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!

Monday, May 04, 2009

Interview on Wild Edible Greens

Here is an article by Jane Tuna. She interviewed me on the wild greens of the Aegean:
http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/haber.aspx?id=11543912

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Broad beans and fennel spread

A little dish I created last week. By chance. Or lets put it this way, by imagination. Are you like me? I love imagining dishes before I try creating them. Sometimes I like the result, sometimes I don't. But usually they make me smile. This was one of them. I had broad beans (fava beans, for us, it's "bakla") I bought from the farmers' market. In Antalya, farmers who bring goods to the market, clean/unshell and sell them that way. Broad beans are among them in this season. But there is also the outer skin which is hard and not too pleasant to eat. So I discarded them as well. I had about 1.5 cups full of inner beauty. I also had a fennel bulb which I thought would be good with beans. So I cut them in pieces and add. Lovely spring onion bulbs helped with the aroma, 3 of them, cut in small pileces. Also 8-10 spring garlic cloves. Of course I added few tablespoons of virgin olive oil from our friends garden, a little black pepper, some seasalt. I had to add a little water, less than a cup. I covered the pan, cooked until all ingredients are soft. Waited a little bit and when it cooled down a little, I pureed it in the blender. There was a beautiful dish in front of me. A lovely, appealing green that's awaiting to be tasted. I toasted some of my homemade bread and started dipping in it. After a while I realized that I ate too much but who can blame me, it was too tasty...