniyordum, ayni zamanda bir kadin gibi kapidaki bir delikten, pancurdaki bir catlaktan hayati yasayip, guvenligim icin efendime, kocama sukrediyordum. Amina ve cocuklarinin, ozellikle kiz cocuklarinin oykusunden nefret ettim, ama Mahfuz'un bu deneyimi dile getiren sesi harikaydi.
Kucuk bir kizken anneannem ve dedemin beni Istanbul'da Misir Carsisina goturmelerini ve o ses, isik ve kokulardan ne buyuk bir heyecan duydugumu  animsadim, son gidisimde annem, kizim ve en yakin arkadaslarimdan biriyle beraberdim, o heyecani onlarla paylasmak muthisti.
Iste gecen hafta Mahfuz, Misir carsisi ve cocukluk anilarimdan esinlenerek renkli ve baharatli bir tavuk  denemeye karar verdim. Nasil mi oldu! Ona da siz karar verin.


Once tane karanfil, kabuk tarcin, tane kisnis, tane kimyon ve defne yapragini (olcu vermiyorum damak zevkiniz rehberiniz olsun) Baharat Tanricasinin bana verdigi guce dayanarak zeytinyaginda kizarttim. Sonra tavuk parcalarini tencereye koydum,( genellikle derisiz, ama kemikli tavuk budunu tercih ediyorum), etlerin iki tarafini da guzelce kizartip, bir tabaga aldim. Sonra tencereye kup dogranmis sogan, sarimsak ve mevsim sebzeleri girdiler. Yerel yetismis mevsim sebzesi bulmak Turkiye semt pazarlarinda cok kolay. Sebzelere toz zerdecal (taze kok zerdacalim olmadigi icin), aci biber, limon kabugu rendesi, tuz ve karabiber ekledim, kavurdum. Tavuk parcalari yeniden tencereye donduler, bunlara bir limonun suyunu ve uzerlerini kapatacak kadar suyu ekleyip, pisirdim.
Buharda pismis pirincin uzerinde ve kiyilmis maydanozla suslenmis olarak servis yaptim. Tam canimin cektigi ve hayal ettigim gibi olmustu! Afiyet olsun!

Carrot Cake ???

I could not find a carrot cake recipe until I twisted and corrupted a classical one to my liking. Then it became low fat, high fiber and super moist. Now I can have it without feeling quilty and so can you.

Bugune kadar sevdigim bir Havuclu Kek tarifi bulamamistim. Bir gun klasik bir tarifi kendi zevkime gore yozlastirip, az yagli, cok lifli ve yumusacik bir kek elde ettim. Simdi zevkle yiyorum, umarim siz de oyle yaparsiniz.

Heart Healthy Carrot Cake

1 cup honey
1/2 cup veggie oil + 1/2 cup apple sauce
3 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2  tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp nutmeg
5 medium carrots shredded
1 large apple shredded
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix honey, oil, apple sauce and eggs.
Add the dry ingredients and combine.
Add the carrots and the apple.
Bake for 35 - 45 minutes. 
Enjoy! 

Kalbe Yararli Havuclu Kek

1 cay fincani bal
1/2 cay fincani sivi yag + 1/2 cay fincani elma puresi
3 yumurta
2 cay fincani tam kepekli un
1 1/2 tatli kasigi tarcin
1 tatli kaigi karbonat
1/2 tatli kasigi tuz
 Rendelenmis 5 havuc
Rendelenmis 1 buyukce elma
1 cay fincani iri cekilmis ceviz

Firini 175 derecede isitin.
Bal, yag, elma puresi ve yumurtalari karistirin.
Bu karisima diger kuru malzemeyi ekleyip, karistirin.
Son olarak da havuc ve elma rendesini ekleyip,firina verin. 35 -45 dakika kadar pisirip, servis yapin. Afiyet olsun!

This is for my beautiful, smart and lovely friend

Yeah, this recipe is for a friend of mine, she likes my cooking and I like her :)

The baked zucchini dish has been made by the women of my family in a variety of ways. My grandmother used to pan fry it like small potato pancakes. My mom and I prefer the baked version, but the one, who mastered the recipe is my cousin, who lives by the Mediterranean. The fresh produce and the sun and the sweet smells of the pines and wild oregano might be some of the contributing factors, but she is an amazing cook.

Evet, bu tarif benim yemeklerimi seven ve benim cok sevdigim bir arkadasim icin.

Kabak mucveri ailemizin tum kadinlari tarafindan cesitli bicimlerde yapilagelmistir. Anneannem mucveri yagda kizartirdi, annem ve ben firinda piseni tercih ederiz. Ama bu yemegin esas ustasi Akdeniz kiyisinda yasayan kuzenimdir. Taze sebzelerin, gunesin, cam agaclarinin ve yabani kekik kokusunun tabi ki katkisi oluyordur, ama kendisi de harika bir ascidir.

Baked Zucchini

4-5 large zucchinis, peeled and shredded
a large bundle of scallions, chopped, both white and green parts
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 eggs
fresh herbs,whatever you like,lots of them, at least 2 cups chopped (parsley, dill, basil, mint,tarragon you can use all, only one or some of them) - no cilantro please, I love cilantro but not in this dish and no dried herbs.
salt, pepper
red pepper flakes (optional)
feta cheese (optional) if you like it cheesy why not!
all purpose flour

Preheat oven to the universal 375 F.
Mix everything together in a large bowl except the flour. Then add  as much flour as needed to bring the mix to the consistency of a thick cake batter.
Lightly grease your best baking dish, because that is what you are going to serve it in, pour the batter in the dish and bake for a good 45-50 minutes. Test doneness like testing a cake if you want, but your nose is the best indicator, it will smell like it is done, when it is done. Serve hot or at room temperature. Enjoy!


Kabak Mucveri

4-5 iri kabak, soyulup rendelenecek
buyuk bir demet taze sogan, kiyilacak
1/2 cay fincani zeytinyagi
2 yumurta
kiyilmis taze otlar, en az iki cay fincani, maydanoz, dereotu, reyhan, nane ister hepsini, ister bir tanesini, ister birkacini kullanin ama lutfen kurutulmus kullanmayin
tuz, karabiber
isterseniz kirmizi pul biber
isterseniz beyaz peynir
un

Firini evrensel pisirme derecesi 190 C ye ayarlayin.
En guzel firin kabinizi (mucveri sofraya bunun icinde getireceksiniz ya) hafifce yaglayin.
Un haric butun malzemeyi karistirin, sonra  karisim katica bir kek hamuru kivamina gelene kadar un ekleyim, firin kabina bosaltip, en az 45-50 dk. pisirin. Pisip pismedigini kek kontrol eder gibi kurdanla kontrol edebilirsiniz, ama bu konuda en iyi gosterge insanin burnu oluyor. Yemek pisince pismis gibi kokacaktir cunku. Ister sicak, ister oda isisinda sevis yapin. Afiyet olsun!

Hello! ve Merhaba!

Today might be a more miserable day than yesterday, there is still the rumor, the smell and the possibility of snow in the air. And there is still lots of snow on the ground. I live on the east coast which is not that much fun nowadays. Anyways, back to basics, what's for dinner! That I am not sure yet! It may be a good idea to whip up one of grandma's recipes. I remember her losing sleep over the next day's menu.

Bugun dunden daha berbat bir gun olabilir, havada hala kar soylentisi, kar kokusu ve kar olasigi var, yerde de tonla kar. Ben dogu kiyisinda yasiyorum, bu gunlerde hic de eglenceli degil. Neyse, esas konuya donelim. Aksama ne yiyelim! Uff ben ne bileyim! Ama anneannemin tariflerinden birini yapabilirim. Onun da "yarin ne pisireyim" diyerek uykularinin kactigini hatirlarim.

Pasta with Meat and Garlic Yogurt Sauce

A box of farfalle (bow tie) pasta
ground beef, lean 1/2 - 1 pound
medium onion
medium tomato
flat leaf Mediterranean parsley
salt, pepper
plain fat free yogurt
lots a garlic 1-5 cloves it is up to you
olive oil 1 tsp

While boiling the water to cook the pasta in, in a big pot, (pls don't forget to salt the water after it boils) in a pan start browning the meat ( If you are not using a non stick pan add a little olive oil into the pan). After a couple of minutes attack the meat with your spatula and break it up, add salt and pepper . When it is all brown and looks cooked add your diced onion and sauté it with the meat for maybe 3 minutes, than add the diced tomato, and finally after the tomato is cooked your thinly chopped parsley. Keep the meat warm.
Crash the garlic cloves, peel and mince.
Cook the pasta to your liking, drain and save 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
Mix the yogurt with the cooking water, add the garlic.
Put the pasta in the serving platter, pour the garlic yogurt on top, then add the meat as the top most layer.
Simple and yummy.
This is the basic version made by grandma and all the other women in my family, sometimes I add chopped walnuts or roasted pine nuts to the meat sauce. Enjoy!

Kiymali Yogurtlu Fiyonk Makarna

pisirmeyi hepiniz bilirsiniz, eminim hepinizin yaptigi da super olup, afiyetle yeniyordur. Ben anneannemden ogrendigimi tekrarlayayim mi?
Makarnayi bol tuzlu suda haslarim, okyanus tadinda. Hasladigim makarna suyundan biraz ayirip, sarimsaklayacagim yogurtla karistiririm ki yogurt isinsin, digerlerini usutmesin. Soganla domatesi kiyma pismek uzere iken eklerim, soganim yanmasin diye. En sonunda da makarna, sarimsakli yogurt, kiyma sirasiyla tabaga koyar servis yaparim. Bazen cesit olsun diye kiymaya ince dogranmis ceviz veya az kavrulmus cam fistigi ekledigim de olur. (Bu benim uydurmam, anneannemin tarifinde yoktu.) Afiyet olsun!