posts

Lavender Honeycomb Butter and Alacati

31/01/201305/09/2015 Moya12 Comments

Visiting Istanbul for the first time last year my husband and I wanted to spend a few days in a different region of Turkey before heading to Istanbul. Searching the internet and gathering bits of information here and there as you do, decided to visit a small town on the Aegean coast… Alacati.

This beautiful and charming picturesque town is filled with old stone houses, lots of narrow streets lined with sidewalk cafés, bars, restaurants, boutiques and antique shops. As it was low season Alacati was quiet (some businesses close) and with not many visitors around, felt like we had the town to ourselves.

Even though our visit was short and sweet you could feel a real sense of community spirit and pride among the local people who live there. We met the lovely Neyran while visiting Lisa Cortis very colourful home textile shop and ended up sitting at a sidewalk café, chatting like old friends while Neyran filled us in about the history of this enchanting town… thank you for recommending the Barbun restaurant, it was a delicious end to our short stay.

Unfortunately we had not been able to include a Saturday on our visit, missing the famous Alacati market mentioned on this blog Cafe Fernando. I never got to taste the chocolate and chestnut cake mentioned as it was not on the menu. However, we enjoyed some delicious home-made cakes at the charming and quaint Tas Otel during our stay and the owner kindly parted with one of their recipes… which ~~I will share in a later post~~ you can find here.

The smell of dried lavender perfumed the air throughout the Tas Otel and the fresh honey we enjoyed at breakfast inspired this simple recipe… butter perfumed with lavender and sweetened with fresh honeycomb brought back from Turkey… utterly delicious slathered over hot toast, crusty bread or warm scones.

This beautiful and extremely friendly cat lives at the Tas Otel whose name was difficult to pronounce and remember… you were right Zeynep (the hotel owner), I have already forgotten!

Lavender Honeycomb Butter

Ingredients:

100g slightly salted butter, softened
100g fresh honeycomb or thick-set honey
1/8 teaspoon dried lavender, crushed
1/4 teaspoon dried lavender

How to make: In a bowl mix all the ingredients together using a wooden spoon, until combined. Place the flavoured butter into a suitable sized mould which has been pre-lined with cling film. Leave the butter in the fridge for at least 8 hours for the flavours to develop. If you do not wish to shape the butter with a mould, place the butter into a suitable bowl to serve. Recipe can easily be doubled.

valentine’s day garnish

13/02/201214/02/2015 Moya6 Comments

Flowers, chocolates ( yes please ) and dining are always high on the menu for Valentine’s Day and many people love to mark the occasion. But then, there are some who would rather stay at home and not get caught up in the hype. If flowers and chocolates are not for you and you find the whole romance thing a bit much, you could always garnish your food with a subtle touch of romance. Remember when Richard Gere in the movie “Shall We Dance” came up the escalators with a single red rose… well you can place your single edible rose on what ever your ~~heart~~ or stomach desires.

Cherry Tomato Rose

Ingredients:

firm cherry tomatoes (or you can use bigger tomatoes)
chives or parsley stalks
mint leaves or parsley leaves

How to make: Using a sharp paring knife cut thinly into the top of the tomato creating a base for the rose, which should still be attached to the tomato. Continue cutting a thin spiral strip around the tomato just under the skin.

Roll the strip of tomato skin up and onto the base to form the rose.

Fresh chives or parsley stalks can be use for the stem, fresh mint leaves or parsley for the leaves. Happy Valentine’s Day!

food + drink · posts

barbecued lamb cutlets and vegetable skewers

12/01/201219/10/2013 Moya8 Comments

Tidying my book shelves the other day I came across the “Home Cooking Calendar” that Karen and I had compiled for charity a couple of years ago. I was just new to photography then and had bought my first D-SLR Camera. Having no experience whatsoever on the photography end, Karen took care of the photo shoot while I ran around doing the cooking and styling… it was a fun project and a great learning curve.

The longer you marinate the lamb the more succulent the meat will be. Soaking the wooden skewers will help protect them from the heat of the barbecue so they will not burn so quickly!

As the very hot weather leaves us and the evenings become much cooler, this is a time when the barbecue gets plenty of use for some casual outdoor dining. I thought I would post this tasty and easy recipe (month of October) from the “Home Cooking Calendar” and make use of some of my home-made yogurt!

Barbecued Lamb Cutlets and Vegetable Skewers

Ingredients:

4 heaped tablespoons of plain home-made yogurt or store-bought
2 teaspoons sumac
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh mint
juice half a lemon
1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed
8 french-trimmed lamb cutlets
8 wooden skewers (soaked for 30 minutes in water)
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
2 fresh sprigs of rosemary, roughly chopped
8 button mushrooms
1 large aubergine, cut into chunks
4 small red onions, peeled and halved
4 small courgettes, cut into chunks
1 large red pepper, cut into chunks and seeds removed
salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to make: Mix together in a large bowl, yogurt, sumac, mint, lemon juice and garlic. Add the lamb cutlets, mix to coat with the yogurt marinade. Cover bowl, place in the fridge to marinate for 6 hours or overnight.

Whisk together in a small bowl the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add the garlic and rosemary, set aside for about 20 minutes for the flavours to mingle.

Meanwhile, thread the mushroom, aubergine, onion, courgette and red pepper, alternately onto the skewers. Brush each vegetable skewer liberally with the flavoured olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper.

Heat the barbecue to medium, cook each lamb cutlet 3 to four minutes on each side or until cooked to your liking. Cook the vegetable for about 8 minutes or until slightly charred and tender.