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| Definitely have to give this a try! Author / handwriting unknown |
Wednesday 31 July 2013
To do: Dave's World Famous Kumara Salad
Mum sent some recipes out from Auckland to Morzine over the winter. Anything titled 'world famous' and ending with 'yum yum pig's b............' must be on the recipes-to-do list! Especially when the ingredients contains two of my favourite ingredients: kumara and sesame oil. Yum!
Edinburgh and tarte tatin
A weekend in Edinburgh was one of the first trips I did after I moved to London. I remember quaintly wondering if I needed to take a passport (no) and the one-time novelty of getting different money out of ATMs up there (Scottish pounds look funny).
I've been a few times now and love it every time. A weekend to watch the All Blacks play Scotland in November 2012 was no exception. The Friday night train up from Kings Cross was definitely the most fun I've had on a train, the majority of passengers laden with their green M & S bags filled with train picnic and cheap booze to while away the 4-ish hours to Edinburgh Waverly. The great thing about visiting a place several times is that there isn't much pressure to do touristy stuff on subsequent visits. The first time I went, I spent a Baltic half day exploring the excellent Edinburgh Castle, and another afternoon hauling my hungover self up Arthur's Seat before getting into a serious state of hanger on the way back into town for shandies and haggis pre-train.
The second visit for the rugby uncovered more delights of this wonderful city, especially the fact that we could drink Moet in a student pub for about £18 a bottle, cheaper than Tesco?! and if we didn't have our own supporter gear from home we could buy it here.
To recover from the weekend, I cooked dinner for Jacque and I on the Monday night using some delicious old fashioned heirloom veges from the organic shop and café down the road that she was also working at on weekends.
How to make the chicken:
Mix up fresh lemon juice (zest the lemon first for added zing), fresh herbs (dry would be ok at a pinch), a dollop of whatever mustard you have to hand, chopped garlic, olive oil and some honey and salt and pepper. You want a thick-ish dressing. Rub all over chicken pieces, leave to marinade if you have the luxury of time. Roast until chicken is cooked. Serve with roasted veges (heirloom carrots, aubergine and sweet potato here), which I would cook in their own dish then pour leftover marinade over the lot once plated.
Tarte tatin (upside down French apple tarte):
1. Cut some pre-rolled puff pastry the same size as a baking dish, or more ideally, use a frying pan that is 100% oven-proof, including the handle. It is a good idea to cut the circle slightly bigger than the pan. Set aside.
2. Peel, core and chop apples and pears - enough to fit a single layer across the frying pan.
3. Melt 100g butter and 100g sugar in the frying pan over a high heat until it bubbles. Add the fruit to the pan and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring so neither the caramel nor the fruit burns.
4. At this point, sprinkle in some chopped fresh rosemary (delicious trick ingredient).
5. Cover the fruit and caramel in the pan with the layer of pastry. Squish the overhang of the pastry so that the edges are slightly thicker than the middle, then prick all over with a fork.
6. Put the pan in the oven and bake at 180 for about half an hour until pastry is golden and cooked. Be very careful as the caramel will be hot and may have bubbled above the pastry.
7. USE OVEN MITTS TO REMOVE VERY HOT PAN FROM OVEN. Leave to cool about 10 minutes then very carefully invert onto a serving plate. Serve with cream and icecream.
I've been a few times now and love it every time. A weekend to watch the All Blacks play Scotland in November 2012 was no exception. The Friday night train up from Kings Cross was definitely the most fun I've had on a train, the majority of passengers laden with their green M & S bags filled with train picnic and cheap booze to while away the 4-ish hours to Edinburgh Waverly. The great thing about visiting a place several times is that there isn't much pressure to do touristy stuff on subsequent visits. The first time I went, I spent a Baltic half day exploring the excellent Edinburgh Castle, and another afternoon hauling my hungover self up Arthur's Seat before getting into a serious state of hanger on the way back into town for shandies and haggis pre-train.
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| Grey day view of the city from a cannon at the Edinburgh Castle |
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| Arthur's Seat |
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| The famous haggis, with neeps, whisky sauce and oat cakes on Rose St. Delicious! But didn't feel like quite such a good idea on the train back home afterwards. |
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| Thumbs up for some cheap posh champagne! |
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| Kilt with your AB jersey? |
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| Murrayfield Stadium. |
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| Lemon, thyme, rosemary, honey mustard chicken, with roast veges and rocket. |
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| Made apple and pear tarte tatin after seeing it on a menu a few nights earlier |
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| The perfect pudding with some clotted cream ice-cream! |
Mix up fresh lemon juice (zest the lemon first for added zing), fresh herbs (dry would be ok at a pinch), a dollop of whatever mustard you have to hand, chopped garlic, olive oil and some honey and salt and pepper. You want a thick-ish dressing. Rub all over chicken pieces, leave to marinade if you have the luxury of time. Roast until chicken is cooked. Serve with roasted veges (heirloom carrots, aubergine and sweet potato here), which I would cook in their own dish then pour leftover marinade over the lot once plated.
Tarte tatin (upside down French apple tarte):
1. Cut some pre-rolled puff pastry the same size as a baking dish, or more ideally, use a frying pan that is 100% oven-proof, including the handle. It is a good idea to cut the circle slightly bigger than the pan. Set aside.
2. Peel, core and chop apples and pears - enough to fit a single layer across the frying pan.
3. Melt 100g butter and 100g sugar in the frying pan over a high heat until it bubbles. Add the fruit to the pan and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring so neither the caramel nor the fruit burns.
4. At this point, sprinkle in some chopped fresh rosemary (delicious trick ingredient).
5. Cover the fruit and caramel in the pan with the layer of pastry. Squish the overhang of the pastry so that the edges are slightly thicker than the middle, then prick all over with a fork.
6. Put the pan in the oven and bake at 180 for about half an hour until pastry is golden and cooked. Be very careful as the caramel will be hot and may have bubbled above the pastry.
7. USE OVEN MITTS TO REMOVE VERY HOT PAN FROM OVEN. Leave to cool about 10 minutes then very carefully invert onto a serving plate. Serve with cream and icecream.
Tuesday 30 July 2013
Turkey 3/3: coast by boat
Just in time for the last week of the coastal season, I spent half a week on a gulet, a Turkish sailing boat with cabins. After the second night bus from Goreme to Antalya and then a mini bus to Kas, I joined Sulaiman, his crew and about 10 other guests on board a gulet with Alaturka Cruises. Everyone had already been on board several days but in order to fit in Cappadocia, I had to meet them half way. The weather was rubbish for the first 24 hours but in spite of it we finally left the port and sailed west to anchor for the night.
I think it cost me about 160 euro including all meals, and accommodation in my own cabin with bathroom. Alaturka were really great to deal with over email and I would definitely book with them again. The boat was in good order, plenty of space for everyone. A cash bar (cheap) was charged at the end of the week and the Turkish crew were great fun, yet really professional.
I think it cost me about 160 euro including all meals, and accommodation in my own cabin with bathroom. Alaturka were really great to deal with over email and I would definitely book with them again. The boat was in good order, plenty of space for everyone. A cash bar (cheap) was charged at the end of the week and the Turkish crew were great fun, yet really professional.
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| Rainy afternoon in Kas |
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| Setting sail for the evening |
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| Soggy guests on the back deck where we ate breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner |
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| Sun setting on my first evening |
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A similar gulet sailing by 
Morning dip
 
Waking up on the final day in Gemiler Bay
Ancient ruins off the Turquoise Coast
The crew
Last lunch with everyone on deck
Chilling in the shade on the way back to Fethiye
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Turkey 2/3: Cappadocia in 48hours + 2 overnight buses
With a one way ticket to Istanbul and no real plans beyond that week, I had a vague idea that I wanted to do some much needed time on the coast while in Turkey. However, with dad and Sue having Turkeyed about a week ahead of me, and several pictures of hot air ballooning appearing on Facebook over the Summer, I decided to mission it to Cappadocia en route to the coast to avoid the FOMO of not going ballooning while there.
After a rather hair raising night bus right from Istanbul, where the front door to the bus flung open numerous times, I arrived in Goreme and checked in to a typical cave hotel, as part of the deal. Although not usually a major fan of organised tours, it was a really practical way to discover the area especially in such limited time. The company I that had been recommended to me for the gulet tour were super helpful (Alaturka) and arranged this detour for me as well. I did 2 different day tours (North, South) and hot air ballooning on the second morning. It was a pretty intense couple of days but well worth it to get a taste of such a different region to anything I have ever seen before, and definitely the way to go since I was solo by this stage.
Day one:
Day two:
Ballooning for an hour cost more than a 4 day boat trip, and was worth every centime.
After a rather hair raising night bus right from Istanbul, where the front door to the bus flung open numerous times, I arrived in Goreme and checked in to a typical cave hotel, as part of the deal. Although not usually a major fan of organised tours, it was a really practical way to discover the area especially in such limited time. The company I that had been recommended to me for the gulet tour were super helpful (Alaturka) and arranged this detour for me as well. I did 2 different day tours (North, South) and hot air ballooning on the second morning. It was a pretty intense couple of days but well worth it to get a taste of such a different region to anything I have ever seen before, and definitely the way to go since I was solo by this stage.
Day one:
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| Tourist trapping outside the underground city |
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| Rural town lunch stop |
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| Really old frescoes in a cathedral inside a cliff |
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| Tea stop IN a river |
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| Dwellings and pigeon holes carved out of a cliff |
Day two:
Ballooning for an hour cost more than a 4 day boat trip, and was worth every centime.
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| Early morning over Cappadocia |
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| Putting away the balloon |
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| Toasting the morning with Tip Box and sparkling grape juice. Our pilot (in red) had just had a baby and had been piloting for 20 years. |
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| Valley dogs |
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| Horseback would be an amazing way to explore this region too |
Turkey 1/3: Eating in and out in Istanbul
Lucky enough to have an incredibly welcoming and generous friend in Istanbul, I spent a week there last October, where its point on the map meant it still felt like Summer. Having flown in from Munich post Oktoberfest, some fresh and delicious semi-healthy meals were in order.
Unsurprisingly, given the climate and the influences of Europe to the west and Asia to the east, there is immense variety of cuisine on offer. A far cry (no-offence) from Cuba Street Turkish, I can't think of anything that didn't wow the tastebuds and with loads of veges and fruit, it seemed to be just what the body needed after a weekend on litre steins of beer. Well maybe making allowances for the olive oil, cheese and pastries. In no particular order...
Breakfasts:
Snacking:
Z took me out one night for a wandering progressive meal of street food and small bites. This was a great way of tasting a whole range of Turkish flavours, without overdoing it too severely. In somewhat reverse order, we started with a "wet burger" at Kizilkayalar in Taksim Square. Basically, where the kiwi might resort to a kebab on the way home after a big night, this is what the Istanbul contingent reach for. The website Istanbul Eats describes these as a burger that is essentially incubated in a burger-hamam before being squished into a fluffy white bun. They sum up this guilty pleasure thus: "at 2 a.m. on a Friday night, nothing is as good as a Kızılkayalar wet burger – except for another one".
Eminonu fish sandwiches (move over fish and chips):
Since Istanbul straddles one of the world's busiest waterways (the Bosphorous) between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, fish and seafood abounds and this is no more obvious than on and around the Galata Bridge. One street-food taste not to be missed is the fried fish sandwiches served up straight from boats late-afternoon, on the spice bazaar side of the water, on the right at the end of the bridge if you are walking over from Beyoglu. For a few lira you get fresh barbequed fish sold directly from the fishermen, tossed into bread with salad, onion and fresh lemon. Simple and not to be missed.
Unsurprisingly, given the climate and the influences of Europe to the west and Asia to the east, there is immense variety of cuisine on offer. A far cry (no-offence) from Cuba Street Turkish, I can't think of anything that didn't wow the tastebuds and with loads of veges and fruit, it seemed to be just what the body needed after a weekend on litre steins of beer. Well maybe making allowances for the olive oil, cheese and pastries. In no particular order...
Breakfasts:
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| Early morning breakfast at home with Zeynep and mum. Fruit, boiled eggs, cucumber, tomato, feta, yogurt, coffee, olives. Sustenance for the commuter ferry from Asia to Europe (actually only about 30 minutes). |
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| We were hungry. Breakfast for two while waiting for the ferry up the Bosphorous a few days later.  |
Snacking:
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| Grapes, cheese toasties and beer on the rooftop in Besiktas. Watching the night lights with the bridge over the Bosphorous strait in the distance. |
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| Peckish afternoon snack, enjoyed on a little plastic stool down an alley way. Aubergine and white beans, mopped up with a communal plastic container of bread. |
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| Pretty much standing room only. Open 24 hours, although apparently boarded up since the 2013 protests. |
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| People dining in the middle of back streets. |
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| Fried mussels, stuffed in hollowed-out sesame bread, served with a garlicky, almondy sauce. |
When we could not eat any more and with little treats of 'loukoumi' (Turkish for Turkish delight) in our bags, I was escorted to some incredible rooftop bars to digest over beers and wait for Sus and Kat to arrive from London. I can't remember what this place is called but on the Beyoglu side and up a rickety lift, voila one of the coolest drinking spots ever.
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| Beers on a roof |
Since Istanbul straddles one of the world's busiest waterways (the Bosphorous) between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, fish and seafood abounds and this is no more obvious than on and around the Galata Bridge. One street-food taste not to be missed is the fried fish sandwiches served up straight from boats late-afternoon, on the spice bazaar side of the water, on the right at the end of the bridge if you are walking over from Beyoglu. For a few lira you get fresh barbequed fish sold directly from the fishermen, tossed into bread with salad, onion and fresh lemon. Simple and not to be missed.
Cooking fresh fish on a bbq boat moored next to Galata bridge
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| YUM! (crowds not shown) |
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