I love cake.

Ok, that's not exactly true, and maybe it's because prior to this, I was a complete and utter failure in the dessert department. However, I did it! I made a cake! Even with ingredients that I'm not familiar with...familiar with...? Heck, I've never even tried a persimmon (hurma) in my life!

Ingredients:

• 6 very ripe hurma (persimmon), taken for a dance in the food processor
• 1 large handful (you know my measurements--a tight grip handful) of mint, finely chopped
• 3 lemons' worth of juice
• 1/2 an orange's juice
• 2 c sugar
• 3 c flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 c vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions to Persimmon Pleasuretown:

• Mix the persimmon pulp with the lemon juice and orange juice and half the sugar (1 cup) and chopped mint
• Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, then allow to cool
• In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, 1 c sugar, baking soda, salt)
• Lightly beat 3 eggs, and add the oil to it.
• Combine the dry ingredients with the egg/oil combo, followed by the fruit pulp mixture
• Spread the batter into a lightly oiled and floured pan (mine was about a 12" round--I think a 9x13 should work)
• Bake at 325 (165 C) for about 45 minutes or until lightly brown

One variation can be to add crushed walnuts and other dried fruits if you like. I don't like. You may like. You can also make cute little designs with powdered sugar if you have those food stencily things.

Afiyet olsun!

Jack-o-Lantern Food

So what do you do once you have carved out your pumpkin and it looks all pretty, and you aren't in the mood to use it as a jack-o-lantern anymore? Bal kabagi tatlisi! That's Turkish for "delicious pumpkin dessert".

Right now my kitchen smells like a tasty fall potpourri. Honestly, the sweet smell of warm pumpkin...nothing can match it.

Ingredients:

• 2 kilos of pumpkin, seeds removed, peeled and chopped into big chunks (let's say like a deck of cards-ish)
• 2-3 cups of sugar (depending on your taste

How to create that fall aroma in your kitchen:

• Let the pumpkin chunks sit overnight in the refrigerator coated with the sugar. The pumpkin will "sweat" and create a syrup.
• When you are ready to cook (you may need two deep skillets for this amount of pumpkin), place the pumpkin and the syrup in the skillet, add about 1/2-1 more cup of water, and simmer on very low heat for about 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin is soft. Try not to disturb it while cooking.
• When the pumpkin is soft, yet still intact, remove from the heat to a serving tray, drizzle with the leftover syrup and sprinkle with crushed walnuts.

Afiyet olsun!