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Posts Tagged ‘food’

Full English breakfast01

One of the best foods of British kitchen is full English breakfast, a big portion of cooked breakfast which contains eggs (scrambled or fried), sweet beans, bacon, mushrooms, tomato, sausages, black pudding and hash browns. Of course with HP sauce and a cup English tea.

It’s tasty and fulfilling. After eating one portion of full English breakfast you can feel full almost until the dinner time.They serve it all day long and not only during the morning, so if you are not open minded for a heavy breakfast like this, you can try it during the lunch time also.

In UK, best places to try full English breakfast, are small cafes nicknamed “greasy spoon”. They are not fancy, they might not be as good looking for your expectations or the best place you would choose for a breakfast but believe us, the yummiest English breakfast you gonna eat are not in London’s most famous cafes, in these modest “greasy spoons”.

When we were living in London, every few weeks, we were eating full English breakfast in our neighborhood at Workers Cafe in Upper Street no:172, if you are around Angel, Islington you can give them a chance.   Full English breakfast is definitely not for everyday’s breakfast of our Mediterranean bodies or to eat if it’s a hot day but when you are in UK even in summer you don’t hear this “hot” word, so go on.

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Dünya mutfakları arasında oldukça zayıf bir yeri olan İngiliz mutfağının en leziz gıdalarından birisi, kocaman bir porsiyon kızarmış veya çırpılmış yumurta, tatlı soslu kurufasulye, kızarmış domuz jambonu, ızgara mantar, ızgara domates, domuz sosisi, black pudding isimli bir tür domuz kanı sucuğu ve hash brown isimli bir tür patates mücverinden oluşan İngiliz kahvaltısı. Tabii ki yanında bir İngiliz klâsiği olan HP sos ve bir fincan çayla birlikte.

Bu lezzetli ve kalori bombası kahvaltı o kadar doyurucu ki, sabah yedikten sonra, neredeyse akşam yemeği saatine kadar tokluk hissedebilirsiniz. İşin güzel yanı, sadece sabahları değil, bütün gün servis ediliyor olması yani sabah sabah bu kadar ağır bir kahvaltı fikrine açık değilseniz, öğlen yemeği niyetine de afiyetle götürebilirsiniz.

Birleşik Krallık’ta, en iyi İngiliz kahvaltısını tadabileceğiniz yerler “greasy spoon” (yağlı kaşık) adı verilen küçük kafeler. Kesinlikle şık değiller, beklentilerinizi karşılayacak kadar iyi görüntüleri olmayabilir ya da kahvaltı için ilk seçeceğiniz yer görüntüsüne sahip   olmayabilirler ama bize inanın, en leziz İngiliz kahvaltısını Londra’nın en şık ve pahalı kafelerinde değil, bu “yağlı kaşık” denilen ucuz, mütevazi kafelerde yersiniz. Bu arada işin ilginç yanı, bu tipik İngiliz ürününü servis eden bu kafelerin çoğunu Türk kökenlilerin işletiyor olması ve İngiliz müşteriyle dolup taşması.

Londra’da yaşarken birkaç haftada bir, mahallemizde, Upper Street numara 172’deki Workers Cafe’de İngiliz kahvaltısı ziyafeti çeker, her seferinde “ah, vah, çatlıyorum, en az altı ay yemem” der, bir iki hafta sonra yine damlardık. Eğer Londra’da yolunuz Angel, Islington civarına düşerse kahvaltı için bu kafeyi bir deneyin. İngiliz kahvaltısı bizim Akdenizli bünyemiz için kesinlikle her gün yenecek bir kahvaltı türü değil ya da sıcak günlerde tüketilecek bir gıda değil ama Birleşik Krallık ellerinde “sıcak” kelimesi yazın bile duyulmadığından sorun yok, afiyetle yiyin.

Workers Cafe01

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Bill's01

Bill’s is one of the charming cafes of our neighborhood. We like its grocery style decoration with shelves full of  nice products. We have been once there for a latte and croissant and the coffee seemed very week to us like drinking pure milk.

Yesterday evening we met with two greek friends of us and went there for a dinner this time. It was full but we could find table without reservation with no problem. The photo is from the end of the evening. When a turkish and a greek couple go out to dinner, this happens. You eat and chat and enjoy “yavaş yavaş” or “siga siga” (slowly slowly).

 As starter we tried hummus and tzatziki plate, green gordal olives plate, potato and rosemary bread and sweet potato fries. They were all good but the highlight was the potato and rosemary bread which was one of the best breads we ate in London. As main we tried rump steak, duck pie and pumpkin risotto with blue cheese and they were all good also. We are little bit picky in dessert that’s why no comment about them. And this time we ordered the coffee double shot and it was better. La Garenne  Shiraz  from Languedoc we tried was very smooth but tasty and we didn’t know where did they go two bottles in couple of hours.

And yes, we didn’t take the bus and walked to home after eating half of the menu…

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homemade yogurt01

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

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Food Lab01

Mediterranean breakfast at the little Italy of our neighborhood, Food Lab.

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mercimek koftesi01

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!

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keci peynirli incir01

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!

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Potted shrimp01

Potted shrimp02

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.

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A.Gold01

A.Gold02

A.Gold03

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.

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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!

Diren Gezi Park01

Poster via #DirenGeziParki

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Taste of London01 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. Taste of London02 2013

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.

Taste of London03 2013

Foie gras and truffle burger by Club Gascon.

Taste of London04 2013

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

Taste of London05 2013

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

What is happening in Turkey01

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