Since the contributors to this blog are either too busy at this time, or have their kitchen interests lying elsewhere, it will not be renewed anymore. It will stay online as long as blogger sees fit. See you in Our Patisserie,
Since my fellow blogger Ceyda (who had incidentally said that she could contribute more to a blog for savory dishes) gave up on this blog, I feel obliged to post about our very ordinary everyday food in a fervent effort to keep it going. This is one such post, in other words, no extraordinary taste combinations here, but those of you with younger children might want to give this dish a try, because it is definitely kid-friendly.
To make it, I first pounded chicken breasts and/or tenderloins. I coated them with a mixture of bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese, garlic powder, dried oregano and pepper. After they were nicely pan-fried, they went into a serving platter lined with some pasta sauce. I alternated the cutlets with slices of mozzarella, making sure that the cheese was visible. I framed the dish with more pasta sauce and put it in the oven just until the cheese melted and the whole dish heated through. Serving it with pesto sauce made a nice colorful presentation and definitely added to the overall taste as well. We served it with--you guessed it--pasta.
Note: Come on Ceyda, I do not know how much longer I can keep this going!
Nobody except Yurdaer really loves seafood in our house. I know, I know, it is a shame! We eat it anyway, but the day of the week I make fish for dinner is not a happy one especially for my children. I must proudly add, however, that nobody really complained when I served these tilapia fillets yesterday. Coming from this bunch, I take silence as a compliment.
I coated the fillets in flour seasoned with white pepper and salt, and sauteed them in olive oil until lightly browned. After I took them to a serving platter, I added some lemon juice, capers and finely chopped red onion to the pan juices, gave it a quick stir and poured it over the fillets.
The starchy component of our dinner was boiled new potatoes. There is a very tasty and equally quick pasta sauce I make when I am pressed with time. I heat some good quality olive oil and add a good amount of grated garlic to it. When the garlic starts to cook, I add salt, a few crushed dry red peppers and a cup of chopped parsley, and cook all for a minute. It doesn't get any easier than this, does it? This time, I used this sauce to toss my boiled and dried potatoes in, and it worked as good as it does with pasta. I will definitely do it again.
I am slowly reclaiming my kitchen after a month of almost no cooking. Here are two easy salads for these hot summer days.
Black Bean Salad
This is a salad everyone likes in our house. I sometimes add a diced avocado and some corn kernels to it, too. Increase the dressing accordingly if you do so.
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tomatoes, diced
1/3 c green onions, sliced
2 tbs red onion, finely chopped
A colorful combination of peppers, diced
2 tbs cilantro, finely chopped
2 tbs lime (or lemon) juice
3 tbs olive oil
1 tsp cumin
A small garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper
Put the first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Make a dressing using the rest of the ingredients and toss.
Fire Roasted Vegetable Salad
Fire is the best taste enhancer and this salad is a testimony to that claim. You can also add chopped onion and parsley if you wish, but it tastes just fine without them.
1 medium eggplant
1 red pepper
1 green frying pepper
2 tomatoes
2-4 tbs vinegar
6 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Fire roast the eggplant, peppers and tomatoes. Put the peppers in a plastic bag and set aside for 20 minutes. Peel the charred skin of the vegetables and wash them. Squeeze the eggplant to remove any juice. Finely chop the vegetables and mix with vinegar, olive oil, mashed garlic to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy.
So our vacation is over and we are back. We spent some time with our families, saw old friends and made new ones. We've been to some new places as well as visit places of our childhood memories. Oh yes, we spent a few days in our own apartment, too. We have been travelling back and forth for more than 20 years now, but this is the first time we have a roof we can call "our own" in Turkey. I did little more than boiling water for tea and coffee in my kitchen this year, but I am already dreaming about what I can do next year. However, if our vacation was a break for me from cooking, it most certainly was not from eating good food. In fact, I am at a loss for words to tell you about the glorious food of Turkey. Well, a picture is worth a thousand words, right? Here you go, then...
