Tarhana - Turkish Chips

Close up on the distinct texture of tarhana chips
(Photo by Turklish)

Tarhana: paper-thin, jagged edges, specks of wheat floating in an almost transparent, tangy concoction.  No matter what time of year you will find these interesting chips taking up a prominent spot on the dessert table.  The young will eat them while they are hard and crispy, the older generation might add a few sprinkles of water to soften the edges and go easy on their gums.  Along with ice cream, tarhana is one of the most common items you'll see in boxes coming off the baggage claim from a Maraş flight.

Tarhana on the dessert table - right in the middle so everyone can grab a few.
(Photo by Turklish)

Yep, I'm back to finish up the Maraş themed posts on a savory note.  Tarhana - you may have heard of it, but the tarhana known throughout the rest of Turkey is not the same as the tarhana chips adored in Maraş.  These chips are unlike anything else I have ever tasted.  They are not sweet, but not really salty either.  They are tangy, with that particular flavor that comes from Turkish yogurt.  They are addictive, you can't stop munching once you try a few.  I guess this is probably the only thing Tarhana chips have in common with the typical potato chips - "betcha can't eat just one". 

While I'm still a little unsure of the details of the entire cooking procedure, I can tell you that tarhana is made from a combination of cracked wheat, yogurt and then flavored with some spices, such as thyme.  It is cooked in a large copper pot and stirred with a large wooden spoon, which the Kahramanmaraş travel guide lovingly calls a "Tarhana Shovel". 

You can see how the tarhana is prepared in this video below, and if you know Turkish, you'll hear these ladies explain it in more detail than I can provide:

When the mixture is ready, the thick paste is spread on reed mats and laid out to dry on rooftops, in open areas, and even in the city on the sidewalk in front of shops.  If the tarhana dries from morning to dusk it will be "Fresh Tarhana" and retain a limp texture, which is a delicacy savored in those lovely, early summer days.  After drying for two full days, the tarhana is crisp and can be stored for the rest of the year. 

The tarhana goop before it is spread on the mats.
(Image from Market Maras)

 This winter we were enjoying stashes of stored tarhana and came upon a white, crusty blob in the middle of the chip.  I looked at H. and giggled, "It's bird poop." 

"Tarhana is 100% natural."  He grinned back at me.

Yes, it is all natural and dried with the grace of nature, with a few presents from the local avian population mixed in.  Don't let that discourage you - it's part of the experience.  To be honest, I just put that piece off to the side and kept on eating.  A little poop won't hurt anyone.

The tarhana drying on mats in the fresh air.
(Image from Market Maras)

Unlike the Kahramanmaraş ice cream, there is no one selling tarhana on the street corners or playing fun games with an ice cream cone.  It has not won worldwide awards for its unique flavor or texture, and as a tourist you may not even know it exists unless you were invited to a home for dinner, or happened to be in town during the few weeks when the tarhana was hanging out to dry in the streets.

Tarhana is like many beauties of the Turkish culture, it is soft-spoken and unknown to the rest of the world, but deeply loved by its owners.  If you happen to stop in Maraş  I recommend you find a shop* selling tarhana and try a few chips - I betcha can't eat just one! 

A Question for the Readers: Have any of you heard of this type of tarhana before?  I'm curious if others know about it or have ever tried it.  Share your comments below!

*In Maraş there are a variety of shops selling tarhana, they will usually advertise this on their shop front window or awning.  Your best bet is to ask around to find a shop close to where you end up in the city.  There should be quite a few.

Hulkiye's Turkish Fruit Cake

When I was in Turkey this past January I did my best to learn some Turkish recipes.  I wanted to be able to re-create some of the savory meals, creamy soups, oh-so-delicious pastries and scrumptious cakes that we enjoyed in Turkey.  I would eagerly hang around in the kitchen when meal-prep or baking was underway.  H.'s mom knew that I wanted to learn, so she would call me in and explain to me what she was doing, by showing and using some words that I could understand. 

In this way I learned how to make an incredibly tasty chicken with roasted almonds, and I now know the secret to an intensely rich and creamy soup, without using even a drop of cream.   Perhaps I'll share these secrets soon (although many may already know them, they were news to me).  

However, one of the recipes I was most eager to learn was the famous fruit cake.  Ever since I first began dating H., I heard about this incredibly tasty cake that his mom would make for him and send in packages while H. was away at university.  This cake was the favorite of the dormitory and won H.'s mom cake-baking fame among college friends.  I'm sure it is famous in many social circles in Maras as well.  Now it's fame has come to the USA - and I am eager to replicate this delicious treat.

The first slice!
This cake could be spruced up with a little sugary syrup drizzled on top , if desired.
 As is, it is a nice, no-too-sweet, treat that goes great with tea.

Replicating a Turkish recipe is not always an easy feat.  Yes, there are recipe books that lay it out nice and clear, step by step.  However, most recipes are not written, ingredients do not conform to standard measurements, and in fact, many beautiful creations are based on what is on hand at that moment, without any extra trips to the local grocer.

H. has collected many of these recipes from his mom while living in the US.  When feeling homesick, a meal from home would help ease the soreness and bring an indescribable joy.  A while back, H. had collected this recipe for Turkish Fruit Cake.  So today I asked if he could share it with me so I could whip up a tasty cake and use up some of the Cuties (mandarin oranges) drying out on my counter.  So here is the recipe - Turkish measuring style and all.

Hulkiye's Turkish Fruit Cake

Ingredients:

3 eggs at room temperature

1 water glass of sugar*

3 water glasses of flour

1 heaping TURKISH teaspoon of baking powder**

1 water glass milk OR orange juice

(we like to add the orange juice to make the cake fruitier, fresh-squeezed is the best option)

1 water glass oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract(my addition because I love vanilla)

15 or so dried apricots, cut into 6 pieces

A handful of raisins

A handful of chopped walnuts (or whatever other type of nut you have on hand)

Zest of small orange

The few handfuls of dried fruit - this is what makes the cake! 

Cuties - so bright and cheerful!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F or (180C)

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and add the sugar, mixing well.

Add vanilla extract at this point if you want to add it .

(NOTE: if you want to use the Turkish powdered vanilla, add that the flour mixture instead)

Add oil and milk or juice to egg and sugar mixture, mix well.

All the liquids together.

In a separate bowl, put the 3 glasses of flour and stir in the heaping teaspoon of baking powder.  Add the apricots, raisins and walnuts and coat them in the flour (this will help prevent them from sinking into the cake as it bakes).  Add the orange zest.

Now, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix by hand.  Batter will be fairly thick.

After the flour is mixed in the batter is quite thick and you might need a good silicone spatula to get the last drop out. 

Grease and flour a bundt pan.  Add batter to pan.

Bake for 1 hour - you want the cake to be a little crispy to keep the moisture in and stay fresh longer.

Just right!

* Water glass can mean whatever you want it to mean - the basic idea is you use the same glass to measure everything so the proportions are the same.  That being said - I used a coffee mug that was about 1 cup and that seemed to work well.

** Turkish teaspoon is not the same as a measuring teaspoon- but probably similar.  When the Turks say "teaspoon" they mean the tiny spoons used to stir sugar into tea.  So if you use a measuring teaspoon - make sure to make it heaping!

 I'm sure other dried fruits could be easily substituted for the apricots and raisins - and as I mentioned, I didn't actually use orange juice, but a similar citrus fruit and the result was the same - delicious!  So the moral of the story is be creative and bake with love, and the taste will show it!

It took all those little cuties to make a cup, but it was worth it and I used up some fruit that was at the end of its prime and would have spoiled otherwise.  Win-Win.

Kahramanmaraş Dondurması - The Ice Cream that Seemingly Defies Physics

Many Turkish towns and cities are known for what they produce -Malatya for its apricots, Gaziantep for baklava, and Adana for its kebabs.  Kahramanmaraş is famous for its ice cream.

Just a regular, ol' slice of Maras ice cream - served plain and simple with a sprinkling of pistachio and some fruit syrups. 

 In the summertime you can find Kahramanmaraş ice cream sold by vendors in the popular tourist destinations in Istanbul.  They perform and entertain as much as they sell dondurma.  Their job is to make the ice cream do the seemingly impossible - pull it like taffy, spin it around like a rope and then play tricks on the tourists with the sticky mass that doesn't easily leave the spoon. 

This is ice cream unlike anything you have experienced. The traditional serving is plain ice cream with a sprinkling of powdered pistachio, served with a fork and knife, for it is not easily scooped with a spoon.  While it may sound unappetizing to eat such a hard, frozen mass it is in fact very smooth and melts like butter as soon as it hits the warmth of the tongue.  No need to greedily gulp down a cone of ice cream to prevent a sticky mess of melted syrup down your arm - Maras ice cream sits patiently in its cone, allowing  you to leisurely savor each creamy bit.

The rope-like texture of Maras ice cream needs to be cut with a knife, but why did they give a cleaver to that little girl?!?
(Image found here)

 The secret to Kahramanmaraş ice cream is the salep - or the dried, powdered root of an orchid that grows in Southern Turkey.  Salep is what gives this ice cream its incredible creamy flavor, and also these gravity-defying, melt-resistant qualities.

Illustrations  of the salep producing orchid, Orchis mascula
Image from this website, where you can buy harvested salep.   

 Salep is also used to make the warm, creamy drink sold around Turkey and many Arabic countries in the winter months. 

The orchid in the wild, Orchis mascula

Image via

Perhaps the orchids grow exceptionally well in the mountains surrounding Maras, or perhaps it is the famous ice cream maker, Mehmet Kanbur, who created the Mado ice cream brand, that makes Maras ice cream remarkable.

This video demonstrates how the ice cream is made by hand and in the factory, including an interview with Mehmet Kanbur, the owner of Mado.

 Whatever the reason, anyone from Maras will tell you that there is no other place in all of Turkey (and many will claim - the world), where you can get the same quality ice cream.  Some even claim that the Mado ice cream sold in the Istanbul cafés is not the same as the Mado ice cream savored in Maras.  It must be true because at the Maras airport you see just about every other passenger checking on a bag full of Styrofoam boxes packed with dry ice and - you guessed it - Maras ice cream.

The Mado store in the Maras airport - for those last minute, desperate ice cream purchases. 

Mado is by far the most popular brand, but there are several other cafes in Maras that sell similar ice cream.  Mado, however, has become a famous symbol of this amazing ice cream around Turkey and around the world.

Mado does not only sell ice cream, but also a wide variety of savory and sweet treats.  Just a glance into their many cafes will cause your blood sugar to peak and send your head spinning with so many options to try.  To make it easy on yourself, you can try the famous Mado brunch at their restaurant next to the Mado factory.  The price is a little steep (~27 TL per person) but you can try a variety of pastries, börek, homemade breads, jams and everything else and more that you would expect with a Turkish breakfast.

Very rustic and cozy ambiance at the original Mado Cafe.

For a smaller treat, we like to head to the several Mado cafes in the central part of Maraş.  There you can find the first Mado shop and it is full of memorabilia, old newspaper clippings, and antique Turkish housewares.  I tried out künefe for the first time in this café - cheese coated in small pasty threads, fried and covered in a sweet syrup - served, of course, with Maras ice cream on the side.

Künefe at the downtown Maras cafe

If I haven't convinced you that Maras ice cream is some of the best in the world, then I've failed miserably.  But it's your loss!  I know come June I'll be enjoying scoop after scoop - or more like - slice after slice of this delicious dondurma. 

To read more, here is an interesting article from a Turkish language website that highlights Maras icecream:

http://www.learningpracticalturkish.com/soft-ice-cream-business--006-08-08.html

Treats from Turkey

Living in a highly globalized country full of imports from around the globe (I'm talking about the USA), one would think that any desired commodity can be found - if not in stores, then at least online.  While that is partially true, the reality is that while we have access to almost everything, the quality of these commodities are questionable at times.  With Turkish products this is especially true.  We can find Turkish ingredients and treats at the local Mediterranean or International Markets, yet we have been burned many times by overpriced, expired goods that just do not taste right.  Other times, ingredients may seem to be Turkish, but there is some additional flavor added to compliment tastes preferred in Arabic or Persian culture. 

So before traveling to Turkey we brainstormed some of the things we would want to bring back with us, and then while in Turkey that list continued to grow as our taste buds were reminded of the glorious pistachios, fragrant teas, and tantalizing Turkish delights that we had been missing.  So we stuffed our luggage as full as possible with these small Turkish treats to enjoy once back at home.

Locally roasted pistachios from Maras - gifted to H. by his sister 

The perfect Turkish Delight or Lokum

We've already made our way through one box of the pistachio Turkish delights and we're working our way through the second.  These are not your typical Turkish delights, instead of the white powder, they are covered with powdered raw pistachio.  The flavor is rich with just the right amount of sweetness. 

A collection of Koska sweets to give as gifts (or maybe just eat ourselves if we get greedy)

 We've also been enjoying glass after glass of the Turkish herbal tea - like elma (apple) tea and kuşburnu tea, a combination of rosehips and hibiscus that is tart like cranberry juice.  It's the perfect way to keep warm and snuggly without the caffeine of black tea on these cold winter nights.  We love it so much that we found a website where we can order more boxes when we run out. (http://akmarket.com/  This website is also great for ordering all sorts of Turkish food - like cheese, socuk and sweets, even baked goods!)

In order to keep up the alaturka cuisine in the kitchen, I stocked up on some of the most useful spices for Turkish cooking.  Susam (sesame seeds) and Çörek Otu (Cumin seeds) can both be found in the US, but for a pretty penny.  These seeds are essential for a lot of Turkish pastries, such as börek and Turkish scones, and if I get up the gumption, I may try to make simit, Turkish bagels loaded with sesame.  

Collection of Turkish spices

Köfte Baharı is a useful addition to ground beef to make a quick and tasty hamburger or köfte on the grill.  I have fallen in love with the taste of Kuş üzümü (dried currants) in rice pilaf and I'm looking forward to trying out this simple twist sometime soon.  Pul biber (red pepper) is essential for Turkish cuisine and nane (dried mint) was so essential that the package was already in use before I could take this photo.  While I'm sure spices directly from the bazaar would have been the best quality, we opted for the packaged variety for easy transport and ease during customs. 

Now, for some of the fun stuff.  Before our trip there were several things I knew I was going to bring back just because I love them so much.  I was eager to get a Turkish tea glass set, because tea just tastes better in those tulip shaped glasses. Turkish tea glasses can also be found in the US at stores like World Market (where they are sold as shot glasses ????) and international grocery stores.

My new Turkish tea glasses (NOT shot glasses, World Market) 

 After the last trip when I was gifted a beautiful Turkish scarf with oya, handmade flower lace, I planned to buy these scarves to bring back as gifts.  So one Saturday we ventured out in the rain to the local bazaar to find the one lady who sold these beautiful treasures made by a local women's artisan group.  In Turkey, oya scarves are most commonly worn as head scarves.  In Maras, you can see the young and the old wearing these beautiful scarves, yet it is becoming less common that the young generation will wear such a traditional scarf.  I like to wear them around my neck in a variety of different styles.  I love the lightness of the fabric and how soft it feels.  I often find myself admiring the small lace flowers and wondering how they could possibly be made by hand - a true Turkish treasure.

Two examples of oya lace

While the selection is much better in Turkey, these scarves can be accessed in the US also.  Just a visit to Etsy (a handmade and vintage online community of stores) and search for "oya" will return hundreds of examples.  Many are created with Western appeal in mind, and others state that they are straight from a bridal chest and never worn (which I find quite sad).  Yes, the oya scarves and the bridal chest have an important role in Turkish wedding traditions, so perhaps it's best I save this topic for a different blog post.

Here are a few of the oya scarves that I picked up.

I chose a few of the darker ones as these will be gifts for older relatives of mine, but there were many different options in all the colors of the rainbow.  I might have to stuff my suitcase with more on the next trip.

The Dessert Dance

Navigating Turkish meals is still something fairly new to me, but especially on this trip I'm becoming more cultured to the proper ways to respond to the invitations to eat the mountains of food presented to me.  For those that have not had the glorious experience of eating a home-cooked Turkish meal, I'll give you a little background information.  Meals are not lighting quick events, although they can be somewhat hectic with so many offers to eat this or drink that being thrown around from one person to another.  Turkish meals take a lot of time to prepare, accordingly each course is properly savored before moving on to the next.

A first course - Manti or Turkish Ravioli in a yogurt sauce
(Source: Turklish)

 Usually dinner begins with soup and bread, but the whole meal is already on the table complete with mezes, such as cold salads, vegetables cooked in lots of olive oil, pickles and pide bread.  The main course is usually some type of rice pilaf with cooked meat and vegetables.  There may also be many types of small dishes served such as lahmacun or içli köfte.   There are of course many variations to Turkish meals, below you can see a few examples of the types of food we have eaten at invited dinners here in Turkey.

Table is set with mezes and salad before the lamb shanks arrived.
(Source: Turklish)

One of my favorite dishes - rice with chicken and roasted almonds - simple yet oh so delicious.
(Source: Turklish)

Several varieties of dolma - stuffed mini squash, eggplant and red peppers. Also sarma, or stuffed grape leaves. Yumm!
(Source: Turklish)

Homemade içli köfte - meat, nut, sauce mixture inside a bulgur dough.  These were made by hand by several different ladies, each with a different içli köfte style, hence the variation in shape.
(Source: Turklish)

After navigating a Turkish meal - not eating too much, but savoring all the different flavors on the table - you may think that you are home free with just a small tea and dessert to follow.  After all, dessert is the perfect finale to every meal.  However, beware, in Turkey dessert is a whole new event.

After retiring from the dinner table to a comfy couch, first comes the coffee and tea.  This is to help digest that big meal and keep you awake for the next round.  Coffee is served with chocolate.  Then glass after glass of tea is served, sometimes with a salty or sweet scone or cookie.  Meanwhile dinner dishes are cleaned, and dessert trays are prepared.

A variety of sweets to accompany tea.
(Source: Turklish)

The table is reset with plates and silverware.  All return to their seats to the splendid array of fruits, nuts, and whatever main dessert was prepared, such as baklava, sütlaç, or even a chocolate cake.  Also, in Maras, Turkish chips or tarhana (Maraş style - another post to come soon about tarhana) is always center stage on the dessert table. 

A typical table set for dessert - many different types of fruit, nuts, two varieties of prepared dessert - cooked pumpkin and a coconut pudding.
(Source: Turklish)

This is where the dessert dance comes to play.  At this point it may be late in the night, as everyone spent several hours chatting with tea after dinner.  Everyone is full, no one really is physically hungry, but there may be a desire for something sweet to finish the meal.  I start slowly, sampling  a few pistachios or almonds.  However, if I do not take enough I am always encouraged to take more.

"Eat this orange; it is delicious."  I'm instructed by the host as the orange is put on my plate. 

I nod my head, smile and put the orange to the side as three huge pieces of baklava are put on my plate.

 I smile and murmur a "teşekkür ederim". 

Now I begin to slowly eat the baklava and I keep my eyes alert to quick movements to put anything else on my plate.  

Soon a hand swoops in with more nuts.

"Oh, no thank you, I've had enough."  I say as I shield my plate with my hands.

"Just eat a little."  I'm encouraged with eyes pleading.

I give in.  "Okay just a few." 

"Here is some more baklava."  As a spatula gracefully slides in towards my plate.

"No I can't!"  I squeal, barely able to finish the pieces I already have.

"Okay,  how about a banana."  As the banana is cut in half and peeled.

"No, please, I already had an apple, and I have this orange here on my plate."  I say to no avail as the peeled banana is already in my hand and halfway to my mouth.

Another hand reaches and grabs a few slabs of tarhana and gestures for me to take them.

"Thank you, thank you, I have enough, I'll take a few in a little bit."

This energy is not only directed at me, but at all the guests around the table.  All are encouraged to eat more and there are many helping hands to ensure that no plate is left empty and that plenty of fruit is peeled and sliced so that everyone can try all the different kinds. 

A typical serving of dessert - not baklava but similar with nuts inside and a thin dough soaked in sweet syrup. As always pistachios sprinkled on top complete the sweet.
(Source: Turklish)

Tarhana or Turkish chips Maraş style
(Source: Turklish)

I often find it downright hilarious and begin giggling as an orange is passed from one person to the next and as protesting guests shield their plates from the downpour of pistachios and hazelnuts. 

I call it a dance because it requires grace and coordination to sidestep all the offered treats.  While the nuts, fruit, tarhana and dessert are all delicious, for me it is all too much.  After that big meal I simply can't eat all the dessert options.  However, with time I am getting better at this desert dance and learning to eat my fill while pleasing the host and avoiding midnight stomachaches.

The long journey to Turkey - Part 1

I have been quiet for some days now due to a tiresome journey to Turkey that took much longer than usual and left me more jet-lagged and exhausted that ever before.  Along with a day at the hospital yesterday.  There is a lot to tell…I'll post the full story in several posts - please stay tuned!

It all began with a good deal I just could not pass up…

Earlier this fall I got an email from Turkish airlines advertising a good ticket price, $690 for a flight from New York to Istanbul.  I jumped at the deal and booked a ticket for Monday, leaving some time for getting to New York from my home in the Midwest after I finished my finals on Thursday.  I spoke with a friend that lives in Manhattan, NY and we decided to make a weekend out of it - I would stay with her and her husband and we could spend some time together before I flew out to Istanbul on Monday.  So after a crazy busy week and an incredibly exhausting day on Friday…at 4:30AM on Saturday, I awoke to the sound of rain splattering the window and the worry that my travel plans might be a little complicated.  I threw on some comfy clothes, dragged my way-too-heavy bags to the car and got on the road to the airport.  As I drove, I thought how fitting that it should rain on the day I have to travel - it hadn't rained much for months as my part of the country had been in a major drought since early summer.  It seemed like bad luck for it to be raining on a travel day, but then again, the rain was much  needed, so I took it as a good omen. 

My flights to New York were on schedule without any problems.  At the airport I grabbed my bag without an issue and caught the M-60 bus into the Upper West Side.  It was sunny in New York that Saturday afternoon and we had a great night of food, wine and conversation at a Greek restaurant.  We made big plans to hit up all the outdoor Christmas markets in the city on Sunday.  The sound of rain in the morning was again an indicator that things may not go as planned.    It seems I had brought the rain with me from the Midwest.  The wet day dampened some of our plans, but we managed to visit the Christmas market in Bryant Park for an hour or so.  In fact, I was surprised to find a Grand Bazaar store and a stall selling Gozleme and Turkish tea and coffee - Turkish culture is alive and well in New York it seems!

The Grand Bazaar New York stall at the Bryant Park Christmas Market
(Photo by Turklish)

 Despite the rain, I still had a good time in the city with my friends.  Since my bag was already at its weight limit, I limited my shopping to only a few small gift items that could still be squeezed into my overflowing luggage.  For the first time in a while I stayed away from my laptop for several days (even though I was still connected through email on my phone) and it felt nice to leave it tucked away and turned off.

On Monday I made my way to the airport on the other side of New York in a still dreary landscape.  No snow, just yucky, drizzly rain that didn't seem to do much to cleanse the city streets and sidewalks but instead left a sickening stench in the air that I was happy to escape from.

A Turkish food vendor in the New York (JFK) airport near my departure terminal. I had a nice cheese gozleme to hold me over until my flight left.
(Photo by Turklish)

I arrived early morning to a dark Istanbul, but once the sun came up it was a beautiful day.  As my 8-hr flight from the US to Turkey left at 1pm - I never felt tired enough to sleep on the flight.  Instead, I watched 3 and half movies and tried out the free games on the console.  Though when I arrived in Istanbul, just about at my proper bedtime, I felt the exhaustion kick in.  I waited two hours for my bag to come so that I could go through "customs" (which is really a joke because nothing is checked and not even one tiny piece of paper is required).  I finally asked around with my meager Turkish and found that they had put my bag somewhere else, as it was marked to be transferred to my next flight.  (Yet, everyone told me again and again I still needed to pick it up in Istanbul.)  Annoyed, but relieved - I picked up my bag and re-checked it in the domestic terminal.

Finally, exhausted, I crashed in the waiting area outside security.  Kicking myself for forgetting my Turkish Lira at home and not wanting to wander around and find an ATM to get some cash, I stumbled over to a store to buy a coke and some crackers to head off my caffeine headache before it caused my head to implode. 

I collapsed again on a chair in the waiting area, using my backpack and coat for a pillow, and fell into a troublesome half-sleep where I could hear everything around me, but felt unable to open my eyes or move.  Finally, I jerked fully awake and I decided to make my way through security and continue my half-sleep at my gate.  Yet, after moving I was unable to rest again.  I sat alert waiting for my flight to board, the boarding time passed, then the scheduled flight time passed and still no flight.  First it was delayed 30 min and then 1 hour due to weather conditions in Kahramanmaras, where we would be landing.  Unfortunately, just as the weather followed me from the Midwest to New York, unknowingly it had also followed me to Turkey.

Eventually the time came and we all crowded on the plane.  I found my seat, strapped myself in, and fell into a real sleep this time,  where I occasionally awoke with a start as my head lolled forward too far or my feet jerked (as they often do) filing me with a sensation that I was falling out of my chair.  I occasionally heard the dull, scratchy hum of the pilot's voice in the background - "landing would be difficult", I thought I heard … and I fell asleep again.

To be continued...

A New Addition to Our Saturday Turkish Breakfast

I love weekend breakfasts.  Eggs, paninis, salads and sauces - they are all so delicious and the combination often keeps me full until dinner.  Last week I learned to make a Turkish potato dish at the Turkish Cooking Class to add to the spread - Potato Cake or Patatesli Kek (although I should note that H. does not agree that it should be called "Kek" because it is salty and not sweet, he thinks it should be called Patatesli Börek.  Maybe he is right and Patatesli Kek is the Turklish name - with the cake part being influenced by our English/American confused idea of what cake is.  Anyways, I say…let us eat kek.)

Right out of the oven!

Potato Cake consists of root vegetables like potato, onion and carrot encased in a salty batter.  It bakes for about 45 minutes and the result is a crispy, salty delicious dish that is reminiscent of a potato casserole but without the cheese.

First thing first, get together your ingredients:

1 cup yogurt (we used homemade - recipe to come soon)

3 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1.5 - 2 cups flour

Heaping teaspoon baking powder

Salt

1 onion 

2-3 carrots

2-3 potatoes

  

Mix the yogurt, eggs and oil with a spoon or whisk.  Next add the flour little by little while stirring continuously.  Then, this is where baking instinct comes into play, add flour until the batter is sticky but still falls from the spoon.  Add the baking powder and stir.

This is the batter before adding the baking powder (just to clarify - batter in the bowl and baking powder on the spoon).

Next, chop all the vegetables into little pieces….bu gibi (like this).  In fact, we decided after a couple bites that they could have been chopped smaller and perhaps the result would have been even better.

Mix the vegetables into the batter and stir to cover all the pieces.  Add a little bit of salt, and pepper if you like, and mix it up.

Next, add the entire mixture to an oiled pan.  I chose to make it in a circular pan so that it would resemble a cake and thus I would come one step closer to proving to H. that it is indeed patatesli kek, but a square pan would do as well (and with retrospect, the square pan might have helped the mixture to cook faster and more evenly - our circular pan was a little too narrow and deep).

Bake for about 45 minutes at 350F or until brown on top.  I added some sesame seeds to the top after it had baked half way to add a little to the presentation. 

Thoughts after eating: I like this recipe - I think it could be modified in many different ways depending on what vegetables are on hand.  Also, this makes a nice lower-fat version of potato casserole as compared to the crazy high-fat versions with lots of cheese, butter, and sour cream that are common American fare.  That being said - I do love cheesy casserole!