Assos Cows Update

Our adventure with the cows started maybe 2 years ago. 

Our dairy herd is gently growing: just these last few weeks we have had five births: 4 female calves which is good news for us, and one male. They all have names given by Hatice and Mehmet: the male is Cem, the others Ece, Eda, Seda, and Şule, all nice and simple. Nothing complicated like Claudia for goodness sake!

here are the babies ....

Friend Susan feeding one of the newborn calves this weekend

Susan and Ali bottlefeeding the calves

Including the newborns, we now have 17 cows.

Until today that is: the phone rang about mid-morning to announce the birth of yet another calf – and yes it’s a girl! Yay! So without further ado we rushed off to inspect this new arrival....

mother and daughter, 3 hours after the birth and both doing fine

the mother, no 75, enjoying extra nosh after her labours

here are the other babies in their separate bit

TT most certainly has his finger on the pulse of the cowshed and it is developing into a model little dairy. It now has electricity and running water heated by solar energy much to the wonder of the local villagers! Thus the principles of proper cleanliness and hygiene are being reinforced on the local front.

It all looks pretty good from what I can see. The cowshed roof is painted an ecologically pleasing pale green to blend in with the environment. The cows are in good health, maşallah, the vet visits regularly and gives them the thumbs up.

here is our cowshed just below the village of Paşaköy

Mehmet and Hatice are doing a sterling job.

They live in this hilltop village of Paşaköy and the cows are nearby. We are just a bit further down towards the sea about 10 minutes away.

Paşaköy in the foreground with Assos behind and then the Greek island of Lesbos

We are very enthusiastic about this project and with Mehmet and Hatice’s support, look forward to developing a very eco-friendly herd of milk-producing cows!

A Scenic Drive to Edremit with Foodie Stops along the Way

 Our route to Assos has significantly changed: we always used to go the Tekirdağ way, crossing the Dardanelles to Çanakkale and then down via Troy to our village.

But progress has worked in our favour:  now there is a fast ferry service across the Bay of İzmit from Pendik to Yalova. Since Pendik is just down the road from us on the Asian side, this is infinitely preferable to battling with rush hour traffic over the Bosphorus bridge in the morning, not to mention struggling to get out of the city in one piece.

And what a joy this new route is! We love it! It is much more scenic than the old one although to be fair, that wasn’t all bad.

But of course me being me, I am particularly interested in the different foodie items that are available along the way, either on sale at little roadside stalls or shops, or simply associated with the places we pass through.

Off the ferry the first area we hit is Gemlik. Every Turk would associate it with olives. Sure enough beautiful rolling hills covered with silvery-leafed olive trees meet our eye. But for us, olives are a bit old hat as Assos and surrounds are also olive-producing areas. I’m not going to stop here to buy olives when I can get them from Mehmet, our gardener, or Leyla, our neighbour.

complete with patriotic flag

We drive on: next on the scene is stall upon stall of attractive displays of potatoes and onions. We stop and buy a sack of onions primarily so I can take a photo!

a heartwarming sight

As we approach the city of Bursa, the very first capital of the Ottoman Empire now a thriving industrial city, we start to see roadside signs for kestane şekeri or marron glacé: sweetened chestnuts sold by the boxful!

We stop for petrol and spy this little Hansel and Gretel shop right beside it: I particularly enjoy the sight of the owner having his breakfast at his own little table right there by his shop: there was his boiled egg, his white cheese and olives with the inevitable glass of çay! It was a beautiful day and oh how happy he was as he sat there in the sun enjoying his kahvaltı!

boxes and boxes of the stuff

these delights were on sale at the petrol station

Again I bought a box: 10TL for a kilo the roadsigns had proclaimed but they fail to tell you that those chestnuts are not whole and a box of whole ones costs 15TL.  Who wants those broken ones anyway?

We see a sign to Mustafakemal Paşa, a small town named after the founder of the Turkish republic in 1922, and know that this is where the well-known round-shaped sticky dessert or tatlı hails from. Yes, we start to see more roadsigns proclaiming that we can buy it here – and here – and here!

an endearing sign that translates as 'What a sweet thing you are'
referring to the tatlı

you buy them either dry like this and boil them in a kilo of sugar and a litre of water
to make a syrup

or

like this: already prepared and ready to eat

On the road again – a very good one, by the way -  we approach the town of Susurluk. TT tells me this is renowned for its ayran, the drink made from yogurt so of course we have to stop to try it. Ayran is a popular drink in Turkey and even though I enjoy its tangy taste, I realise it may be a bit of an acquired one.  We stop at the Belediye or Municipality gardens beside the main road, a pleasant rustic-looking place run most inefficiently by a man who seems to be cook, cashier and waiter all rolled into one. Luckily we are almost the only people there so our order of ayran and tost comes soon enough. The ayran is deliciously cold and frothy, the tost quite the best!

looks quite amazing, doesn't it?

Susurluk ayran with the tost

We also see  myriad signs telling us that we can enjoy İskender Kebab at any number of roadside places: this kebab is indeed a masterpiece associated with the Bursa area that everyone should try.

İskender means Alexander in Turkish and this is who the old guy is.
He has given his name to this kebab

It is expertly sliced pieces of döner/layers of beef cooked on a vertical skewer on a bed of pide served with yogurt and a swirl of tomato sauce over the whole. We didn’t have it this time as we had had the tost but we did just recently, a few weeks ago.  If you are hungry, try this! You order it in either half a portion/yarım porsiyon, bir or one/ or even bir buçuk/one and a half!  These roadside places have it down to a fine art and I highly recommend it.

I think this is a bir buçuk

And then some four hours later, we reach Edremit and the sea. There our scenic route ends as we turn westwards for the last stretch before the village of Assos and home.

olive groves knee-deep in daisies

Kreativ Blogger Award

When I started blogging approximately one and a half years ago, I really had no idea what lay ahead.

I never guessed at the friendships that I would strike up with other bloggers all round the world and how much they would come to mean to me.

 

And this is what has happened for me with Özlem from Ozlem’s Turkish Table. I can’t really remember how this amazing relationship started – it must have been through our love of Turkish cooking – but she and I now correspond on a regular basis and comment on each other’s blogs and it feels as if we have known each other forever! I so look forward to meeting her here in Istanbul one day.

 

Now comes the embarrassing part: she honoured me recently with a blog award, the Kreativ Blogger, in fact it was at the end of March.  I was really delighted to receive this but somehow time whizzed by and I am only now able to sit down and do honour to the terms of this award! Özlem, here I am at long last, do forgive me for taking such a long time to put pen to paper but here I am and thank you so much for nominating me.

The Rules of Conduct for the Kreativ Blogger Award:

 

1.     Thank the blogger who gave me the award and provide a link (as above).

 

2.     List 7 interesting things about myself that my readers might find interesting.

 

3.     Nominate 7 other bloggers, provide links, and let them know.

 

In the fullness of time, I now know that the listing of interesting things about oneself is called memes (is that right??). I have also learnt that I should not give too much away.

 

So here goes but only briefly J:

 

1.  With a  French mother and a Turkish husband, it was fairly obvious I would take to cooking!

2. Photography is a new hobby for me since the blog and I love it.

3. I have lived in Turkey longer than I have lived anywhere else in my life.

4. I always wanted to have 6 kids but TT persuaded me 3 was enough!

5. TT and I now have a small herd of dairy cows!!!!

6. Following on from that revelation, I am now contemplating what I can do with all that milk.  Cheese? Yogurt? We shall see …

7. I am loving leading foodie walks in old Istanbul!

 

And here are the blogs that I in turn nominate for the Kreativ Blogger Award:

• Istanbul Eats: they are just great and have just won a Saveur Award themselves. As a result of meeting Ansel, I am now leading Old City street food walks in Istanbul. The people I meet are fantastic:  it’s like spending the day with your best friends. Check this blog out especially if you are planning a visit to Istanbul.

• Geriatric Gapper: this blog is written by my friend Elizabeth who has lived in Istanbul for at least the last 7 years. She most certainly merits this Kreativ – OK creative – award for her photography alone. She has gone from strength to strength with it so I love her blog for the photos of Istanbul more than anything. Also she is far from geriatric! The name is misleading, I think!

• Our House in Provence: I love this blog because it gives me all sorts of info about Provence: interesting markets to visit, villages perchés to discover, and all sorts of info that a foodie with a French bend like me would like. Thanks, Michel!

 

Two more Turkey blogs that I have recently discovered and like the look of:

• Earth Laughs in Flowers written by Kerry as A Housewife's Guide for Living in Turkey who lives with her Turkish husband and small child in the south somewhere, I think.

• And Turquoise Diaries written by an ex-banker now living between Istanbul and Datça on the south west coast of Turkey which sounds very adventurous.

• While I am talking about Turkey blogs, I really must mention My Turkish Joys: I have mentioned Joy before but so what. She lives here in Istanbul and we have met. She is great and her blog reflects a joyful attitude to life in general and to her new expat life with her husband in Istanbul in particular. Most creative.

• I also love Adventures in Ankara written by Terry, a young American lawyer now married to her Turkish husband. She takes on any topic and writes about it in a lively intelligent way; I enjoy reading about how she is getting on with her new life in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey where I spent the first 7 years of my own married life. Some things don’t change!

 

I also wanted to nominate Back to Bodrum but it has already won this particular award. Do check it out though.

 

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Create Amazing Meals: this is a lovely foodie blog written by Susan. She has just nominated me for a Versatile Blogger award which is very kind of her. I already have it though so I am sitting on the fence with this one (but still very chuffed!). Thank you, Susan.

So back to you, Özlem: sorry I am so late in responding but I hope I have made up for it with this post! Many warm thanks to you, take care.

ouseH HHh

 

Springtime in Istanbul: how do we know?

.....when we see the following fruits at our local markets or manav/greengrocers:

papaz eriği or sour green plums: a springtime delight! These are 'süper'!

First of all, these bright green objects which look like unripe plums and guess what,
that’s just what they are! Sour green plums!  Can eriği or yeşil eriği! And people love them! My own son does!  You can see that they are not cheap at the moment: 6 TL or
2.20 GBP  a kilo but people buy them. You eat them as is dipped in salt! Ugggghhhh. Just my opinion.

yeni dünya: perhaps they look a bit beaten up but they are supposed to!

And then we have these beauties: in Turkish yeni dünya or 'new world' in English or equally Malta eriği.  Apparently they are loquats. I can’t say I know. These look like nothing on earth with their bruised and battered outer appearance, but actually this is how they are supposed to look. Of course their shelf life is short but if you try them, you will be delightfully surprised: inside you will find soft and silky brown pods surrounded
by delectable flesh. You sort of suck it all to your heart’s content.

fresh chickpeas from Konya

And lastly, here is the prize winning item: fresh chickpeas! Now, these aren’t all that common here in Istanbul or at least not in my area but it’s just that yesterday I happened to be out and about with one of my Walks in the Old City behind Eminönü and we came across some guys with enormous piles of these fresh branches. At first we didn’t know what they were but they hospitably offered us a taste of some of the nuts. Then of course I understood what they were saying: taze nohut/fresh chickpeas! I felt obliged to buy a bunch. After all, it didn’t break the bank: 1TL for the bunch! I felt like ditching it all along the way because the skies opened up and it seemed incongruous to be bearing this bunch of chickpeas but somehow I hung on to them.

It was worth it: when I got home, TT was in seventh heaven: we used to eat these when we were children, he exclaimed! So did the upstairs neighbour who saw me in the lift as I arrived at my floor. 

a close-up of those fresh chickpeas or nohut

                               Istanbul is fun when you are living the seasons......!

Fish Kokorech with Zahtar - Zahterli Balık Kokoreç

here is fish kokoreç with zahtar

Kokoreç with the ç making a ch sound, is actually a meat classic in Turkey.

the classic kokoreç made with intestines

Not a standard menu item but usually found on the streets sold from little carts with everyone having their favourite usta or master! Mine, old Nazmi Bey, hangs out by the Galata Tower in Istanbul. A mouthwatering feast of flavours, kokoreç is actually goat or lamb intestines wrapped around sweetbreads and roasted over a charcoal or wood fire. It is then madly chopped and chopped again, sprinkled with thyme and red pepper before being served in a half or quarter loaf of the typical Turkish ekmek. When it’s good, it’s very good.

Now, Refika has taken this traditional idea of chopping well-seasoned ingredients including that exotic zahtar and adapted it to fish. As a dish it can be found in some of the better fish restaurants here in Istanbul – certainly not on the street - but now you can easily make it at home! The ingredients are not difficult, you don’t use a million pans and it's ready in no time.

Spicy, tender and succulent in every way, this kokoreç is a real treat for the tastebuds!

fish kokoreç

Ingredients for Fish Kokorech with Zahtar – Zahterli Balık Kokoreç

from Cooking New Istanbul Style by Refika Birgül

Serves 4

500g/ 1lb mezgit fileto/whiting fillets (fresh or frozen); sword fish or sole could also be used

 

4 cloves garlic

1 tomato

1 red bell pepper/kırmızı dolmalık biber

2 tbsp pinenuts/dolmalık fıstık

1 tbsp red pepper paste/biber salçası ( or tomato paste if the pepper paste is unavailable)

1 tsp black pepper

½ tsp salt

5 sprigs fresh thyme/taze kekik

lovely fresh thyme

2 sprigs fresh mint/taze nane

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp zahtar/zahter

8 tbsp olive oil

10 pickled gherkins/kornişon turşu

Method

Make sure you have all your ingredients to hand.

Preparing:

·        Chop the garlic cloves into 7-8 small pieces. Slice and then chop the red pepper and dice the tomato. Chop the gherkins as in the picture below:

 the chopped vegetables

·        Prepare your fish if using fresh: wash and remove any bones. I used frozen mezgit and it worked perfectly. No bones to worry about and the taste was just fine.

·        Wash the thyme and mint and chop.

Cooking:

·        Measure the olive oil into a heavy pan and when heated, add the garlic and red bell pepper.

like this

·        Sauté for 15 secs and add the chopped tomato. Continue cooking for a further 15 secs.

·        Place the fish on top of the mixture in the pan, and add the pine nuts.

the frozen mezgit, defrosted and cut into manageable pieces with the pine nuts

·        Use a wooden spatula to cook the fish on both sides, covering it with the mixture as you go. Add the pepper paste, red flaked pepper, ground black pepper, salt, thyme, mint, and soy sauce and gently combine. By now the fish will be cooked so with your spatula, break it up: it should be completely shredded.

·        Finally, add the zahtar and chopped gherkins and mix well.

Afiyet olsun!

·        At this point, Refika a self-confessed string cheese lover, recommends adding some string cheese/dil peyniri which will melt and provide extra taste! I didn’t do this but I think I could try.

Köfte with Ground Sumac - Sumaklı Köfte

köfte with ground sumac

Have you ever been on holiday and been tempted to bring back some foodie item simply because you like the look of it or you’ve had it at some little restaurant there and imagine you’re going to recreate the dish at home?

I know I have.

Unusual herbs or spices often fall into this category simply because they're easy to pack into a suitcase but how many of us, once we’re home, ever use them or even know how to use them? I’m willing to bet that sumac is one of these.

What is sumac?

It’s a shrub or small tree (rhus) which produces reddish or purple berries in the late summer/early autumn. These are picked just before they ripen and left to dry in the sun before being ground into a powder. Sumac has virtually no aroma but a definite tangy lemony flavour: an essential Middle Eastern ingredient and often added to salads or meats in marinades, spicy rubs or dressings.

Here then is a delicious köfte recipe where you can use it! The presentation of these sumaklı köfte with the drizzled garlic yogurt and the tart purple sumac with a little chopped parsley scattered around, makes it a very attractive dish: the mingling tastes won’t disappoint!

Ingredients for Köfte with Ground Sumac/Sumaklı Köfte

From Cooking New Istanbul Style by Refika Birgül

(I halved these quantities: ½ kilo meat produces approx 20 köfte which is probably more than enough!)

I kilo/2 lbs minced beef/dana kıyma

2 onions, finely chopped (I used my food processor)

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 eggs

1 bunch fresh parsley/maydonoz (I Turkish bunch weighs 150g)

½ the inside of a Turkish loaf of white bread, crumbed in the food processor OR 4tbsp breadcrumb flour/Galeta unu (I used 2 slices of village bread, crusts removed)

3 tbsp cumin/kimyon

2 tbsp ground pepper/karabiber

4 tbsp meatball spice/ köfte bahar ( I couldn’t find it so adapted eg I used dried thyme or kekik and gently added to the other spices)

1 tbsp sumac/sumak

Salt to taste

For the sauce:

4 cups yogurt

4 cloves garlic, crushed

3 tbsp sumac/sumak

½ bunch fresh parsley/maydonoz

Salt to taste

Method

·        Place the mince in a deep bowl and add the finely chopped onion and parsley, the crushed garlic. Mix well.

all the ingredients in the bowl - don't forget, I am doing half

·        Add the spices, break the eggs in and knead the mixture. The more you knead, the better the taste will be. Add the bread crumbs or breadcrumb flour to reach the right consistency.

here it is

·        Shape the mixture into long finger-shapes and fry in a little oil. NB Refika specifies 2 cm but I used less.  Place the cooked köfte on some kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.

the mixture moulded into the finger shapes

frying gently in not too much oil

on the kitchen paper

For the sauce:

·        Add the crushed garlic and salt to the yogurt and mix to a creamy consistency.

here is the yogurt drizzled over the köfte

·        To serve, arrange the meatballs on a dish and drizzle the sauce over the hot köfte. Sprinkle with the finely chopped parsley and sumac. Serve with salad and rice.

served with salad but no rice for us!

Afiyet olsun!

 If you are not going to eat them immediately, place the uncooked köfte on a plate and cover with clingfilm. Keep in the fridge till required. They will stay there happily for a couple of days. They also freeze brilliantly.

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My other favourite recipe which uses sumac is Purslane salad with walnuts. (Purslane is semizotu in Turkish).The sour tasting sumac is used instead of lemon juice. Try it and see!