People who have traveled with me know…I live for the shop. I’m not talking about any ordinary clothes shop, antique search, sorting through knickie knackies—I can do without all of that. Besides, my man Charlie has all those bases covered and then some. The food shop is what makes ME tick. Sleuthing how people source their sustenance gives me an understanding of the place I’ve arrived in. Lets say it's my mode of conducting an energy about a space that’s hard to feel elsewhere.
In short, this is how it goes. As soon as I arrive in a new place I need to get my bearings. Unlike Charlie, who thirsts for a geographical understanding, I seek out all possible food vendors. I need to know the how, when, who and what of food in each and every town or city we arrive in. Do the locals shop in markets? Do they prefer supermarkets? Will I find a collection of small boutique food shops selling their specific wares? Each town has it’s own formula and pattern made obvious by ‘the shop’. All this drives my family a bit crazy but they’ve learned to go along with me. They benefit—sometimes we find the most remarkable scores, often we discover a thing or two about our short-lived home, but we most certainly eat well along the way.
It's getting hot doing all this shopping!
One way to counteract the heat is to eat some heat.
We spend so much time teaching our kids to read, ride bikes, manners etc. Why not teach them how to shop well? With so much to choose from, I'm giving my kids tips on how to pick the best of the best.
The dried herbs and spices in Turkey are the most mouth popping I've cooked with. That's sage at the bottom right. I found boiling it with some fresh mint is an excellent way to keep my raging seasonal allergies at bay.
I got acquainted with purslane (aka: pigweed) on this trip. This succulent leaf is more than edible and packs a punch in any salad. Or serve it alone with a yogurt dressing.
I tried hard to pick most of our goodies from the trees around us, and supplemented with fresh fruit from the market.
MMM Migros in Turkey was my favourite supermarket chain. Their produce was by far the best and they had a delish, health conscious store brand.
Dairy is a big, big deal in Turkey. Most of the products were full fat. This is a culture not so concerned with cutting down on dairy fats.
While in Turkey, do as the Turks do. We had yogurt at every meal--in sauces, dressings, on the side and right out of the tub. There were so many brands and types to choose from.
Turks live on olive oil. I loved all the brands we tried (we went through a whopping 1 L a week!) I found it a gentle oil, not too fruity, not too spicy and easy to match with almost all of the seasonal fresh flavours.
Bountiful bread at least 3 feet long.
Fish mongers sell right from their boats.
The fish stalls at supermarkets were jammed with the good stuff. Although, after meeting such a characterful octo in California (Monteray Aquarium), I'm not sure I can eat the suckers any more.
So...these were the weirdest mushrooms I've laid eyes on. I knew they were edible because they were being sold at a weekly market. The locals were enthusiastically grabbing fishfuls of these funghi. I decided to do the same and try my hand at cooking them with the usual suspects: garlic, onion, butter, parsley and vino. They were woody, heady and delicious.
That's some kicked up trailmix Turkish styles.
Cherry season. They were HUGE.
Sophia's fruit flavour of the month--black and white mulberries. We decided not to buy them at the market but picked them off the trees that lined the streets. A little dustier but more fun.
Getting some freshly squeezed juice on the street.
We turned a corner on a busy back street one day and found hoards of people lined up to purchase their weekly stash of coffee; clearly this was the place to come. Mountains and mountains of the good stuff was piled up ready for sale. Turks drink tea and coffee all day every day. There needs to be a constant supply.
Feta comes in all saltiness, textures and flavours. How to pick the best?! Try them all.....
The Turkish equivalent of string, squeeky cheese (like in Quebec). Charlie got hooked!
I found Salgam Suyu at a kebab stall in a market. What a find! The spicy, sour yet refreshing taste was right up my alley. It's made with the juice of red carrot pickles, salted, spiced, and flavoured with aromatic turnip, fermented in barrels with the addition of ground bulgur. It is traditionally served cold in large glasses with long slices of pickled carrots. Hot paprika relish is added just before drinking. Like Kombucha, don't drink too much of this or you'll look 6 months preggers with bloat.
Travel means irregular everything. Luckily, Turkish dates are some of the best. Dates=relief.
I was hell-bent on finding the most flakey, bursting with cheese and mouth-watering borek. On one of my shops I found it. Just look at this magnificent specimen. Can't you almost taste it?
A quick road stop to check out mountains of citrus and honey.
We checked out where the oranges are growing. This little man is a serious salesman. We came for a look and left with heaps of juices and honey.
He can't even part with his rope...even when he's got a mug full of sweet juice.
I wanted to squeeze this man's cheeks so badly.
The old town in Fetiye has a fresh fish market that doubles as a restaurant. It ramped up my shop experience by allowing me to eat my purchases within minutes.
Fish so fresh they're swimming off the table.
The kids started looking for their own experiences on my many shops. They pulled up chairs and started watching their balloon bread rise in the oven.
My food shopping compulsion lead me on new exploits each day. It gave me a real purpose. Sure...we collected a lot, ate most of it and tried our darndest not to waste a scrap (Charlie honed his labrador-like appetite). But what I noticed more than anything was that shopping for food introduced us to heaps of characters. Each person selling their wares had their own unique personality, and the majority were pure fajondilizers. I could tell immediately from the twinkle in their eyes, and the fact that they had their hands deep into whatever it was they were selling. They loved food as much as I did.