Foods to live for-a food project

Walking on the Lycian Path with Kate Clow. September 18-October 2nd.
If you're interested pls. check this site for further info.

This is what Isil says:
"Susan of Fatfree Vegan Kitchen invited me over to a project which was started by Melissa at Traveler's Lunch Box. The idea behind this is to create a list of food bloggers' top picks for things you've eaten and think that everyone should eat at least once before they die. As Melissa puts it, this can be used as a global food guide."
And Isil asks my five unbearable, untouchable, unforgettable, un... foods. This may not be my lifetime list since tastes change as life goes on. Anyhow, here is the five:
Olives and freshly squeezed juice of'em. You have to smell it first then get a piece of bread. Just a touch of olive oil perfumes the bread. Eat it with your eyes closed. This photo is taken in Ayvalık, northern Aegean, Turkey last fall. I was invited for an olive harvest with a group of journalists. (By the way Ayvalik's oliveoil is among the best in Turkey)

Grapes and wine. Red wine. Just a glass every evening. Shiraz, merlot, kalecik karasi, bogazkere, okuzgozu (last three are Turkish grapes). Anywhere. By the sea, at home, with friends, restaurant... This photo is taken in Bozcaada, northern Aegean, Turkey. We were invited for a sunset party just recently. My dear friend Umit's hand is the one that you see. And Arzu was the wonderful woman who invited us.

A life without tomatoes is a boring one. Who can say no to its red cheeks and the sweet taste? I don't know how Turks lived without it in the old days. It's been grown in Anatolia for the last 2-3 hundred years. That's it. But tomato is the queen of summer tables. From sunrise till sunset, we eat tomatoes. For breakfast, for lunch, for dinner, in meals, in salads, in pasta, in soup... Fresh, cooked, sauted, as a sauce... Whatever you name it. This photo is taken in my garden, Burhaniye, northern Aegean, Turkey. I'm not so proud of my product this year. Hopes and prayers for the next year!

Breakfast. A day cannot start properly without breakfast. Tea is the king, bread is the queen, cheese is the princess, olive is the prince. This is a happy family with lots of relatives. To understand what is a breakfast for us, pls. look my breakfast post. This photo is taken at Zeytinbagi Hotel, Ida Mountains, northern Aegean, Turkey. (And let's not forget the 'simit'. It's hard to think tea without it. Especially if you're on a boat on the Bosphorus.)

Fruits. Any one of them. As long as it's sweet... A day without fruits is a day with no joy. Being born in Anatolia, I consider myself lucky. There is abundance of fruits. You name it I say yes. I could count over 65 fruits for my book 'Stories from a Fruit Tree' book that are grown in Turkey. I'm sure there is more of it. Since winter is on our door, I decided to put this photo which is taken in Antalya, Mediterranean region, Turkey. I love chestnuts, apples and bananas (sorry, I prefer the aromatic Turkish bananas!) as well as grapes, cherries, mulberries, strawberries, peaches, apricots, figs, tangerines, oranges...

Forgive me

It's been almost four months since I've last written to this blog. Not that I was away from my computer but because I had so much writings to do. I kept writing to my Turkish blog though since it's so much easier to write in your own language.

Yes this post won't be a long one but I want to share few photos from Burhaniye Farmer's Market which is one of the joys of life here in the Ida Mountain area for me. Summers are so colourful here so that you cannot easily choose what to but.

All sorts of summer fruits; peaches, cherries, sweet figs, watermelons, melons, grapes...

And all kinds of summer veggies; tomatoes, peppers, zucchinis, eggplants..

You can cook whatever you want with them. Turkish cuisine is known (not only that though) for it's variety of eggplant dishes. Summers are great chances to try new recipes with them. One of my favorites is the eggplant gozleme which is kind of a pastry filled with eggplant spread (it has tomatoes, onions, garlic etc in it). I like it crispy and fresh. With a glass of tea. Yes tea. Even if it's so hot outside, tea is still a nice cooler for Turks.

Okra is another lovely summer treat for us. Fresh from the garden, it's a tasty veggie. My special recipe is the pear okra dish cooked in fresh grape juice. It has a nice surprise even for people who don't like okra. A but of sesame is of help in that of course! Have a nice summer, although we're coming to an end.

Children of the world

These are the children of the world. Every year, they gather in Turkey to celebrate their day: April 23st Children’s Day. It was Atatürk’s idea, the founder of Turkey, to celebrate a day for kids. They are our future. They will live in this world when we’re gone. And we are responsible for them. We need to leave a better world for them to live better. Not wars, not famines, not hunger. They deserve a better world. Don’t they?

I took these pictures in Antalya on April 19th, 2006. Children from 60 countries came to Antalya to show their folk dances. They were in their folkloric costumes. They were flowers. They had hope. They had laughter. All I need to do is to take their pictures. Unfortunately I couldn’t see the whole show. I missed most of it.

The kids from Moldova, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Japan, Hungary and Ozbekhistan were the ones I could see, touch and share a smile with. Their joy broke my heart. What could I say to them? How could I explain the wars? The killings? Why rich countries don’t help the poor? Why we have to feed ourselves with these genetically modified foods? Or unhealty biscuits, fries, drinks, sugary foods...

Do they deserve that ugly food? Do we have to make rich international food companies richer by buying their junk food? I have answers for all these questions in my heart but I know all I can do is to change my attitude towards the world. Towards children. Towards nature. So let me leave you with the beautiful smiles from the children of the world!