heyyyy good lookin'

one major challenge that comes with living in turkey (and, i'd imagine, any place far away from where you came) is learning to navigate meals with entirely different (read: limited) ingredients at your fingertips. not only is there no where near the variety of- pretty much anything (picture the orange juice aisle in any supermarket in the states and just continue from there) that you'd find in america, but in addition, all of the produce in turkey is seasonal. meaning, produce isn't mass-produced year-round from greenhouses, nor is it shipped into turkey from other parts of the world. our options include what is grown here in turkey, and only when it is naturally in-season. this presents a slight problem for someone like me who loves to cook, entertain, and try new recipes.

heyyy sweet baby dohhncha think maybe we could find us a brand new recipeee

my most recent disappointment was discovering that red onions are not available year-round. it's something that's been on my grocery list for the past several weeks - red onions - because i love the flavor they add to an ordinarily simple sandwich, or salad. i assumed the grocer that i typically visit on my way home from work had run out of them when i only found white. but then, when i really needed them this weekend for a recipe that called for shallots (not available in turkey), i went searching, only to find that they are in fact a seasonal vegetable, and, according to the produce guy whom i spoke with, 'they're not here yet.' this was slightly maddening, considering that using them as a substitute for shallots was a stretch, and now i'd have to omit that from the recipe entirely. these are the little disappointments you just get used to when living in a foreign land.

homemade pesto pasta, with plenty of extra garlic & cracked red pepper

luckily, over time, i've learned that there are many substitutions that i can utilize (such as the use of a particular sour yogurt that has more of a butter-like consistency, in place of sour cream). that, combined with the rare shopping trip to the commissary to stock up on things like cheddar cheese, shallots, limes & frozen pork products, have helped me to get around most obstacles.

i've also acquired a habit of scanning food blogs and online magazines and the ny times, for fresh ideas (radishes! turns out you can do a lot with radishes, including roasting them, which is good because they are a year-round vegetable in turkey. too bad they cut off the greens or i'd cook those up, too).

roasted potato salad with rosemary and sweet red peppers

but i think what's really happening is that i've slowly succumb to the lifestyle change that is a seasonal pantry, served up with a side of plane-jane orange juice. that's right: you won't find any extracalciumvitamin-denrichedsome pulpsplenda-sweetened orange juice in this girl's fridge. and i understand now that when i see asparagus in the store, i need to put it on the menu as much as possible for the next few weeks, before it's gone. and to make dishes that are a bit simpler, more fresh, requiring less substitutions and less ingredients, in general. come to think of it, this is probably what we should all be doing, anyway.

and, when in doubt and at a complete loss for creativity, it doesn't get much more simple- or delicious- than a good old-fashioned fruit pie.

strawberry rhubarb pie