Plum Jam Muffins

This is Just To Say

I have eaten 

the plums 

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving 

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

William Carlos Williams

       I haven't eaten so much  plums all my life as I've eaten in Sarajevo for the last three years. Plums are everywhere here. There are plum trees in almost every garden and so it's not surprising to find them at very low prices in the grocery shops, street markets and supermarkets. They eat them both fresh and dried. Locals enjoy them as part of their daily diet all summer long.

      

      We also made some plum jam with dark chocolate and rum extract two weeks ago. It was Emir who had the idea and spent his whole afternoon in the garden boiling plums and stirring constantly to get in the end a dozen jars of fantastic jam. It's worth all his effort. Even Milou likes it particularly with fresh whole wheat bread. Well, here is a photograph of the jam before we added the chocolate and rum extract. I'd prefer it without rum extract but it was the first time Emir had made some jam and that's why he stuck to the recipe with rum extract which he found on the Internet.  

 Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup milk

Filling

Chocolate Plum jam

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 185 °C and lightly grease or line a muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add oil, milk beating well. Stir in vanilla. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture.

3. Divide batter among muffin cups. Fill the cups halfway with batter and use a spoon to make a shallow well in the center of each. Fill each well with a rounded teaspoon of jam and then cover the jam with more batter. Bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean, there may be jam on it. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool more.  

Stuffed Peppers

When people have guests for dinner in Turkey, one of the basic dishes they cook is rice stuffed peppers which are usually served cold or at room temperature before or with the main dish . So it's usually placed on the dinner table as an appetizer. We cook them with no meat inside and vegetable oil only. However, people in Turkey also cook peppers stuffed with rice and minced meat and serve hot as the main dish. Well, my mother cooks peppers over medium heat and lets them cool and refrigerates them overnight, but away from the Mediterranean cuisine here in Sarajevo they only stuff peppers with rice and meat or in some rare cases with grated potatoes. Similarly, my mother-in-law cooks peppers stuffed with rice and meat in the oven, always. Her sons recognize them the moment they see the peppers with brown tops which is the proof the peppers were cooked in the oven in her style. Anyway, I decided to combine the two styles of cooking peppers with no meat and baking them in the oven.  I  added all the vegetables on hand to the common ingredients for a change. I stuffed the peppers and baked them in the oven until they got brown on the top. It worked well. There were unfortunately some ingredients missing such as currants and pine nuts which are special to stuffed peppers in Turkey but it had other new stuff inside so they were super tasty in the end. To have a better idea of Turkish rice stuffed peppers cooked with olive oil, please visit http://almostturkish.blogspot.com/2007/07/vegetarian-stuffed-peppers-zeytinyal.html and http://faygsm-thestuffoflife.blogspot.com/2011/06/turkish-stuffed-peppers.html. 

• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt, ground black and red pepper, cinnamon, oregano
• 2 cup rice
• bell peppers, seeds and ribs removed
• carrots, peeled and grated
• leeks, sliced

• Directions
• Preheat oven to 200 C degrees. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, salt, sugar, and other spices. Cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add carrots and leeks. Cook until all mixed about 5 minutes. Stir in rice and add 2 cups water. Cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Fill peppers with rice mixture. Arrange peppers in a baking dish just large enough to hold them. Add 1 cup water. Cover with aluminium foil, and bake until peppers are tender, 35 to 40 minutes.

Two Young Men on the Road

One of my friends from Turkey and his younger brother who easily broke away from life's commitments decided to hitch-hike across the Balkans starting from Ankara. Although they let me know earlier that they were about to arrive, I felt such a great sense of relief and joy only when I saw them safe and sound carrying heavily loaded backpacks here in Sarajevo. After having spent two busy days around the city, we joined them on their way to Croatia.

WW2 Museum in Jablanica

They were heading for the Rainbow Gathering which would take place somewhere close to Karlovac. We took Milou with us and it was the first time we'd travelled such a long way all together. I felt as if I was writing a story of our own road trip. Everything we had on the road was something to remember.

In Mostar

When you are on a road trip, you share everything and we shared everything we had on our way to Dubrovnik. It was an amazing feeling to do so. I particularly remember the moment when Ergin -the younger one of the two brothers- offered a handful of wild grapes and cranberries we'd picked from some trees by the River Neretva. That very moment got stuck somewhere in my memory to serve as the summary of our whole trip. 

Ergin sharing wild grapes with Milou

Soon at our next stop, we found ourselves in the middle of a get-together of famous artists and sculptors in Bosnia. It was a little bit weird, actually. Later in Dubrovnik, Milou was the center of attraction with her pigeon-feather headdress like a little Indian. Late in the afternoon there, the two brothers packed once again and took the first bus to Zagreb as they planned to attend the Rainbow Gathering 2011 somewhere there.

Milou with her pigeon-feather headdress in Dubrovnik

Walnut Muffins

We were about to start an amazing journey from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik and these walnut muffins were fresh from the oven and ready to set off. 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup milk

1 cup ground walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 185 °C and lightly grease or line a muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add oil, milk beating well. Stir in vanilla and ground walnuts. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture.
3. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean, 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool more. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if you like.

Banana Muffins with Cereal

Sometimes a muffin is just a muffin but these were beyond my expectations. With banana slices inside and honey Cheerios Os cereal on top, they were more than just muffins.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup milk

 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 185 °C and lightly grease or line a muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add oil, milk beating well. Stir in vanilla. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture.

3. Divide batter among muffin cups. Put banana slices into the half-filled cups and then fill them up. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool more. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

Vegetable Pie with Cottage Cheese

I baked some Turkish pogaca rolls a few days ago and had some dough left in the end. There was a mixture of frozen vegetables in the freezer, I quickly remembered. The variety of the vegetables in the package made me smile: Carrots, scallions, cauliflower, potatoes, tomatoes, courgettes, celeries, cabbage, peas, green beans, leeks and parsley. And that big smile swept away all my worries about what to do with the dough. 

Anyway, the idea had already walked into my head: The dough, which could have ended up in the trash or the freezer, would easily turn into a pie crust. And it did. I spread the pastry on a lightly greased pan and folded the pastry edge upwards. The rest was easy enough to finish in 10 minutes. I stirred in some cottage cheese, cream and diced salami to the vegetable mixture. The vegetables got even nicer when combined with cheese. I seasoned it with salt, pepper and thyme, and then sprinkled with olive oil, and mixed it in. I poured it carefully into the pie dough and piled on it. I sprinkled the upward edge with poppy seed (for a change.)  Well, I baked it until the pastry was golden and the filling had set. 

For the pastry: The recipe is the same as I always use to make Turkish pogaca rolls. Have a look.

A Day at the Funfair

Summers last pretty short in Sarajevo. As it is so, people in this city enjoy every single shiny day outside in the Sun. On such a sunny day, we spent a few hours at the travelling funfair. I didn't want to miss it because I deeply believe in the importance of the noises, smells and the tastes of the sweets, fast food, rides and balloons at the funfair. They truly characterise a funfair atmosphere and take their colourful place deep down inside us as our basic childhood memories. However, as you grow older, you start to notice how small and slow the children's rides actually are and see them in a newer light. All those merry-go-rounds, teacup rides, Ferris wheels, train rides, mirror mazes, and jumping castles look more symbolic than they actually function - as it happened to me this time. 

While Milou was riding a car on the merry-go-round for the second time, I was watching her as well as the other children all of whom had different expressions on their faces. Luckily, Milou's dad was shooting photos of them all. When I had a closer look at the photos later, I got even happier to see those faces with all those unique expressions as I remember them. Milou's dad had done a great job. 

'The girl on the merry-go-round' by Emir Isovic

At each ride, I noticed some of them were not enjoying the ride but since they didn't have any other choice like getting off the car in the middle of the ride they were gazing yielded stares around and soon they lowered their heads as if to tell me there is no fun in going round and round and returning to the same point. Surrounded with all those colours flickering fiercely, sounds and smells, for a split second, the merry-go-round seemed to me like a smaller, slower version of life and the children seemed like adults. Imagining so, it wasn't hard to speculate on their gestures and expressions. Well, the attraction of the merry-go-round was not the same to all children as the mere beauty of life doesn't lure everyone. 

'The boy riding a car on the merry-go-round' by Emir Isovic

Some children were staring around defiantly as if to remind me 'Every one of us leads their own life. Do you think it's fun to be watching others and their boring lives?' Stern and questioning looks his were. I felt a little bit embarrassed when his eyes caught mine.

'Ride of Happiness' by Emir Isovic

Some children were enjoying the rides to the full as this boy did. He enjoyed the ride and made those very moments extraordinary. Nothing around except the fun and happiness he was experiencing mattered. While I was watching him, his chubby figure turned into the image of a grown-up man who only cares about how much he can make use of the moment. And then I thought perhaps this boy will not remember vividly how long the ride lasted or such answers but his face will widen with a big smile whenever he passes by a travelling funfair. Soon, I found myself apparently daydreaming while I was supposed to see if Milou was safe in the car she was riding.  The ride had already ended when I heard somebody calling my name. It was time to head for another attraction at the travelling funfair.

Milou in the Jungle

I feel lucky to have a garden. A garden with enough space to play and grow vegetables in. Milou, having no notion of luck, just loves the garden. As she does so, it is fun and a great pleasure to watch her rake the leaves.

It is even greater happiness to see the big smile on her face after she finishes her job and looks at the camera proudly. 'Milou in the Jungle' might be the name of the next bedtime story we'll make up tomorrow.

A Day at the Zoo

Today we headed to Pionirska Dolina which is the City Zoo in Sarajevo. Among other animals, this llama was particularly my favourite. The moment it got out of this fabulous hut in the photo, it kept staring at me or I felt as though it was. Anyway, do you remember the scene in the Harry Potter series where a silver stag appears as Harry Potter conjures the Patronus Charm to repel dementors? Well, that is almost what I felt when it emerged out of nowhere. A typical llama it was after all but I loved it. Have a look! 

Well I wanted to share two videos about the zoo life. The first one is pretty old: A Day at the Zoo is a 1939 Warner Bros. animated cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series.

The second one, Creature Comforts, was originally a 1989 British humorous animated short film about how animals feel about living in a zoo, featuring the voices of the British public "spoken" by the animals. It was created by Nick Park. 

Black Bean Salad for Iftar

It's been almost one week since we returned to Sarajevo and I haven't had the opportunity to go grocery shopping yet. The list of the things that's running out or already has is waiting restlessly on the refrigerator. Well, it was another rush hour before Iftar yesterday and I didn't have many choices. I quickly found a jar of black beans and soon we enjoyed a great salad. Here goes the super easy recipe. I just used what's on hand. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup of freshly cooked black beans
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped 
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of sugar (to taste)
• Salt, pepper and oregano to taste

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the beans, onions, tomatoes, parsley, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Add sugar, salt, oregano and pepper to taste. (The sugar will help balance the acidity from the tomatoes and lemon juice.) Chill before serving.

Dreams and the King

''I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can play together all night.'' Bill Watterson

All men dream and so do I. I dream mostly about people. I dream about people who are mostly far away from me. Some of them live just a few blocks away and some are a few countries away. They share their stories with me in my own dreams and I think it is my privilege to be there with them. 

I do not really care whether dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions. They might be as well. However, I do attach so much importance to events occurring in dreams. The moment I remember what happened in my dreams in the morning or later during the day, I write to the person or people concerned and inform them about all the details. They of course don't react or interpret the dream as I would and it makes me pretty disappointed yet I keep on believing that dreams are there for us to play together some more throughout the night. 

Well, the last person I dreamed about is Queen Elizabeth II. I won't go into details but in my dream she was on a short trip in Istanbul accompanied by all her family including Kate Middleton. The next morning, I was having my morning coffee and I was surprised to find this image of a king with his crown in my cup. 

P.S. I haven't written to Her Majesty about my dream yet. :)