So Cocoa!

Sorry for the low quality of the picture.

I needed to take this photo in late afternoon immediatelly before these two innocent slices are gone!

As I said I was supposed to share the recipe of the "melt-in-the-mouth vanilla cookies" last day. However I had to go and stay at mom's to help her as she had been having her flat redecorated. And when I was back home there were no vanilla cookies left in the box!

Miranda, and Steve... Thank you again my dears! My cookies and cakes used to survive for at two days in the past at least. Now nothing stays more than half a day in our home after those vanillas. Baked and eaten!


I'm not complaining, of course not. Just so worried about our diet! LOL

Now it's time to share this sooooo cocoa cake recipe! I found it on a Turkish food blog by chance. I tried it ten days ago first. It was good. But with a few changes I made on the recipe and with the wonderful vanilla paste it's now a luscious cake for sure!

Cocoa Cake

Ingredients

150 gr butter, melted
3 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
~ 1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp pure vanilla paste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170C / 350F. Line a -9'x4'/24cm x 11cm- loaf tin with parchment paper.
2. Mix melted butter, sugar and vanilla paste in a medium bowl with electric mixer. Add eggs one at a time, keep mixing.
3. Sift flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder together. Add the flour mixture to batter, and stir just until it combines with a wooden spoon or spatula.
4. Bake the cake till it sets/gets baked for about 50 min.s or so. Remove from the tin, and cool on rack.

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Great Stuff Arrival

Hello guys!

Should I break the big silence? I feel YES!

I'm so sorry for being such a lazy food blogger. I confess it's pure lazyness! I do cook, bake, travel, and write nothing on here about such an active life of mine. If you, my readers, have left me I will understand you. But please come back! I promise to write regularly from now on!

So what made me blog today?

The arrival of the great stuff!

Do you remember the contest held by Miranda a few months ago? As most of you know I was the winner of the contest. However Steve of the Boston Vanilla Bean Company was not able to send the package over-seas to me that time. I sometimes love the fast global system of te world. I simply arranged a Turkish friend of mine who lives in NYC to get the vanilla package and bring it to me when he visits Istanbul next time.

Last weekend, I and my husband, Feridun, held a weekend-trip to a Western Blacksea village, Safranbolu. Feridun's friends from his high school were attending to this trip, including Mehmet, the guy in NYC. So I finally reached my lovely vanillas!


A tube of five Mexican vanilla beans, a little box of ground bourbon vanilla beans, a bottle of pure Tahitian vanilla extract, and a bottle of pure vanilla paste!

Oh my! There are just a few scents that may seduce you to kitchen and vanilla is on the top list to me! As well as cinnamon, chocolate, and citrus zests!

Mehmet had another gift to me which I had also been waiting from him. A book of tea! Guys who read me regularly know my addiction of gourmet teas. So this book with tips of house blending, and recipes that contains tea is now another piece of my treasure among all tea books.

One last thing... Our second stop of the weekend trip was Amasra. A beautiful seaside town of Bartin. The tray with the handcrafted cloth attached on it is a local sample of handworks of Amasra. I bought two different design of it for my mom, and mom-in-law. There are so many handcraft goods to buy as a gift all around Turkey that may dazzle you! Now I need to go to kitchen before wrapping them.

Kitchen?

Yes!

Do you think that I could wait any longer to try my beautiful vanillas?!

A a 30-cm-of vanilla dough log is waiting in the fridge to be sliced and baked! Can't wait to inhale the scent which will soon fill my home! Don't worry... I'll share the recipe tomorrow.

Cheers!


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Winner is Here!

I want to thank you all my friends!

Here is the one who won Miranda's Vanilla!

It was great fun and challange to compete with Chef Shari and Cate. I want to thank them for the joy, too.

I of course thank to the contest host, Miranda, and sponsore of the contest, Steve, owner of the Boston Vanilla Bean Company.

I had share that "Milk with vanilla, cinnamon and bitter chocolate" recipe in my Turkish blog many months before the contest. So I will share it which in fact you all know very well here too.

But when?

As soon as the vanilla scented package arrives to Istanbul!

I'd also would love to try other recipes of the contest: Tarte Tatin with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, and Vanilla Chai & Lavender infused Rice Pudding if owners may let.



Thank you all again!



photo: from jupiterimages.com


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Miranda's Vanilla!

Hi friends!

Last week I joined a contest which is held by Miranda, "For the Love of Kids and Food".

Her contest was for the Boston Vanilla Bean Company. We were supposed to share our ideas to how to use vanilla beans. All friends left comments to be the winner.

Steve from the Boston Vanilla Bean Company chose three of those ideas. And hey one of them is me!!!

The Vanilla Bean with Steamed Milk with Cinnamon Sticks and Bitter Chocolate!

Now it's your turn to vote for the winner, my friends.

Here is the link to Miranda's post about the vote. There you'll see two other ideas. Please be free to choose. And you know I'll be so happy if you would vote for me!

It's simple to vote. Just click the link, and leave your comment about which idea you like the best.

http://fortheloveofkidsandfood.blogspot.com/2009/07/top-3-for-vanilla-contest-now-it-is.html

Don't forget: Voting is sexy!


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Cooking Olive Oil

Olive oil is the unique and necessary item of the Mediterranean cuisine, and also of course for Turkish cuisine, especially in the western coasts of Turkey.

The olive oil world is of a big veriety of kinds; but there are three main types of it. Virgin olive oil, refined olive oil, and pure olive oil. (Pure olive oil is also called as 'riviera'.

These three types also have some sub-types, like extra virgin, or ordinary virgin etc.

Virgin olive oil contains oleic acid of maximum 2%. (Extra virgin with max.1% of acid.) Refined olive oil is mostly for people who are not used to the strong aroma of olive oil and it's acid level is less than 0.3%. And pure olive oil is a blend of virgin and refined oils with acidity of 1.5%

If you're as addicted as me to the scent of virgin olive oil, you probably would want to use the extra virgin olive oil all the time. But what type is best for which meal?


Heavenly parfumed virgin olive oil is best for salads, and sauces to use raw. Riviera/Pure olive oil is mostly used with cooked dishes or cold mezes. And refined olive oil is best to use with frying.

Many people believe that you mustn't use olive oil for frying or you can't get perfect cakes with olive oil, however these are just wrong myths. As I mentioned the point is to choose the right type. Of course if you use a good quality extra virgin olive oil to fry your chips, this is just a waste! But you can have healthier fries with refined olive oil.

I use pure olive oil in any kind of dish I cook. Soups, pastas, most of the cakes and cookies and even pilafs. Some people don't like the strong taste, and aroma of virgin olive oil with cold mezes, but I love it. So with mezes, it's just up to your taste. And it's inevitable to use extra virgin olive oil with green salads!

Today I would like to share a recipe of summer traditions of Turkish cuisine:

Zeytinyagli Fasulye

'Zeytinyagi' means olive oil, and 'fasulye' means green beans. So we can name it 'Green beans with olive oil'. Dishes which are cooked with olive oil are basic items of meals for Istanbulin and west of Turkey families in summer.

This recipe is adopted from the book of a popular Turkish chef, Umit Usta.


Zeytinyagli Fasulye
serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 kg (2 lbs) green beans
2 onions
2 tomatoes
2-3 cloves of garlic
2/3 or 1 cup pure olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup boiling water
a piece of parchment paper that can cover top of your sauce pan

Method

1. Wash the beans, and peel off the strings of them. If they are too long, you can also cut them into two pieces.
2. Chop onions into thin crescents. Add olive oil and onions into a big sauce pan, and saute them for 5-8 minutes till they get transparent.
3. Add beans, and saute for 5 minutes, uncovered. Then cover the saucepan, and let the beans cook for 15 minutes more.
4. Dice tomatoes, chop garlic cloves coarsly, and add into the sauce pan. Cook 2-3 minutes more. Add sugar,salt and boiling water.
5. Place a piece of parchment paper in size of your saucepan between the pan and the lid. This will help it cook in a shorter time, and more keep the color freshly greener. Cook for another 15-20 minutes or till you feel it's done. Serve warm or cold.

Hint: Green beans with olive oil pairs well with rice pilaf.


note: Olive oil photograph is from jupiterimages.com

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