Although I love to potter about in the kitchen when I’ve nothing else pressing to do, there are times when I just want something really easy to throw in the oven while I get on with other things. Continue reading “All in one chicken chilli traybake”
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Armenian nutmeg cake
We are off on yet another jaunt tomorrow, this time to the Lycian site of Cadianda, then a night in Fethiye with dinner at the fish market – more on that later. Obviously, tradition dicates that we will need cake – and plenty of it – and it’s my turn.
In my distant youth, I worked in the kitchens of a women’s hospital in Sydney and we used to pilfer this cake from the refectory to keep us awake when we were unlucky enough to be on the night shift. I had forgotten about it, but rediscovered the recipe in a long-forgotten Australian cooking magazine, which had been residing in my parents’ attic for about a hundred years. Continue reading “Armenian nutmeg cake”
Scrumping juniper berries in the snow
We’ve been intending to take our friend Linda’s dog, Izzy-Sausage, for the hour’s drive up to the snow for the last few weeks, but other things seemed to get in the way. We had new snowfall this week, so we finally got around to driving up to Gömbe this morning. Continue reading “Scrumping juniper berries in the snow”
Life is a minestrone
Tuesdays are usually diet days for us, which often means soup for dinner. One of our favourites is minestrone – loads of veggies and beans, with a bit of bacon sneaked in for added flavour. I think this is one soup for which good homemade stock makes a real difference between something that is okay and something that is really yummy. I also dispense with the pasta – there are always leftovers and the pasta swells into a horrid flaccid lump and soaks up all the liquid. Instead, I use pearl barley – an inspired idea from our friend Marcus, who made us this soup for lunch when we went to visit the Kennedy family in Melbourne a few years ago. I’ve been making it this way ever since. Continue reading “Life is a minestrone”
I can see our house from here
We are still experiencing the most beautiful Spring weather, so we’ve been out and about enjoying the sunshine and fresh air.
One of the most stunning views around these parts is looking down towards Kaş from the village of Çukurbaĝ, where we own an old almond farmer’s cottage, which we rent out in the summer. We had a few minor chores to do at the cottage over the weekend, so we decided to combine it with the hour’s walk to the viewpoint, known as the Sleeping Giant, which is an enormous cliff, shaped (oddly enough, bearing in mind the monika) like a giant on his side. Continue reading “I can see our house from here”
Joyce Pictor’s boiled fruitcake
Once upon a time, in deepest London, I lived with a wicked landlady called Susie. Not really, she was actually a fairy godmother, who rescued me from a disastrous relationship by letting me stay in her spare room. It was so cosy that I refused to move out for several years. Hah! Continue reading “Joyce Pictor’s boiled fruitcake”
Spring has sprung
Today was the first really warm day of the year. The cold weather has finally passed and the almonds are in blossom – one of my favourite sights of the year, not least because it means summer is on its way. Continue reading “Spring has sprung”
Strange goings on
We’ve been having lots of mini-earthquakes over the last day or so, the most notable of which occurred last night when I was laying the table for dinner. Ridiculously, I felt the need to clutch the back of a dining chair – I am not sure why I thought that might help, but I don’t think logic has any place here. It was only a bang and a quick wobble, and the others have been less than that – just like someone bumping into your chair, but I can’t help feeling unsettled by it. Continue reading “Strange goings on”
Raining lemons and limes
Disappointingly, we awoke to the patter of rain this morning. Rain rarely patters here – it normally falls in sheets, accompanied by swirling winds and much thunder and lightning, and it sneaks in through cracks in window panes and underneath doors. Today was a much gentler – almost English – affair, but it deterred us from our planned walk and I have passed the day catching up on a few household chores.
A big chunk of the afternoon was spent on the phone, trying to get through to Thomas Cook, who have most helpfully cancelled the return part of our flight when we go back to the UK for a couple of weeks at Easter, and have now put us on a flight two days earlier with no consultation or option to say ‘no, thank you.’ I cannot, apparently, deal with this online, I have to actually speak to a person – none of those people, according to Thomas Cook’s answering service at their call centre, would be available to speak to me for at least 60 minutes and we would be the ones swallowing the phone bill for that wait, from here in Turkey. Grrrrrrr. Continue reading “Raining lemons and limes”
Scrummy autumn apple cake (egg/dairy free)
This weekend’s Guardian newspaper published a recipe by Claire Ptak for the most delicious wholemeal apple cake, which I promptly made and which has already disappeared (we did share it with Linda the recipe tester and our local vets, who are fortunate enough to live close by and get regular cake samples). It was everything you want from an autumnal cake, and it filled the house with the most amazing spicy apple smells while it was baking. Even the cats looked interested.
It occurred to me that it might be adaptable for our granddaughters, who have a number of serious food allergies, including egg and dairy products. Continue reading “Scrummy autumn apple cake (egg/dairy free)”
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