Tuesday; Fethiye market day and one of our favourite pastimes. How can food shopping ever be a chore when you’ve got a weekly carnival of seemingly endless rows of market stalls? All packed with the current produce of the season intermingled with the regular staples? The colours, the aromas – citrus in winter, the sweet …
The Turkish yoghurt drink, ayran, has caused much confusion – dare we even say distress – over the years. By that, we mean confusion for the foreign visitor; especially British holidaymakers looking to buy ingredients for their essential morning cup of tea! Here’s a little tale to explain what we mean… Ayran – Drinking Yoghurt, …
In fond memory of Durmuş amca who passed away in March 2022. RIP. ‘EL-WAJ-EE, EL-WAJ-EE.’ Stick around in any of the Fethiye bars and cafes for only a short amount of time and eventually, you will hear a male voice shouting something resembling that sound. This guy is a Fethiye institution; trundling up and down …
When friends come to visit from the UK and go home with Food memories, those delicious ‘Turkish cheese rolls’ that they always talk about are called sigara böreği (cigarette borek) or kalem böreği (pencil borek). Think slim spring rolls. ‘Kalem böreği’ is the more encouraged name these days. ‘Pencil shaped’ being a more acceptable phrase …
We were chatting with a friend a few nights ago about how Turkey seems to be rediscovering and embracing old traditions. 11 years ago, we came to Fethiye on holiday and smoked a nargile (water pipe), only to be told by waiters, ‘Oh, we have those just for the tourists. Nobody smokes nargile any more.’ …
We’re back to seasonal eating – one of our favourite subjects – with this springtime crispy sauteed morel mushrooms recipe. Have you ever tried a really expensive and relatively rare food and then wondered what all the fuss was about? Can a food really be that good that it can command such a high price? …
Last Sunday, we were on our way to Çalış market and we were feeling the need for food – right now! Most of the time, we opt for gözleme because we can eat this at the pazar – but last week, we just had the taste for kuşbaşılı pide. When the pide arrived, not only …
Potato salad – it’s a classic dish, isn’t it? But never tastes the same wherever you go to eat. Each person who makes it has their own recipe. And, over our years of living in Turkey, we’re quite comfortable with our own Turkish potato salad recipe after experimenting with different fresh herbs and dressings. Each …
We’re embracing seasonal eating again with this recipe. Pumpkin soup is a true taste of autumn. In some countries, this time of year marks Hallowe’en. And the pumpkin (balkabağı – honey squash) is synonymous with this festival. Well, it is seasonal. For us in Fethiye, autumn is the time when the local fresh pumpkins appear …
We had a post planned for today but it’s going to have to wait for another time as we just have to share this story with you. A lovely (for us) random act of kindness, generosity, thoughtfulness, whatever you want to call it. It’s made our Monday anyway and has confirmed why we love blogging …