WHEN THE MILK SLEEPS

When the milk sleeps, becomes a beautiful homemade yogurt, best mate of bite size stuffed vine leaves (yaprak sarma).

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

LENTIL KOFTA (MERCİMEK KÖFTESİ)

What if red lentils, bulgur, paprika sauce and cumin meet in a Turkish home in London and it’s raining outside and you want to drink few glasses of rakı and you have plenty of British crime dramas recorded on your tv?

Yes, prepare the lentil koftas (mercimek köftesi), pour the rakı, have a seat in front of the tv and enjoy!

Read Full Post »

TURKISH FIGS STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE

In Turkey we have delicious figs and Turkey is the biggest fig exporter country in the world. August is the season of Aydın figs (yellow and smaller ones) and September is the season of Bursa figs (purple and bigger ones). This morning we found delicious Bursa figs in Chapel Market and we prepared a little treat with them as a side dish for our risotto. Result: yummy!

Cut to four vertically 4 figs until the middle. Fill the figs with 25 g goat cheese each. Wrap each one with one slice of jamon serrano (you can use also prosciutto, bacon etc). Put 3-4 pinenuts and drizzle little bit olive oil to the top of each. Cook them in the oven on 225°C until the jamons get crispy. After taking from the oven, drizzle little bit Turkish sour pomegranate molasse to top of them and enjoy!

Read Full Post »

HOMEMADE POTTED SHRIMPS

After being away two weeks and not eaten home cooked food, today was a kitchen day at home. First we cooked purslane stew with bulgur which we eat a lot during summer with yogurt. Then made two small jars of peach marmelade to eat with cottage cheese for summer breakfasts.

After the potted shrimp tasting we had in Morecambe two weeks ago, we decided to try it at home and we bought brown shrimps from our local fish shop and prepared our first homemade potted shrimps.

Following a short research in internet, we made The Guardian’s recipe. With this recipe, we had one ramekin potted shrimps to consume today and one little jar to eat later. Recipe is easy because the brown shrimps are sold cleaned and precooked. And the taste of homemade one is much much better then the shop bought one.

The Guardian’s recipe, was suggesting to serve potted shrimps with hot brown bread, so we baked also a brown bread with fennel which we learned from our friend Ayşegül.  When the bread came out from the owen, our evening treat at the terrace was ready. Homemade brown bread with fennel, homemade potted shrimps, English goat cheese and Stilton cheese, Turkish black olives, Iranian mini dry figs and ice cold Polish oak vodka. Heaven!

Here is The Guardian’s recipe if you want to try:

200g unsalted butter
Juice of ¼ lemon
¼ tsp ground mace
¼ tsp white pepper
½ tsp anchovy paste or Gentleman’s Relish
200g cooked and peeled brown shrimps
Cayenne pepper, to serve

1. Melt the butter in a pan over a gentle heat, and then allow to simmer until you spot the first dark flecks – watch it carefully, or it will burn. Strain through some butter muslin, or two sheets of kitchen roll, into a jug.

2. Wipe out the pan, and pour in two-thirds of the butter. Add the lemon juice, mace, pepper, anchovy essence and a pinch of salt and simmer very gently for five minutes, then take off the heat and allow to cool but not set. Divide the shrimps between 4 ramekins, pressing them in tightly.

3. When just warm, but still liquid, divide the spiced butter between the ramekins and put in the fridge to set. Once solid, pour over the remainder of the clarified butter and return to the fridge to set.

4. Serve with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and a lot of hot toast.

Read Full Post »

PUB TIPS FOR FOREIGNERS

Read Full Post »

A.GOLD

Yesterday after shopping in Judy’s Vintage Fair and then going through Brick Lane to take new street art photos popped up there, it looked like a nice idea to make a stop in A.Gold, a beautiful traditional British food shop next to the Old Spitalfields Market.

A.Gold in 42 Brushfield Street, is not just a little shop who sells old style jams, candies, treats, some kitchen accessories, good quality coffees, teas, etc, is also a place where you can enjoy a nice cup of Monmouth coffee, a cold bottle of Victorian lemonade or a freshly made sandwich.

Even the sandwich’s taste was pretty basic and nothing special, glad to visit this cozy and old style shop. A.Gold is open Monday-Friday 10.00-16.00 and weekend 11.00-17.00.

                                    ————————————–

In Turkey, the people is resisting since 31 May 2013 to protect their park, democracy and human rights. Court refused Gezi Park demolition.  Yesterday, thousands went to their park with the court decision and the police attacked them with tear gas, watercannon, plastic bullets.

Resist Gezi Park! Resist Turkey!

Poster via #DirenGeziParki

Read Full Post »

TASTE OF LONDON 2013

Since three summers, we are visiting Taste of London, the world’s greatest restaurant festival in Regent’s Park and tasting delicious meals cooked by the best chefs of London.

Previous years we visited Taste of London first day of the event to avoid the crowd of the weekend but this year, because of our Solstice trip to Stonehenge, we went there saturday. Maybe because of choosing the early session, maybe because of the bad (no waaay!) weather it was not so crowded as we concerned.

This year also we headed first to our favorite chef in Taste of London, to Chef Francesco Mazzei’s L’Anima. Then we continued with other meals in other restaurant stands we choosed from the list. After finishing the food tasting we enjoyed our mojito while we visit food sellers’ stands. There, our most delicious find was the half kilo smoked buffalo mozzarella from Fratelli La Bufala (can’t wait to eat!). Windy and rainy day but happy stomacs!

Fettucine with wild mushrooms, Grana Padana Riserva and black summer truffle by L’Anima. 

Pan-fried scallops served in the shell with pancetta, red chilli, parsley, capers, lentils di Castellucio and chopped rocket by Theo Randall at the Intercontinental.

Foie gras and truffle burger by Club Gascon.

Boudine noir et poitrine de porc, jus à la tomate épicée (pork belly and black pudding, tomato spiced jus) by Le Gavroche.

———————————————–

This is the full page advertisement published in NY Times by Turkish people during the resistance of 2013.

Read Full Post »

COTTONS ISLINGTON

Yesterday evening we went to Cottons Islington, a Caribbean restaurant in Exmouth Market and it was wonderful. The restaurant, the food, the coctails, the music, the service, everything was perfect.

Caribbean Masterchef 2011 Award winning head chef Andrew McIntosh’s each plate was delicious and well presented. Before our bottle of wine, we tried one of their coctails, The Jamaican Mule, a Caribbean classic of Appleton Special Rum, Angostura bitters, fresh lime and ginger beer.

Then as starters we had Callaloo aspargus and goat cheese tart, drizzled with sun blush tomato dressing and Cottons Caribbean mezze platter, salt fish fritter, plantain, Buffalo wings, ribs and garlic and ginger bread.

As mains we choosed their famous curry goat served with rice and peas and sautéed goat fish, in a light coconut lime leaf curry sauce, served with sea food rice. As dessert we tasted spiced pineapple tart with mango sorbet.

And for icing the cake we tasted one more coctail which called “Killer Dopi”. The info on the menu about this coctail made us to choose this one  for closing: This one’s only for the brave. Four different rums, apricot liqueur, Blue Curacao, orange, pineapple & fresh lime juice. Created to turn the living into a “Doppi” that’s Jamaican for Ghost.

Delicious!

Photos: Cottons Islington

Read Full Post »

PHO EXPRESS

Pho noodle soup for a cold, dark (nooo waaay!) London day.

The tiny, tasty Vietnamese of our neighborhood. Big portions, fair price.

Pho Express is in 149 Upper Street, Islington.

Read Full Post »

BOOKS FOR COOKS

Small but beautiful bookshop near Portobello Road. They sell only cookbooks. Meat, soup, vegetarian, smoked, pickled, bakery, world kitchen, magazines… You have all the choices from all around the world to explore in labelled shelves and also “tze” french owner helps to find what you are looking for.

Bookshop has a small cafe where they are trying and serving each day different recipes from the books. They sell also their own small books with all this recipes which they tried with notes about their experiences and what they changed later on.

Read Full Post »