I once created a cooking class, called 'Zen in the Kitchen'. Then wrote a book called the same. Then started the group with that name and the blog came after. All this happened in Turkish. Now is the time for the English version of it. Let's see what will cook here!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

A recipe from the Blacksea Region

Blacksea Region of Turkey has a rich culinary history. They use simple ingredients. Simple and seasonal. They use whatever they grow, whatever is available. Mostly corn, beans, kale, wild greens, wild mushrooms and fish, of course homemade butter and cheese as well. The recipe you see here is called 'dible'. It's mostly done with green beans but kale and other greens could be used instead. The other ingredients are oil, rice and onions. Some people add tomatoes as well but I'm taught to make it this way, 'aunty method'. What I do is to saute onions with oliveoil and add the beans. Two onions and a pound of (half a kilo) beans is enough for 3-4 people. After few more minutes of sauteing, I add quarter of a cup of rice, salt and pepper. I add half a cup (a bit more is better actually) hot water and cover the pan. I lower the heat and cook it as I cook rice, until all the water evaporates. In 5-10 minutes, your dible is ready. Enjoy!

Saturday, September 01, 2007

From a plum garden


I'm at a far far land.
This land, almost at the end of the world.
There is a green green garden,
full of plum trees.
Yellow, green, red, purple, small, large, round, long...
They make plum jam with them.
That's it.
And they eat.
When the winter comes,
they add water to some of it.
It becomes a soupy sweet,
to eat with pastries and pastalike dishes.
And when they pick more when they need,
they exchange them with wheat,
or whatever they need at home.
No money is used in that.
Just the plums and the wheat.