Today, uncle and I are back from Izmir. Good to be back home! I love my SIS to the moon and back but, it is kind of stressful to be there for more than a few days. I love to cook for them but BIL has the most sensitive nose as if he had been a dog in a previous life. They have a very traditional palate and that means one needs to sautee onions for almost everything we cook. He can't stand the smell of onions so, I was mostly doing the cooking earlier in the day and then airing the whole apartment all day while working. They like a limited number of things and my SIS makes it extra difficult by asking for Mom's Pizza and BIL's Mom's chocolate cake. I make very decent pizza but, it is so much different than Mom's. She used to make a thick though and used sauteed minced meat or white cheese (think feta without the smell) as main toppings.
Well, thankfully, I have survived both challenges.
Uncle is going to be here till next week but, after he leaves, I do not think, I will be cooking anything for a while. Salads and sandwiches only, thank you very much!
The Aegean coast is known for the Mediterrenean cuisine and they use tons of greens we do not even get to see in other cities. Some of those greens are picked from the valleys and mountains. As we were touring around Izmir, I quickly ran into a farmers market and bought a mixture of greens to sautee, of course with onions, and the guy told me there were 10 different things in it. I have had that in restaurants but, I was happy to buy it and make it myself. I brought that back home with me. I also bought a couple of other things like artichoke hearts, green, fresh fava beans. I cooked the hearts and left some for SIS and BIL. This week will be a pleasant change for my tummy heavy on the veggies and leafy greens.
Another quite busy week ahead of me! I can't even catch up with my favorite blogs.
Will report after my booster shot on Wednesday.
Wishing everybody a wonderful, productive, healthy and happy week!
Welcome back, we missed you. Almost everything I make has sautéed onions or garlic. I just came back from couple of days with my daughters( one is pregnant with her first child) and cooked every request they made. Thankfully, my my son in law doesn’t mind the smell of onions and garlic. Actually, I wish I had an outdoor kitchen like my mother’s house where they can cook outside almost all year( on the Mediterranean coast). Big hugs.
ReplyDeleteO you are going to be a grandma! How exciting! An outdoor kitchen would be ideal in my BIL's situation too.
ReplyDeleteWelcome home. Funny your BIL likes it in his food, but doesn't like the smell. I was sauteing onions the other day to add to spaghetti sauce and dh thought they smelled good, LOL.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I always think onions smell good while sauteeing, too.
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