ankara, auburn

here in ankara we're having a pretty disappointing winter... it's only snowed once, and it was the kind that melted by mid-day. today it's that blah kind of day where it's not cold or warm, but it's definitely GRAY:

well, back in ny it's a very different story, and it's made me quite home-sick for the place:

i'm jealous! but not of poor dad, who has to shovel it alllll by himself...

tgif

...because this is the funniest thing i've seen in a long time:

thank you, sarah!

weekly update

not much news to report this week... so how about some pictures from last sunday? we had a little wine & cheese party with the price family:

kathryn came dressed as a kangaroo (what else?!)... we love this family:
babygirl lasted for at least an hour, before she was all partied out...
...but when she woke up, it was right back to partying. look what she can do with those toes!
not a bad way to spend a sunday afternoon.

later in the week it was our neighbors who were having all the fun... ben and i were suspicious of all the honking outside the apartment the other night, and when we went to the window we saw this wedding party pass by. you know-just another wednesday night wedding...
speaking of weddings, ben and i are focusing now on getting the details set for our turkish wedding (much to the relief of my family), and hopefully will have a date within the next week... this is good news considering it's happening in 3 or 4 months! we'll be very happy to have the date picked & let the planning commence... something to look forward to, for sure.

the comfort of brownies

lately i've been looking for comfort in any form i can get it. ben has needed this too, with his seemingly unending bout of the flu. my ailment however is of the heart, the missing piece that has become so much more pronounced this month. this is not to say the pain is not always present from losing my sister jenni, but with the anniversary this tuesday i seem to be reliving the events that took place last year. and that has been, in a word, painful.

so, yesterday we were stuck at home with ben in recovery and me taking care of him. i decided we could both use a dose of comfort, and upon realizing this discovered that i had all of the ingredients for this perfect brownie recipe i had stumbled across on the internet some time ago. in turkey there is no such thing as betty crocker, let alone her brownie mix, so i was happy to have found this very easy recipe for making them from scratch. the result was pure perfection, the chewiest most chocolaty brownies you've ever tasted... enough to lift the spirits, if only for a little while. try it & you won't be disappointed.

Cocoa Brownies
Makes 16 larger or 25 smaller brownies

10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

2. Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

3. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

4. Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack. (Deb suggests putting the cooled pan in the fridge or freezer for a while, which helps if you want clean lines when cutting the brownies.)

5. Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

pooooor ben

the past few days ben has been sick with the flu, and at times, it's been pretty pathetic to watch. just watch this clip i secretly taped of him tonight while he was watching the olympics:

so it really cheered us today when i got a package of love from mom & dad in the mail, the contents of which have already found their places around our home...

pepper mill lady of love, above the stove

mom's hand-made valentine beneath our 'k' & 'b' gingerbread ornaments

thank you mamala & papacita! ben is feeling better already.

amsterdam

ben and i arrived back home last night after a fantastic trip to amsterdam. this was truly the get-away we'd been needing, as it was full of beautiful sites, delicious food, and continuous laughter. and, as with all trips, i'm armed with many more 'benisms...'

amsterdam is a beautiful city with many trendy neighborhoods as well as the 'old city' parts and, of course, red light disctrict-y parts. we enjoyed walking through them all (and, literally did, as my legs will attest), despite the frigid weather. i loved walking the streets and viewing the beautiful homes-- all of them with huge windows you could see in and enjoy the tasteful decor. this is of course my favorite activity, though ben calls me a 'peeping tom' for it. i'm just looking at the decor!

my other favorite part was... the FOOD! of course, everywhere i go i need to find out what the locals are eating and how it tastes. amsterdam was no exception. the french fries were amazing, especially when topped with curry sauce. they had a great assortment of international fare as well, which we really enjoy coming from ankara where it's fairly limited. we had a great dinner at a small indian restaurant that's been around for 30+ years for valentine's day... tres romantique!

the rest of the story can be told by the pictures & captions, with the ben-isms mixed in... enjoy!

canals everywhere

:: upon leaving the hotel while putting on his leather gloves: i feel like oj.
:: while walking, after i asked him what he was thinking about: john stewart. i think i love him.

here's ben making fun of my

girly beer... a sweet cherry (quite tasty!)

::while drinking my sweet cherry beer, discussing something i can't remember, but that was most certainly totally irrelevant:

ben: this will be good for me to remember when our daughter comes to me and wants to marry that sonofabitchasshole...

me: why is he a sonofabitchasshole?

ben: that's just the way it is, honey.

really loved the name of this bar... this one's for my sisters:

view from the back of the tulip market

the tulip market

::what ben texted adam of his first impression of amsterdam: i thought everyone would be high & wearing wooden shoes. not the case.

the night before valentine's day somebody decorated every

bike in the city (that i saw, at least) with a heart.

after a loooong day of walking in the cold, we found this cozy spot to get warm.

:: after explaining to me that 'lost' airs in holland the weekend before it airs in the us (still not sure this is accurate): the dutch are WAY ahead in terms of 'lost,' honey.
:: a valentine's serenade: i don't know much, but i know i love you.... actually, that's not true. i know a LOT. and, i also know i love you.

one of many house boats we saw along the canal

:: in response to one of my smart-alec comments: you know what i want to do right now? i want to challenge you to a duel. with my glove.

the red light district at night. these swans ain't no fools, they

clearly chose this neighborhood for a reason!

cheese... all of the glorious cheese!

:: while leaving a pretty, old bar and commenting on why it was better than anything in ankara, according to ben: this door is old for a reason. it means, the door has not tried to be aged.

:: zoozeneezenzeyzen... what? you act like you don't speak dutch.

my guidette

i've not watched the show 'jersey shore,'

but i sense that if i could, i would watch the back to

back re-runs on sunday mornings, pajama-clad,

while drinking an entire pot of coffee.

that is my confession of the day. happy hump day.

friends & food, food & friends

that pretty much sums up our weekend... starting on thursday when we hosted some friends for a long-promised chicken-wing-night. hence this picture... of many chicken wings:

our friends who will be spending the next 6 months state-side left us in charge of their deep-fryer, so we figured we'd try it out. ben and i were both skeptical of our ability to deep-fry, but all went well.

one thing we did learn: that it's important, when deep-frying, to do the deep-fry dance.

after everyone had the chance to stuff themselves silly with buffalo hot wings, french fries, salad and plenty of dipping sauce (yeah, i made ranch & bleu cheese dressings, from scratch), a rowdy game of 'guess your celebrity' ensued. t'was fun.

on saturday i planned a dinner party with adam & julianne but hadn't thought much about what to make, until friday evening when i found myself skimming through my copy of julia child's 'french chef' cookbook. by saturday mid-afternoon i was channeling julia herself, making 'boeuf bourguignon' (which MUST be said out loud while rendering your best julia child impression, as i did all day long while cooking the stuff). unfortunately i was too busy following her incredibly dense directions (put the mushrooms in some water, then swish them around a bit) to snap any photos, so your imagination and this photo of j.c. will just have to suffice... but i will say it was delicious.

on sunday the very last thing in the world that i wanted to do was cook, but luck was on my side as my friend asli invited us over for an afternoon/evening of eating and drinking all things spanish. she really went all out, as the pictures will show:

all the fixings for paella

spanish tortilla, keeping warm in the oven next to a squid.
this ugly fish turned water into 'fish water,' for the paella, and tasted pretty good chopped up into little bits with olive oil drizzled over, served up as tapas.
thankfully asli & burcu did the cooking, while i watched, asked questions, washed dishes and provided an ongoing commentary.

the paella comes together!
don't forget the sangria...
any good meal is not complete without good friends to share it with... ozge, burcu & yalin
asli & mehmet, our hosts
getting ready to break bread
seriously, this should be submitted to a food magazine along with asli's recipe... it was INCREDIBLE!
tortilla
lea didn't eat any, but she did keep me company

there it is... all of the ingredients for a perfect sunday night! here's hoping your weekend was filled with good food and great company, just like ours!