The Chickpea Recipe

I had promised to share the recipe of the chickpeas if it turned out to be tasty. I loved it. It is a Vegan recipe so, a broad number of people may enjoy it.

It is normally a very hot dish but, I cannot tolerate too much heat and I modified the recipe. So, here are the ingredients:

4 cups of boiled chickpeas (you can use canned but I soaked them and boiled them)

2 cups of chopped peppers (any kind you like, you can also mix hot peppers)

1 cup of thinly sliced onions

3-4 big cloves of garlic

1 large diced tomato

1/3 cup olive oil

Salt/Pepper/Red pepper flakes

You mix these all up in a baking pan. Use a large pan and spread the mixture evenly.

Heat your oven to 390 F and put the pan in for 45 minutes. Every 15 minutes mix the ingredients well.

This is a main dish and I served it with salad. In Southeastern Turkiye, people wrap this in pita or tortilla type bread and have it for breakfast. I think that is too many carbs so, I had it for dinner with salad.

I used sweet red and green peppers but, added red pepper flakes to make it a bit hot. It is a perfect Fall dish. 

I finally put all the bags of the extra clothing I decided to purge, in my trunk so, next time I take my car out, those will go into a donation box. 

There is a pile of laundry that needs to be folded and put away. and a small pile of papers I need to sort through and I also need to straighten out my bathroom and the kitchen a little bit. So, these are today's chores. 

Hoping that it will be a productive date for everyone.

Settling In

Today, I took care of some bills and banking business. Then I put away my beach things, and started swapping out warmer clothes and summer clothes. Was able to purge a few things here and there which felt good.

I also filled my pill boxes, and started a shopping list. Tonight I am going to try a chick pea dish I have heard so much about. If it turns out yummy, I promise to share the recipe.

I have been having too much red meat recently, so I want to stay away from it for a while. I want to get some fish but, knowing that on Saturday, it will be very crowded everywhere, I am not sure whether I want to go to my favorite fish monger tomorrow. I also want to buy a whole chicken next week to roast. That yields a good amount of meals for me. The weather is getting chilly and may be it is time for a nice chicken soup. I have some veggie scraps in the freezer and using them up sounds like a good idea. After all, this is the season for chillies, chowders and hearty soups, right?

I sorted through lots of paperwork and tossed most of the pile I had as well. The central heating hasn't kicked in yet so, drying laundry is crazy during these days. It will take a while to get rid of the laundry I have. I has washed everything in my suitcase in Ankara so, that made a big dent in the laundry pile but, still there is a lot to wash.

This has been a productive day.

Guess What?

All went well as I have planned today. So, I decided to head home at 3 p.m. It took me four and a half hours and luckily the traffic approaching Istanbul was not as bad as I expected.

So, I am now home as I type this post. 

As soon as I walked in, I opened the windows to let the fresh air in. It is a bit chilly in the apartment. That what's throw blankets are for, right?

It is now past midnight here so, I better go to sleep. My sleep cycle is better than it used to be nowadays so, I do not want to go back to my old ways.

Hope, everyone has had or is having a productive day. Take care!

Before Going Home

On Monday, the dishwasher was taken by the service guys. They were right on time so, that was a nice surprise. I then went to meet my babyhood friends and had Chinese Food. Came home and watched the last episode of our TV show with my American friend M.

Yesterday, I took my car to have my winter tires put on. This year I had to buy a full set of regular tires and winter tires. However, I knew these expenses were going to be incurred this year. Therefore, they were budgeted. 

I then went to get a cup of tea and a napoleon to treat myself. I was so close to Anıtkabir so, I have decided to visit the mausoleum of the founder of Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. This coming Sunday, November 29th is the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the country as a democratic republic. I paid my respects and went to the museum in the complex. I feel so good about having visited Anıtkabir.

Today, I visited a friend who had a hernia surgery a couple of weeks ago. We chatted happily for a couple hours and when I noticed that she was getting tired, I took my leave.

I had a late lunch and came home, packed my suitcase and put it in my trunk. If I can finish my business with the real estate dealer early enough, I can just leave to go home to Istanbul. It is a highway and it only takes about 4 hours to drive. Why wait till Friday?

The dishwasher will be delivered early in the morning. After that, I will go to the bank and then to the real estate dealer. Wish me luck for smooth sailing tomorrow.

In about an hour M and I will be watching the first episode of the final season of The Sinner on Netflix.

Hope, everybody is having a nice hump day.

Back in Ankara

It has almost been a whole month since I had posted. I was having a good time and was dead tired at the end of each day. Besides, every day was almost the same as the day before. Go to the beach, swim, have coffee, read book, swim, read book, swim, go home, have dinner, hit the pillow latest by 10:30. Rinse and repeat. It was so relaxing. It was around 80 degrees Fahrenheit the whole time. Perfect! The water was also awesome. It started to get a little cooler on the last few days and that is expected.

A couple of times, uncle and I went on his little boat and that was fantastic too.

The last day of my vacation was Friday and that was not so great though. As I was on my way to the beach one last time, I saw an engine warning light on my dashboard. Luckily, I was not too far from a Ford Service. I brought the car to them and they diagnosed the problem quickly. I was going to have my car serviced for 90K kilometers so, they did that too. I borrowed my uncle's car to go to the beach. 

As I was getting ready to go back to collect my car, a bee decided to sting me. Ouch! The area is still read, warm, swollen and itchy. 

Anyway, I made it to Ankara yesterday and here I am typing a new post.

I have a few errands to run this week in Ankara and I am hoping to go back home on Friday. I miss my home and it has been too long to be away from home.

Tomorrow the dish washer is going to be serviced. Since it is still in warranty, there will be no out of pocket costs. The only problem is, they will need to take it away for a couple of days because the salt dispenser needs to be replaced.

I had recently decided to buy two small lots of land within 30 minutes of the Ankara home as an investment. The area is still under development and it will be a few years before anyone can build on it but, it sounded like a good investment and the price was right. One of my childhood friends also bought two lots. We are next to each other and her brother bought the two lots right behind me.

I do not think, I will build anything there. I will most likely sell the land when the price is right but, who knows? 

I had made a down payment for the lots and on Thursday, I will pay the rest of the money. 

I also have some banking and investment decisions to make this week. Majority of my money is where my sister works but, she is planning to retire in 2024 so, I will re-distribute my money into different accounts and banks. 

Today, I need to rest because the 7 hour drive yesterday was quite tiring. Hope, everyone is having a restful weekend.