kitchen adventures

Meatball Soup

When I compared the soup recipe that we have applied for years now, with a few recipe books I realized that some people call our “treated soup”, meatball soup…

Ingredients

1.Meatball ingredients

350-500 grams of minced meat
2 slices of stale bread, the crusts removed and insides crumbled by hand
3-4 tablespoonfuls of rice
1 dessertspoonful of black pepper
1 egg
2 tablespoonfuls of olive oil
half a bunch of parsley, finely chopped

2. Soup ingredients

1 medium size onion
1/6 cup of vegetable oil
1 tablespoonful of tomato paste
1.5 litres of boiling water
1 (or 1.5) dessertspoonful of salt

Preparation

1. Mix the minced meat, the breadcrumbs, the rice, black pepper, salt, egg and 2 tablespoonfuls of olive oil together, kneading them into a meatball-dough

2. Spread the chopped parsley on a tray. Take marble-sized pieces from the meatball-dough and roll them into balls and put them on the tray. (If you want to deep freze the meatballs to be used later, mix them with parsley at times and leave to freeze. When they are frozen enough, put them in a plastic bag and leave them in the freezer)

3. For the soup, chop the onion, and turn it in a pan with 1/6 cup of vegetable oil. Add the tomato paste and turn them in the pan for a bit. Add the 1.5 litres of hot water, half a dessertspoonful of salt and the meatballs and stir. Cook for 10-15 minutes.

Note: Mom says you can also add 1.5 glasses of cooked chickpeas or 2 coarsely chopped potatoes and carrots.

Chicken with pearl onions and wholemeal rice pilaf

I cooked last night's dinner too. I guess since hot weather arrived, I will cook light dishes rather than pastry. The best thing about chicken and rice is that they are easy to prepare. The only detail is the amount of water to put into the pilaf. Since it was my first time cooking wholemeal rice pilaf, I paid great attention to the instructions on the package (since Mom bought the rice, I was quite relaxed, usually I am the one who brings “different” things to the house). The instructions said 2 glasses of rice should be soaked in water and then 4 glasses of water should be added but I followed Mom’s rule and added 3 glasses of water. This gave me better results…

Chicken ingredients

4 chicken legs (or drumsticks)
20-25 peal onions (tiny white onions)
4-5 cloves of fresh garlic
2 medium size carrots
a handful of parsley

Pilaf ingredients

2 glasses of wholemeal rice
olive oil
3 glasses of boiling hot water
salt

Preparation of the chicken

Remove the skin from chicken legs, peel the onions and garlic
Rub the carrots with the blade of a knife and chop them into pieces the size of pearl onions
Add all ingredients into a wok or a large non-stick pan. Cook the chicken by turning them over occasionally. Put some parsley leaves over the chickens.

Preparation of the rice pilaf

Put 2 glasses of wholemeal rice in a bowl. Add boiling water enough to cover the rice and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Add the olive oil into a pilaf pan. Drain the rice and add to the pan. Saute the rice until they make a sound similar to a coin’s (Mom’s definition). Stir occasionally.

Add 3 glasses of water and salt. Put the heat on the high until the rice starts to absorb water. Then lower the heat to the minimum, cover with a lid and wait until the rice is well-cooked. Turn off the stove.

Remove the lid, put a large paper towel as a cover on the pan, then close the lid and leave to rest for at least 10 minutes.

Peas with olive oil

Last night, since Mom had some work to do, I cooked the dinner. After my cooking met with the praise "You should add it to the site), I decided to write the recipe today.

Ingedients:

· 1/3 cup of olive oil

· 2 medium onions

· 2 carrots

· 2 tomatoes

· 1 kg of shelled peas

· 2 potatoes

· 1.5 liters of boiled water

· salt

Preparation

· Chop the 2 onions, peel and dice the 2 carrots. Put them in a pan with the oil. Turn them over until the onions are transparent.

· Peel the tomatoes, dice them and add to the pan, go on sautéing them.

· Later, add the peas and the potatoes which you have diced a bit larger than the carrots, into the pan. Give it one or two turns.. Add boiled water enough to cover the vegetables and cook over low heat until the vegetables are tender(If water evaporates and the veggies are still not done, keep adding water until done).

· Add salt after the meal is cooked and serve..

fig cake

Last night I could at last make a cake. I used the recipe that Sibel (sibel suslu) sent to another mailgroup. I had tried the recipe in Mom's recipe book twice before but it never turned out the way I wanted it to be. But this time, since the ingredients were fewer, the cakes fit my small cake cups exactly. Since Sibel gave a detailed explanation, the preparation wasn't difficult at all. The baking time for the recipe below is 40 mins. If you are going to use small cups you can lower the time to 30 mins. If you are going to use a large baking pan for the whole cake, you can double the ingredients. Thanks for the recipe Sibel!

Ingredients

· 6 dried figs

· 1 tablespoon of margarine

· 1 glass of water

· 2 teaspoons of cinnamon

· 2 eggs

· 1 glass of granulated sugar

· 1 glass of flour

· 1 teaspoon of baking powder

Preparation

· Wash the figs and chop into tiny bits.

· Melt the margarine in a pan, add the water, cinnamon and the figs. Boil them until the figs start to melt a bit.

· Meanwhile, using a mixer, mix the eggs ans sugar in high speed. Add the fig mixture bit by bit, and slowly mix with a spoon.

· Add the flour and baking powder, mix them roughly with a spoon, and pour the mixture in a baking pan that you have coated with margarine. Bake at 180 degrees for 40 mins.

Note: The recipe doesn't include coconut powder but you can sprinkle over the cakes if you like.

Peach Tart

Here is the last recipe for this weekend.

For the crust:

- 4.5 or 5 cups flour

- 250 gr. butter

- 2 eggs

- 1/4 pouch vanilla powder

- 1.5 cup confectioner's sugar

- 1 lemon zest

(I got the recipe for the crust from the section where Selim Ileri explains the tailor's daughters' tarts.)

Sieve the flour into a wide mixing bowl. Make a hole in the middle and put in thinly sliced margarine with a knife. Knead it until you can't see the margarine anymore. Put a damp cloth over the mixing bowl and let it sit for an hour. Spread oil and flour onto the inside of a tart pan and spread the dough over it. Make slits in the dough so that it won't rise. Bake it in a 175°C (347 F) oven until golden brown. Take it out of the oven and let it cool.

For the chocolate sauce:

Cook one packet of powdered chocolate sauce with half a liter of milk. Mix it while it cools. When it does, pour half of it on the tart crust.

To decorate:

Boil 4 large peaches in 3 cups of water and 1.5 cups of sugar. After they've been boiled, drain out the water with a strainer. After they've cooled, stick grapes in the holes.

For the jelly:

Mix a packet of jelly with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Boil it in a cup of water and let it cool. Afterwards, pour it over the peaches and grapes, starting from the middle. Pour the remaining chocolate sauce over the peaches. Let it cool and serve.

Mini Pizzas and Breakfast Salad

I made two different things for breakfast this weekend; homemade pizza and a salad. They're both very easy to prepare. For the pizzas, you mix any toppings you may have, like sliced olives, chopped tomatoes, green peppers, grated cheese, and spices. Afterwards, spread olive oil on slices of bread and spread the mixture on top. Cook it in a 180°C (356 F) oven for 5-10 minutes and you're done! The second recipe is for the salad. I had extra grated cheese, and since I didn't have breadcrumbs at home, I decided to use them in making a salad. Add chopped cucumbers and tomatoes to the cheese. Season it with salt, olive oil, paprika, and oregano. Delicious!

Seasoned Yogurt

Yesterday I made a seasoned yogurt. The recipe is very simple; cover the inside of metal strainer and put in as much yogurt as you want. Place a container underneath the strainer so that all the water will drain out. Wait for a day. The next day, take spoonfuls of yogurt and layer them on top of each other in a jar with a lid. You may put any mixture of spices you want in between the layers. (I used paprika, mint, and rosemary.) After you finish all the layers, put enough olive oil until the top is completely covered. After letting it rest for a day, your seasoned yogurt is ready.

Honey Brownie

Monday night, I decided to make honey brownies when I realized that I had no fruit in the house.

Ingredients:

- 1.5 cups sugar

- a little more than 5 tblspns melted margarine

- 2 eggs

- 2/3 cups honey (you can use less if you don't want it to be too sweet)

- 1/2 pouch vanilla powder

- 1/3 cup cocoa powder

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1.5 cups flour

- 1/4 packet baking powder

- 2/3 cups chopped walnuts


topping:

- powdered sugar

- cocoa

Beat the melted margarine and sugar, then add the eggs. After beating some more, add the honey and vanilla and keep beating. Then, mix in the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa. Pour the mixture into a well oiled baking pan. Bake it at 170 °C (338 F). After it cools for a bit, put it on a flat plate. You may decorate the brownie by sprinkling powdered sugar and cocoa over a flower cutout to make an interesting design.

sesame rings with melted margarine

Ingredients :

1 cup of margarine – 250 gr. (melt)

4 tablespoons of oil

1 egg

4 tablespoons of yogurt

1 teaspoon teaspoons of salt

1 package of baking powder

Flour as much as it can get

Yolk of an egg and sesame

Put all the ingredients in to a pot except the flour and the margarine. Melt the margarine and put it in to the center of ingredients’ pot when it is hot. And stir all of them with a hand mixer for a few minutes. Then add flour to make a soft dough. (dough should not be sticky). Give a shape of a ring to each small dough , place them on a tray and put sesame on them after smearing yellow of egg on each. Adjust the oven to 375F (200C) temperature before you start to prepare the second tray. By the time you finish it the oven will be ready. Put 2 trays into a 375F(200C) heated oven to be baked for 5-10 minutes until the rings become pink and then dicrease the heat to 350F (175C). Hardly recommend eating them hot with a cup of tea. You will like it.

cookie with blackberry

Ingredients :
1 cup of margarine
3 table spoons of castor sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lemon or orange planed skin
1 egg yolk for the dough
1 egg white
Flour as much as it can get
Nut which is pulverized
Blackbeery or sour cheery jam.

Mix all the ingredients except the jam and make a dough. Take small pieces from dough and make cookies. Make small holes in the center of each cookie with your finger and cover them first with white of an egg and then with pulverized nut. After baking them in a 350F (175 C) heated oven , put the jam in the center of each cookie.