Today I went to the Friday market in nearby Ayvacık and realised that this time next week we will be back in Istanbul. I can hardly believe that I have been here continuously since the 20th June. Time ...
Turkish Beach Food: Assos ’15
This is a summer beach post that I wrote about four years ago. It's one of my favourites but I was afraid it might be lost in the archives... so I have revived it! Same beach, same guys (I think), ...
White Cheese & Dill Savoury Treats! Peynirli Poğaca
I've just been wondering what the translation of poğaça (pron: po/a/cha) could possibly be and have come to the conclusion that there isn't one per se. These are delightful little savoury pastries ...
Islim Kebab/İslim Kebabı: kofte wrapped in aubergine slices and baked in a tomato sauce in the oven
Recently I was told that the aubergine or eggplant, an essential ingredient in this dish, belongs to the nightshade family. So I thought I would google it to find out more. The result was very ...
Lemon Lavender Cupcakes
It is hot. Very hot indeed and I am just loving it. The sun just bakes down and it feels great. I wouldn't be anywhere else except here in our village of Assos. You can't beat summer in ...
Dinner at Hayrettin’s down by the Antique Harbour in Assos
We arrived in our village of Behramkale, the Turkish name for Assos which overlooks the Aegean, yesterday afternoon after a journey of about five and a half hours from Istanbul by fast ferry and then ...
Another Purslane recipe
Since my purslane/semizotu post was the most popular post last month, I am adding another recipe that I tried out just a few days ago. I used it in a salad as the starter for a dinner party and it ...
Summer Mezes for Your Table: 2) Ladies’ Fingers or Okra in Olive Oil/Zeytinyağlı Bamya
You haven't lived if you haven't spent an hour or so preparing ladies' fingers aka okra/bamya! Yes, it is a very fiddly job: whatever you do, don't buy them unless you're ready to spend the time ...