Another exciting Mediterranean recipe from my sister in-law Guelevren, made from zucchinis carved like, well, gondolas. Ingredients: 4 tomatoes, peeled & chopped 8 zucchinis, cut in half long way 3 red peppers, chopped 1 Anaheim or banana pepper, chopped 3 onions, chopped 1 C mozzarella cheese, shredded 1 lbs of ground soy meat ½ […]
Before I became vegetarian one of my favorite kebabs was Adana kebab. It got its name from the city of Adana in Turkey, and with its simple yet hard to achieve preparation what made this dish so tasty. Naturally we won’t be using tail fat, or mince the meat with a cleaver but we achieved […]
The first time I went to Turkey, I had these sekerpare cookies and fell in love. They’re soaked in a delicious syrup, giving them an incredibly moist crumbly texture that I’ve never had in any other cookie. We often crave them as there’s nothing comparable available in the US. We’ve tried making them many times […]
Got this delicious recipe from anne on our Thanksgiving 2019 visit to Turkey. So healthy and flavorful at the same time. The slight sweetness of the carrot combined with the zing of the garlic and the coolness of the yogurt compliment each other so well. Can be eaten by itself or used as a dip. […]
Gulevren taught us how to make this delicious salad during our Thanksgiving 2019 visit. The sweetness and softness of the beet pairs so well with the freshness and bitterness of the arugula. The redness of the beets is also striking against the green salad. It’s a match made in heaven! Ingredients: 1/2 onion, chopped […]
This semolina halva is one of my favorite Turkish desserts. I have always thought of halva as a sticky and thick white block, and was delighted when Deniz introduced me to this very different type of halva. It’s buttery and slightly sweet, light and fluffy, and eaten with a spoon. Once I put one spoon […]
One day we were searching for a vegetarian recipe as usual, and we came across this leek & carrot recipe in a Turkish cookbook. It looked simple enough, but we weren’t sure if it was going to taste good. Since we have done this twice, we can say that we have no more doubts. This […]
So I had been wanting to try to make a vegetarian fish for over a decade. I kept procrastinating because of the level of effort and lack of necessary ingredients. This weekend I had neither excuse and embarked upon a fun adventure. We had just visited Chinatown the weekend before and stocked up, and Deniz was […]
One important aspect of visiting other countries is to buy different spices and food helpers that you cannot buy back at home. In our recent trip to Turkey we bought several different spice mixes one of which happened to be a helper for one of my favorite meatball dishes: Inegol Kofte. The original plan was to […]
This is a light and healthy Turkish Salad that Gülevren taught us. In Taiwanese cuisine, green mung beans are always sweetened and used in dessert. It was cool to discover a way to make them into a salad. The diversity of vegetables in this refreshing dish makes it not only healthy, but also deep in flavor and […]
Gülevren also taught us to make this tart and creamy dill meze. It’s refreshing to the pallet, especially with rich and/or hot dishes. It’s full of flavorful and healthy veggies, a perfect Mediterranean dish. Ingredients: 1 potato, cut in half 4 small carrots, shredded 2 zucchini, shredded 2 T olive oil 2 t salt, or […]
We were blesssed to get a private cooking lesson from Gülevren last night. It was a unique treat watching superwoman. She cook 5 dishes for a 10 person dinner, while teaching us and watching the kids. Here’s her Ali Nazik Kebab dish, with its bold tangy meaty topping and cool, smooth eggplant base. Ingredients: Yogurt Eggplant […]
While visiting Turkey this year, we had the great honor of learning to cook from Deniz’ mom, ane Fatma Turkmen. She taught us how to make her mercimek kofte, lentil balls. The balls pack so much flavor, and are surprisingly easy to make. They’re the perfect snack size. I loved them so much, I ate them […]
This walnut sauce is a simple, but delicate and perfectly balanced complement for vegetarian chicken. Smooth and creamy with crunchy chunks. Together it’s one of those so-good-have-to-eat-more type of dishes. We adapted it from The Sultan’s Kitchen: a Turkish Cookbook by Ozcan Ozan for our vegetarian diet. Ingredients: 2 lbs Gardein meatless crispy chick’n (we […]
Deniz and I have always loved lentil soup. Before we met, each of us made it in our own way, me with Taiwanese seasoning (soy sauce and vegetables), Deniz with Turkish seasoning (tomato paste and onions). When we started cooking together, we found a way to marry our two recipes, and the result was better than […]