Vanilla Pudding with Crispy Kadayıf

During summer, one of my go to desserts is a basic pudding. It is fresh, refreshing and a good alternative for ice cream. But it is highly possible of us to get bored if we cook the same pudding over and over again. So, I go this recipe from my aunt. It is a vanilla pudding. But it is a little bit fancier because it is topped with kadayıf. 

Kadayıf is actually a Turkish dessert but it is also the name of the main ingredient in the dish is also called "Kadayıf". Kadayıf is basically a kind of shredded dough. Here in Turkey it is normally served with pistachios and a syrup. But I believe that a syrup-based dessert is kind of heavy for summer. So, I do not cook the classic "Kadayıf" during summer.

One thing to keep in mind: You can keep this recipe for 3-4 days but the kadayıf will get softer and softer each day. So, it is better to eat it on the first day. And believe me it probably will be finished on the first day.

This recipe is also like a cheesecake but without the cream cheese and double crusted. So, we can also call this one a fake-cheesecake :). 

Summer Update and Apologies

As many of you might have noticed I am not very good at updating you guys. I have been on my summer break since the last week of June and I have to admit that I haven't been writing to you and I am very very sorry about that. I will try to write more and share more recipes with you. However today I am going to tell you about what I have been up to in these 2 months, so no recipes for today and I am sorry about that. 

I have been travelling both nationally and internationally. I've been to Chicago, Bozcaada and did some touristy things here in Istanbul. Both Chicago and Bozcaada was very nice and I did all these "must do things" there and something hit me: I live in a city that I do not know of. I felt like many visitors from all around the world actually might know a lot more of Istanbul than I do. And that kind of made me feel embarrassed and sad at the same time. So, when my cousins came to pay us a visit from Germany, I decided to "explore" Istanbul with them. We went to the Prince's Islands, strolled around Kadıköy and tasted some of the Turkish Classics from Turkish delight to köfte. 

a Traditional Ferry

Celery Root Coleslaw and Veggie Rice

When it comes to side dishes I am very picky. I am not a fan of just serving everything with fried or mashed potatoes. When I serve a protein based dish I feel like I need to have two side dishes to accompany that: one salad and one starch. 

My favourite starch-based side dish is rice. But this is a more yummy and a colourful rice because it has carrots and peas in it. When I was a kid I also used to eat this as a meal with some yoghurt on the side. We Turkish people love to eat food with yoghurt, because our yoghurt is a little bit different than the yoghurt you eat for breakfast. It is similar to the Greek yoghurt but not exactly the same. So you can use Greek yoghurt for our fake coleslaw recipe. 

When I was a kid my mother used to cook the celery root with potatoes and tried to show the dish as a boiled potato dish. But I was smart enough to understand that there were not only boiled potatoes. And to be honest, I hated the feeling of having a bite thinking that it is potato but tasting something completely different. But as I grew up I got used to the bitter taste of the celery root and it is one of my favourite dishes as a salad, I still don't like the version with potatoes because of the bad memories. But the salad version is actually super healthy and delicious. 

So, here is the recipe for two of my favourite side dishes: veggie rice and celery root coleslaw. You can serve these with steak, chicken or with anything that you think will go great with. 

Eggplant Parmesan

When I think of summer I think of the warm sunshine, the clear sea and new friendships. Italian cuisine seems to be my new best friend. Maybe because the cuisine is similar to ours or maybe because I just enjoy cooking and eating Italian dishes. I just like everything that is Mediterranean and fresh during summer. I have been cooking risottos, pastas and many others but Eggplant Parmesan seems to be one of my favorites so far. It is also a great vegetarian recipe that both carnivores and your vegetarian friends will enjoy. 

I will be going to Çanakkale which is in the region of Turkey close to the Mediterranean. It is actually in the Aegean region, where lots and lots of vegetables and olive oil is consumed. Çanakkale is where our summer house is and where my grandparent are spending their summer. When I visit there we will probably have some barbecues as a family tradition. But what I am looking forward the most is learning new family recipes from my grandmother. She is the best cook I know. I mean this lady can cook everything delicious. And she has tiny handy secrets when things go wrong in the kitchen. So I will be sharing my "cooking vacation experiences" when I go there. I think it is also the time for you to get to know "mantı" which is my favourite dish in this planet. Not because I have been to other planets but because it is soooo delicious. More details on that later. 

So, if we come to Eggplant Parmesan, You know that I absolutely love eggplant, in every form. And one day I saw this  dish on the menu of an Italian restaurant. However it wasn't like I expected. The eggplants were dry and cold plus the tomato sauce was very greasy. So I said, why not try this at home. Here is the recipe for a delicious Eggplant Parmesan: 

Asparagus Risotto

Asparagus is probably my favorite vegetable. If it is not my favorite it is probably sharing the first place with eggplant. Eggplant is pretty awesome as well but all of the flash lights are facing towards asparagus today. I just love the creamy and the fibrous texture of a vivid and fresh asparagus. The only sad thing is that you can only eat them in April or May. I am not talking about the canned version here. You know, the ones that swim in salty water, the ones that probably look like asparagus but is completely different as taste from the fresh asparagus. 

The first time I had asparagus was when my mom cooked it after she came from a trip to Germany in spring. I didn't know that it was very popular in Germany. I also didn't know that kind of a vegetable existed. She just boiled them and then gave it a toss with butter and some lemon juice in a pan. It was yummy. So you can also cook the asparagus this way. 

Weird fact: In Turkish asparagus literally means "birds don't land". It means that birds do not land on this vegetable. Maybe it is too spiky for birds to land on. Or maybe because of something that we have no idea about. 

I always cook the asparagus like my mom does. But I was bored and bored of the same style and I was craving for a creamy risotto. So I thought why not? I had absolutely no idea about the outcome of the dish but it turned out to be pretty amazing. So here is the recipe for a creamy asparagus risotto.