'Komşu!' Neighbour! The garden gate creaked and I knew immediately that the arrival of Leyla from next door was imminent. It was the first day of bayram and we were back in our village. The ...
Poached Figs Stuffed with Walnuts and Clotted Cream
I confess I have been having a perfect figgy fest but here we are with my third and final fig recipe: today I am going to explain an authenticTurkish fig dessert, İncir Tatlısı, which is a complete ...
Beef Casserole with Figs
I have the feeling that the recipe that I am about to describe is destined to become my dinner party favourite this autumn. So perhaps I am mad to share - but I am so excited about it that it would be ...
Upside-down Figgy Cake
On my last day in the village,the island of Lesbos looked tantalizingly close, the killer humidity that has characterized this summer dissipated, and the sea a sparkling blue. On Sürreya’s roof ...
Ramazan Reflections
After a long hot day, the patience with which all fasting Moslems await the appointed hour for iftar, the meal which breaks the fast, to be annnounced from the local mosque or on the radio is ...
When is jam not jam? When it’s chutney, of course!
The light is different. The Greek island of Lesbos opposite is starting to emerge from its hazy summer shroud so we can see its beautiful silhouette once more. There is a change in the air, the nights ...
Bread – its place on the Turkish table and the wonders of the ‘firın’
‘Ekmek’: that means bread in Turkish. It is indeed the staple of life here. A Turk without bread on his table would be an unhappy man. While bread to us probably signifies sandwiches, here, it really ...
Cooling Cucumbers……and a bit of market life
Yogurt is great stuff especially the kind we get here in Turkey which is absolutely delicious: thick and creamy.It is one of my must-haves in the fridge. Strange to think I used to yearn for the ...