Asparagus&Potato Salad (Kuskonmaz&Patates Salatasi)

4-5 small potatoes, cut in halves or fours
½ lb asparagus, cut 1 inch
1 cup peas
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
¼ cup onion, minced
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
½ lemon’s juice
2-3 pairs of fresh dill/parsley
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ tsp black pepper
½ cup yogurt
¼ tsp salt to taste
Lettuce leaves

In boiling salted water, cook potatoes for 15 minutes or just until tender; drain. Place in large bowl. In boiling water, cook asparagus, peas, and peppers 4 minutes, or until just tender; drain. Add to bowl containing potatoes and cover.
In a medium saucepan, combine mayonnaise, onion, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Cook, stirring until it begins to boil. Stir in parsley/dill. Let it cool and stir in yogurt. Pour sauce over vegetables; toss well to coat evenly. Arrange lettuce on platter, and top with potato salad.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
ENJOY

Back to Main Page
*******************
TURKCE
4-5 tane kucuk patates, ikiye ya da dorde bolunmus
250 gr kuskonmaz, yaklasik 2.5 cm kesilmis
1 su bardagi bezelye
1 kirmizi biber, ince seritler halinde kesilmis
½ cay bardagi rendelenmis sogan
1-2 dis sarimsak, dovulmus
½ limon suyu
2-3 dal taze dere otu/maydanoz
1 cay bardagi mayonez
1 cay bardagi yogurt
½ cay kasigi karabiber
½ cay kasigi tuz
Marul/kivircik yapragi

Bir tencerede patatesleri tuzlu suda 15 dakika kaynatin ve suzun. Buyuk bir kaseye bosaltin. Sonra kuskonmaz, bezelye ve biberleri 4 dakika kadar haslayin ve suzun. Patateslerin bulundugu kaseye ilave edin ve uzerini ortun.
Orta boy bir tavada; mayonez, limon suyu, sogan, sarimsak ve karabiberi kaynamaya baslayana dek pisirin. Maydanoz/dere otunu ilave edin ve karistirin. Biraz sogumasini bekleyin ve soguyunca yogurdu ilave edin. Sebzelerin uzerine dokup guzelce harmanlayin.

Salata tabagina marul/kivircik yapraklarini yayin ve uzerine Kuskonmaz&Patates Salata’sini koyun.
AFIYET OLSUN

Ana Sayfaya Don

Tomato Pilaf (Domatesli Pilav)

1 cup rice, washed and drained
1 tomato, crushed or petite diced (1/2-2/3 cup)
2 tbsp butter/olive oil
1 tsp salt to taste
½ tsp sugar
1 ½ -2 cups hot water (preferably chicken stock or chicken bouillon)
Fresh parsley for garnish

Wash the rice several times with warm water and drain. Cover the rice with warm water and leave it for 15-20 minutes and drain. If you do not have time for this, just wash the rice and then drain.
In a medium saucepan, sauté butter/olive oil and tomatoes for about 4-5 minutes over medium heat. Then stir in rice and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add hot water (chicken stock/chicken bouillon), salt and sugar (If you leave the rice in water before cooking, use 1 ½ cup hot water otherwise use 2 cups).
Stir well and turn heat low when it boils. Close the lid and simmer till the rice absorbs all the water. Do not stir while cooking.
Let it cool for a while with the lid on. Before serving, stir well with a wooden spoon. Then place to a serving plate and garnish with fresh parsley.
ENJOY

***This is a vegetarian dish.

Back to Main Page
****************
TURKCE
1 su bardagi pirinc, yikanmis ve suzulmus
1 domates, rendelenmis ya da kucuk dogranmis (1/2-2/3 su bardagi)
2 yemek kasigi tereyag/zeytinyagi
1 tatli kasigi tuz
1 cay kasigi seker
1 ½ -2 su bardagi sicak su (tercihen tavuk suyu ya da tavuk bulyonu)
Suslemek icin taze maydanoz

Pirinci temiz su cikana dek yikayip suzun. Uzerini ilik su ile kaplayin ve 15-20 dakika dinlenmeye birakin. Sonra suzun. Eger buna zamaniniz yoksa, pirinci sadece yikayip, suzun.
Orta boy bir tencerede tereyagi/zeytinyagi ile domatesi orta ateste 4-5 dakika boyunca sote edin. Pirinci ilave edin ve 2-3 dakika daha karistirarak kavurun. Sicak su, tuz ve sekeri ilave edin ve guzelce karistirin (Eger pisirmeden once pirinci suda beklettiyseniz, 1 ½ su bardagi sicak su, eger bekletmediyseniz 2 su bardagi kullanin).
Kaynamaya baslayinca kisik atese alin kapagini kapatip, suyunu tamamen cekene dek pisirin. Mumkunse pilav piserken karistirmayin.
Pilavin kapagini acmadan biraz ilinmasini bekleyin ve tahta kasikla guzelce karistirip servis tabagina alin. Taze maydanoz ile susleyerek servis yapin.
AFIYET OLSUN

***Bu bir vejeteryan yemegidir.

Ana Sayfaya Don

Creamy Mushroom Soup (Kremali Mantar Corbasi)

½ lb (125 gr) mushroom (any kind), brushed and sliced thinly
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
4 cups of chicken stock/water and chicken bouillon
1 ½ -2 cups milk
1 tbsp salt to taste
Fresh dill or black pepper

In a skillet, melt 1 tbsp of butter and sauté mushrooms over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. In a pot, melt 2 tbsp of butter and stir in flour. If the flour does not wet enough to be creamy, add some oil. Saute till flour turns to a light golden brown color.

And then, add chicken stock/water and chicken bouillon. Stir well to dissolve flour in water. To obtain a smooth creamy soup, use a blender. Stir in mushrooms and salt. When it starts boiling stir in milk and simmer over low heat for about 15-20 minutes (stir occasionally).
Sprinkle some fresh dill or black pepper on top of Creamy Mushroom Soup and serve warm.
ENJOY

Back to Main Page
****************
TURKCE
125 gr mantar (her cesit olabilir), fircalanmis ve ince dilimlenmis
3 yemek kasigi tereyagi
3 yemek kasigi un
4 su bardagi tavuk suyu/su ve tavuk bulyon
1 ½-2 su bardagi sut
1 yemek kasigi tuz
Taze dere otu ya da karabiber

1 yemek kasigi tereyagi ile mantarlari bir tavada sote edin (yaklasik 5-7 dakika). Bir tencerede 2 yemek kasigi tereyag ile unu kavurun. Eger un islanmazsa 1 kasik sivi yag ilave edin. Un hafif kahverengilesmeye baslayinca tavuk suyu/su ve tavuk bulyonu ilave edin.
Unun su icinde cozunmesi icin guzelce karistirin. Eger puruzsuz bir kivam elde edemediyseniz blendir kullanin. Sonra mantarlari ve tuzu ilave edin. Kaynamaya baslayinca sutu ilave edin ve kaynayinca kisik ateste yaklasik 15-20 dakika ara sira karistirarak pisirin.
Servis yapmadan once Kremali Mantar Corbasi’nin uzerine dere otu ya da karabiber serpin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Ana Sayfaya Don

Turkish Bread (Turk Ekmegi)

1 ½ cups lukewarm water
2 tsp dry yeast/17 gr fresh yeast
3 ¾ cups bread flour/all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Glaze:1 tbsp yogurt

1 tbsp water

Nigella seeds or sesame seeds

Place the lukewarm water, sugar and the yeast into a bowl. Stir well to dissolve the sugar and the yeast. Add the salt and flour; knead for 10 minutes, till dough becomes elastic. The more you knead the better your bread will be. Cover the dough with a plastic wrap or a clean cloth (see the picture) and let it rest for 2 hours in a warm place, till it rises up to double its volume (see the picture).Place dough on the counter and punch to release air. Cut the dough into two pieces, then make a loaf shape with each of them. Grease a square Pyrex or baking dish and place both of the dough pieces. Or you can use a loaf pan to bake two loaves of bread. Cover it with a clean cloth and leave it for ½-1 hours to rise in a warm place (If you have time let it rest for 2 hours).
Mix 1 tbsp yogurt and 1 tbsp water in a small bowl, then brush the surface of the bread with this glaze. Make a scratch lengthwise through the middle. Finally, sprinkle nigella seeds or sesame seeds on top. Preheat the oven to 425F (220C). Place the bread on the middle rack. Bake for 25-30 minutes, till it becomes golden brown. After taking it out of the oven cover with a clean cloth or towel to keep the bread soft.
Turkish Bread is good to go with butter, honey-butter dip or spicy olive oil dip when warm.
ENJOY

P.S: Do not use metal container when kneading or resting the dough. Metal spoils the texture of dough.

P.S 2 : If you want the top to be lighter brown, then beat 1 egg yolk and 1 tbsp milk for glaze, instead of yogurt and water.

Back to Main Page
****************
TURKCE
1 ½ su bardagi ilik su
2 tatli kasigi instant maya/17 gr yas maya
3 ¾ su bardagi ekmek unu/cok amacli un
1 ½ tatli kasigi tuz
1 tatli kasigi seker
Uzeri icin:
1 yemek kasigi yogurt
1 yemek kasigi su

Corek otu ya da susam

Ilik suyu ve mayayi bir kaseye alin, icine sekeri ilave edin ve sekerle maya cozunene kadar iyice karistirin. Sonra un ve tuzu ilave ederek, 10 dakika hamur elastik olana dek yogurun. Hamuru ne kadar cok yogurursaniz o kadar guzel ekmek elde edersiniz. Uzerini seffaf film ya da temiz bir bez ile ortun (resime bakiniz) ve sicak bir ortamda, hamur iki kati kadar kabarana dek, yaklasik 2 saat bekleyin (resime bakiniz). Hamuru tezgahin uzerine alin ve havasini indirmek icin uzerinden bastirin. Hamuru ikiye bolun ve her birine uzun ekmek hamuru seklini verin. Kare bir borcam ya da firin tepsisini yaglayin ve iki hamuru yan yana koyun. Ya da uzun ekmek kalibi kullanarak iki tane ayri ekmek pisirebilirsiniz. Uzerini temiz bir bez ya da seffaf film ile ortun ve hamur iki kati buyuyene kadar yaklasik ½ -1 saat bekletin (Vaktiniz varsa 2 saat bekletin).
Sonra 1 yemek kasigi yogurt ve 1 yemek kasigi suyu karistirip firca ile hamurun uzerine surun. Ortasindan keskin bir bicak ile boyuna bir kesik atin. Uzerine corek otu ya da susam serpin. Firini onceden 220 C (425F) ye isitin, ekmegi orta rafa koyun ve uzeri kizarana dek 25-30 dakika pisirin. Firindan cikarinca, tepsinin uzerini temiz bir mutfak bezi ya da havlu ile ortup hava almasini engelleyin. Boylece Turk ekmeginiz yumusacik olacaktir.
Turk Ekmegi sicakken, tereyagi, balli tereyag ya da baharatli zeytinyagi ile cok guzel olur.
AFIYET OLSUN
NOT: Hamuru yogurmak ya da dinlendirmek icin metal kap kullanmayin. Metal, hamurun yapisina zarar verir.

NOT2: Eger ekmegin uzerinin cok kizarmasini istemiyorsaniz, uzeri icin; yogurt ve su yerine, 1 yumurta sarisi ve 1 yemek kasigi sutu cirparak kullanin.

Ana Sayfaya Don

Chicken with Tomato Sauce (Domates Soslu Tavuk)

This is a special dish, which my husband cooked for me on this Valentine's Day.

4 chicken thighs/drumsticks
4 potatoes, peeled and sliced circularly
1 cup tomato, crushed
½ cup water
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tbsp salt to taste
¼ tsp basil
¼ tsp black pepper
1 tbsp oil

Boil the chicken thighs in salty water, till they become soft. Then let them cool and place potatoes over a greased Pyrex or baking tray. Sprinkle 1 tsp salt and mix them.
Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C) and bake potatoes for 20-25 minutes till they are soft. Meanwhile in a small saucepan, sauté tomato paste with oil. And then stir in crushed tomatoes, remaining salt and water. Simmer for 2-3 minutes over low heat. Sprinkle the spices and turn the heat off.
Take the potatoes from the oven and arrange the boiled chicken over them. Then pour the tomato sauce all over. Place them back to oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Serve Chicken with Tomato Sauce warm.
ENJOY

Back to Main Page
*****************
TURKCE
Bu tarifi esim Sevgililer Gunu'nde benim icin yapti ve cok da guzel oldu.
4 tavuk sarma/but/incik
4 patates, soyulup yuvarlak dogranmis
1 su bardagi domates, rendelenmis/pure
½ su bardagi su
1 tatli kasigi domates salcasi
1 yemek kasigi tuz
½ cay kasigi kuru feslegen
½ cay kasigi karabiber
1 yemek kasigi sivi yag

Tavuklari tuzlu suda haslayin. Sonra patatesleri yaglanmis borcam/firin tepsisine aktarin ve 1 tatli kasigi tuz serpip harmanlayin.
Onceden isitilmis 200 C (400 F) firinda patatesler yumusyana dek yaklasik 20-25 dakika pisirin. Bu sirada bir tencerede sivi yag ile domates salcasini kavurun. Sonra domatesi geri kalan tuzu ve suyu ilave ederek, kisik ateste 2-3 dakika pisirin. Baharatlari ilave edin ve atesten alin.
Firindan cikardiginiz patateslerin uzerine haslanmis tavuklari yerlestirin ve uzerine hazirladiginiz domates sosunu dokun. Tekrar firina koyarak 15 dakika kadar pisirin.
Sicak servis yapin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Ana Sayfaya Don

Vegetable Cheese Canape (Sebzeli Peynirli Kanape)

6-8 slices of white/wheat bread, sliced crosswise
½ cup milk
1 cup feta/Mexican crumbling cheese, crumbled
½ cup mozzarella/parmesan/cheddar cheese, shredded
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup tomato, diced finely
½ cup green peppers, chopped finely
A pinch of salt to taste
Any kind of spice you like

Mix all the ingredients, except bread, in a bowl. Then spread the mixture evenly on the surface of crosswise cut bread slices.Preheat the oven to 350-400 F (180-200 C) and bake until the cheese melts and turns a little golden brown.Serve warm. Canapes are good to go at breakfasts and brunches.
ENJOY

Back to Main Page
******************
TURKCE
6-8 dilim beyaz/kepekli ekmek, capraz kesilmis

½ su bardagi sut
½ su bardagi rendelenmis istediginiz tur kasar peyniri

1 su bardagi ufalanmis beyaz peynir
1-2 cirpilmis yumurta

½ su bardagi domates, zar seklinde dogranmis
½ su bardagi yesil biber, dogranmis

Bir tutam tuz
Istediginiz cesitte baharat

Ekmek haric butun malzemeleri bir kasede karistirin. Capraz kesilmis ekmek dilimlerinin uzerine karisimdan esit olarak yayin.

Onceden 180-200 C (350-400 F) ye isittiginiz firinda peynir eriyip, kanapelerin uzeri hafif kizarana dek pisirin.Sicak servis yapin.

Kanepeler kahvaltilarda ve cay saatinde cok guzel olur.

AFIYET OLSUN

Ana Sayfaya Don