Green Beans with Tomatoes and Olive Oil / Zeytinyağlı Taze Fasulye

Writer's Note: Most Americans like their vegetables crunchy. Fair point. No need to cook them to death. But this particular dish is lovely when the beans are soft and melt in your mouth. Best served with crunchy bread and a cold glass of rakı.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 lb. frozen or fresh flat Italian green beans, defrosted

1 tsp. salt

pinch of sugar

1 lb. can or fresh peeled whole tomatoes, crushed with your hands

Directions:

Heat the olive oil over low-medium heat and add onions. Cook onions until they are translucent. Add green beans, sugar, salt, and tomatoes and cook over very low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes and green beans are soft. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Tomato Bulgur Pilaf / Domatesli Bulgur Pilav

Writer's Note: I've neglected this site for way too long. Excuse? Ten-day trip to Turkey with classmates. No earthquake, no coup, no lost students. Entirely a success. The food was, as always, amazing. Before I left I made a Turkish dinner for a small group of friends with this bulgur pilav. Serve it with any meat dish.

Ingredients:

2 cups course-grained bulgur, washed

3 cups onions, diced

1-2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

3-4 small peeled tomatoes, canned or fresh, diced

6 tbsp. butter or 2 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter

2 cups beef broth

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt the butter over medium heat and add the onions and stir until translucent. Add the green pepper, jalapeños, and tomatoes and cook down until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the bulgur, salt, and pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the beef broth, bring to a boil, and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 15 minutes until the bulgur has absorbed the liquid.

Zucchini Pie / Fırında Mücver

Writer's Note: Hello men, see that spread? That's the way ladies brunch when you aren't around. A few weeks ago I was invited to ladies' brunch with a group of amazing women -- lawyers, development specialists, human rights activists. They were candy for my brain. And the food was phenomenal. Sorry, boys, we were perfectly content without you.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 tbsp. cottage cheese

2-4 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped

500 grams feta cheese

1 large red onion, diced

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 zucchinis, grated on coarse grater, salted and drained after 20 minutes

1-3 tsp. Urfa or Aleppo pepper

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. dried mint

3/4 cup flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook red onion in olive oil until soft and translucent. Squeeze the water out of the grated zucchini with your hands so they are as dry as possible. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Grease a small square pyrex dish with olive oil or butter. Pour ingredients in dish and bake for 25-35 minutes until it is firm and a toothpick comes out clean.