Döner at Özçelik Aspava

Ridiculous!  I have posted about their döner before, but I feel it needs to be done again.

We ordered döner, the rest you see is complimentary.

Mixed green salad, with a pomegranate molasses dressing.

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Fresh French Fries with a homemade tomato sauce.

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Cacık with sumac and mint on top.

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And the pièce de résistance : Döner.  I had already had a bite before I took this photo.  I couldn’t wait!

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The money shot, thinly sliced which had been roasted on a rotating spit.  Served with homemade tomato sauce and sliced onions rolled in a fresh soft lavaş.

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This is my favorite place to eat in Ankara.

How Lazy Can I Be?

Pretty lazy actually.  Tonight I had McDonalds delivered to my door.  They do that here.  All the fast food places deliver.  They have little mopeds weaving their way all around the city delivering Big Macs and Whoppers to the lazy and hungry.  You should see these deliver guys.  They drive on side walks, against traffic on one ways.  They cut across 4 lanes of traffic only to lift tri bike over the median and go the other way.  The food’s travels serve only to make it tastier.  That and they walk it right to your door. 

Let me explain lest you think me  a total sloth.  I have lost 2 kilos with the flu.  That is about 4 pounds.  Bulent’s mother was very kind and brought over food, however, it is very flavorful. Turkish food tends to have quite a bit of spice, not spicy, but very flavorful.  The smell of such food has done a number on my stomach over the last week.  However, the doctor chastised me and ordered me to eat protein, and definitely not the plain yogurt I had been living on for a week.  Hence the McDs.   A nice big hamburger patty that has no spices, and only a medium about of taste.  Bonus, since I did not have to cook it my kitchen does not smell like meat and won’t make me want to throw up every time I walk by. 

Recent Food Adventures

Bulent and I have gone out a few times and this is one of our favorite places.  We usually split a lahmacun and a doner durum wrap with sauce and onions in it. 

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The durum doner wrap usually comes with four pieces.  One had already been eaten before I was able to get the camera out.

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A close up of the wrap, saucy, onion-y, meaty goodness.

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Next up…Lady Thigh Meatballs—tasty!

A Feast

Tomorrow I am making brunch. And it will be fabulous. Why you might ask? Because my love found me bacon. That is right, BACON–From a PIG!! I am not sure how he did it, and don’t really care. Tomorrow we will have eggs, bacon, and pancakes with MAPLE SYRUP. I smuggled the maple syrup into the country in Bulent’s luggage. I am literally salivating as I write this. Big gobs of spit. I look like a St. Bernard. Next…Ham dinner. I don’t know how I can get ham here though. I may have to settle for canned ham. Do they make that? I have no idea. Is there a difference between canned ham and SPAM? I have no idea, but I will research to fill this huge gap in my knowledge.

Green Bean Salad-Turkish Style

This dish has become one of my favorites this summer. It is an “olive oil” dish, typically means it is served cold. It makes a great light summer meal, with fresh bread to dip in the juices. The technical name is

which translates into Fresh Beans with Olive Oil.

1 pound of fresh green beans
2 onions onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 big fresh tomatoes, finely chopped,
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp of salt

Clean and cut the green beans into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces.
In a deep pan, heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the onions and garlic until translucent.
Add the beans, stir, and cook them until they are brighter green
Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes and then add sugar, water, and salt.

Cover the pan and cook on low until the beans are soft (about 45 minutes.)

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Turkish Fast Food

Since I have been in Turkey, I have been eating more “Home Cooking” than anything else. The food available in restaurants is dramatically different that food cooked in the home. Well, today we found ourselves in one of the many malls in Ankara. Which means one thing: FOOD COURT.

Well after perusing the options, aka, figuring out what everything was, I decided on Kumpir. Kumpir is a large baked potato of which the inside is mashed and mixed with a little cheese. Then there are topping to chose, such as; corn, peas, pickles, sausage, olives, black and green. Then there are condiments, mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, Russian dressing, hot sauce, chili peppers, and yogurt. It is very tasty! Look at it! It is practically oozing deliciousness!

Bülent was craving a Kumru Sandwich, which was also very tasty. A Kumru Sandwich has cheese, sucuk (pronounced as sujuk, a spicy sausage) and tomato. It is served with cucumber pickles, hot pickled pepper and along with ketchup and mayonnaise.

All in all, a very good trip to the mall.