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A Tribute to Malmesbury and The Potting Shed Pub

By Ozlem Warren on July 29, 2010 in A Slice of England, Uncategorised 0

Greetings from Weybridge, Surrey! We have just moved, busy with unpacking and settling down. We don’t have the internet connection yet, so my sister-in-law kindly let me connect to the world and share this with you, thank you Judith!:)

First a little, special tribute to the wonderful town of Malmesbury, which we called home for a year. A very special town packed with incredible sights; 12th century Abbey, the Market Cross, the wonderful Abbey Gardens, the lovely Bell Hotel (England’s first hotel!) and many more. Malmesbury deserves a visit for sure, if you are in Wiltshire, our home county in England. Malmesbury will be a very special place for us with our family connection and with the wonderful friends we made there, we very much look forward to keeping in touch and visit every opportunity.

Another special note goes for our favorite spot, the Potting Shed Gastro Pub, 5 minutes to Malmesbury. The atmosphere is very quaint and the food is superb. We had to have lunch there again just before we left – in between packing!- and what a special break it was. The service is impeccable, very welcoming too. Here are a couple of what we enjoyed: Smoked Salmon with pickled cucumber, crushed garlic and ginger salad; Home made lamb, rosemary and redcurrant burger with chips and mint mayonnaise (what a great idea!) and for dessert, blackcurrant and lemon cheesecake with yoghurt and lemon sorbet – what a great, affordable feast! Highy recommended – www.thepottingshedpub.com

Within 10 minutes drive from Malmesbury, there is wonderful pubs and eateries, here are a couple of our favorites:
The Vine Tree Pub, The Trouble House, The Chefs Table (by the Michelin Starred Chef) in Tetbury and the Michelin Starred Whatley Manor. A visit to Wiltshire will sure be a delight to all senses, hope we all make it there again!

Let's Do Lunch; Delicious, Healthy and Affordable – Turkish Style

By Ozlem Warren on July 13, 2010 in Uncategorised 0

I had to share this experience with you. My friend wanted to prepare a Turkish mezze lunch for her guests. So we took the morning off from the daily chores and very much enjoyed a couple of hours of preparing and sharing delicious Turkish mezzes. This was my friend’s first experience of Turkish cooking and I am delighted to say that she is now a Turkish food fan:)

In a couple of hours, we prepared the bulgur wheat salad with pomegranate molasses (under “Salads” in the blog), Corgette/Zuccihi fritters with feta and dill, the Walnut and red pepper paste dip and the Lentil&bulgur; patties (all under “Appetizers and Mezes” in the blog). My friend couldn’t believe how easy it was to pull these together, how delicious, healthy and affordable all these were. Indeed it is very true; Turkish food makes use of fresh produce, nuts, olive oil and spices. We don’t use cream or other rich ingredients. Instead we use spices to flavor the dishes, so at the end, you don’t feel heavy.

And another great news is that you can prepare all these a couple of days in advance and keep in the fridge, a very convenient, hassle free way for entertaining (these mezes actually taste even better the next day!)

I know many of you really enjoy following the recipes and I hope this may encourage you to try to make them. Why not getting together with friends or family and prepare a Turkish meze lunch? I feel once you give it a go, you will keep on making and enjoying them.

As always, your questions are always welcome, I would be very happy to help.

Happy Cooking and Afiyet Olsun!

Turk Kahvesi – Turkish Coffee

By Ozlem Warren on July 12, 2010 in Turkish Drinks, Uncategorised 6

Turkish coffee is a very popular drink at home. It is a very special drink for us as we celebrate engagement ceremonies (and the bride-to-be is required to make a nice, frothy coffee for the guests!), or simply gather with friends and enjoy the moment with this wonderfully fragrant coffee. As soon as I start making mine here in England, I feel I am home, sitting along with family and friends, a wonderful feeling. I have many friends in England and America thoroughly enjoy this drink, I hope you give it a go sometime.

Although coffee was first cultivated at the southern edge of the Arab peninsula, it was via Turkey that the fame of coffee spread to Europe. Within just a few years of its introduction to Europe, hundreds of coffee houses sprung up in Istanbul alone, and coffee drinking became such an important part of daily and ceremonial life that the Sultan’s coffee-set was carried during royal processions; every wealthy household had a servant whose sole task was to prepare coffee and under the laws the failure of a husband to provide his wife with coffee was grounds for divorce!

To make Turkish coffee, you need the right equipment: a special long handled pot called “cezve”, small coffee cups called “fincan” and a special coffee mill. The coffee beans, which is 100 % Arabica beans, have to be toasted to the point and ground to a very fine powder. Middle Eastern stores or specialty stores carry the finely ground Turkish coffee.

There are different sizes of “cezve”, depending on the number of persons for whom you wish to make coffee, from 1 to 4; because a well-made coffee must have froth on the top and you can not have a good result if you prepare the coffee for 2 persons on a pot for 4.

Into your “cezve”, put one cup of water for each person, 1 rounded teaspoon of coffee and 1 rounded teaspoon or less of sugar. Traditionally, the amount of sugar should be known beforehand, i.e. “az sekerli” (with little sugar), “orta sekerli” ( medium), or “sekersiz” (with no sugar). Stir well, put over very low heat and bring slowly to boil. As it boils, the froth forms on top. Just before it overflows, remove and divide the froth into the cups, bring to boil again and divide the rest out.

Afiyet Olsun!