SUSHI

I usually buy Sushi at the grocery store because my girls like them a lot.  Last few weeks, they just did not look fresh in the grocery store.  My friend Emel makes her own.  She encouraged me to try making them at home.  I did and decided we are never going to buy them again.  They are easy to make and since they are so very fresh, they simply taste better.  I made different types of filling.

Seaweed sheets (I used Nori)

1/2 cup sushi rice

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon rice vinegar

Filling for Tuna filling:

1 can solid Tuna (drained and chopped)

1 or 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

wasabi or other spicy sauce to your liking

For the veggies in this one: graded carrots, avocado and cucumber

California roll:

Crab legs (thinly sliced)

1 or 2 tablespoon mayonnaise

Sesame seeds (goes on the rice before all the other ingredients)

Cucumber

For Shrimp filling:

Precooked and chopped shrimp

Avocado

Wasabi sauce to your liking

• Rice is one of the key parts of this recipe.  I bought special sushi rice because this was the first time I was making it but any short grain rice will work.  Cook it to package instructions with salt after washing it and letting it rest for 20 minutes to cool.
• Prepare the filling you want to use
• Add rice vinegar.  This actually doesn't add any flavor to your cooking but makes the rice a bit shiny.  It is a "pretty" dish, so it is important to make the rice look shiny
• Put your sea weed down flat.  All recipes say the shiny part down but I had a hard time figuring out which side was shiny.  My sea weed had visible lines on one side, I used this side to put rice on.
• Spread the rice to one end to the other.  Not right to the end though.  I left about 1 cm to start to help roll it over on both sides.  See the pictures below.  Make sure the rice is thinly spread otherwise they end up too big
• Place the filling on top of the rice but only to one side and roll the seaweed over the filling into a "log".  People recommend the use of a bamboo mat to roll it.  I bought one but I found it harder than just use my hands.  Maybe it is because I am used to making stuffed grape leaves that I found it easier.
• Roll over like a log and wet the very end to have the seaweed stick at the end
• Cut into bite size pieces
• Let it rest in the fridge 2 - 3 hours
• Serve with soya and wasabi sauces

TURKISH "PIZZA" (PIDE)

Just like Pizza, Turkish Pide can be made with different toppings.  Our favorites are ground beef topping or cheese, egg and sucuk.  I didn't have sucuk (which is like pepperoni only with ground beef and spices), I made cheese and egg version this time.  Usually served with Ayran (yogurt drink).

Dough

1/2 cup warm milk

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons yeast

1.5 cups warm milk

2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour

Ground beef topping:

1/2 kg medium ground beef
1 large onion(finely chopped or graded)

1 large cubenella pepper ( finely chopped)

3 medium tomatoes (finely chopped or graded)

3 tablespoon parsley (finely chopped)

Spices to your liking: salt, pepper, cumin, red pepper

1 tablespoon red pepper paste

1/2 cup water

Feta cheese topping:

100 gr beyaz feta cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoon parsley (finely chopped)

• First get the dough ready
• Combine 1/2 cup warm water, 1 teaspoon sugar and 2 teaspoon yeast in a tall cup and set aside for 15 minutes.  Yeast will rise.
• In a large bowl add 2 cups of flour.  Add 1.5 cups warm milk, salt, oil and the yeast.  Start mixing together.  Slowly add the rest of the flour.  You have to "feel" the dough.  It should be soft but not stick to your hands too much. 
• Make 8 "balls" , see picture in the collage.  Cover with Saran wrap and let it rest for 1 - 2 hours
• Combine the topping ingredients
• You can either make large pides and cut them in half before serving or individual servings.  If you are making large pides then use each ball for one pide otherwise, use half of each ball for one.
• Roll out to oval shape.  Put topping in the middle and leave 1 cm space on the sides to fold over to make a canoe shape with each one.
• Place them on your pan (make sure your pan is a non stick one or use cooking paper)
• Prehear oven to 350
• Cook for 20-30 minutes until the bottom and the top of the dough is golden brown.

VEGETARIAN LASAGNA

Last few weeks, we have been on a high protein diet.  Now we are starting to get pretty sick of meat.  So, for dinner tonight, we switched to a vegetarian lasagna.   This is an excellent recipe.  Lower in calories because of the cottage cheese.  Very easy to make because both the noodles and vegetables are used from raw.  Even if you are using the kind of noodles that normally require to be cooked first.  We used a spicy spaghetti sauce.  It was delicious!

3 cups pasta sauce

(I used Classico spicy tomato red pepper sauce.  I also used the whole jar of 650 ml rather than stick to 3 cups like the original recipe)

2 cups cottage cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese
9 whole wheat lasagna noodles

4 cups mixed vegetables (I used spinach, mushrooms, and broccoli)
1/2 cup water (if required)

• Mix all the cheeses together.
• Spray 11 X 8 glass pan.
• Place 3 noodles side by side in the pan (no need to cook them)
• Cover them with 1 cup pasta sauce
• Add 1/3 cheese mixture first then 1/3 vegetables
•  Repeat 2 more times.
• Add a bit of water (1/2 cup)
•  Cover tightly with aluminum foil
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Bake one hour.
• Makes 8 servings

SWEET COCONUT COOKIES (SEKERPARE WITH COCONUTS)

I don't know if calling this desert "Serkerpare" is a good idea because it is quite different than the autehentic Sekerpare.  I called it that because it has the same main ingredients except this one has much less calories and the coconut gives it a nice texture which is not used in Sekerpare.  There are a couple of important things to remember when making this recipe.  First, it must be made 1 day ahead to rest for 24 hours but not in the fridge.  Second, when syrup and cookies are combined syrup must be warm and cookies must be hot.  It works really well if you make the syrup and set it aside before you start the cookies.  Once the cookies are out of the oven, let them rest for 5 minutes and pour a couple of tablespoons of syrup over them and cover the cookies with another cookie sheet.  I use a deep glass pan for the first batch.  This way the syrup can be poured and it can be covered easily with another cookie sheet.

Cookies:

1 small tub of margarin (250 gr), room temperature
1 cup icing sugar

4 tablespoons semolina

2 tablespoons coconut (sweetened, small cut is fine)
2 eggs

3 cups flour
1 package vanilin sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

Syrup:

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Dekorations:

Ground natural pistachios and coconuts. 

Makes 25 - 30 cookies

• First make the syrup by combining sugar and water.  Bring to boil.  Add lemon juice.  Reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes.  Set aside
• Make the cookies.  Mix egg and powdered sugar together.  Add all of the ingredients of the cookies except the flour and mix well.
• Add flour a little at a time and make a soft doug
• Spray the pan and make small round cookies in your hands and put on a pan
• Cook at 350 degree preheated oven until the cookies are golden brown on the top
• Once ready, take out of the oven.  Let it rest for 5 minutes.  Pour a couple of tablespoons of syrup over the cookies with a tablespoon.  Cover the pan with another pan.
• Once all the cookies are done pour remaining syrup over all of them evenly and cover with a pan and let it sit overnight at room temperature
• Decorate when ready to serve

CHILI

Did you know Chili is an American dish?  Lots of people think of it as a Mexican because of the beans and use of Chili powder but it is actually from Texas.  Best part of this dish is that it is easy, fast and delicious.  Unless of course if you are making it in a crockpot.  Today, we were painting our kitchen when my daughter's university friends showed up unexpectedly.  I quickly made chili and served with garlic bread.  I added watermelon, some chicken wings and french fries from frozen.  For the vegetarian friend, we added a mixed salad and spanich and feta pastries from the day before.  We had dinner in a jiffy.

Seasoning Mix

4 tablespoons chili powder

2.5 teaspoons ground coriander

2.5 teaspoons ground cumin

1.5 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Other ingredients

2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 kg. lean ground beef

1 onion
1 (800 ml) can diced tomatoes

1 (450 ml) can tomato sauce

2 (450 ml) cans kidney beans

salt

Topping:

Grated cheese

• Mix together seasoning mix.  This mix will give you more seasoning than you will need for this recipe but you can store it in a container for convinence for next time.
• Put 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet and cook ground beef until no longer pink.
• Drain.
• Chop onion
• Drain and rinse the beans
• Pure 1 can of beans
• In a big pot add all the beans, ground beef, onions, tomatoes and tomato sauce, 5 teaspoons of the seasoning, salt
• Cook until it thickens to your liking in low or medium heat
• If you are using a crockpot, cook on low for 6 to 8 hours
• Serve with a hot sauce on the side for those who prefer it really spicy
• Top with grated cheddar cheese. 

TURKISH BANANA PUDDING

This is a nice light and low fat desert.  Good in any season but best in the hot summer days.  You can top with cool whip or ice cream or chocolate sauce instead of grated chocolate.  This is a great way to use the bananas that are starting to go brown as well as a good source of calcium for those who don't like to drink milk (like me).

4 cups cold milk (1 lt)

4 tablespoons cornstarch (I use a soup spoon steepingly full) 

2/3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon (9 gr) vanilla

3-4 mashed bananas

Top: Grated chocolate or cool whip or icecream or chocolate sauce

• Mix cold milk, corn starch and sugar in a pot
• Cook in low heat stirring constantly until it thickens
• Add in vanilla and butter.  Stir until butter is melted
• Add bananas
• Put in serving dishes and let it cool in the fridge for a couple of hours (covered with saran wrap)
• Top with your choice of chocolate pieces, cool whip or ice cream.

TURKISH SHORTBREAD COOKIES (UN KURABIYESI)

Translation of Un Kurabiyesi is: Flour Cookies.  I've been meaning make these cookies for a very long time simply because I missed them so much.  I don't make them often because of the calories but I have to tell you, they are absolutely worth it.

 250 gr unsalted butter (1 cup)

1/2 cup oil

1/3 cup corn starch

2/3 cup icing sugar

1 package vanilla (2 teaspoons)

3.5 cups flour

• Cream butter and oil together.  I left the butter at room temperature overnight.  It was so soft that I did not need a mixer.  I used a fork.
• Add corn starch, icin sugar and vanilla
• Add flour a little at a time to get a soft tough.  Dough does crumble a bit.  You need to make sure it sticks together by hand.  Set aside to rest for 10 minutes
• Split the dough into 6 equal parts
• Make a roll with each piece of dough using your hands.  Be careful with the crumbs just stick them together by hand
• Cut each piece into 5 cookies
• Put on a lined cookie sheet
• Pierce with a fork
• Preheat oven to 325
• Cook until the edges turn pink.  In my oven it took 20 minutes
• Cool and sprinkle with icing sugar