Crossing Continents with a Covered Dish

I belong to a Facebook group called Cook's Corner for Expats in Turkey that is a collection of 700 home cooks living in Turkey from all corners of the globe. People use the group to ask each other where to find the elusive ingredient from home (cilantro? black beans? celery?). People also use it to share their excitement when a beloved product from home becomes a regular import in Turkey; I remember the Brits getting really excited about some sort of malt vinegar potato chips.

People post photos of their latest cooking and baking creations. Do you find cooking motivation by seeing what other people have made? I do. So many of the foods are things new to me, especially the Asian dishes. One day I exclaimed: "we need to have a potluck - I want to meet your food - oh, and you too." The idea took off and we instantly filled a roster of 23 people to meet together and share our creations. This is the second potluck of the group.

This is what I brought:

Spinach and Exotic Fruit Salad



 Brooks, an American and cofounder of the group with Virginia,
brought the rice dish

that his family always demands:

Indian Rice With Peas

I was so grateful to Helene

for bringing this Southwestern Salad.

I hadn't tasted a black bean for three years!

You don't know what you miss until you can't have it.

I loved meeting Kuraishini,

an expat from Sri Lanka,

who regularly gives

Sri Lankan cooking lessons

here in Istanbul.

 

She brought Sri Lankan fish cakes.

For the potluck, she toned down the spiciness.

Ha, bring it on Kuraishini.

 I want to see if I can handle it.

This is a dish from Aura's

hometown in Turkey, Sarma Aşı, 

a particular twist on stuffed grape leaves.

 

The bulgur, which has walnuts in it,

is stuffed into the grape leaves with a gherkin.

Here's the Turkish version of the recipe.

It's called Burdur Sarmaaşı.

 

Oh, this was so delish!

Underneath that spinach roll

was homemade dark and nutty German black bread.

 

The above food and the next two photos of food

were made by

a lovely young Pole named Aleksandra

who probably bakes and cooks

in the five or six languages she speaks!

 Gluten-free mini Zucchini Pizzas

made by Nicki from Long Island, New York

 Virginia, an American who used to own a popular café

in Istanbul's Sultanahmet neighborhood,

brought Hoppin' John, a traditional Afro-American dish

made with ham hocks.
Ham hocks weren't available in Istanbul

so Virginia used home-raised bacon from Serbia.

 

She had a non-pork version there too for the Muslims,

which was nice, as our hostess Kathy

was an American Sufi.

 

Kathy has a personal shopping business

and had just shown travel entrepreneur Rick Steves

around the bazaars earlier in the week.

 Salmon Quiche brought by

 Hawaiian Island native Becky from Maui.

I hadn't had scalloped potatoes in years either.

Western civilization comfort food!

 Derya,

an Australian with Cypriot heritage

brought this.

A traditional Austrian Sacher torte,

a chocolate cake

with a rum-apricot glaze

and a Pariser Crème glaze.

It was to die for.

An American named Franklin Orosco made this.

He used to own a café in Lithuania.

He made these

 Powidl Taschl, Mohn Plunder

and Apfel Plunder too.

These were so warm and wonderful.

I could just imagine Austrian children eating them

and becoming emotionally attached.

 

Franklin's creations were made with such

skill and pride.

You heard it here first (it's still a bit of a secret)

but Franklin Orosco is going to be offering baking lessons

here in Istanbul. Sssshhh. That's still on the QT.

This delectable dessert
is called an Eton Mess.

It was brought by a proud Englishman, Michael.

It was so fun to hear about the history of this dish.

American readers, what should I bring next time that represents American culture? My spinach salad couldn't burn or scorch and I thought of bringing an Arabic fattoush salad next time for the same reason. But I so loved sampling other people's "national dishes" that I feel I should 'represent' American food heritage.

 

I do make an amazing guacamole that used to make an appearance every Super Bowl game. I could bring that. What other dishes would you suggest that 'represent' American culinary heritage?

 

This is the first time I've ever taken a ferry and a cab to a potluck. I crossed from Europe, where I live, to Asia, where Kathy lives. What a lovely neighborly experience: crossing continents with a covered dish.

 

 

Photos courtesy of Brooks Emerson

 

 

 

Here are some other cooking posts you might enjoy:

 

My Morning Menemen

 

Christmas Eve Lunch with pomegranates

 

Playing more with pomegranates

 

A trip to Provence, accompanied by Julia Child

 

Sam's Salad with Cherries, Goat Cheese and Pistachios

 

Hanging Out with Old Friends in Wichita, Kansas

 

The Start of a Week in Provence

 

Provence Inspires Me to Make My First Tart

 

A Wonderful Evening With New Friends

 

 

 

Why yes, I'm on Facebook, you should 'like' my page: Empty Nest Expat!

 

 

 

It's Tulip Time at Istanbul's Emirgan Park!

 

 A spectacular sunny day -

one of the first of Spring.

 

I was with Barb,

a new friend from America,

working here in Istanbul.

We were excited to explore Emirgan Park

for the first time.

 

A river of grape hyacinth

Such an imaginative planting!

 It was a perfect day,

and a perfect way,

to enjoy a conversation.

How relaxing

to just contemplate

which planting and flowers

were the prettiest -

it was so hard to choose.

 

 What do you like best?

Ribbons of color? All one color?

All colors mixed together?

 

 A traditional Turkish lady

with the Turkish flag

created in red tulips.

 

The crescent and the star

are the symbols of Turkey.

 A tree with idiosyncrasies.

It was so fun to have Barb

as a conversation partner.

She's done all kinds of interesting stuff

from owning and operating her own bakery

in Fairbanks, Alaska,

to working as a corporate labor lawyer

in Johannesburg and Istanbul.
She is helping an American corporation
integrate a Turkish factory into their portfolio.

I've often thought this tulip

with leaves that seem to form a crown

should be the official tulip of

the Istanbul Tulip Festival.

It's shape is most like the tulip

on all of the Iznik Tile.

What fun!

The "Nazar,"

or Turkish Evil Eye,

said to ward off evil thought.

A tulip made out of

soon-to-bloom tulips.

 Istanbul is famous for its youthful energy,

but it has its contemplative spots too.

You just have to seek them out.

I'm grateful to have shared a beautiful

morning with a new friend.

 

Do you have a favorite spring flower

you look forward to every year?

 

 

If you enjoyed this springtime walk,

 you may enjoy a couple other springtime walks in Prague:

 

A Springtime Saturday Stroll Around Letna Park

 

A Springtime Saturday Stroll Around the Summer Palace

 

EmptyNestExpat is on Facebook. You too? "Like" my page.

My Morning Menemen

Hot and steaming

before I added my parsley garnish

The easiest Turkish recipe to cook is this one: menemen. I love the name because it is so exotic, yet it is a dish that could be cooked all over the world because the ingredients for it are so ubiquitous and inexpensive. The recipe is easy too. It really can't be messed up.

Bread is necessary to mop up the juices.

I make the slices as thin as possible.

Today I made my breakfast for myself, but one of the emotional tugs I feel writing about menemen is the memory of all the times I have shared it with friends. Breakfast is a very social, very shared meal in Turkey. Sometimes, instead of assembling and eating an entire Turkish breakfast, or ordering an entire Turkish breakfast, one dish of hot comfort food suffices. 

The Days of Wine and Roses and Tulips: Wine Tasting at the Four Seasons Sultanahmet

 It's Tulip Time in Istanbul.

 The whole city is bursting with tulips - 4,000,000 of them.

These are in the courtyard of the Four Seasons Hotel Sultanahmet.

 My friend, Yasemin, had gathered a group for

wine tasting and divine cheeses -

a regular Friday night event

at the Four Seasons.

 Quince marmalade, olives, and fresh melon

with assorted breads and cheeses

displayed and assembled

to create our light repasts.

It was a treat to see friends -

in a momentary break from

weeks of intensive Turkish lessons.

Last night's tasting featured Italian wines:

 

Pinot Grigio Venezie IGT Blush, Ardesia 2011

Nero D'Avola IGT Sicily, Cataldo 2011

Cavalcante Sangiovese Di Toscana IGT, Baroncini 2011

Chianti "Messere" D.O.C.G. Baroncini 2011

 

I enjoyed the full-bodied Sangiovese and Chianti best. 

 

Danish blue and a smoky

Cergiz cheese were the most fabulous -

because they were the boldest.

Afterwards, we went to the roof

to enjoy the view of the Hagia Sophia on one side.

And the view of the Bosphorus

and the Four Seasons courtyard

on the other.

 

This Four Seasons Hotel used to be a coed prison.

It housed political prisoners

who were imprisoned after

the military coups in the 1980s.

 It is better to be in Istanbul

now, not then,

during these days of tulips and wine and roses.

 

 

Photos courtesy of Yasemin Erdem and Ibrahim Turco.

"The People Who Go"

A sample quote

from the public literature project

"Those Who Go"

 

My Danish friend Michael, who took me on my very first outing as an expat in the Czech Republic, introduced me to all of his fellow expat friends by saying "you know how there are people who stay and there are people who go? These are the people who go."

I was delighted to learn there is a wonderful contemplative public literature project with nearly the exact same name currently showing in the beautifully designed Denver International Airport. It is entitled simply "Those Who Go."

The artist honors "those who go" by assembling great quotes on travelers and traveling to inspire them as they move through the airport. Even better, an entire library of books devoted to traveling are available free through the project website and free airport wifi for downloading.

The creator of the exhibit says:

"As far as I know, there are four ways to travel:

• in Space

• in Time

• in the Mind

• and in one's own Self.

This small collection of books includes great travels and travelers from all four dimensions a human being can go. They are meant for you to share and explore. You can download them directly from the link at the airport or from this site, and may they inspire and delight you wherever you are."

What a creative way to share great books and to create a reading culture around and in celebration of one of humanity's greatest activities. What a wonderful reminder that being a 'person who stays' doesn't mean you can't be a person who goes...off in time...in the mind...or in one's own self. Which free book will you download?

Special thanks to friend Suzanne LaRue who told me about the exhibit.

You might enjoy some of my other posts on travel books and media:

Hello, Great Big Beautiful World!
(the very first post I wrote - it shows the power of a book to make one travel!)

Vagabonding

Armchair Traveling with Tony

Armchair Traveling with Rick

"I am Listening to Istanbul"

"I am Listening to Istanbul"

by Orhan Veli Kanik

I had a young Turkish teenage friend who was supposed to be learning English from me, but he was just as much the teacher, as he delighted in bringing me weekly linguistic treasure from his culture. We fell into the habit of each bringing each other one masterpiece from our native language every week. Of course, while his authors were Turkish, I had to read his offerings in English.

If you want to deepen your love of your own culture and language, try to narrow down your favorite creations to one masterpiece a week. It's hard! I shared Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" and my young friend said "If -- playing on the title -- If -- you believe there are men like that, you'll be single forever!" I had to laugh.

Then I shared another favorite: Teddy Roosevelt's "In the Arena." He liked that one. And yet another wonderful poem to share was "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost because my friend felt such delight when he instantly understood the metaphor at the end. "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley with its famous last two lines, and "Ozymandias" with its sly message against pride were hits. It was especially fun for me to pull out as many inspiring masculine poems as I could find and still I hadn't even yet cracked open the poetry books of Robert Service or shared Jack London's short story "To Build a Fire." 

One masterpiece he shared with me from Turkish culture was the poem by Orhan Veli Kanik, "I am listening to Istanbul." My young friend read it to me in English. Now I think I know enough of the original language, I am going to try and learn it in Turkish. Maybe there are other poems I should try. Is there a more beautiful context for learning language?

"I have come to love English." my student said at the end of our time together. We ran out of weeks before I ran out of masterpieces.

The time we get to share with someone is so short, whomever it may be. I am so grateful for that experience.

Whom are you sharing with that brings you joy? Be grateful to share this moment. Appreciate it with enthusiasm, even if only to yourself.

The Best War Expansion Prevention Protection Ever

 

The logo selected

"by the people"

to represent Istanbul's candidacy

for the 2020 Olympic Games

 

Istanbul recently hosted a visit from the International Olympic Committee. The visit went splendidly, according to the local papers. I'm so glad to hear Istanbul has a real chance for the games.

It occurred to me that Turkey's bid to get the Olympics Game is the perfect war expansion prevention protection. America plunged Istanbul's tourism into a double digit dive when we invaded Iraq because people thought Istanbul must be close enough to Iraq not to be safe. Wrong. Iraq is more than a day's drive away. Surely, America would be more sensitive this time around to the economic needs of their friends?

This is Turkey's 5th time applying for the Games. They have worked very hard for this and put up the budgets to deliver the Olympics for their people. Having the Olympics here would be a wonderful way to usher in their celebrations around the 100-year anniversary of their democracy.

All of my Turkish friends say that if America were to intervene in Syria, it would be World War III. As my nation's history in Iraq and Vietnam demonstrate, the American government's nature is intervention in other people's business.

Wouldn't it be hard for Turkey to sell their country as the safe place for the Olympic Games if the Americans were starting WWIII next door?

I've never been so grateful for athletic competition.