Wednesday May Day, 2013
Istanbul, Turkey
Another Glorious Day and Fortunately we were not staying near the May Day Demonstrations at Taksim Square
Today our day started with something us girls LOVE to do... Cooking Class! We decided to take a cooking class at Cooking Alaturka who is run by a lovely Dutch lady Eveline. Eveline started the first cooking school in Turkey. We met her at her lovely restaurant very close to the Blue Mosque on a quaint street.
We were making 5 dishes. Ezogelin Corbasi – a lentil soup, Zeytinyagh Taze Fasulye – Green Runner Beans Cooked in Olive Oil, Kabak Mueveri – Zucchini Patties with Yogurt Sauce, Hunkar Begendili Kuzu – Sultan’s Delight, and Incir Tathsi – Walnut Stuffed Figs in Syrup.
What we did not realize was that we were cooking not only for ourselves but also for the restaurant! So a bit of pressure but we had lots of fun. Eveline head chef Feyzi, walked us through all the procedures and techniques to Turkish Cooking. We even got to use the special knives and tools used since the Ottoman Empire. So much fun! I always wanted to know what Sultan’s Delight was and found out that it is a combination of Middle Eastern and European Flavors: smoky eggplant mixed with a little béchamel sauce and grated cheese, served with a meat stew. Delish!
We enjoyed our meal with 2 great glasses of Turkish red wine. And the other restaurant diners found the dishes to be delicious!
After a very filling meal, we walked to the spice market to do some shopping so we can re-create the meal at our homes. We loved the spice market. I bought some nuts, dried mint, Sumac, Turkish chile and some dried figs to take back to Tokyo. But we found that buying outside of the market is better. There I found the same spices at half the cost and also the very pretty copper casserole dishes. We did some major shopping that afternoon.
While walking back, we found a famous Turkish Delight store, so stocked up on Turkish Delight to take back as gifts. The patron of the store was so nice that he served us Turkish lemonade while we were waiting for our boxes of Turkish Delight being vacuum sealed (they vacuum seal everything here).
We then stopped at a kebop restaurant popular with tourists for a drink and rest. Had some wine, hummus with fresh Turkish pita bread before we took a cab back to our hotel and call it a day.
Eveline!
Sandra learning the Turkish method of mincing onion
Long Bean Dish in progress
Smoky eggplant
My Fav: Lentil Soup. Can't wait to try it at home.
Zucchini pancakes and Long Beans. Delish!
Chicken Sultan's Delight
Walnut stuffed figs for dessert
Ended with Turkish coffee. After learning how it is made, decided not to buy any. Too much work!
Entrance to the Spice Market
Luv this place. Spices Galore
Turkish Tea and Coffee Sets
Sweets
Pickles and Grape Leaves. I wish I could get grape leaves in Tokyo to make Dolmas.
Turkish sausages
The market outside the spice market. better prices and where the locals shop
Hafiz Mustafa: Very famous for Turkish pastries and the infamous Turkish Delight
I forgot to mention! We went on a cruise of the Bosphorus. The Bosphorus part of the Turkish Strait. The narrowest Strait in the world and connects the Black Sea with the Mediterrean Sea. Very Strategic as you can imagine. However, as it was a cheap cruise, we have no idea what we were looking at.
Well, not quite as I know that is the Galata Tower.
Topkapi Palace
A modern Bridge
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