Olive oil

This oliveoil photo was taken in Sirince which is a small, beautiful town 9 km from Selçuk. Selçuk is the home town for Ephesus, if you've visited or have heard. It was one of the first days of 2007 and this was a virgin olive oil just pressed (cold) at an old, traditional (more or less) factory. You can imagine how great it was to have it for breakfast. What else was there for breakfast? The usual stuff. Black and green olives, cheeses (in Selçuk, you can get great local cheeses from local cheesemakers), dried tomato sauce with capers (this isn't the usual breakfast item!), freshly baked -again- local bread and of course tea. What you do is to get a piece of bread, dip it in the golden olive oil and just eat it. That's it. The simple pleasure of life yet a unique experience!

Photos from an olive harvest

Last week, I was at an olive harvest festival. I shouldn't call it a festival may be. It was more of a press tour which is organized by Verde Olive Oil Company for their 10th anniversary. There were journalists, food writers, tv producers... We were in Izmir, the weather was perfect, olive trees were dramatic (as always!) and the food was delicious. Yes we definitely fell in love with the 'just pressed' olive oil. The juice of olive, the 'immortal' tree of the Mediterranean. And the farmer's market walk at the end of the tour was a good way of finishing a 'hard to forget' trip. We were at the Urla Farmer's Market, tangerines had this amazing flavor and all the wild greens were waiting to be purchased and all the wild mushrooms wanted to be cooked... Here are the photos from the trip.

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...