Friday, June 26, 2009

Baked Vegetable Fritters (Fırında Sebzeli Mücver)

Mücver is usually made with zucchini and then fried, however it is way lighter to bake it in these hot and humid summer days. This is a modified recipe that uses not only zucchini but also potato and carrot. If you have other vegetables in mind like spinach, leek, etc., you can add them, too.1 zucchini, grated1 potato, grated1 carrot, grated3 spring green onions, chopped1 green or red pepper, finely chopped1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped1/3 cup...

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Purslane with Tomato (Domatesli Semizotu)

Purslane season is officially on! For those who have purslane growing in their yards or who can find it at the farmer's markets, flea markets, or Mexican grocery stores, here is another purslane recipe. Purslane with tomato is another version of Purslane with Rice. Mid summer when farmers markets are flooded by ripe tomatoes, you just cannot help but cook anything with tomatoes. So when we crave a sour taste, we make Purslane with Rice, which is...

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Savory Spinach and Feta Cake (Ispanaklı ve Beyaz Peynirli Kek)

In several previous posts I have mentioned the importance of afternoon tea time in Turkey and the snacks that we would have with our tea. This cake is a total green deliciousness that my mom used to make for our lazy afternoon tea hours. Years later during another tea gathering with her friends she learned a recipe for sweet spinach cake (I know it sounds weird, but it doesn't taste anything like spinach. Spinach is there just to make it green and...

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Strawberry Jam (Çilek Reçeli)

In the farmers' markets in Turkey strawberries are sold in two different piles on the same stand. One pile is for small strawberries which are sold for "jam" (reçellik) and bigger strawberries, the ones for the table (yemelik), would be in the other pile. I haven't seen this at the American farmers' markets, but you can always go to a strawberry farm and pick up your "jam" strawberries. That is exactly what we did. Last weekend we were at the Washington...