Delishy Fishy

Those of you that know me, know me well enough to understand that I'm not a huge fan of anything that comes out of water (other than sea vegetables--seaweed and such). If I eat meat, I should be able to identify where the bones are, and it shouldn't require much effort to get the food from my plate to my belly: i.e. I like a good Nebraska steak. However, over the past year or so, thanks to the hubby figure, I have opened my mind, and literally, my mouth, to sea meats. That's right, I started eating fish! Granted, I stick to the muscley, meaty fish like salmon, swordfish and the likes, but dare I admit, I kinda like it!

This past weekend, we paid a second visit to Laterna on Tunus Caddesi here in Ankara. Of course I had a minor anxiety attack, thinking I'd be obliged to eat those slimy sea creatures like calamari, squid or octopus (IIIICKKK!). After all, Laterna is a Greek taverna serving cuisine primarily from the Aegean region. I was pleasantly surprised to be treated to a bountiful table of meze (this was a "Raki Sofrasi" night...) including liver (my fave), a seaweed assortment (yum-o), hellim salad (what I fondly refer to as my favorite "squeaky cheese"--hey, it squeaks when you chew it!), and much more. As the main course, we were treated to the fresh catch of the day, grilled levrek (sea bass), and my god, if my tastebuds could dance, I know would have been up on the table enjoying the ear candy from our friends Umit, Can and Kuddsi. I consumed far too much raki (anise flavored liquor) for my own well being, topped off by some champagne from a guy celebrating his engagement, and a nightcap of mastika and Turkish coffee. Not to be forgotten is the mysterious eggplant dessert (for which I was handed the recipe straight from the chef) and irmik tatlisi. Needless to say, for a good seven hours, my senses were delighted. I will definitely be visiting Laterna more often...perhaps even for my 30th birthday V1.1 celebration!

Afiyet olsun!

Bathing in History...

I'm sure my germophobe friends will really have a heyday with this one...

Seeing as public bathing was thrown out with the baby AND the bathwater (yes, I made a funny) an uber long time ago in the US, I have always appreciated the opportunity while in Turkey to get cleaner than I do in the privacy of my own home. When I lived in Istanbul, it really was a weekly ritual to visit the Cemberlitas Hamami (built in 1584, mind you). I would go in late on Friday nights, when noone else was around and have the entire, steamy, half-lit dome to myself. Yesterday was my first experience with an Ankara hamam, so of course I had no choice but to go to Ankara's oldest and best: the Karacabey Hamami. This hamam was built in 1440, out-aging Cemberlitas by a good 130 years, and in my estimation is just a tad smaller.

We started our bathing experience by changing into suitable bathing attire (swimsuits and such), which is a notable difference from Cemberlitas, where bathers and bathgivers alike freely roam, uninhibited by such cloth and confidently ignorant to cellulite. I presume the blissful ignorance to cellulite is the utter lack thereof--thanks to the long hours in the hamam, I learn. Men and women bathe separately here, but apparently there are still a few hamams that exist where that is not the case.

I take my towel, shampoo, kese (the rough, goathair washcloth thing) and my locker key into the first chamber which is steamy, but not terribly warm. The hamam is packed on a Saturday, so it's strictly one-way traffic through the narrow and low passages from one chamber to the next. My friend seems to know EVERYONE here, which makes me fondly remember all of the ladies from Cemberlitas who without judgement commented every ounce of fat that came or went from my body from week to week, and lovingly named me "Melek" (angel). While she's having her gossip, I begin in one of the small "rooms" off the main section. In these small closets there is running water and marble basins that you dip your little bowl into, in order to saturate yourself completely. This continues casually as we chat with our neighbors about who has had babies, what Behlul will do about Nihal on Ask-i Memnu, and cheery banter about saggy boobs and greying hair. Then, I was called to the gobek tasi, which is the huge, heated stone platform in the center of the room. With the natural light of the small glass openings in the ceiling floating onto my shoulders, I was ordered around to lie down, turn over, on your side, sit up, bend your knees, tilt your neck until I begin to see little rolling pins of dead, dirty skin curl up on my body from the lady who was scrubbing me with my kese. Then for the shocking part--SPLASH--right over my head comes a not-so-warm bucket of water to wash away all that nastiness. I return to my "closet" to continue the "bath" part, which is actually laying around again with my eyes half closed until I feel like sitting up and soaping up. After I wash my hair, we go out to sit in the cool room around the iron furnace, where most people are drinking tea and half watching a rerun of Ask-i Memnu, and I'm thankful for the affirmation that I'm not the only one who is addicted! A few minutes later, I'm called into the massage room (there is an option for oil massage or soap massage--I chose oil), and Fidan Hanim pushes with her elbows, fingers and wrists until the heavy-duty knots in my back start to unfurl. Fifteen minutes later, I retreat to the cooling room again to see if I had missed anything on Ask-i Memnu, only to find it was commercial time (not the 2 minute commercial break like in the US). I had time to run back to my locker, change my clothes, blowdry my hair and hang out a bit before the series came back on. By that time, my friend was ready, too, and we bundled up to brave the Ankara sleet, and she informed me that the hamam is has been rented by the same family for more than 50 years from a government foundation that owns it, and therefore, the renters don't pay for the water. A bathhouse where the owner doesn't pay for the water...sounds like they won't be throwing THAT baby out with the bathwater anytime soon!

Behlul kacar...

Lately I've been the kid sneaking into the kitchen at midnight to get a cookie from the cookie jar. Minus the fact that I'm not a kid, and my cookies, that forbidden food, is the Turkish "dizi" (TV series) "Ask-i Memnu"...and I'm not sneaking anymore. I'm an outright addict.

Ask-i Memnu (Forbidden Love) is based on a book written in the early 1900s by Halit Ziya Usakligil. The original book uses "old" Turkish, which sadly, few people can understand these days. (I heard there was a newer printing of it with the new Turkish words in parenthesis.) The character names are kept pretty much the same, as far as I understand, and it makes it really cool to hear uncommon names like Behlul, Bihter, Peyker, Besir, etc... The story, being a typical romantic drama, has a tangled plot, so I, not wanting to miss a beat, have been watching the series from Season 1, Episode 1. I'm on Episode 19 now, which is quite an accomplishment--Turkish "dizi" are much longer than American TV shows per episode, hitting the 90 minute spot, without commercials, I might add!

I won't torture the readers of this blog (like I do to my husband, who hasn't been sucked into this TV trap), by giving my personal "ozet" (summary) of the plot. Yet I do feel an inexplicable urge to share a little snippet about the character that everyone loves to hate: Behlul. I liken him to Sawyer on Lost (another TV fetish): handsome, suave and charming womanizer. You want to hate him, but part of you just knows that in spite of his hankering for hanky panky with the ladies, he is really looking for love. Also like Sawyer, he has created his on liturgy of nicknames and catchphrases, particularly for Nihal (his favorite is "suratsiz"which means "crabby"). My favorite is Behlul's trademark expression: "Behlul kacar"...

And for now, so do I. Allison kacar...

Turkish Style Pesto

Of course this recipe for pesto is really no different from other pestos, but I decided to call it "Turkish style" because I use a Turkish cheese instead of parmesan, and it turns out equally (I'd even venture to say MORE) delicious!

Pesto Parts:

• 2 bunches of fresh basil, washed and stems removed
• 1/4 c pine nuts
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1/4-1/3 c grated aged (eski) kasar cheese (if you can't find it, you can substitute parmesan here)
• 1 1/2 c olive oil
• Salt

Pesto Preparation:

• Place the basil, garlic and pine nuts in the food processor and pulse until smooth
• Pulse in the cheese
• While blending, add in the olive oil until smooth
• Add salt to taste 

I luuuhuuhhuuve pesto, and this was a treat to make. My favorite preparation of it is to stir into cooked pasta with chopped grape tomatoes and roasted pine nuts. Deeelish. 

Afiyet olsun!

A Very BabaZula Thanksgiving

Since most people eat Turkey on Thanksgiving, and I'm in Turkey (waka waka waka...oldest joke in the book), I did the natural thing and devoured the music of BabaZula at IF Performance Hall. If you don't know much about BabaZula, you should become familiar with their self-defined style of "oriental dub," which is a decently vague description. A beautiful, spellbinding mix of what I'll call "rock 'n Roma," with instruments ranging from the traditional (saz, davul, and wooden spoons) to the modern (drum machines and an electrified saz--natch). From their website:


Baba ZuLa go to great lengths to provide their fans with a unique live show experience. Their ritual like performances are a mixture of disciplines of art, often featuring belly dancers, elaborate costumes, poetry, theatre and live drawing, delivering viewers a tantalizing audio-visual feast.


On Thanksgiving, if you can't gorge yourself on Turkey, be thankful that you can indulge in the audio-visual feast that is BabaZula. It's far more enjoyable to be in a music trance than a food coma.

Cake of Mosaics (Mosaik Pasta)

Today the hubby craved two desserts, so I eagerly stepped up to the plate and made both. One was Irmik tatlisi (which wasn't exactly "homemade"), and the other was my supereasydeliciouslyawesome mosaic cake. Apparently it's an Italian thing, but I've had it at numerous Turkish households over the years.

Mosaic Malzemeleri:

• 1/2 c butter, melted
• 1/4 c cocoa 
• 1/4 c sugar
• 3/4 c powdered sugar
• 1 egg, beaten gently (don't be too rough on it!)
• 3/4 c milk
• 250-300 g (you're on your own to figure this measurement out...) of petit beurre biscuits, crushed (I know you can find them in the US...I just forget what they're called)

Mosaic Methodology:

• Melt the butter on low heat
• Pour the milk, beaten egg into a bowl and mix in the sugars
• Add the butter, then the cocoa until you have a creamy chocolatey delight
• Stir in the crushed petit beurre biscuits
• Take a sheet of aluminum foil on your counter and scoop the batter onto the foil, making a roll shape (cylinder)--like a thick rolling pin
• Wrap up the cylinder in the foil and place in the freezer for about 2-3 hours
• When you are ready to serve, slice into 1/2 inch thick slices and enjoy!

*Some people also enjoy crushed hazelnuts mixed in, too!

Afiyet olsun!

Please take a number...or not

I realized today, that the "take a number" systems at most post offices, banks, etc...are really really (emphasis on REALLY) important in this country. I witnessed firsthand today what happens when there's not.

I was at PTT (the postoffice-ish place, where you can also do a myriad of other things--pay your gas bill, etc...) sending a package. There are five kiosks at my PTT, three for non-postal related issues, and two for sending mail, packages, cargo. For the non-sending people, there is a handy electronic ticket distributor that signals with flashing lights that it's your turn to move to kiosk X. All moves generally smoothly. There is no such machine for postal-related requests--I'm guessing because every time I visit PTT, no one is sending anything. However, today, I was sending a package, and this nice gentleman behind the counter was helping me with the insurance and such. He leans over and asks the guy at the next counter something about my package, and the guy who had just walked up to that kiosk lost it. I mean LOST IT. He thought that they were paying too much attention to my needs as a customer, and he was apparently being ignored. A deadly (well, I was hoping not deadly...) silence fell upon the PTT, as the gentleman helping me and this other rowdy chap got into it at quite a significant decibel level. My nice kind helping guy started with something like, "Please sir, don't you see I was just asking my colleague a question about this nice lady's package, can you hold on for just one minute?" Apparently one minute was just too much for Mr. Rowdy Pants, and he started yelling and getting in the nice PTT guy's face...jumping over my shoulder. He reached into his pocket, and of course I was thinking "uh, am I going to be one of THOSE people who sees this all go down?" Thankfully, I wasn't and the guy was escorted outside by a very calm younger girl and business as normal resumed in the PTT.

This was the first time I'd really seen anything escalate to this level (which wasn't really even a "level", per se), but on numerous occasions, I've been cut off while standing in what I thought was a line. I've learned to be more aggressive, for sure. However, now I don't even see it as being aggressive. There is a certain ebb and flow here (albeit a bit more chaotic than what I'm used to), when it comes to being in a "line" and waiting for a service. There's an unspoken rule about who goes first and who comes next, and a certain confidence that is learned about when it's your turn. I'm feeling more and more sure of myself...especially when I can take a numbered ticket.

Su Boregi (Water Borek)

Though this borek has nothing to do with water, the name is literally translated as such. Maybe 'cause in real kitchens, they actually take the time to boil the dough...I'm here to give you cheaters a way out.

Ingredients:

• One package of phyllo dough (usually in the US you find it in the freezer section)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c vegetable oil (or sunflower oil)
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 c white cheese (feta cheese)
• 1/4 c yogurt, 1/4 c yogurt (once for the inside mix, and the other for the saucy stuff)
• 2 T dill (I used dried, fresh is even better)
• 1/2 bunch of fresh parsley (this pretty much has to be fresh)
• oil to grease the bottom of a 9x13 glass pan

How to:

• In one bowl, mix the white cheese, fresh parsley, 1/4 c of yogurt, and dill
• In a separate bowl, gently whisk the two eggs, and pour in the oil, milk and yogurt
• Grease the bottom of your 9x13 pan
• Lay down, one sheet at a time of the phyllo dough (you may need to keep it wrapped up in a moist towel to prevent it from drying out) to make one layer (you can fold them if necessary, but it's best to have just one sheet per layer), and using a pastry brush, spread on about 2 T of the egg mixture. Alternating mixture and phyllo, continue for about 4-5 layers. 
• Evenly distribute the cheese mixture and then continue alternating phyllo/egg mix until you have a few more layers on top, or run out of mix. Leave enough egg mix for the end to generously pour over the top
• Preheat the oven to 350 F and cook for approximately 25-30 minutes. 

Afiyet olsun!

The Hot New Trend in Pizza Fashion

That's right, all you pizza fashion police, I'm on it. The latest trend to emerge in pizza fashion...the "hotdog in the crust" pizza! The most awesome and awkward thing I've seen in a while, I couldn't resist sharing this. (Literally, the words translate to: "the latest trend in pizza"...you can't make this stuff up).

Tailor Town

I just picked up three skirts that I had dropped off at my local tailor (actually I don't even know who to consider my "local" tailor...there are at least 4 within a 5 minute walk of my house). If you didn't already know, Turkey is notorious for cheap and excellent tailoring. I had three skirts that I needed to have taken in (hurray for losing weight), and I dropped them off with a bit of skepticism, as they are VERY cool and unique skirts that can't be replaced (one I got at DC's "Crafty Bastards" art festival, the other two from my favorite online shop, www.boden.co.uk). I paid a measly amount of money to have them repaired (at the current conversion rate $30 USD), and they turned out pretty well. I was a little disappointed that even though Mr. Tailor promised that he wouldn't take some of the artistry off the sides of the skirts, he did, but the tailoring was impeccable.

The reason I was disappointed was that the skirt had 99 red balloons, hand stitched on navy wool. Now if you're a child of the 80's, you're familiar with the German (and English version) of the song 99 Red Balloons, a kind of Cold War "protest" song. Most people don't know the lyrics, and fancily dance along to this fun pop song. However, the words are quite true and universal about the ways our countries (not just the US) can instigate fighting on false pretenses. The song (essentially--both German and English) is about kids playing with red balloons that get released into the sky, and the balloons being mistaken for UFOs or missiles, inciting military panic. The "other" fires, only to realize it's merely a toy red balloon.

80's pop music references aside, my skirt now has something like 94 1/2 balloons... with superb tailoring on the inside.

Czech Potato Salad

This isn't exactly a Turkish recipe, but I fondly remember this from my days living in Prague, and saw some celery root in the store today and thought I'd give this a shot. Turned out pretty darn delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 large potatoes, peeled
• 2-3 carrots, peeled
• 2 medium celery roots, peeled
• 1 medium jar of pickles, saving the juice
• 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 1 c mayonnaise
• fresh dill

Directions:

• Take the juice from the pickles and pour it into a large pot. Adding water at necessary, bring to a boil and add the potatoes, carrots, celery root. 
• Chop the pickles and the egg and place in a large bowl
• When the vegetables are finished cooking, remove from the water and dice them
• Add to the pickles and egg, stir, and then mix in the mayonnaise
• Garnish with fresh chopped dill

Dobrou chuť! (Czech for "afiyet olsun") :)

A cat, a rabbit and a goat walk into a bar...

No, this isn't the start of a bad joke. But I thought for a moment that the Ankara Municipality either had a strange sense of design, or that they were trying to make some weird joke on the overpasses that cross the Eskisehir Yolu in Ankara. We were driving yesterday, and I noticed that the masonry under one of the overpasses had cats. Not live cats, but decorative, stone kitties...supine, frolicking, smiling, pouncing, sunbathing kitties. Now, if you know me, I'm really not a huge fan of cats--I'm more of a dog person. I turned to my hubby and asked if he noticed, he just shrugged his shoulders. As we approach the next overpass, I see more animal shapes--this time: bunnies! I'm more fond of bunnies--especially my pet bunny that I had as a kid, Mercedes, rest her soul. This inspired the same reaction from Ferhat--nothing. I was really starting to get curious. Most municipalities put inanimate objects as decor on landscape structures--flowers, trees, water, the occasional bird. But cats? Rabbits? Another overpass was coming and I really wondered what this one had in store for me? Perhaps dolphins? Squirrels? No. This time we had goats. I also had numerous goats as pets and have very fond memories of snuggling them (yes, I snuggled my goats).

Cats. Rabbits. Goats. Seriously, this was becoming too wacky and I consulted Ferhat again. It took the big brain of my hubby to make this connection: we are in Ankara, aka ANGORA pre-1930. DUH. These are all Angora animals...Angora cat, Angora rabbit, Angora goat...all originating in, you guessed it: Ankara! Even my precious Mercedes was an Angora bunny...just a big ball of fluff.

So, yes, maybe it IS possible that a cat, a rabbit and a goat walked into a bar...right here in Angora.

Easy Spinach and Rice

Hello pregnant ladies, this one's for you! Ok, you don't have to have a bun in the oven to enjoy this dish, but it does provide a good dose (read: insane amount) of Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Manganese, and that necessary pregger vitamin, folate. Boys, don't sweat...this is a delicious treat for the whole family!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of spinach
• Olive oil
• 1 cup of medium grain rice
• 1/4 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of crushed garlic
• A dash of nutmeg
• A pinch of salt

Simply spinach:

• Rinse the fresh spinach well under cool water--enough so all the sand has washed off (we all love the beach--just not eating it...)
• Chop the spinach into relatively small pieces--if you're using baby spinach, a couple runs through with the knife should work well
• Preheat a deep skillet and then add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan
• Add the chopped onions and garlic and sautee for a couple of minutes
• Add the rice and allow the rice to "warm up" a bit in the pan
• Add one cup of water and allow to cook for about 15 minutes, adding the salt
• Bring the spinach into the mix and allow to cook down for a bit, adding the nutmeg 
• Add one and half cups more water and cover and allow to cook until the rice is cooked

Depending on the kind of rice, you may have to add more water as you're cooking--just make sure that you add boiling water, so you don't lower the temperature of the dish while it's cooking.

Afiyet olsun!

Cheaters Circassian Chicken (Cerkez Tavugu)

This has to be one of my favorite dishes, but most people only make it for special occasions. I created my own recipe that is easy enough for every day.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of chicken (breasts are fine, but usually it's better on the bone)
• 1 cube of chicken stock
• 1/4 onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 loaf of day old french bread (leave it out to sit for a day so it gets dry)
• 2 handfuls of walnuts
• Walnut oil or olive oil (optional)
• Sweet pepper powder (optional)

Cheating the Chicken:

• In a large pot, boil enough water with the cube of chicken stock to fully cook the chicken
• Remove the chicken from the water and allow to cool
• Sautee the chopped onion
• In a food processor, chop the walnuts, onion and garlic
• Remove some of the broth from the water that was used to cook the chicken and in a separate bowl, pour the milk and enough stock to get the bread soggy
• Combine the bread into the walnut mixture in the food processor
• When the chicken has cooled, remove it from the bone and shred into small pieces
• Throw that all into the food processor (you may need to add a splash more of the broth and milk)
• Swish it all around
• Transfer to a serving tray 
• (Optional) in a small shallow skillet, on low heat take about 1/4 cup of walnut oil and a teaspoon of sweet pepper powder and when the oil starts to turn reddish, drizzle over the cerkez tavugu

Afiyet olsun!

Remembering Ataturk

At this very moment, sirens across the country are sounding. People have stopped walking in the street. Cars have stopped in their tracks. At this moment, 71 years ago, at 9:05 am, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the great founder of the Turkish Republic, passed away.

Ataturk was born in 1881 as Mustafa Kemal, in Thessaloniki (Selanik), a former Ottoman city. He served as a military officer during World War I and was a leader in the Turkish War of Independence. He went on to serve as the first prime minister and first president of Turkey. He used this opportunity to put Turkey on a path of political, economic and cultural reforms to transform the former Ottoman Empire into a modern, democratic, and secular state.

He was one of the greatest visionaries the world has known. I highly recommend reading more about Ataturk and his life. Though he was a courageous and valiant soldier, I believe too often his human side is overlooked. I see Ataturk as an individual who realized his own charisma, and the opportunities and responsibilities that come with such a personality and circumstance. He sincerely wanted to see not just the establishment of a modern, democratic and secular nation, but he realized that it is the people who are living in that nation make this possible. He placed great emphasis on education reform, which I also believe is the foundation for a strong nation. In honor of Ataturk today, I'm sharing my favorite photo of him--teaching.