Sharing Friendly Links

While I was Down Under, it was quite difficult for me to access my blog, let alone write or comment. But a couple of weeks ago, I discovered that my  good friend Linda who writes the wonderful blog Ayak’s Turkish Delight had passed on this award to me. Thank you for this, dear Ayak. I had to put it on the back burner however before I could pass it on myself.

here it is

But now here I am back in a very cold and snowy Istanbul so it’s the perfect moment for me to continue: this award  is given to those whose blogs are a ‘good read’ which Linda’s certainly is. I like that criterion!

This award is being passed around the blogosphere so that we can discover other blogs that we may not have noticed before, in particular those that have less than 200 followers. I have to choose 5 blogs to receive this award and the following are just a few of the blogs I enjoy.

Those receiving the award should feel no obligation to pass it on but please put the award on your sidebar. Should you wish to give it to 5 of your favourite blogs, then please do a post linking back to the person who gave it to you and inform the people whose blogs you have chosen.

  I love Turkey-related blogs and I think the following are all good reads:

Sue’s Turkish Adventures

 Levantine Musings

 Up the Hill and Round the Bend

MyTurkish Joys

These blogs are all written by people that I know now or knew  before, when they lived in Istanbul.

  But I also want to include Meditation- Cradling the Crying Child which is my sister’s blog and not at all connected with Turkey!

I think sharing links to other blogs is a great idea otherwise how will we know what's out there? Thanks, Ayak! 

We Visit Sydney Fish Market

not very prepossessing from the outside

In Istanbul we love our fish but the variety available in Sydney is astounding.

Two very old very dear friends came down from Melbourne to spend the weekend here with me. Ingrid organized a fabulous programme for us but especially for me knowing I was interested in anything foodie.

the local fishing boats owned by an old Italian family

So she said they would pick me up on Monday morning at 6 am to go to the Fish Market not only to see the day’s catch but to witness the auction.  In fact they were early and my cousin hissed at me at quarter to, your friends are here! But I was more or less ready and off we set in her mother’s trusty car.

Ingrid had booked us in for a tour so indeed after paying a fee of 20 AUD and donning our obligatory orange safety jackets, we were divided into 2 small groups and our very personable young guide Portia  proceeded to give us all sorts of diverse info about the market and the proceedings there. Unfortunately no photos were allowed once inside the inner sanctum.

• On any given day around 100 types of fish are caught and sold; all in all, about 400 types pass through these fishy portals. The scene was electric: a huge well-lit hall full of boxes crammed with fish both big and small, different types of crustaceans, and of course the buyers. They were seated on bleachers to the right in front of 3 huge screens which displayed the nameof the fish being auctioned along with the amounts and prices. They use the Dutch system of auctioning which is what is used in Holland with the tulips apparently:  a top price is given and bids follow from that but going down not up. It must be quite an art to get the fish at the right price!
• We learnt how to tell male crabs from female by turning them over and examining the ‘plate’ there! The males have a V marking – V for Viagra as our guide told us - easy when you know! It seems female ones are sweeter. If female crabs are found to be full of eggs, they all have to be thrown back in the sea.

most definitely male!

how fresh are these??

• There was one variety of big fish called a mahi: apparently this is the only fish that mates for life. Imagine that. These fish like to swim together and will often swim in a shoal around a boat. They are often mistaken for dolphin but of course dolphin aren’t eaten while these are.
• Of course there were the big tuna beloved by the Japanese community for sashimi. These are graded into A, B+, B, B-  according to how firm the flesh is as well as how red it is too. The darker the better. This depends on the age and overall health of the fish. Believe me, it was all fascinating!

• Just outside the main hall, we saw workers busy skinning and de-boning the absolutely delicious-looking salmon and also shucking oysters. There was Camelia, a delightful Asian worker, shucking away and apparently she shucks between 2500-3000 oysters per day and gets a good salary for it.
• All those on the tour were given a $5 voucher. Since we were 3, we put them together and got a dozen oysters which along with some fresh bread that we bought there too, we took home to Ingrid’s mum for a late breakfast!

6 of these

plus 6 of these ...

....made a great brunch!

as Ingrid would agree!

Trout With Clout

sizzling away on the barbie

Except it was salmon. And we all know that salmon is a winner everywhere.

The salmon obtainable here in Sydney is  simply delicious: the slices are not only thicker, but somehow more moist and succulent than what we get in Istanbul.  At least this salmon was. In this recipe it was kept in a simple marinade from a very attractive  Australian cookbook called NORTHERN beaches cooks, a book put together by a group of parents to celebrate the silver jubilee of Northern Beaches Christian School. The original recipe is indeed for trout but salmon is an easy substitute.

 A word on barbecues: here in Australia they all seem to be state of the art and work on gas. Nothing that is lit with a match and then  fanned to the right degree of glowing charcoal! So anything is possible. Apparently they go the full hog and barbecue even the Christmas turkey!

here is the salmon cooked to perfection

I am still in Sydney and the delicious meals with the cousins continue. This one was prepared by cousin Rosemary and it was my kind of feast. She goes in for lots of veggies roasted in the oven, always a popular choice. She organized us all to peel and chop which, with G&T in hand, we were only too happy to do.

mushrooms, aubergine, garlic, pumpkin,  and sweet potato chopped and ready for the oven

All you do is place the vegetables on oven trays according to how long they will take to cook. A little olive oil is needed to drizzle over although I noticed Rosemary used the healthier option of a spray. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and put in the oven at 180°C/350°F. At home I would sprinkle with dried kekik or thyme.

here are all those veggies

Rosemary’s Salmon

Serves 4

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce (I’m not sure whether this is available in Istanbul or not but I suspect it is)

1 tsp sesame oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

4x 200g trout/alabalik  or salmon/somon fillets, skin on (but here it was removed)

Method

·         Mix together soy, oyster sauce, sesame oil and garlic.

·         Spoon marinade evenly over both sides of the fish fillets. Cover with cling film and refrigerate  overnight if time permits.

·         Heat a grill or barbecue plate on high heat. Cook the fillets skin side down for 2-3 mins. Turn and cook a further 1-2 mins or until cooked to your liking. Remove to a platter and serve immediately.

there were also green beans on the side

as well as a salsa made by my aunt

afiyet olsun!

I can't resist showing you the cat named Claude!

and another picture of beautiful Sydney from a  vantage point near Rosemary's house

Mukalla - a Dish from Antakya: Chard & Sweet Red Pepper Stir Fry

beautiful sturdy pazı or chard leaves, washed and trimmed

Yesterday my uncle got out the dictionary to check what exactly chard was! Seems it may not be an Aussie staple after all but it certainly is for us who live in Turkey and a mighty seasonal one at that.

I am on my aunt’s computer here in Sydney so no Turkish characters: chard is pazi but no dot on the i but I can’t write that. I also can't access my photos from where I am so it's all a bit convoluted.  By the way, a bunch of chard is actually half a kilo or a pound  - I had a query as to exactly how much a bunch was so I weighed my bunch last time.

I love the colour combination of this dish and I think the large red peppers work better than the local ones because they are thicker and have that delicious sweet taste. Originally hailing from Antakya – Antioch for us - this dish couldn’t be easier or quicker to make.   It makes a good accompaniment for meat or on its own with yogurt. I saw the recipe in Jale Balci's book about Antakyan cuisine but I have adapted it slightly- only in terms of the explanation not the ingredients or method.

Ingredients

Serves 4

I bunch chard/pazi (500g or 1 lb)

1 onion, chopped into half-moon shapes

1 tsp red pepper flakes/pul biber

1 red pepper/kirmizi biber, diced

Salt

4 tbsp olive oil

Method

·         Wash the chard and reserve the stems. Dice these into small pieces and reserve.

they look like celery, don't they?

·         Heat the olive oil in a pan and gently fry the onions. Add the chard stems and  diced red pepper and cook for 5-7 mins. Season with salt.

·         Add the chard leaves and red pepper flakes and continue cooking till the tougher chard stems have cooked.

sprinkle with the red pepper flakes

·         Serve immediately with yogurt if using.

Afiyet olsun!

I buy my pazı from a little guy who displays his wares on the pavement near my house

Aussie Hospitality

Here I am in a little place called Glen Innes somewhere north of Newcastle. That's Australia, not England!  All the places nearby have a Celtic ring to their names: Ben Lomond, Glencoe, Dundee and Balmoral! There's even an annual Celtic festival!

view from my cousin's place in Glen Innes

One of my numerous Australian cousins lives here with her husband and four kids and I am visiting for a few days. The scenery is stunning and such a contrast to Istanbul. Where are the people? the cars? Here it is green with rolling hills, spacious and quiet except for the birds and cicadas.

This evening  Jill went to town and cooked a first class meal. They’re all very competent in the kitchen, my cousins. Despite the fact it was about 31 degrees today, it was a roast dinner and pork in honour of me! She put her shoulder of pork in the oven this morning on a high heat and then turned it down low for basically the rest of the day.

The smell  was tantalizing as it slowly roasted with its accompaniment of apples and onions. We were out and about but gradually the aroma drew us in.They eat early here but I was ready.

The menu included a delicious mixed salad with lettuce, tomatoes, green pepper, snow peas, white cheese, and black olives:

 

Jill excelled herself with all sorts of side dishes including my favourite baked pumpkin with rosemary, roast potatoes, cauliflower au gratin, and a mixed vegetable stir-fry with a curry tang.

cauliflower au gratin

As for the meat, it was so tender,it virtually fell apart upon carving. The joy of having melt-in-your mouth pork with homemade gravy not to mention the crackling is indescribable when you haven't had it for a long time!

roast shoulder of pork cooked to perfection

a delicious plate of roast dinner at Jill's

 I should add that Jill herself is a vegetarian.

Red Pepper, Goat's Cheese and Walnut Pinwheels

red pepper, goat's cheese and walnut pinwheels

Yes, this shape is familiar: the Christmas Buns I made recently looked like this. 

These are unabashedly savoury and fit the bill for a delicious canapé that once you have the three ingredients plus the puff pastry  are quick and easy to make.  I love the ingredients: red peppers, goat’s cheese, and chopped walnuts! Mmm.  Roll them all up in the pastry and bake in the oven . Serve warm. A tray of glasses accompanied by the clink of bottles with a selection of different nibbles is always a welcome sight and this canapé makes a tasty and attractive addition.

Now a word about frozen puff pastry: we didn’t have it here for years and years and years . Frozen goods have only just made their appearance here, very slowly actually as Turkish housewives are so used to buying fresh that they have had to become accustomed to the concept. I was told that the puff pastry wasn’t actually very good so this was my first attempt at using it although having said that I did use it very successfully for sausage rolls recently.

There were two types of  Superfresh frozen puff pastry and I bought the  tereyağlı which means with butter. I thought this a little strange as I though puff pastry by definition was made with copious amounts of butter.  My first attempt was to make palmiers with the same ingredients as the pinwheels.

this is the shape for palmiers - you roll both sides
towards
the middle and then slice

 Perhaps I didn’t roll it out enough but I assumed it would be all ready to go. It did roll beautifully but didn’t puff up enough in the oven. So with the remaining pastry and red peppers, cheese and walnuts, I decided to try again and  make these pinwheels. This time I rolled the pastry thinner and it seemed to work pretty well. You do need a hot oven.

Ingredients

500g frozen puff pastry

4-5 prepared grilled/közlenmiş sweet red peppers, chopped

the chopped red peppers

A good handful of walnuts, chopped

Soft goat’s cheese/keçi peyniri – I used half a log which spread easily

Method

• Pre-heat oven to 350°F/180°C.

• Bring the puff pastry to room temperature and gently knead into a ball. Flour your surface and your rolling pin and sprinkle a little on top of your ball of pastry.
• Roll out gently, not pushing down but out, to a large rectangle.
• Spread the goat's cheese all over the pastry, and then scatter the chopped red pepper all over. Follow with the chopped walnuts.

pastry spread with goat's cheese, red pepper and walnuts

gently rolling the pastry with all the ingredients

• Starting from the long side, gently roll all the way to the other. Firm the roll a little with your hands and then slice evenly and place on a greased baking sheet. Place in the hot oven and bake till lightly browned and risen.
• Serve immediately.

afiyet olsun!

Splendid Sydney

The iconic bridge, the traditional ferry... Sydney Harbour yesterday at noon or so and I am really here!  And yes, we did go to see the famous fireworks on New Year's Eve!

 on the ferry to Taronga Zoo yesterday

panoramic view across the bay from the zoo

My much-anticipated, long-awaited visit to friends and family has begun! 

How do you know you are Down Under? When you wake up to an amazing dawn chorus with all sorts of  amazing trills, tweets and  whistles and you rush to your window to catch a glimpse of a kookaburra or two or maybe a colourful parakeet flying over eucalyptus trees and you think you are in the middle of the bush. When you see creatures at Taronga Zoo that only exist on this continent: extraordinary things like quolls and quokkas and then koalas and wombats and even a platypus!

 Istanbul feels a  million light years away and as for Christmas - hard to believe we celebrated it just over a week ago! 

A new adventure today: we set off up the coast to Maitland for a family wedding!