An Edible Relaunch

The blog that kept me going through the most tantalising yet tumultuous two years of my life is back.  This time, the trying Turk is in Sydney and comes armed with more Turkishness than ever before.  Can one be a Turk by marriage? Or is one married by Turkishness?  Either way, I now find myself trying to hold onto every little ounce of Turkishness that enters my life.  

When in Istanbul, i would stammer home off the bustling Bosphorus shores of Kadikoy noticing the waft of Hamsi that bounced from fisherman's stores and lambs heads that glared up at me from their suspicious display cabinets.  Most days i reveled in the luscious traditions of Turkish food, but every now and again I craved the most buttered of butter chicken, the crackling that lined the pork roast or just your good old bowl of spaghetti bolognese.   

Now, almost two years since leaving Ms Istanbul behind, I cast my mind back to her decadent undertaking of my innocent, culture-less self.  

5 things Ms Istanbul has taught a trying Turk.

1. How to transform eggplant into countless varieties of heaven.

2. Why waxing your eyebrows is a good thing.

3. The art of drinking raki (ouzo) like a man.

4. The wearing of winter boots like a woman should.

5. How to decline you're third helping of kofte (meatballs)- refuse the offer three times until they trust you've had enough. 

With all five lessons just about mastered, i still have a long way to go.  I figure, the best way to lure elements of life in Turkey into my humble Sydney home is through the tried and tested ways of Turkish culinary culture.   Mixed with a few sideline ambitions, tales of a trying Turk will always wind itself back to the essence of 'Tasting Turkey'.

Stay tuned....