Air-fried chickpeas are such a great snack! Healthy and super tasty. Crispy on the outside and slightly soft on the […]
Appetizer/Side
Savory appetizers/sides are soooo good. Dim sum, mezes, tapas… whatever the country, they’re delicious. Heaven for me would be having dozens of tiny appetizers/sides for dinner, every dinner. Too bad they take so long to cook, or I’d be in my heaven. Anyway, here are some of the best appetizers/sides that we discovered and developed. We love them, and hope you do too!
Air-Fried Kale Chip
My sister Vicky developed a simple and incredibly tasty recipe for air-fried kale. Comes out perfectly crispy every time, and […]
Turkish Carrot Yogurt Dip (Yoğurtlu Havuç Meze)
Got this delicious recipe from anne on our Thanksgiving 2019 visit to Turkey. So healthy and flavorful at the same […]
Turkish Beet Arugula Salad
Gulevren taught us how to make this delicious salad during our Thanksgiving 2019 visit. The sweetness and softness of […]
Tabouli
Deniz and I modified this recipe of tabouli from the Ziad bulgur package to meet our tastes. It has a […]
Turkish Leek and Carrots
One day we were searching for a vegetarian recipe as usual, and we came across this leek & carrot recipe […]
American VegSausage Cheese Swirls
This is a great snack and tea companion. Crunchy puff pastry filled with vegetarian sausage and cheese, baked for perfection. […]
Creamy Cauliflower
Vegetables in a cream sauce, there’s something so satisfying about the combination. The richness of the cream pairs so well […]
Creamy Kabocha Squash
I modified Food Network’s Roast kabocha squash with lemongrass cream soup recipe on a whim to make this amazing squash side dish. The […]
Fusion Indian-Chinese Pani Palak Paneer / Pureed Ong Choi with Tofu
Deniz and I love indian food and palak paneer is one of those great flavorful and healthy dishes. We had […]
Australian-Italian Beetroot Arancini
During our Australia trip we had a chance to taste few unique vegetarian dishes and snacks. One memorable item was a […]
Turkish Mung Bean Salad (Maş Salatasi)
This is a light and healthy Turkish Salad that Gülevren taught us. In Taiwanese cuisine, green mung beans are always […]
Turkish Zuchinni Salad (Kabak Salatasi)
Gülevren also taught us to make this tart and creamy dill meze. It’s refreshing to the pallet, especially with rich […]
Turkish Ali Nazik Kebab
We were blesssed to get a private cooking lesson from Gülevren last night. It was a unique treat watching superwoman. She […]
Turkish Lentil Balls (Mercimek Köfte)
While visiting Turkey this year, we had the great honor of learning to cook from Deniz’ mom, ane Fatma Turkmen. […]
Quinoa Salad
Found this quinoa salad recipe on Food Network and made minor modifications to fit our taste. Has a lovely mildly […]
Fusion Bangladeshi Pancakes
I’ve always wondered why there aren’t many savory pancake offerings. I love the texture of pancakes, but don’t much like sweet […]
Beijing Tangy Stir-fried Bean Sprouts
Deniz loves these bean sprouts, we’ve made them more than any other recipe on this blog. I’ve never been a […]
Stuffed Baby Bell Peppers with Chipolte VegPork and Cheesy Rice
Deniz and I were doing Mexican taco/burrito this week and saw beautiful baby sweet bell peppers on sale in the […]
Garlic Eggplant Hummus
This is a simpler variation on Marcus Samuelson’s Chickpea-Eggplant Dip in Soul of a New Cuisine. It’s by far the […]
Mexican VegBeef Tamales
I love tamales, and wish vegetarian versions were more commonly available. Below is Tyler Florence’s recipe adapted for our vegetarian […]
Toasted Orzo with Grilled Vegetables
This is one of our go-to recipes when get a hankering for grilling. It’s adapted from Bobby Flay’s Toasted Israeli Couscous […]
Chinese Hot and Sour Soup (酸辣湯)
I’ve made this delicious soup in various versions over the years, thanks to Wei-Chuan’s cookbook guidance. It’s got that perfect balance […]
Fusion Chipolte Lentil Soup
Deniz and I have always loved lentil soup. Before we met, each of us made it in our own way, […]