Happy Father’s Day

Thank you for nurturing your little girls into strong, smart, fashionable, and adventurous ladies. We love you dad.

Bourak

For Sunday SURPRISE!

It’s great recipe for any time especially for tea time gatherings I can eat half of this yummm :)) and the only food I can’t resist anyway let’s make it!

500 gr. organic parsley, chard or spinach

6 yufka (special thin pastry for bourak)

200 gr. organic feta cheese

1 cup organic Greek yogurt

1 organic egg

1/2 cup organic extra virgin olive oil

1 cup mineral water

Optional ( salt, pepper and flaked red pepper)

Optional ( sesame seeds or black cumin)

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Wash and dice any green you choose.

Crumble the cheese with fork and mix it with greens.( If you will use the salt, peeper and flaked pepper add them and mix them as well)

In separate bowl mix yogurt, olive oil and egg well.

Grease the pan with oil take 1 yufka and spread it over the pan the pan should be smaller than yufka I used rectangle pan you can use round or and form you like just make sure it’s smaller than the yufka.

Spread over the yufka from yogurt mixture with help of brush.

Spread 2 more yufka’s  by wrinkling them and again for each one spread the yogurt mixture over.

Now spread all the feta and green filling all over the yufkas.

Repeat the yufka and yogurt spread by wrinkling the yufkas when you complete this take the corners of the bottom yufka and fold it over the top.

Cut the bourak in pieces if you still have yogurt mixture pour it all over the top.

Gradually pour the mineral water all over the top of the bourak.

Sprinkle cumin seeds or sesame seeds.

Bake it 30 min. or until golden brown on top.

ENJOY it warm or cold !

Traditional Aprakh (Wraps)

Before we start to this traditional family recipe I want to give you a great tip that I learned it from my aunt during summer I collect the fresh grape leaves and just line them on top of each other then wrap them with aluminum foil and put them in freezer bag and freeze them when I took them from freezer I have to be very careful because when they freeze they are very fragile so when you touch them you have to be very careful! and after you de-freeze them they are ready to use &  enjoy sunny summer taste!

 Are you ready to enjoy?

Organic grape leaves

1 cup organic rice

1/2 cup organic coarsely ground wheat

1 or 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tbs organic butter or ghee or olive oil
1 tsp pressed organic garlic
1 tsp sea salt
2-3 cups boiling water (you will need more or less water it depends of what type of rice and leaves you use)
For Top ( for 1 person)

1 large organic egg (optional)

1 tbs organic butter, ghee or olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup water

2 tbs fresh green garlic leaves diced very thin I don’t have fresh green garlic leaves so I used normal garlic cloves crushed.

You can use just rice or just wheat or as I do you can mix them.

Rinse rice and wheat.

Mix melted butter, yogurt, garlic and salt to rice and wheat mix them well.( I didn’t have enough yogurt at home so my mixture looks dry but normally should be runny and wet yogurt gives special flavor and character which is the specialty of this recipe.

Then as below you see the photos put some rice and wrap the leaves.

Line up them in pot the closure side should be faced down.

When you reach the last row if you have left over leaves you can cover the top of wraps or if you don’t have that’s fine.

Put pot on high heat.

Very slowly add boiling water.

Cover the lid bring to boil 20-30 min. or until the rice and wheat cooked well.
If you are using very big leaves yo can dived them into 2 pieces or just make big wraps my leaves were very small.

Now our Aprakh is ready carefully take each Aprakh and line it in plate.

For top
Put butter in pan until heated pour scrambled egg and stir fry put the crushed garlic and salt stir-fry then add boiling water boil it 1-2 min. it should be little water left when you put it over the
aprakh wraps.

Okay I know its worth it but isn’t it enough we wait… aaawww it smells garlicious!
Give me a moment please! I have to eat and sweep this I stand to much.

Honey bee Quince

My mother told me a lot about how they were happy when they had a chance to get a quince from the tree; they were putting it in their wardrobes between their clothes to give nice smell to their clothes at that times when they did not have perfumes. I can imagine quince scented wardrobes it was very nice, safe and healthy way to smell good…. and she adds those time the quinces and all fruits were smelling really good but now days unfortunately and sadly they didn’t…  and after it begins to getting ripe in the wardrobe they took it and made it into a dessert like this — during those days nothing was to throw but to use it use it reuse it! When she prepare this dessert always as I use to ask her what were they doing that times it’s always nice to hear old quality stories especially during long winter nights.

Favorite winter dessert!

I’m always getting very exited when doing this veryyy simple but amazing dessert. The smell, the taste, the look Oh my GOD it’s terrific!

This is why honey bees like it :)))

First you need fire if you have fire place or stove like me you are very lucky you just have to wait until the log is turn to a nice fire it’s relaxing to sit in front and watch for a while.

Come on get up it’s time to take one nice smelled organic quince wash it well.

I wish I had a tree.

Wrap it with aluminium foil like this

Put it on top of the fire-coals. I remember my mom was covering it with fire-coals as well you can do the same or turn it every 10 min. to cook every part of it.

I check it out. It wasn’t cooked yet it wasn’t soft and the skin should be burned. Cover the foil again put on fire-coals to wait more.

It should be burned more than the picture more than half of it should be burned. This takes 40 min. with me because I didn’t have enough coals and the quince was big.  If you have enough coal and to cover it with them maybe this will take 15 or 20 min. I think.

Remove it from foil cut it in half first.

Peel the burned skin. Remove the seeds from the pits. It smells amazing.

Put 1 tsp of honey in each half of quince cut nice slices. If you like more honey drizzle over more honey or you can serve it with scoop of ice cream.

This is for 2 person but I ate all of it veryyummmmyyyy.

The end…. happily!

Nothing left behind sorry.

Traditional Organic Melon Seed Soup

This soup is amazing we need just 3 ingredients melon seeds, coarsely ground wheat and water that’s it! very easy to make at the same time very healthy I think this recipe is created when the people were short of food and using everything instead of throwing it away it is recycle recipe I love using every part of food not throwing it it’s very good habit to cultivate ( I usually collect the melon seeds by myself after cutting and eating the flesh of melon remove the seeds and wash them with help of a strainer then put them on plate and sun dry them) and especially buying and cooking small amount of food is better than buying and cooking a lot and then throw it to the garbage please buy and cook with awareness  don’t forget there is many people who can’t even find what you throw to the garbage!

Less is more and healthier, cheaper and better.

2 cups organic sun dried water melon seeds unsalted

2 cups coarsely ground wheat

1- 1/2  lt water

cinnamon, sugar, salt optional

Rinse the coarsely ground wheat

Add 1 lt water soak it 30 min.

Boil it 40 min or until cooked well and begin to get thick.

Roast the melon seeds for 10 min or less they shouldn’t change their color.

After 10 min. grind them very well they should be powdered.

Boil 1/2 lt. of water add half of the water on powdered melon seeds and stir until it’s very white

.

Take strainer over the well cooked coarsely ground wheat pour the melon seeds milk from strainer.

Repeat the same thing with remaining water.

drain it well.

Ready to sip!

You can add any flavor you like salt,sugar or sugar and cinnamon which I hearted!

New.Year.Words. Lessons. Life

These are the words that I love a lot saying what I can’t say sometimes when I confused or sad or mad or even happy  they teach me something that I didn’t think before THANKS a LOT for putting all the letters and words in this beautiful meanings.

I just would like to share them with anyone who finds something from itself.

Don’t judge someone just because they sin differently than you.

Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.

Be curious not judgmental.

Do small things with great LOVE.

Remember happiness is way of travel not a destination.

In life it’s not where you go it’s who you travel with.

Your children become who you are, so be who you want them to be.

Your beliefs don’t make you a better person, your behavior does.

Drop jealousy and envy, for they make you ugly, be loving be accepting and most of all be happy just the way you are.

Success doesn’t just come and find you you have to go out and get it.

If God shuts a door, stop bang on it! Trust that what ever is behind it is not meant for you.

You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to SMILE.

EGO take the E off and let it GO!

Life is far too short. To be sad. To be mad. To hold regret. To look back. To be depressed. To be unkind. Do the reverse of all these counted.

Be crazy. Be stupid. Be silly. Be weird. Be whatever. Because life is too short to be anything but HAPPY.

Maybe I’m crazy but all the best people are.

Think HAPPY Be HAPPY.

Have LESS. Do MORE. Be MORE.

Wherever you are be all there.

When the devil keeps on asking you to look at your past. There must be something good in the future that the devil doesn’t want to you to see.

I don’t want you to save me. I want you to stand by my side as I save myself.

Still time to change the road you are on.

I’ll choose HONESTY over Perfection every single time.

When someone is nasty or treats you poorly, don’t take it personally. It says nothing about you but a lot about them.

Live in the MOMENT.

The cure for anything is salt water SWEAT TEARS or the SEA.

Forget what it hurt you but never forget what it taught you.

No one ever get tired of loving. They got tired of waiting, assuming, hearing lies, saying sorry, and hurting.

When I give food to the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food they call me communist.

Always trust your first gut instincts. If you genuinely feel in your heart and soul that something is wrong, it usually is.

Some of the most poisonous people come disguised as friends and family.

Spend a little more time trying to make something of yourself and a little less time trying to impress people.

Waiting for someone else to make you happy is the best way to be sad.

Honesty is an expensive gift; don’t expect it from cheap people.

If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.

LIVE LOVE like there is no tomorrow.

Respect your self enough to walk away from anyone or anything that no longer serves you, grows you or makes you happy.

Don’t hate what you don’t understand.

Different is beautiful.

A great relationship is about two things first find similarities second respect the differences.

I don’t like standard beauty there is no beauty without strangeness.

Old ways won’t open new doors.

Cultivate the habit of being grateful.

Being happy doesn’t mean that every thing is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.

I’m thankful to all those said no to me. it’s because of them I did it myself.

It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.

No reason to stay is a good reason to go.

You cannot hang out with negative people and expect to live a positive life.

The greatest prison people live in, is the fear of what other people think.

Be with those who help your being.

Saying yes to happiness means learning to say no to things and people that stress you out.

Don’t find fault find a remedy anybody can complain.

Never respond to rudeness. When people are rude to you, they reveal who they are, not who you are don’t take it personally be silent.

Before you react think.

Before you spend, earn.

Before you criticize, wait.

Before you pray, forgive.

Before you quit, try.

Many times we have to just stop and ask ourselves sincerely do I really happy on the way of life that I’m on? Or should I change my way my life and how? Or maybe you just  have to learn something new.

Hope coming near to the end of this year our worries, disappointments bad experiences and all sort of that we call bad or negative was in our life just to change us to be better person and to make us able to see the life with different perspectives to enlighten our minds and hearts to see what was missing from our lifes.

Profiterol from scratch!

As like me do you think it’s very hard or impossible to make this delicious filled puffs called profiterol because at Istanbul at Inci Profiterol I ate many times this delicious profiterols and every time I ate them I think they are the best profiterols around the world! but when I ask myself how can I make them or at least is it possible to make them at home? The answer was Oh impossible!

Until I tried to make them from scratch very surprisingly  they were very easy to make and this one is guaranteed recipe. When I was serving this to my family and friends always asking me where I bought them but the truth is I made them at home! even still I can’t believe that I can make them at home from scratch.

So here it’s the recipe for you to try and see!

For Puffs

1 cup water

1/2 cup butter

1/4 tsp salt

1 -1/4 cups flour

4 large eggs at room temperature

For Filling

1- 1/2 cups heavy cream or whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix

For Chocolate

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbs flour

1 tbs full cocoa powder

1 cup milk

Chocolate

Put all ingredients in pan stir occasionally, boil (3-5 min.)until it gets thick.

Fillig
Stir all ingredients together until you have thick filling.

Let it set 1 hour in refrigerator or you can prepare it one night before.

The Puffs

preheat oven 200 degrees.

Combine water, butter and salt in medium pan heat until butter melted.

Bring to rolling boil.

Add flour all at once stirring vigorously until smothes out and flows the spoon around pan. (this should take less than 30 seconds)

Remove it from heat cool it 5-10 min. it should be lukewarm.

With mixer beat the eggs one at a time in lukewarm mixture after adding the last egg continue beating 1 minute more.

Take 1 teaspoon full of the dough and drop it on parchment papered pans leave 1 inch between the puffs.

bake them 20 min. when they turn medium golden brown.

Remove them and cut a slit into the sides of puffs.

Return them to oven cook them 5 min. more.

Remove them and let them cool on a rack.

Gently open each puff alone natural fault line.

Fill bottom with 2 teaspoons of filling and replace with the top half.

Put all filled puffs on serving plate pour the chocolate on top put it in refrigerator.

Enjoy with loved ones !

I think it will be your one of the best loved recipe!

Keeping Family Arts Alive

Pottery tradition goes way back in our family…. our late grandfather was a master potter. Somehow his genes passed along, as I keep finding myself more and more at the studio.

Sadly, I did not have the pleasure of learning from him directly, but grateful somehow I caught the pottery bug and will continue on the tradition. He used to make his own clay, as my dad shares the stories. We are spoiled nowadays; just buy few pounds of whatever type clay you want and you are ready.

Pottery is not just wheel throwing, there are some many techniques and hand building. For example, I like combining the skills – throwing part of a bowl and finishing it off with hand building part of it.

Lately, I have found myself making lot of owls. Owls of every shape, size, and personality. This was a spontaneous inspiration, as very often I don’t set out to make a specific piece. Everyone has a style of working – some of my studio peers set off with a very specific idea like ‘I will make a carafe and two tumblers’. I arrive at the studio without a thought… the clay takes shape as I start playing, throwing, or hand building.

Ahhh… the world of glazing; it can make or ruin a pice of pottery. Luckily I do have a glazing muse, it’s called Nikita! A studio friend who has a magic touch with glazes. Usually a quick chat with Nikita results in picking the right glazes. Thank you Nikita!

This owl is called Frankie – the blue eyes reminded us of Frank Sinatra. It is handbuilt from ochre clay, hand painted, and then glazed. Isn’t it a hoot!!

Visit LaBote on Etsy to explore more unique art pieces.

Do what you love, and love what you do.

Sham-burakat with Auntie

Another yummy traditional family recipe!

I love very much being in the kitchen with my aunt because she’s very easy going and quick handed at the same time cooking and baking very deliciousss things yumm.

This week we diced to make sham-burakat  they are stuffed pie’s basically I like to call them half moons we chose to make them with meat but I like the cheese version much more.

Before starting the recipe please don’t forget always adjust the salt and seasonings  just as how much you like it and less is more.

How to do filling

3 cups finely chopped onions

4 cups medium ground meat any kind you like (pork, beef etc.)

1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper or green

1 cup finely chopped parsley

1 tbs salt

1 tbs hot pepper flakes

1 tbs pepper paste

1/2  tbs black pepper

1/2 cup butter

Put the butter and meat over high heat and continuously stir to not be stick with each other and to be cooked all over same until it gives the water and again there is no water.

Add onions and salt stir until onions well cooked.

Add peppers saute.

Add black pepper, chili and pepper paste.

Remove from the heat finely add parsley stir well let it cool completely.

How to do dough

1 kilo flour

2 tbs instant yeast

1 tsp salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 cup lukewarm water

1/2 cup olive oil

Put all ingredients and knead them well until it forms nice and soft dough.

Cover it with cloth and let it be doubled about 1 hour.

  

Preheat oven to 250  degrees.

Cut big chestnut sized balls from the dough each time about 6 or 7 balls.

On floured surface open the balls into 7 or 8 inches rounds or as much you like them thicker or thinner.

Spread on half of the rounds filling then fold them on half moon shape and with your fingers or cutter as it shown in the picture you can close them.

put them on baking sheet.

Bake them until they turn golden brown or little bit more is just fine.

when you remove them from the oven brush them with butter.(optional)

Instead of oven the traditional and more delicious way is to  cook them on pan over stove with little bit of butter turning each side until is bubbled to brown spots in each side and another method is which I don’t like it is to deep fry them they turn very greasy this way but some people like it but my aunt using new oven method which is healthier, cleaner and easier way to cook them in oven she says.

So you have 3 methods you can try all or choose which sounds best for you!

Holiday Gifting Edition

We decided to share with you some of our favorite Holiday Gifting ideas. This is usually a wonderful time of the year but also possibly the most stressful – as many try to shop for gifts and worry about giving/not giving.

Giving starts with true care and knowing the people you are giving to. Some of the best things we received were not material gifts at all. Last year, one of the best gifts I received was a lavender eye pillow made by my good friend using lavender from her garden and stitching the pillow herself.

With a few ideas we hope to reduce your stress and make this a great year of giving:

1. Hosting a dinner or potluck
What can be more cozy and fun – we are social creatures. Giving from your time and opening your home to your friends is a great gift in itself.

2. Hand Made
Never gets old to make some of the gifts you are giving. In the process of it, you will even figure out who you care enough to handmade something for or not. We made ceramic owls this year for our nearest and dearest ones; some as desk ornaments an some hanging. See a few examples here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaBote

3. Care Baskets
This a new one for us. This year we are making care baskets filled with easy goodies to give for friends in need. Here are some of the items: gas card, crackers, cheese, fruits, home made cookies,… give practical things that will help them stretch their budget.

For more ideas, we have compiled some of our favorite sites:

For the Artist
Give a gift certificate to a local art studio.

art supplies:
http://www.dickblick.com/

prints and other:
http://fab.com

For the Foodie
Give a gift certificate for a local cooking class.

http://fab.com

http://chefscatalog.com

For the Humanitarian
First, if you can, give to legitimate charities in your city.

Second, do global good, give to legitimate charities that help humanity globally.

For the Fashion Lover

http://fab.com

http://shopbop.com/ci/4/lp/holiday-gift-guide.html

For the Person who has Everything
Surprise them and give them a hug!

Quality always wins over quantity, both for gifts and friends. Giving is not about giving a lot of stuff, it’s in giving meaningfully.
Happy giving!