Salicornia Salad Video

Salicornia Salad from Dilek on Vimeo.

Yesterday my husband’s sister and her husband came to us. In fact they came to us to see our baby.  They broght Turkish raki, fish and  salicornia as a savory food. We altogether prepared the dinner. This was not only a dinner also a celebration of my doughter’s The Forty Days. In Turkey most of us   celebrate  The Forty Days. This is a kind of a belief. According to this belief  if a baby finishes, forty days from birth s/he will be healhty in the future and s/he will have a good life. It is only a belief but if we research  how this belief appears from past to now we find something interesting. In fact “the forty days” belief is an important time interval for a baby because on this time interval a baby maybe  becomes ill or not but her/his body gets used to our world. His/her body learns how to fight with viruses, other microbic organisms and also  every kind of ilnesses. According to this belief forty days later a baby is ready to live.

We fried fish, prepared Salicornia Salad and they drank Turkish raki I had apple juice yesterday. Our fish was Sea Bass. As I told before Sea Bass is verry yummy fish. We ate garden rocket and Salicornia Salad.

Ingredients:

• A bunch of salicornia
• A lemon
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• Half glass of olive oil

Recipe:
First of all wash a bunch of salicornia perfectly then put the bunch of salicornia in a pot. Then pour water in it and put the pot on fire. Boil it  for 10-15 minutes. After boiling take the boiled salicornia from the pot. Put it  in a cullender then  put it under water in order to getting cold. After that strech it from both edges to peel the salicornia because It has a hard stringy core in it. Pull off the core from the edible part of the salicornia .After pulling all of the salicornias mash the garlic cloves then put the mashed garlic on the peeled salicornias then pour the olive oil  and squeeze a lemon  on it. Mix them carefully. It is ready for your beautiful dinner as a savory food.Enjoy.

We purchase every kind of vegetables and fruits from the bazaar. In Tire there is a big bazaar. It is called “Tire Bazaar.” It is realy big and cheap. In Tire Bazaar you can find whatever you want. Everybody in Tire or people from the other cities come here to purchase fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. The sellers bring their vegetables and fruits from their gardens. The farmers grow organic plants here. They do not use hormonic   chemicals to the plants so we buy them with a big contentment.
We purchase salicornia from the bazaar too. Salicornia  grows on beaches so it has high salt content.  Because of this there is no need to use salt with this salad.
Salicornia contains lots of mineral in it like sodium, potassium, magnesium, iodine, sulfur, zinc, phosphorus, calcium and iron. It grows on iodic soil so it helps to heal a goiter patient  from the ilness of goiter. It   has lots of benefits to eat this nutritive Salicornia Salad.

Volcano Meat Balls

Last week my mother- in-law came to my home.She came form the southern Turkey. And there they make local dishes like İçli Köfte.İçli Köfte is a famous dish in Turkish Cusine. Everyone in Turkey like it. It has lots of kinds.  I don’t know how to translate it’s name into English. Let me try: Semolina meatballs, Filling balls… I think I’ll find at the end of the recipe.

 Ingredients

• 2 cups of pounded wheat
• a middle size onion
• 1 tbsp pepper paste
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1,5 cups of semolina
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt

For filling

• 1/2 minced meat
• 125gr margarine
• 5-6 middle size onion
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• a pinch of red pepper

Recipe:

Put the pounded wheat in a bowl then add a cup of water in it and also put the samolina in an another bowl then again add little water on it. Wait them as they are wet. When the pounded wheat gets soften, add cumin, salt and paste then grate the onion. Knead this mixture perfectly then add the semolina and again knead this mixture perfectly.

Preparing its filling:

Melt the margarine in a pan. Put the minced meat on it and roast this minced meat in it. Mince the onions then put them on that pan and go on roasting. Roast it by adding salt, black pepper,cumin and red pepper. Turn off the button of the oven then wait it to get cold.

First of all, take a pinch of kneaded pounded wheat as big as a walnut and roll it like a ball then press your finger middle of the rolled ball and open the ball like a volcano and put your minced filling in it then close crater of the volcano with kneaded pounded wheat perfectly. Continue doing like this until it finishes.  After finishing all balls lets prepare it for servinng.

Add juice of a lemon in 1lt water then boil it. When the water boils put balls in it one by one but be careful put spaces in that water balls shouldn’t touch each other in the water. When the balls come to surface of the water it means they are ready to be eaten.

Bon appetit.

P.S.: At the end of the recipe I found what would I name for the dish: Volcano Meat Balls!

 

Kilis Stew

We were in Gaziantep/Turkey last year for our holiday.We visited one of my friends at Kilis.We stopped by Kilis and saw the magnificence of Zeugma. Water rised up top to Zeugma. The boughs of olive trees were waving in water. I was so upset because of this.

Surprisingly enough I saw a butcher, a green grocer, a bakery together side by side.  In Gaziantep/Kilis if there is a bakery in a place, there is absolutely a green grocer and butcher nearby.

I found it very interesting. At night, my friend made us a very special dish called Kilis Tava(=Kilis Stew). Kilis Tava is a Barak(Barack) oven dish. We bought vegetables from green grocer, meat from butcher and we gave it to bakery.  And we ate it with hot bread. It was very yummy. I make that yummy Kilis stew recipe in an electricity oven.

Ingredients:

• 500gr minced meat
• 3 middle size of potatoes
• Half bunch of parsley
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 3  silices of bread crumb
• An egg
• 2 cloves of garlic
• A pinch of salt
• A pinch of black pepper

Recipe:

Put the minced meat in a bowl. Chop the parsley and mash the garlic. Put parsley, olive oil, crumb and egg on minced meat. Sprinkle a pinch of salt andblack pepper in it. Knead this mixture well. Spread oil in an oven tray with a brush and spread the mixture on oven tray. Peel the potatoes and divide potatoes into two then place them on the mixture as diagonal. Bake it at  190ºC -200ºC for 45-50 minutes. You can serve it with pilaf. Enjoy it.

Pilaf with chickpea

    Pilaf is a dish that made of rice and pounded wheat. Last day I made pilaf with chickpea and I want to share this yummy pilaf’s recipe with you:)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cups of boiled chickpea 
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup of rice
• 2 1/2 cup of hot water
• A pinch of salt

Recipe:

Wash rice very well and drain it. Put a pot on fire then put butter in it. Melt the butter then put rice in it. Saute the rice in it. After sauting, pour hot water on it then add boiled chickpea in it. Add a pinch of salt in it and cook it until the rice boils down. When the rice boils down, put a piece of paper towel to lid and cover the lid on the pot. Serve it after waiting for 10-15 minutes.

Karniyarik

Ingredients :

• 1 kg eggplant/aubergine
• 1 1/2 cup olive oil (for frying)

for filling:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 middle size onion
• 200 gr minced meat
• 2-3 green pepper
• 4 tomatoes
• A pinch of salt
• A pinch of black pepper
• A pinch of red pepper

when you cook in oven:

• 1 tbsp tomato paste 
• 1 cup water

Recipe:

Peel the eggplants stripy then wash and dry them. Cut each of them upright. Put a pan on fire then put olive oil in it and fry the eggplants.

While it’s frying let’s start to make the eggplants filling:

Boil some water and put it in a bowl and then put the tomatoes and wait them in water  to peel them easly. Chop the green peppers. Put a pan on fire and put 1/4 olive oil in it. Heat it for about a few minutes. Then chop the onion and put it in pan and saute the onion until it gets golden. Put the minced meat in it then stir it with the onions then immediately put the chopped green peppers in it. Peel the tomatoes and chop them then put them in that pan and stir it. Cook it until the tomatoes boil down.

Mix tomato paste and water in a bowl. Lay the fried eggplants in a big pan. Fill the eggplants with this filling and pour the mixture of water and tomato paste on the eggplants. Cook it in an oven for 20-25 minutes. (175ºC – 340 ºF) 

Enjoy it!

Gozleme

Yummy Chicken Soup

We had important guests at dinner yesterday. My dishes had to be yummy and look very beautiful. I thought what I can do and something delicious came to my mind. I would make  Yummy Chicken Soup. I went to market and bought chicken breast. I began to prepare the dinner. At night, dinner table was ready with the Yummy Chicken Soup starter.

Ingredients: 

• 200 gr chicken breast
• 3 cups of water (for chicken )
• 1 small onion ( for chicken)
• A pinch of black pepper (for chicken)
• 1 egg
• 4 tbsp yogurt
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• 4 tbsp corn oil 
• 3 cloves garlic
• 5 cups of water
• A pinch of salt
• A pinch of red pepper
• A pinch of dry mint

Recipe:

Peel the onion. Slice the onion four pieces. Put a pot on fire then put water, chicken breast, onions  and black pepper in it. Boil the chicken breast until it cooks. Take the chicken breast and chop it  tiny pieces. Beat yogurt, egg and all purpose flour in a bowl with mixer. Put this mixture in a pot. Peel the garlic and mash it in a bowl then add the mashed garlic to that pot. Add  5 cups of water and chopped chicken in it. Put the pot on fire and stir it continuously. Heat 4 tbsp corn oil in a different pan and let it cool. Sprinkle a pinch of red pepper to chilled oil. Pour the oil with red pepper to boiling soup. Add a pinch of salt in it. Serve it garnishing with dry mint. 

P.S: Add the salt at last. If you add it at first probably yogurt is affected.

Tarhana Soup Recipe

Last weekend we and our friends, from mountaineering club, decided to have a trip. We had a good time but my husband had a cold  towards the evening.  

When we were child my mother cooked this yummy dish to heal us from cold. So did I.

He had this healing soup and I gave him a drug. After that  I wanted him to rest. Next day when I saw him O.K. I felt very happy.  I owed a great deal to this miraculous soup because  my husband was on the mend.

What is Tarhana ?

Tarhana is a kind of famous soup from Turkish cousine. At present Tarhana soup is a favourite dish.  Tarhana is eaten at every meal included breakfast. It is known that Tarhana is made by Selchuk Turks who came from Eastern Asia to Middle East and Anatolia. Asian Turks tried to keep every kind of food  and to keep yogurt they found Tarhana soup.

Tarhana soup is a very nutritive soup also it  can be saved long time. It was used to feed  on the soldiers from Ottoman and Selchuk armies. Tarhana soup has lots of kinds. It is made especially in Kastamonu, Kahramanmaras and Usak cities in Turkey.  

Yogurt, dry mint, flour, red pepper, tomato and if you want onion are mixed each other. This dough waits to be rised by covering up a piece of cloth. This yeasted dough is arreyed on a dry cloth by breaking to pieces and it is delayed to be dry on open air  at a shadowy place. After drying it  gets dust by rubbing with hands than it is kept.

Here is the miraculous soup’s recipe:

Ingredients:

•          1 cup tarhana
•          6 cups water
•          5 tbsp olive oil
•          1-2 cloves garlic
•          A pinch of salt 

Put some olive oil in a small pot.  When it gets hot put tarhana in it. Saute the tarhana with olive oil in this pot. Add 6 cups of water and stir it until it boils. Peel the garlic cloves and mash it. After mashing put it in the pot. Sprinkle a pinch of salt. Stir it occasionally. Let it boil  for 10 minutes. 

Enjoy it!