Life: Idiotropic

In today's news, Arianna and Luci had their third piano lesson which are wildly successful because a) the girls really are talented and love the piano and b) we've managed to find a wonderful bilingual teacher who enjoys teaching them so much that he's asked if he can come 15 minutes early next week so he spend a bit more time with them.

Our piano is in our elongated dining room near the kitchen, so during these lessons, I find myself there as I am then close enough to listen and to be available if needed, but far enough away to allow space and prevent myself from being a distraction.

What to do in the kitchen?  Cook.

Today was Turkish.  So I pulled out my little stripey notebook that I keep in my purse... a notebook of much knowledge and goodness from trips and cooking with friends.  Frankly, I'm concerned that some day I'll loose little stripey, so it's time to get these recipes down... hence this post.  :)  Lucky you.




Ingredients:

• 1 onion, minced
• 1 cup rice, rinsed
• 3 t. dried mint +
• 1 t. black pepper +
• 2 1/2 t. dill
• 1 t. thyme
• 1 t. salt
• 2 T. tomatoe paste
• 1 cup ground beef or lamb
• 1/4 cup olive oil +

Instructions:

1. Mix onion and rice together.
2. Add the spices and salt.
3. Mix the tomato paste, meat, and oil in a separate bowl.
4. Combine rice and meat mixtures and blend well.
5. Boil 2 cups of water.
6. Add the meat mixture.  Return to boil.
7. Turn heat down to low and cover.  
8. Cook 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and rice is tender.
9. Serve alone, use as a stuffing, or serve with Kisir.

Notes:  Like many recipes that I learn from friends, I learn from watching.  Senay knows by the look, the feel, and the smell if she has enough mint of not.  She doesn't measure. She sprinkles or dumps, them may add a bit more.  It's all an estimation.  And so is this recipe.  I've put here what I have in my stripey notebook.  The first time I made this dolma stuffing, I followed it almost exactly and it was very good.  Now, I sprinkle or dump the spices.  I've learned that being heavy handed is good.  When it is all mixed together you should see a lot of green and you will smell a strong herb smell.  It is a good thing.  Tonight, I made a double batch, but did it in two separate batches.  The first, I followed this, may be adding a bit more mint.  The second, I also added about 1-2 T. of ground cumin.  Amazing.  The version with cumin is fabulous.  In future efforts, I'll omit the cumin for the part I use to stuff the zucchini, but will add cumin for any extra stuffing that gets cooked separately. 




Ingredients:

• 1 cup Bulgar or Cous Cous
• 3/4 cup green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup parsely, chopped
• 1 cup iceburg lettuce, julienned
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 T. paprika paste
• 1 T. tomatoe paste
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 t. mint
• 1 t. cumin
• salt and pepper to taste 
• pomogranite juice (optional)

Instructions:

1. Put the bulgar or cous cous in a large bowl and add 1 1/2 cup boiled water.  Let sit for three minutes.  Fluff, then cool.
2. Cool oil, paprika paste, and tomato paste together on medium heat for 5 minutes stirring often.
3. Add the lemon juice to the bulgar
4. Mix in spices and tomato mixture into the bulgar.
5. Mix in the onions, parsely, and lettuce
6. Sprinkle with pomogranite juice 
7. Serve

Notes:  Like most recipes, this changes according to who cooks it.  I had it first at Senay's home without the parsely or lettuce and with much fewer spices.  It was delicious then.  But then I went to Funda's home who also had a delicious version.  Her's has a few extra ingredients and so I follow hers, but always change it a bit depending on what I have in the fridge.

• Senay uses celery instead of parsely and lettuce.  She also adds thyme instead of mint and leaves out the cumin.  
• Paprika paste is a wonderful ingredient used in Hungarian and Turkish cooking, so it's worth finding; however, don't miss on this cool summer salad just because you don't have the paste.  Just double the tomato paste and if you want a bit of spice, sprinkle some dried paprika into the mixture and blend well.  Stir frequently while cooking.  Paprika burns quickly.

Ingredients:

• 2 T. Sea salt
• 3 T. Mint
• 1 T. Thyme
• 2 T. Oregano
• 1 t. Black Pepper
• 1 T. Lemon zest, chopped
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Olive oil
• Chicken breasts, thin fillets

Instructions:

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a small bowl and mix together well.
2. Heat 2 t. olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
3. Sprinkle the herb mixture over each side of the chicken fillet and cook until lightly browned, 2 minutes on each side.  (Time depends on hot thick your chicken is.  I buy 1/4" fillets.)
4. Add 1-2 t. lemon juice with each batch of chicken as it cooks.  Add more olive oil as needed and continue to deglaze the pan with lemon juice as it dries.
5. Serve with tsaziki and the two Turkish dishes above.  ;) 

So, today... my girls play piano and I cook... a lot... these three plus a pasta sauce and tomorrow's tiramisu.   A hot, humid and sweaty, yet amazingly zen afternoon in my little kitchen.