Food in Ankara and a BIG Thanks

This country has delicious food. and in Ankara we ate a lot of it. We even had two dinners at Elif's where most of food was homemade which is a big treat when on the road. Here are some of the items we enjoyed:

Karniyarik - baked Eggplant stuffed with mince meat. Served with a grilled red pepper.

Zeytinyagli Enginar - big ole artichoke heart covered with diced cooked carrots and peas coated in olive oil.

Zeytinyagli Barbunya - beans, green beans, and olive oil dish.

Homemade cheesecake with sweet plum topping.

Manti or Turkish Ravoli - little pasta packets with a tiny bit of mince meat in each one. It's served with a little bit of garlic yogurt, melted butter, red sauce, pinch of mint, another spice called sumac (tangy, lemony), and some red pepper. It's amazing!!!

Turkish tea (çay) - we drank a lot of tea. Two lumps please. It is always served in these distinctive little hourglass shaped glasses...on a plate...with a tiny spoon.

Turkish coffee (kaveh) - thick and strong. It's usually in these tiny coffee mugs on a plate. They like to have it after dinner. Elif taught Amy how to prepare Turkish coffee so she can make it at home for Dave. Oh and there is a neat little tradition here for people to read your fortune from what's left in your coffee cup (after you tip it upside down and let it cool a bit). Elif read Vince's and Dave's fortune.

Baklava - this Turkish treat is sweet and tasty. And the people who live here LOVE it.

Lots of cheese - Turkish people seem to love cheese. Braided cheese, spreadable cheese, hard cheese like parmesan, mostly white cheeses. It's not unusual to have multiple kinds of cheese on the table during a meal...even breakfast.

Yogurts - yogurt in drinks, soups, everywhere.

Other random treats - chocolate cakes called Darky, Snickers-like bar named 4x4, and more fun stuff.

P.S. Yes...Amy has been eating some meat this trip. The people here are so proud of their traditional dishes...it's just too hard to resist. ;-)

So we'd like to give a HUGE thank you to Elif and Burak for their hospitality. They took in three people they barely knew and opened their home. They took time off work to spend it with us. They chauffeured us around. They shared stories about their lives and what it is like to live in Turkey. And Burak, you mentioned their hospitality as one of your favorite things about Turkish people...and we second that. You guys (with any number of children in tow) are always welcome in our home in Seattle. Blessings to you both and your little ones on the way. 👶👶