WHEN THE MILK SLEEPS

When the milk sleeps, becomes a beautiful homemade yogurt, best mate of bite size stuffed vine leaves (yaprak sarma).  

90th YEAR OF TURKISH REPUBLIC

Today we celebrate 90th year of Turkish Republic. 90 years ago today, the founder of modern Turkey, Atatürk declared the republic and us, the Turks (or Crazy Turks as they call us), we will defend forever his heritage, our secular republic system, our country, our liberty against fundamentalist enemies of our republic.

Photo source here.

MEDITERRANEAN BREAKFAST

Mediterranean breakfast at the little Italy of our neighborhood, Food Lab. 

JOB APPLICATION

Beautiful pubs we have in our neighborhood.

LONDON’S CABMEN'S SHELTERS

Here is another curiosity to discover in London streets. Today there are only 13 of theme which exist and all are Grade 2 listed constructions. This one showed in our photos is located in Kensington Park Road in Notting Hill.

They are built after the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund founded in 1875 around the city to provide a shelter to cabmen for being protected from the weather. A place where also they can have a hot meal, read newspapers and books while drinking their tea and coffee. They were providing these services with a very low fee and they were used only by cabmen.

These little green sheds are part of London’s history and also one of the little treats of London for you to discover. 

LENTIL KOFTA (MERCİMEK KÖFTESİ)

What if red lentils, bulgur, paprika sauce and cumin meet in a Turkish home in London and it’s raining outside and you want to drink few glasses of rakı and you have plenty of British crime dramas recorded on your tv?

Yes, prepare the lentil koftas (mercimek köftesi), pour the rakı, have a seat in front of the tv and enjoy! 

LONDON BELONGS TO ME

Currently reading this book and -through the pages- sharing the lives of a group of Londoneers who live in the same building: 10 Dulcimer Street, London in 1938...

MUSEUM OF BRANDS

Yesterday we enjoyed the sunny and warm weather and went to Notting Hill to visit The Museum of Brands. Since three years we were delaying this visit and at the end: hallelujah!

With its full name The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising is smallish, compact but beautiful museum and a very kind crew welcomes you. (The only bad thing is that taking photos is not allowed inside of the museum). In the museum you can see packages, advertisements of lots of British and some foreign products since the Victorian era through today.

If you are vintage lover and around Notting Hill, do not miss visiting The Museum of Brands in 2 Colville Mews, Lonsdale Road.

Happy 50th year Museum of Brands!

HOMEMADE CORN BREAD

There is no such a good thing as starting to the day with the smell and the taste of homemade bread. Happy stomacs, happy people!

Corn is one of the major products in northeast part of  Turkey and people living there consume a lot corn and corn flour in their kitchen. Today’s bread is from this region: Black Sea style corn bread. Yummy! 

NEW STREET ART IN DIBDEN STREET

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world”

FISH HARVEST SERVICE

When we visit new places, new cultures, we try to pop-up in their temples and observe the rituals and sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of these events like Buddha’s birthday celebration in a small, no touristic temple in Shanghai where we saw impressive scenes and at the end shared noodle soup with chinese community. It was one of most unforgettable moments of our travels.

Also we like special events in special temples like blessing of cars in a church in Coppacabana, Bolivia or a monastery in Symi Island, Greece visited by sailors for blessing.

This morning we enjoyed a very special service at St. Mary-at-Hill Church near Old Billingsgate Fish Market: Fish Harvest Service. When we arrived there, the nartex of the church decorated with fresh fishes and other richeness of the sea by fishmongers of Billingsgate Fish Market welcomed us.

Everybody prayed and shared their good wishes for seafarers, listened the church choir in company with the St. Mary-at-Hill Church’s organ which is described as one of the ten most important organs in the history of British organ building. Following the service, we joined the white wine and sushies (yes sushies) shared as a courtesy of the church. And we recorded another good memory to our London days.

From the prayers of seafarers:

“...we pray to thee for all seafarers and those who serve their needs; for keepers of lighthouses and the pilots of our ports; for all who man the lifeboats and guard our coasts; for the men of the fishing fleets and those who carry out the services of docks and harbours; for the guilds and societies which care for the wellbeing of fishermen and their families...”

CLASSIC CAR BOOT SALE

Today was a  perfect, sunny day in our little kingdom. After a nice breakfast at home we walked to Southbank for a special car boot sale: Classic Car Boot Sale.

It was a very special car boot sale because all sellers came there with their vintage cars and motorcycles, even the food vans were vintage style. It was a real heaven for vintage lovers, classic car and motorcycle fans and there was also some little treats for foodies. We tried lobster rolls of Bob’s Lobster which they were serving from a vintage VW van and it was just “delicious”.

After the car boot sale we walked through Gerrard Street and filled our stomacs with chinese food. Then a little grocery shopping in our favorite Turkish supermarket and finally washing down the chinese food we ate, in our pub with few pints.

Now it’s time for some cups of good tea with homemade peanut butter cookies and enjoy British crime dramas!

 

THE SMELL OF THE AEGEAN SEA

Since three weeks we were in Turkey enjoying the last days of summer, eating fresh figs, fresh wallnuts, green tangerines, aegean fishes, goat cheese, laying down under the sun, swimming in cristal clear aegean waters with calamaries and fishes.

And we left our hearths in Aegean Sea, again...