Morning Veggie Pastry, Lunch Strawberry Arugula Salad, Dinner With Fellow Blogging Foodies

Sunny morning. My mom and cat are still asleep. I am in the mood for a comforting breakfast. I don't need to think much, I'm going to bake. Checking for ingredients: flour, eggs, yogurt, oil. There. I want stuffed pastry... Veggies! I have zucchini, red bell pepper, some corn. Quickly beginning.

Breakfast pastry with zucchini, red bell pepper and corn

As usual I lose track of how I knead the dough for it, fellow foodies raise eyebrows at me. Luckily, the dough itself is nothing special, doesn't drive the hungry folk mad. It's the combination with veggies and baking that matters.

It's the mesmerizing smell that fills the house, makes it home. I even want to go overboard and associate it with "giving birth at home" kind of comfort - but I'm yet to try it myself.

I love to sprinkle black cumin seeds (nigella sativa!) on savory pastries. Flavor enhancing. They're good for us too. Although, I hear that consuming them raw has more use.

Say, if the hungry folk also feels impatient - I give tips on easy dough making here.

Oh the sheer joy of linking to self. =giggle= Nah, just short in time.

***

Strawberry, arugula and cheese salad with olive oil, thyme and lemon

Then comes the noon. It feels hotter now. Trying to concentrate on last bit of studies, for final exams. My mind feels anything but concentrated. Okay, I get it. Nutrition refill time.

Wandering around, discovering new food blogs; recently I tend to notice strawberries in salads a lot. I am intrigued, experiment time.

Foodies mostly bring strawberry & spinach together. Well, I have arugula! How do they taste together?

I'm delighted to discover. Also, feeling enlightened. If it weren't for being in food blogging, it'd hardly dawn on me to use strawberry in a salad. Taboo!

I am feeling euphoric as new discoveries bend my borders. Lifetime resolution : extend beyond borders.

I love cheese. So I include some and my salad brings these ingredients together: Strawberry, arugula, cheese, thyme, olive oil and drops of fresh lemon. Cheese just completed the missing link.

By the way, I am munching on a new (to me) variation of salad at the time of typing my post: Arugula, fresh apricot, corn, cherry tomatos, olive oil, drops from freshly squeezed lemon.

Talk about sour, sweet, zesty and tangy! It's a sense stimulating salad.

My mind is blown away ...

***

Last Saturday I've been to a latin dance show by myself. One of the dancers - also dance teachers (male in photo) is my former classmate from university. I've seen him dance before, he's great. It felt so nice to see him on stage again, after a long while.

I asked a dancer guy to let my friend know I came. I couldn't speak to him, cause I arrived later than we planned to meet, so he was in backstage by then. It was pretty weird that a piece of velvet curtain and some social rule prevented me from going to see my friend in the back. Oh the good manners and home sweet homes.

Even from a distance though, I felt his soothing energy making me feel welcomed. Appreciated. Very few people can do that, unconditionally.

Sometimes, I like to believe that people like him have a purpose to brighten up others' lives without expecting anything in return. Nothing... Except for not being taken for granted. This is not to be taken lightly, in miu book.

On that note, I want to thank Ann of Happy and Healthy Cooking for appreciating me. I've seen awards going around, and the idea behind them is nice. Anything to appreciate the effort someone shows. It's my first, in that sense. I haven't been around for long in food blogging (since March 1st to be exact) , and some people have been there for me more consistently than other fellow foodies, making this experience a fruitful one for me with their company and support. In fact, I can count more names in my mind. I am thankful for everyone nevertheless, but here my special thank you's go to:

The Duo Dishes
"Frand" of Cooking For Zo
Tangled Noodle
LouAnn of Oyster Food & Culture
Kim of Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet
Curious Domestic
Reeni of Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice
Jenn of Bread + Butter
Leela of She Simmers
Pass The Pocky
Chez What?
Pooja at My Experience With Cooking
Gita
Justin
Poornima
Vrinda
Deeba
The World Tastes Good
.
.
.
(Aww sorry some of your blog names I'll edit later)


I am inspired by this "awarding" idea. Expect some dedication posts for fellow foodies and good causes in near future, Spirited Miu Flavor way 8-)

Happy Hump Day.

Turkish Pan Borek w/ Nettle & Feta : Phyllo Pastry That Won't Bite You Back!

... Nettles? Used as filling to phyllo pastry?

Nettles! This is a plant that's been used as herbal medicine for centuries and even to this day that continues in rural areas of my country. How about the culinary use of it? I did a quick search for it, by that I mean that I went to websites that has my props - like one of them being TasteSpotting.com ! Using the search option, I just wanted to find out how many kinds of nettle featuring food I could find. Some examples are:

- Nettle soup (popular)
- Nettle tea (hmm it's described as tonic. oh, nettles have an effect to draw excess fluid from body. one fact!)
- Nettle pesto (not sure! basil seems to have won my heart.)
- Nettle ravioli & pasta (i'll try both! - but i want yogurt. sorry nettles for i'm treating you as a substitute to spinach here)
- Nettle risotto (if i'm ever out of options what to cook. - err. see i'm positive.)
- Nettle fritters (mm sorry.)

By the way the best Google search could come up with was nettle soup, so. Moving on.

...Turkish Pan Borek w/ Nettle & Feta?

First of all; Turkish people adore borek ("börek" in fact - could be pronounced as boh-rek roughly.) . Borek; being the phyllo pastry - fillings of it vary from cheese, vegetables, meat... It's a very versatile food for us. We might have it for breakfast, as a companion to Turkish tea. Or simply anytime of day. For example now, the hungry Turk typing these lines on a sleepless 4:37 am in the morning - could happily have some. Have my mom make it, though. Please?

Börek - as we Turkish people call it - has been one of the favorite "comfort foods" of my childhood. It'd make my day to wake up to its warm, invigorating smell coming fresh out of the oven. That feeling it would give... It's important for me as a symbol of feeling happy - more than it's taste. I should be fair though, it tastes just as great.

Back to today's focus.

Turkish Pan Borek w/ Nettle & Feta Preparation:

1. Nettles, washed. Some olive oil. Non-sticky pan :Nettles as the main ingredient, are not stingy anymore after being stir fried till the leaves don't fight back the utensil, meaning they are softened from heat of the non-sticky pan.
2. Nettles ready to use, feta cheese, grounded black pepper : Preparing a mix of nettles & feta cheese - avoid extra salt depending on cheese type. Feta to me is naturally a little salty, so.
3. Spreading the phyllo layers: Phyllo - 4 or 5 layers feed three. Almost.
4. Keep olive oil (about a tablespoonful of), some milk (i'm not strict with measurements... really. milk here is just being used to keep the phyllo moist inside while it'll be crispy outside. so milk is just a side ingredient being the peacemaker in between phyllo and pan! use accordingly.)
   

That was the hard part.

Next step is, to spread one layer of phyllo dough on a flat surface - and sprinkle? some nettle & feta mix on it, making sure it's in even amount in middle. Holding the phyllo from the ends and making them meet in the center, covering the filling. So now there should be almost a rectangular shape with ends tucked in; till it took a rectangular-ish shape. Almost a tutorial I tried to make with a simple doodle:

This folding type is for the inner layer. On a non-sticky pan with help of some butter or oil of choice, first layer gets made until crispy on outside. Then this layer gets placed in second layer phyllo waiting on the side. More filling on top, and then ends tucked in again. Each time, phyllo layers tucked in each other with more filling on top. Cooked until crispy, then onto the next layer of uncooked phyllo and again the same step. More layers could be added. Following this, the pastry is ready!

Credit: I had this pastry at my sister's place, made by sister's boyfriend.

Taste: It was moist inside and crispy outside. Nettle & feta went well together, but spinach is easily a substitute to nettle if necessary. Sister contributed with a delicious salad of mostly greens - she's the master salad maker.

Thank you for reading.

Feedmeback!



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That's sister and me... just caught in action.

Okay, I had fast food. I didn't like it. My tummy did.


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