Pickled Cabbage

Ingredients

• 1 green cabbage
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 4 tablespoons salt
• Apple cider vinegar

Preparation

Separate cabbage leaves (do not use first three layers) and cut each leaf into two to four pieces. Take a large plate or pan, put a layer of cabbage and add some salt, put another layer and add more salt.Continue this process until all cabbages are done. Cover the cabbages with a plate or pan and put something heavy on top.

Wait 5-6 hours until they reduce their size. In the mean time crush garlic cloves with some salt.

Then take a large jar and put as much as cabbage you can, it should be tight. Then add garlic and vinegar. I do not prefer to add water, but if you want, you can add some water, this will make it less bitter. I put some carrots on top of it. You can make different combinations with pickles, green beans, tomatoes...

Close the lid and keep the jar in a cool place like a pantry, it should not be under direct sunlight. Wait 10 days to 2 weeks without opening it. Enjoy!

Turkish Delight Cake

My first attempt to make Turkish Delight was failed. So I have used it as an ingredient to make cake and it turned out to be a very good one.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 2 1/2 cups of water 
• 1 dessertspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoon starch
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup of roasted hazelnut
• 3/4 cup of vegetable/canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or powdered vanilla
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Preparation

In a small pan roast starch until it changes its colour. 

Take a large pot and put water, sugar and brown sugar in it.When it starts to boil add starch and vinegar. You need to mix it continuously when you are adding starch in order to have a smooth mixture. When all ingredients are mixed well, lower the heat and cook it about one hour. 

After one hour add roasted and crushed hazelnuts (you can buy roasted hazelnuts but I prefer to roast myself) and put it in a large bowl and wait until it gets cold. 

Add eggs to the mixture and after beating it add oil vanilla extract and cocoa powder and beat again. Lastly add flour and baking powder with the help of a strainer. 

Pour the mixture in a cake pan and bake it in 375 F preheated oven about 30-40 minutes. To understand if it is baked stick a toothpick in it and take it off. If it is clean, cake is baked well.  Enjoy!

Hosmerim

The name of this dessert has an interesting story. A Turkish men came to home from a long military service without prior notice to his wife. His wife decided to make a dessert for him and she made up something with whatever she has at home. Then she serve to his husband and asked if he found the dessert nice. So, her question became the name of dessert she made up.  I do not know if the story is real or not, but the one thing I know that it is a delicious dessert.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of semolina
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of water
• 1 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of grated fresh mozzarella
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (5/8 stick)

Preparation

Take a pan add butter and heat it. After butter melts add semolina and cook it until it become brown. In a medium pot put water, sugar and milk and boil.

After it boils add it to semolina mixture and cook slowly by adding grated mozzarella. When mozzarella melts you can take it from the heat.

You can serve it with ice cream or Turkish clotted cream. To make Turkish clotted cream put 2 cups of half half cream in a glass pan, add a little whole milk. Put boiling water in a pot and place glass pan on the pot. Simmer it about 8-10 hours. Take it from the heat and wait until it gets cold and put it in the fridge. It should be ready next day. Enjoy!

Steamed Clams

This was the first time I have steamed clams, so I tried to do it in three ways; simple one with no sauce, with garlic sauce and with pasta.

Note: This recipe is for 3 people as appetizer

Ingredients

• 2 dozens (24) of clams
• 1/2 cup of sea salt

For simple steam

• Hot water
• Olive oil
• Thyme

For garlic sauce

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Thyme
• Parsley

For the pasta

• 1 cup of pasta
• 1/2 cup of pasta sauce (preferably tomato)
• Rosemary
• Sea salt

Preparation

Take a large bowl and put some cold water in it, then add sea salt. Put all clams into it and wait couple of hours and take them out. If any of them is opened throw them away. 

Boil water in a steamer and after it boils put some olive oil and thyme in water and put 10 clams on the steamer and close the lid. Wait until all clams are opened. If any of them is not opened, get rid of it. Take opened clams in a plate and serve them with lemon.

To prepare sauced clams, take a pot and put some olive oil in it. Add chopped garlic and thyme after oil is heated, cook them couple of minutes then add white wine (I have used red wine, because I did not have white one) and boil couple of minutes. Then put 10 clams into it and close the lid. When they start to open add butter and steam them until all of them is opened. Take them in a bowl and sprinkle chopped parsley over them.

Lastly to prepare the pasta, boil some water in a pot and add pasta. Boil pasta about ten minutes then add tomato sauce, sea salt and rosemary and boil couple of minutes more. Then add the last 4 clams in it, close the lid and wait until all of them is opened. Enjoy!

Noodle Pilaf with Lamb

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound lamb
• 1 cup of noodle
• 1 sweet pepper
• 1 small onion
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt
• Black pepper

Preparation

For this recipe you need lamb meat with bones. Put them in a pot and boil until they get very soft. Then smash them into little pieces with your hands. 

Take a pot and put chopped onions, pepper, butter and olive oil and cook. After they get soft add chopped tomatoes and cook until tomatoes become very soft like puree. 

Roast noodle in another pan with some butter until it gets brown.

Then add roasted noodle, salt, pepper and warm water into the pot. It would be better if you use the water you have boiled meat in it. Amount of water you add is very important. It should be a little above the noodles. Close the lid and cook until it socks all water, about 15-20 minutes. Then add lamb meat on top of it. Enjoy!

Note: I poured the rest of the water into small cups with some thyme and put into freezer to use later. You can use them to make rice or other kinds of vegetable meals.

Hazelnut Cookies

I want to thank my friend Gamze for sharing her recipe with me.

Ingredients

• 4 cups of flour
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter (8 oz)
• 1/2 cup of vegetable/canola/sunflower oil
• 5 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon wheat or corn starch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup of crushed hazelnuts

Preparation

Take a large bowl and put butter, oil, powdered sugar and starch in it. After kneading them add one cup of flour and baking powder with the help of a strainer. This will allow baking powder to spread well. 

Then add vanilla and knead adding remaining flour slowly. You can add more flour if you feel it is sticky. 

Add crushed hazelnuts and knead one last time. Then give them round shape and put on a baking pan with some distance. 

Bake them 30 minutes 325-350 preheated oven. You can sprinkle cacao powder or powdered sugar on them. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Poppy Seed Bread

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 dessertspoon yeast
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup lukewarm milk
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Filling

• 2 dessertspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons grape molasses
• 1 dessertspoon poppy seeds
• 2 tablespoons oil

Preparation

Take a small bowl add yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, milk and water. Milk and water should be warm, not too hot or not too cold. Put the mixture in a warm place and wait about 5-10 minutes until it rises. Take a large bowl add flour, yeast mixture, butter, eggs, salt, 2 teaspoons of sugar and vanilla extract and knead. Keep it in a warm place about 1 hour until it rises double its size.

In the mean time to prepare the filling mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. You can also add a little bit of water.Take the dough after it rises and knead it again by adding two tablespoons of flour. Then make a flat base with the help of a roller.

Spread the filling all over it.

Then start rolling it over from the bottom and cut the roll into small pieces.

Put them on a greased baking pan with some distance. You can sprinkle some poppy seeds over them. Bake them about 35 minutes in 400 F preheated oven. Enjoy!

Walnut Cookie

Note: You can make 20-25 cookies depending on size with these ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup of wheat/corn starch
• 1 stick (4 oz)unsalted butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup of crushed walnuts
• 2-3 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking cocoa (optional)

Preparation

In a large bowl mix powdered sugar, walnuts, egg yolk and butter and knead. If you do not know how to separate egg yolk and white, you can find it here Egg yolk.

In another bowl mix baking powder, flour and starch. Add this mixture to the other slowly while kneading. You can add more flour if it is necessary.

Make small balls from the dough and put them in a baking pan with distance as they will rise. You can separate the dough into two pieces and add cocoa to one of them. 

Bake in 350 F preheated oven about 30 minutes. You can scatter some powdered sugar on top of it while serving. Enjoy!

Salmon Shish Kebab and Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

For the shish kebab

• 2 Salmon fillets
• 2 zucchinis
• 1 eggplant
• 1 sweet green pepper
• 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt, pepper, oregano
• Water

For the quinoa Salad

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1/2 tomato
• 1 dessertspoon olive oil
• 1/4 lemon
• Crumbled feta cheese 
• Green pepper

Preparation

Peel zucchinis and eggplant like a zebra. 

Then cut them in round shapes. Mix yogurt, olive oil, water, vinegar, salt, pepper and oregano and marinate zucchinis and eggplants in this mixture about half an hour. Mix apple cider vinegar,water, olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano and marinate salmon in this mixture about half an hour.

Cut salmon in small pieces. Take skewers and thread salmon, chopped green pepper, zucchini and eggplant. Put them onto grill and cook each side until they get brown.

To prepare quinoa salad, put quinoa in a small pot add 11/2 cup of cold water. Boil it on medium heat and turn down the heat when it is boiled and cook 10-12 minutes more until it sucks all water. Take it into a bowl, add olive oil, lemon juice, chopped pepper and tomato and feta cheese. Enjoy!

Semolina Dessert

Ingredients

For the cookie

• 1 cup of semolina
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2-3 cups of all purpose flour
• 2 eggs 
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter (8 oz)
• vanilla extract
• baking powder

For the syrup

• 5 cups of water
• 4 cups of sugar
• 1/2 lemon juice

Preparation

To prepare the syrup take a large pot; add sugar and water and put it on medium heat. When it boils add lemon juice and boil 5 more minutes. We need the syrup lukewarm, so make sure you have enough time to wait before you prepare the cookie.

To prepare the cookie take a large bowl put sugar, butter, semolina and 1 egg. Separate egg yolk and white, and add white to the mixture. You will need the yolk later. If you do not know how to separate, you can find instructions here: Separate egg yolk and white

Knead them until they mix well.

Then add flour, baking powder and vanilla extract. Knead again. Add flour to the mixture slowly until it does not stick to your hands.

Make small round pieces and lay them over on a glass baking pan. Put some distance between them.

Press the cookies with the back of a fork to make strips. 

Then apply egg yolk on top of each cookie. This part is optional, you can bake them without applying any eggs. 

Preheat oven to 350 F and bake them about 30-40 minutes. After taking from the oven pour the lukewarm syrup on it immediately.