Who Am I?

Hi! I am Irem Deyneli and I am a student living in Istanbul, Turkey; which is a bridge to two continents Europe and Asia binding many different cultures in a harmony. This diverse culture sometimes makes it a lot easier to cook. For example I can easily find ingredients like “mahlep” or “kaşar peyniri” and utensils like “havan” or “cezve”. But sometimes it makes it impossible to find ingredients such as “Philadelphia Cream Cheese” or even a simple “sour cream”. But this challenge, not being able to use those ingredients, helps me to create new dishes and experiment with different flavors.

For example the first time I wanted to bake a cheesecake, I used “labneh” which is a cheese that has an excessive amount of water in it, which I discovered after a cheesecake that failed completely from the beginning to the end. But the second time I baked a cheesecake, I put the cheese in a sieve and waited for it to get rid of the water. The cheesecake was creamy but a little bit too dense. The next time I sued I gave up on labneh and used “Mascarpone” which turned out to be “the one”. As I’ve said, cooking is not a lab experiment that is going to blow up if you do not follow step by step. You get to play with flavors and create your own version. You are the own chef of your kitchen and there are no rules. You just have to be brave. And by saying this I do not mean that you should play with fire, and you absolutely shouldn’t. What I mean is, substituting mayonnaise with yoghurt doesn’t hurt. You just have to try because you will never know unless you do so.

As you might have noticed I still haven’t told you anything besides my name, the place I live and the fact that I am passionate about cooking. I am not a person who likes talking about herself, that's why you might find out more about my family instead of me on this page. But basically, I am a 17 year old who just loves cooking and is excited to share her experiences with you.  

Since I was a little kid, I was always fascinated when my grandmother created miracles in kitchen. I used to watch her cook for hours and hours. I was never bored of it. When I grew older, I started to cook for myself, and then for my parents and friends. And still today nothing makes me happier than seeing a smile after someone has tasted my food or a plate that is empty at the end of a meal.

 

Helping my aunt

I love cooking and I believe that cooking is a free therapy session. Living in a city, going to school, and studying can be extremely overwhelming. Sometimes I am lost between thick books and complicated equations in my mind. Like everyone else, I want to have a peaceful mind and I believe cooking is definitely the cure.

I was lucky enough to be a part of a family where everyone is passionate about a quality meal and cooking. I can say that my mom is a great cook and she always finds time to experiment with different flavors. But unfortunately she is a working mom and she does not have a lot of time to cook. She usually comes from work at 8 p.m. and it is one of the things that triggered me to I start cooking, by helping her in the kitchen after a long day. As I became more confident in the kitchen I started thinking, "Why would I have to wait her to start cooking dinner?" And this way, step-by-step I became the chef of my tiny kitchen.

Cooking with my mom

My father is also an amazing chef. As you read by blog, you will find more about my hate for tomatoes. But I can definitely say that my father’s tomato soup is my favorite soup in the entire world. He even went on a TV show with this recipe. However he is also very busy and he cannot find time to cook as well.

I learned a lot from my mother and my father but my grandmother was the expert that I learned the most from.

My grandmother is the best cook I know. She is probably the person who basically taught me to cook. When I was 3, since my mom was working, I used to go my grandparents' house and sneak into the kitchen when my grandmother was cooking. Imagine whenever you are in the kitchen a 3-year-old girl is continuously asking if she can help when you have 4 people to feed 3 times a day. That can be really annoying. But somehow she always found out a way to make me help her. Sometimes this was just kneading the dough; sometimes this was stirring something... It was really fun to cook with her or even just watch her create miracles in the kitchen and it still is.

Carrying a tray of "mantı" that my grandmother and my grandfather prepared.

And my granddad. He is the master of the barbeque. Whenever we are in Çanakkale, where our summerhouse is, he goes to the grill and cooks the best meat ever without complaining about the heat even though the weather is hot and that he also is sitting in front of a burning fire. He is also an expert on fish and chopping onions. Whenever my grandmother cooks for the entire family, he says “I chopped the onions so tiny that you cannot even see them here” and we always laugh.  

Summer means my grandmother and my aunt cooking the side dishes, my mom making the salad, me setting up the table, my cousin making sure that cats do not steal our meat, and sitting at a huge table with the entire family and eating an amazingly delicious meal. It is the time where we all get a chance to spend quality time that we do not get to do in Istanbul with our busy schedules.

Cooking means everything to me and helps me to create new memories. In this blog, I will share my experiences with you in my tiny kitchen and I hope you will get to know me more in my posts and I also hope it will help you to create your own memories.

Note: All the images I use are my photos, unless stated otherwise.