Tasty Turkish Dishes (Part 2)

This post is a little late and is a continuation from my last one about my trip to Turkey.  I was there December 2-9th, then came back to Kuwait.  I left Kuwait December 12th to come back to the US.  So, now I actually have some time to put this together.  It was weird to leave Kuwait and come back to this side of the world again, but I am happy to be back home.  I hope to do more international traveling again soon ;-).

Here are a few pictures that show some of the traditional dishes:

These dishes are traditional dishes that were tasty, but quite heavy. The Turkish spices and unique way of cooking these meats can not be found any where else.  I honestly can't remember what they are called, but they are somewhere on the menu below :-). 

Another popular beef Turkish dish is their dumplings.  Topping the dumplings is yogurt (often served with many dishes) and a tomato paste.  Along side is a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

These dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with rice and seasonings) were the best ones I have ever tasted.  Sooooo good!

The next dish is a lentil soup that is popular in Turkey.  It can come with or without the buttery layer on top.  Sooo good :-)

Now let's talk breakfast.  Turkish breakfast typically includes pastries, toast, cheeses, olives and of course tea.  I was a little worried about trying these things for breakfast, especially olives.  I don't like olives.  I did try these ones though, and they were different than any olives I have tried.  I actually liked the green ones!  (The black were good too, but I liked the green ones better.)

This was the usual breakfast spread.  The pastry on the blue rimmed plate is a cheesy pastry, the ones on the white rectangle plate is a sweet pastry that was my favorite.

Let's move onto to dessert.  There are soooo many DELICIOUS Turkish desserts!  The picture below is a dish that is like pudding with a gum like flavor.  Sounds a bit strange, but it was very good.  It also went good with the pistachio dessert also pictured (forgot the exact name).

These are just a few to wet your appetite.  Turkish cuisine is definitely very diverse, delicious blend of flavors and spices and is very unique.  A must try for all!



  

A Few Flavors From Lebanon

Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Lebanon for 5 days for work.  It was such a change of scenery from Kuwait!  Lebanon has so much history and definitely has a strong French influence.  In fact, the neighborhood I was staying in mostly spoke French.  The scenery was beautiful with mountains and the Mediterranean Sea.  Lebanon still has some ancient Roman ruins, and there are still buildings that are bombed out from the after math of their civil war from 1975-1991.  Beautiful scenery, lovely people, delicious food and typical crazy Middle East driving at its finest. 

I spent a lot of time at the Maki Restaurant in Beirut.  It was fun meeting some people there and having a lot of business dinner meetings ;).

Outside of Maki Restaurant

Every morning I would have manoosha (?spelling) for breakfast.  Manoosha is very popular in Lebanon, and it was recommended to me to try.  I loved it!  It is a pita like bread drizzled with olive oil and topped with fresh zataar.  Zataar is a delicious herb with a basil-ish, thyme like taste.  It was very good!  Pairing it with some cut vegetables and tea, I was very happy. 

Breakfast! Manoosha

 Since there is such a strong French influence, French pastry shops were abundant every where.  There were 2 close to my accommodation that I tried.  I really don't have a strong sweet tooth, but OH. MY.  Once you walk in these places, the desserts are so beautiful, you just have to try some of their creations.  The French are of course known for being one of if not the top experts of desserts and pastries.  The flavors and textures were so much fun.  I forgot I was a dietitian...... just for a minute ;). 

The 2 French bakeries

Beautiful!

These may or may not have been the only desserts we got.......

I did enjoy some local healthy food too, like fruit.  The fresh grapes from the mountains of Lebanon were quite possibly the best grapes I've eaten!  So, all in all it was great trip and hopefully will be able to go back sometime.  Here are some more scenery pictures.....

Beautiful view by the sea

Sunset over the Mediterranean Sea