pumpkin coconut (vegetarian) biryani, with biryani spice from india and coconut cream via friends from singapore; cucumber mint raita; fried sole from the fish market in kadikoy; store bought potato slices, baked, for those who can’t have fried fish without … Continue reading
salee au fromage – swiss style quiche (less egg, more cheese) with a mix of turkish cheeses and swiss chard, frisee (curly endive) salad with lemon vinaigrette. … Continue reading
The art of food is perhaps the most fleeting of all. Books, paintings, sculpture, all are relatively lasting. Live performances can be recorded. But the days and hours we put into the research and planning and shopping and cooking and … Continue reading
The kitchen has been awash in ferments for the past few months, although they’ve been whittled down to a preferred few. the thing about ferments is that they’re like pets; it’s a commitment to a living thing, that can be … Continue reading
I see Trotsky, in his Mexican exile, sitting at a desk in front of a window, looking out on a semi-tropical garden so different from the gardens of his homeland, writing, contemplating (thinking of Frida, perhaps), but always waiting for … Continue reading
(my mother’s) I know there are people who will argue with the title, and I might even contest it myself. But it’s really good chicken, and it has the virtue of being free of any breading. I didn’t eat breaded … Continue reading
I had a garden once in southern California where I lived as a child. As I recall everything except the beans just grew, all we had to do was add water (well there was the one gigantic rock we … Continue reading
Cilantro, avocado, corn tortillas. Those everyday items in a california supermarket, the kind of thing one doesn’t think twice about, are, alas, far out of reach here in Istanbul. Yes, cilantro is available, sometimes, in little clamshell packs for exorbitant … Continue reading
I have become a fan of good bacteria, so much so that the kitchen has become a bit of laboratory – sourdough starters and other flour or grain soaking overnight, water kefir and kombucha bubbling away in their respective corners, … Continue reading
Three letters, so many meanings. But today, I’m talking savory. Empanadas, pasties, patties, pork buns, egg rolls, wontons or vegetarian – think samosa or shingara – and that’s without considering the rice paper variations. Around the world, filled dough is … Continue reading