Spinach with Eggs (Yumurtali Ispanak)

2-3 eggs
1 lb (500 gr) spinach or 1 can spinach
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp smashed tomato in a can or 1 tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp salt
A pinch of red pepper and black pepper ( optional)

Put the oil in a large skillet. Sauté the onion with oil and smashed tomatoes/ tomato paste for 2-3 minutes at low-medium heat. Then, add the spinach and salt, cook for 5-6 minutes by stirring occasionally. Finally, make holes for eggs in the middle of the spinach mixture. Break the eggs into these holes, sprinkle some salt. If you wish, you could sprinkle some red and black pepper on top. Close the lid of the skillet and cook until the egg whites are cooked.
ENJOY!
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TURKCE
2-3 yumurta
500 gr (1/2 kg) ispanak ya da 1 kutu konserve ispanak
1 orta boy sogan, dogranmis
1 yemek kasigi zeytinyagi
2 yemek kasigi domates puresi ya da 1 yemek kasigi domates salcasi
1 cay kasigi tuz
Bir tutam kirmizi biber ve karabiber (optional)

Genis bir tavaya yagi ve soganlari koyup, orta ateste sogani kavurun.Domates salcasini/ puresini ilave edip 2-3 dakika sote edin. Sonra ispanagi ve tuzu ilave edip, ara sira karistirarak 5-6 dakika pisirin.
Son olarak ispanaklarin ortasinda yumurtalar icin cukurlar acin ve bu cukurlarin icine yumurtalari kirin. Yumurtalarin uzerine biraz tuz serpin. Eger arzu ederseniz uzerine karabiber ve kirmizi biber de ilave edebilirsiniz. Tavanin kapagini kapatin ve yumurta aklari pisene dek pisirin.
AFIYET OLSUN!

European Style Mashed Potatoes (Patates Puresi)

1 lb (450-500 gr) potatoes, peeled
2/3 cup milk
1 egg
¼ stick (35-40 gr) butter
1 tsp salt
Black pepper (optional)
Fresh parsley for garnish

Peel the potatoes and cut them in half. Put them in a pot and cover up the potatoes with water. Add salt and boil till they are cooked. Put the boiled potatoes in a bowl immediately when they are hot. Mash the potatoes with a blender and meanwhile add the milk and the egg. Mash them until the mixture is smooth.
Then, in a pot, put the butter and mashed potatoes. Cook by stirring continuously on a low-medium heat for about 4-5 minutes. You can adjust the salt as you like. Before serving you can sprinkle some black pepper and garnish with fresh parsley.
It is a nice side item to go with meat and fish dishes.
ENJOY!
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TURKCE
450-500gr ( ½ kg) patates, soyulmus
2/3 su bardagi sut
1 yumurta
35-40 gr tereyagi/ margarin
2 cay kasigi tuz
Karabiber (istege bagli)
Suslemek icin taze maydanoz

Patatesleri soyup ikiye bolun. Bir tencereye koyup, patateslerin uzerine cikana dek su koyun. Tuz ilave edip patatesler pisene dek kaynatin. Pismis patatesleri sicakken hemen buyuk bir kaseye alin.Bir blendir yardimi ile patatesleri ezin ve arada sutu ve yumurtayi ilave edin. Putursuz bir karisim olana dek ezmeye devam edin.
Sonra bir tencereye tereyagi/margarini ve pure karisimini koyun. Dusuk ateste surekli karistirarak, 4-5 dakika pisirin. Tuz oranini isteginize gore ayarlayabilirsiniz.
Servisten once purenin uzerine biraz karabiber serpebilirsiniz ve taze maydanoz ile susleyebilirsiniz.
AFIYET OLSUN!

Turkish Coffee (Turk Kahvesi)

1 tsp Turkish coffee
1 tsp sugar
1 Turkish coffee cup of purified water (see the picture)

Put the coffee and sugar in the coffeepot (cezve, see the picture ) and stir. Fill the Turkish coffee cup with water, leaving some room at the top. Then pour it to the cezve. Depending on how many cups of coffee you want, repeat the previous process.
Put cezve on high heat and stir with a spoon to let the sugar dissolve and coffee to mix with the water. When it starts being foamy on the surface, take some of the foam with a spoon and put into the coffee cup.( It is for a foamy Turkish coffee) When bubbles form on top and starts rising, take the cezve off the stove and pour the coffee into the cup.
There would be grinds at the bottom of the cup, do not drink this part.
You can serve the Turkish coffee with a glass of water and a piece of chocolate.
ENJOY

Turkish Coffee has been an important part of Turkish Culture. There is an old saying about it. “ Bir fincan kahvenin kirk yil hatiri vardir”(A cup of Turkish coffee will be remembered for forty years.”) It means that the person who offers the coffee is to be respected and remembered for a long time for the sake of his offering. For many people, the most enjoyable side of Turkish coffee is when another person reads the coffee grains, which is a kind of fortune telling.

TURKCE
2 cay kasigi Turk Kahvesi
2 cay kasigi seker
1 kahve fincani olcusu icme suyu

Seker ve kahveyi cezveye koyup, karistirin. Kahve fincani ile suyu olcup cezveye ilave edin. Yuksek ateste , sekerin erimesi ve kave ile suyun butunlesmesi icin biraz karistirin. Cezvenin uzerine kopuklenmeye basladigi zaman, kasik yardimiyla biraz kopuk alip, kahve fincanlarina paylastirin. (Kahvenin bol kopuklu olmasi icin)
Yuzeyi kaynamaya ve kabarmaya basladigi zaman, cezveyi ocaktan alin ve kahve fincanlarina paylastirin.
Fincanin dibinde kahvenin telvesi birikecektir, bu kisim icilmez.
Turk kahvesini bir bardak su ve bir parca cikolata ile servis edebilirsiniz.
AFIYET OLSUN

Turk kahvesi, Turk Kulturunun onemli bir parcasi haline gelmistir. Bununla ilgili eski bir soz de vardir. “Bir fincan kahvenin kirk yil hatiri vardir” Turk kahvesini ikram eden kisiye uzun zaman boyunca saygi duyuldugu ve ikramindan dolayi uzun zaman hatirlandigi anlamina gelir. Cogu kisiye gore, Turk kahvesinin en eglenceli yani, birinin kahvenin telvesinden fal bakmasidir.

Kidney Bean Salad (Piyaz)

1 can kidney beans or 1½ cup cooked kidney beans
1 tomato, diced
¼ red/ white onion, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled, grated
Sauce:
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp vinegar (optional)
½ tsp salt
Garnish:
Black olives
Fresh parsley
1 egg, boiled, sliced

Wash the kidney beans and drain. Then mix all the main ingredients in a plate.
In a small bowl mix all the sauce ingredients and pour the sauce on the piyaz.
Garnish with the boiled egg, fresh parsley and black olives.
Piyaz goes well with meatballs, beef, lamb and chicken dishes.
ENJOY!
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TURKCE
1 kutu kuru fasulye konservesi ya da 1½ su bardagi pismis kuru fasulye
1 domates, dogranmis
¼ kirmizi/beyaz sogan, dogranmis
1 yesil sogan, dogranmis
1 havuc, rendelenmis
Sos:
4 yemek kasigi sizma zeytinyai
3 yemek kasigi limon suyu
1 cay kasigi sirke (istege bagli)
1 cay kasigi tuz
Sus:
Siyah zeytin
1 tane haslanmis yumurta, dilimlenmis
Taze maydanoz

Eger konserve kullaniyorsaniz, kuru fasulyeleri yikayip suzun. Sonra butun malzemeleri karistirin.
Kucuk bir kasede sos malzemelerini karistirin ve piyazin uzerine dokun.
Haslanmis yumurta, siyah zeytin ve taze maydanoz ile susleyin.
Piyaz; kofte, dana eti, kuzu eti ve tavuk yemekleri ile iyi gider.
AFIYET OLSUN!

Grilled Mackerel (Uskumru Izgara)

2 whole mackerels
1 tsp salt
½ lemon or lime
1 onion, sliced in the shape of rings
Carrots or other vegetables for garnish
Electric grill or barbecue

First, thaw the mackerels if they are frozen. Then gut the mackerels. You can cut the heads off if you wish. Wash and drain the mackerels. Spread the salt all over the mackerels (inside also).
Let them stay for about 10-15 minutes with salt. Salt the onion rings and other vegetables. Then cook them and mackerels on an electric grill or on a barbecue on medium heat till they are golden brown.
Serve them with lemon or lime wedges. Also potato salad or smashed potatoes goes well with this dish.
NOTE: While thawing the frozen fish, first leave it in the fridge (40F) for 12 hours, then thaw it at room temperature for 4-5 hours and cook immediately. Make sure you do not leave the frozen fish at the room temperature. This would cause the pathogenic organisms to grow and spread all over the fish quickly.
ENJOY!

Benefits of Fish
TURKCE
2 tane uskumru
2 cay kasigi tuz
½ limon
1 sogan, yuvarlak dilimlenmis
Garnitur icin havuc ya da farkli sebzeler
Elektikli izgara ya da mangal

Oncelikle, dondurulmus uskumru kullanacaksaniz, cozundurun. Iclerini yarip, temizleyin. Isteginize gore kafalarini kesebilirsiniz. Yikayip suzulmesini saglayin. Uskumrularin hem icini hem disini guzelce tuzlayin.
Tuzun absorbe olmasi icin 10-15 dakika bekletin. Sogan halkalarini ve diger sebzeleri tuzlayin. Uskumru ve sebzeleri elektirikli izgara ya da mangalda orta ateste, kizarana dek pisirin.
Limon dilimleri ile servis yapin. Ayrica patates salatasi ve patates puresi ile de servis yapilabilir.
NOT: Dondurulmus balik cozundururken; once dolapta (4C) 12 saat boyunca bekletin. Sonra oda sicakliginda 4-5 saat boyunca cozundurun ve hemen pisirin. Dondurulmus baligi direk oda sicakliginda cozundurmemeye dikkat edin. Cunku bu, hastalik yapici organizmalarin hemen gelismesine ve baligin uzerinde yayilmasina sebep olacaktir.
AFIYET OLSUN!

Baligin Faydalari

Balcan Style Cabbage (Balkan Lahana Asi)

½ medium cabbage, chopped
1 onion, chopped
½ cup whole grain bulgur
2 cups whole milk
1 tbsp salt
3 tbsp oil
Garnish:
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp red pepper
A pinch of salt

In a large pot, place the oil and chopped onions. Sauté for 4 minutes over low-medium heat. Then add the chopped cabbage. Cook for 5 minutes over high medium heat stirring occasionally.
Then add the milk and salt. When the bubbles come out on the surface, add the bulgur and stir. Over low heat, cook for about 25 minutes, till the bulgur is soft.
For garnish, place the butter in a small frying pan and melt over the low-medium heat. When it starts spitting, stir in the red pepper and salt. Pour on the cabbage.
It is a very healthy dish. Cabbage contains so much fiber and whole grain bulgur is very nutritious.
ENJOY!
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TURKCE
½ orta boy lahana, dogranmis
1 sogan, dogranmis
1 cay bardagi pilavlik bulgur
2 su bardagi sut
1 yemek kasigi tuz
3 yemek kasigi sivi yag
Sus:
3 yemek kasigi teregi
1 tatli kasigi kirmizi biber
Bir tutam tuz

Buyuk bir tencereye sivi yagi ve dogranmis soganlari koyun. Dusuk ateste 4 dakika boyunca soganlari kavurun. Sonra dogranmis lahanayi ilave edin. Orta ateste ara sira karistirarak 5 dakika boyunca pisirin.
Sonra tuzu ve sutu ilave edin. Yuzeyde baloncuklar olusmaya baslayinca; bulguru ilave edin ve karistirin. Kisik ateste yaklasik 25 dakika boyunca, bulgur pisene dek pisirin.
Kucuk bir kizartma tavasinda tereyagini dusuk ateste eritin. Cizirdamaya baslayinca, kirmizi biberi ve tuzu karistirarak ilave edin. Lahana asinin uzerine dokun.
Lahana asi cok sagliklidir. Lahana lif acisindan cok zengindir ve bulgur besleyici bir gidadir.
AFIYET OLSUN!