Turkey #2 Turkish Bazaars

I was in Turkey in one of the hottest weeks of the year, with almost every day surpassing the 40 degree mark. Because of this, it was hard to go anywhere away from the coast for much of the day. So last Thursday, Mum and I found myself on a Dolmus, a local minibus service, first thing in the morning, zooming across the rugged countryside to reach Yalikavak Bazaar before it got too hot.

Turkish bazaars are markets that are feasts for the eyes. Yalikavak's bazaar was largely food based, on a huge scale. Each seller filled overflowing basket with an array of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and spices. Had we not been staying in a half-board hotel, I would have made some serious foodie purchases, but as it was, I had to steer away from most of the perishable items. Luckily, bazaars don't stop there, and we wended our way around to stalls filled with jewellery, textiles and ceramics. I love how the markets are all organised into clear sections for different products, which made working our way around all the stalls much easier.

 

 

 

This overhead cover was a godsend against the heat of the sun:

I purchased a few bracelets and an anklet, as well as this gorgeous handmade bowl. I probably paid over the odds for all of it... I need to get better at bartering! But despite the tourist-inflated prices, it was hardly expensive, so I wasn't too worried.

Afterwards, my Mother and I walked down to the marina for a drink and some light lunch, cooled by the gentle sea breeze.

 

 

 

The temperature was well up by then, so we walked back through the shopping quarter -filled with independent shops -and hopped onto anther Dolmus and headed back to the hotel.

Turkey #1

I spent last week on a glorious, sun drenched holiday in Bodrum, Turkey. We didn't go abroad last year, so it was really nice to go travelling further afield again and to explore new places. As it is pretty much the peak of summer temperatures, most days reached the 40'C mark. Luckily, I was stationed just a few meters from the Mediterranean on my beach-front hotel, with a cool breeze and plenty of water; sea and pool; to keep me cool.

We stayed at the Tamarisk Beach Hotel, a small, friendly business that doesn't advertise or work with the larger travel companies. The hotel was made up of small buildings that housed rooms and suites, which were laid out to give a more intimate, neighbourly feel than the faceless, block structure that many hotels have.

 

The Tamarisk provided a range of Turkish and more "western" meals to cater for a variety of tastes. I tried to stick to the country's dishes as much as I could, and the Turkish breakfasts were my favourite meal to indulge in every day. Fresh fruit, especially figs, sweet breads, local yogurt, drizzled over with rich palm honey and oats, washed down with a cup of Turkish coffee. Too good!

I also became quite partial to the scrambled Turkish omelette, filled with roasted tomatoes and peppers.

 

Keep tuned over the next couple of weeks for some more photos and tales of my time in Turkey!

Lemon Drizzle Traybake

 As summer rolls on, thoughts turn to picnics and I begin to plan outdoor-friendly meals. A favourite of mine last year was this Quiche Lorraine, but this week I decided to bake a lemon drizzle cake, using Mary Berry's recipe to adapt it into a picnic-friendly traybake. My friends and I have made a trip to Victoria Park in Bath for the last couple of years for a picnic, but since moving to Yorkshire, I need to find a new spot.

The sponge is lighter than the traditional loaf form, but still gets a good crunch from the lemon syrup. I am really impressed with this recipe, and haven't adjusted it at all, except to mix in the ingredients one at a time, rather than the suggested all in one recipe. This will fill a 30 x 23cm tin to produce 15 generous squares, or 30 bite sized ones.

Lemon Drizzle Traybake

• 225g softened butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 4 free range eggs 
• Zest of two large lemons
• 275g self raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 tbsp milk

For the Topping:

• 175g granulated sugar
• Juice of the two lemons  

Grease and line the tin, and preheat the oven  to gas mark 3/160'C.
Cream together the butter and sugar before beating in the eggs, one at a time, along with a spoonful of flour to avoid curdling and adding the zest. Mix or fold in the flour baking powder, and add the milk to give a light dropping texture.

Pour the mix into the prepared tin, and gently smooth over with a spatula. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the sponge is lightly golden, and springs back when touched. Meanwhile, combine the lemon juice and sugar in a bowl for the syrup.

Rest for a few minutes, before transfering to a lined cooling rack with a tray underneath. Dot over a few holes with a fork to help the syrup run through. Gently spoon over the lemon syrup, taking care to make sure that no area is neglected. When it is cooled completely, cut into squares, ready to take with you to your summer events.

The Simple Things: English Summer Garden

I had a few quiet hours yesterday, so I decided to lend a hand in tidying up our garden; weeding, trimming, and pulling up old lettuces and overgrown radishes to be replaced with new seeds. Afterwards, I picked a punnet-full of our strawberries, and treated myself to some whilst I sat in the sunshine. The sweet peas have just begun to flower, so I cut a few to fill up my room with their delicate scent.

Take Three

#1. Taking advantage of later summer opening times, Mum and I treated ourselves to an ice cream at the new parlour in town, which sells local Yorkshire Wolds ice cream. Today, they were trialling a new flavour, pistachio. This has got to be my favourite ice cream flavour, but it isn't one that I come across often, so I was pretty pleased. I wasn't the only one, it seemed, as we got the very last scoop out from the box; so hopefully we should be seeing this flavour more often. It was the perfect antidote to the confusion of the stormy, humid weather that we've seen this week.

#2. Congratulations to my gorgeous Mum for graduating from a Master's degree of science with clinical research. I am so in awe of the fact that this is now her third degree... I have a lot to live up to! It was a busy day of cancelled flights down to Southampton, but I am so proud.

#3. Happy summer holidays! I am finally off for the next six weeks. I've ended up baking twice in two days -flapjacks and lemon drizzle traybakes -and I am looking forward to taking inspiration from my Flavour Thesaurus to start experimenting a little more, like in this post. Today's leisurely lunch was a wrap filled with turkey, cooked peppers, and guacamole (which I make with avocado, lemon juice, mango chutney and chopped chillies). Delish.

All those hazy, lazy days of summer

This last term, post exams, has seemed to have gone on forever! Happily though, I am finally on my summer break, with a bit more time on my hands to spend on my interests and blogging. I should even be starting driving lessons soon, after some seven months of procrastination, so watch out if you find yourself on the roads near me!

I am all ready to go off to Turkey on holiday, and finally get some sailing in, since I am currently on the market for a new boat and haven't been out on the water this year. I'll also be windsurfing, doing early morning yoga and hopefully trying a bit of diving -in short, keeping myself as close to the water in the mid-summer Mediterranean heat as possible! Then, I'll be hoping onto a train and making my way down to see the lovely Miriam of The English Mademoiselle Diaries.

My challenge for August is to take the veggie challenge. I'd like to spend a few weeks with a lower impact diet, by removing the more intensive, polluting meat from my plate, and hopefully becoming a more inventive cook in the process. I will allow myself a couple of seafood dishes a week, since I don't eat much of  that anyway, and as seafood is still largely a wild product. I should be keeping a food diary on this, so you can all see how I am doing.

In the meantime though, I am looking at updating my blog layout, so watch this space!

Until next time xxx

Thyme-infused Ganache

Recently, I was asked to take part in a flavour pairing event run by Aero. I was soon sent my kit in the post containing the impressively-sized Flavour Thesaurus by Niki Segnit, along with a bar of Aero mint and orange bubbles. The chocolate was spotted immediately by my family, and disappeared before you could say "Nestle".

The book however, provided me with a more lasting satisfaction as I perused through all the listed combinations with chocolate. The Flavour Thesaurus, although not something that I might of necessarily bought myself, looks like it may well prove to be invaluable, as a brief skim through has left me feeling inspired and ready to become more experimental in the kitchen.

http://adventuresofalondonkiwi.blogspot.co.uk/

Lots of ingredient combinations caught my interest, but in the end I decided to pair my chocolate dish with thyme. As soon as I read this, I knew that it would work; I could imagine the flavours in my head and knew exactly what I wanted to make.

We have plenty of thyme in our garden, so after arriving home today, I set about preparing my infused ganache. Make sure that the cream isn't too hot; if your 37 degree skin can melt chocolate, then boiling liquid will almost certainly cause it to split.

Thyme-infused Chocolate Ganache

• 125g good quality dark chocolate (I used 70%)
• 100ml double cream, extra thick if it is availible
• 2-3tsp fresh thyme

Chop the chocolate up as finely as possible, and place in a bowl.
Add the cream and thyme to a milk pan, and gently heat, using a really low heat to allow the thyme to infuse its flavour fully. When the cream starts to feel hot to touch, but not boiling, remove from the heat. Strain off the thyme leaves, and pour evenly over the chocolate. Let it sit for a couple of minutes while the chocolate melts, then stir into a smooth, glossy mixture.

Line a rectangular tin with greaseproof paper, and pour over the ganache, spreading into a even layer between 1cm and 1.5cm thick. Leave in a cool place -not the fridge if you can help it -to set, before cutting it up into squares, shapes using icing cutters.