COOKING - not my favourite activity but we have to eat!

I have to admit I love my food!  I think about breakfast as soon as I wake.  For me breakfast starts with a glass of water and a cod-liver oil capsule,  followed by a bowl of porridge (oatmeal) with a spoon of honey and some milk.  Now I'm ready to give the cats their breakfast and then it's back to the balcony for me with a cup of tea and a slice of wholemeal bread.  This will keep me going until lunchtime when I like to have a mixed salad with tea and one slice of bread.  The Turkish breakfast is much different,  it's more like what I have for my lunch,  lettuce, egg, cheese tomatoes, nuts and fruit! The photo below is a typical breakfast with a chocolate nut and cinnamon spread in the foreground.

You can buy a light dough here which is called yufka made by the Turkish ladies and sold at the markets.  I cut it into rectangles, then put in a filling of cheese, spring onions and herbs. I then fry in olive oil. Very tasty with salad.

Lunch with home-made yufka with cheese and herb filling.

 Ingredients for  lasagne. Cook slowly before putting in tray with lasagne sheets and white sauce.

 Chicken curry. Aubergines added to the flavours.

I only bake about once a month when we have visitors,  then I make cake! It took me a while because the flour here is different.  I've had to add much more baking powder than the recipe calls for.

I use a chocolate sauce for the icing because it is much lighter than baking chocolate and it turns out ok.

Tomatoes are on sale at the markets here and they are full of flavour. I buy a couple of kilos at a time and make pasta sauce or tomato sauce.  It's always handy to have in stock to add to minced beef or chicken.

There is such a variety of fruit in season. I love to make smoothies or just fruit juice.  So handy to have a snack after dinner in the evening to stop me eating chocolate or sweet stuff at the worst time of day!

I'm a lover of chutneys.

I make them from March onward.  They are great with cheese and also great to add to other dishes to add flavour. This one here was made with plum and apricots. 

I tried lots of marmalade recipes and some of them take such a long time to make.  I've adapted a few and found that I can make 2 or 3 jars in a short time.  This works well and Mr. D. says it's delicious!