I’ve dedicated past month to improving my cupcake skills.

Muffins are nice for grown-ups, but the face of a 6 year old really lights up when they see a pretty cupcake.

After countless tries, I still haven’t been able to produce a passable cream-cheese icing. I suspect it’s either the cream-cheese’s fault, or my expectations from cream-cheese icing are misguided. It keeps turning out too runny, and unfortunately I end up having to make cake-pops with the failed icing, but that’s another story.

Remember when I said that I’d write more about what I cooked up in Sapanca? Yes, I know, it’s kinda hazy. Aside from the broccoli pizza,  I baked two savory tarts as a part of my experiment with whole-wheat flour. It was the middle of the holidays and every store in the small neighborhood was [...]

It’s a shame that I haven’t been able to post anything on the blog since July. But between getting back to work after a really long summer holiday, translating my old posts into English, and trying to setup a mini home studio for food photos, I realized that I’m a major league procrastinator. To break [...]

Ayfer has never been a fan of cakes. Last week when the whole family got together for her birthday, instead of a birthday cake, I wanted to bake something that she would like. I also had to consider that we all would end up eating too much, and not have much appetite or room left [...]

With the weather getting hotter, and Omer complaining that there’s not enough room for ice in the freezer, I decided to get rid of the frozen fruit that was invading it. Store-bought strawberries and kiwi turned into a breakfast smoothie with a little OJ. I couldn’t make myself mush up the strawberries Alber sent from [...]

Due to popular demand (mostly from Omer), I started to hunt and try out carrot cake recipes.

My dad’s moist and delicious and awesome cake was too calorie-packed, whereas the one served at Starbucks was too dry and plain. When I was in college, I used to make a carrot cake using plain cake mix and carrots, but I was sure that it could be improved upon (plus, nowadays I find it kinda’ embarrassing to use cake mix).

Whenever we have a barbecue party or a get-together with the girls, I consider it my sacred duty to prepare these. They are so very versatile and easy to make. They go well for brunch, lunch or dinner, with tea or raki. And if that’s not enough motivation for you to go ahead right now and make them, they are healthy!

A few years ago, when Ayfer first introduced me to the wonder that is fresh thyme, she said that she only made this salad for those she loved dearly. I loved the salad but didn’t get what she meant by that remark until recently, when I tried to make it on my own.

The story is almost a classic. I had forgotten some bananas in the fridge’s drawer. Their skin had gone all black and I couldn’t make myself throw them away. This easy recipe came to the rescue. It was published in an 2003 issue of “Cooking Light”, so I knew that it couldn’t be bad for you.

It is fitting that my first post is about something that I tried for the first time. A few weeks ago while I was browsing an online auction site, I decided to buy an ice cream maker. I had never even seen a countertop ice-cream maker before and at 30$, the one I found seemed like a real bargain.