Pumpkin Soup with Red Cabbage and Cumin Seeds (Balkabağı Çorbası)

3 cups of baked and mashed pumpkin
1 onion, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1/2 cup red cabbage, chopped finely
1 banana pepper, chopped
3 cups of vegetable stock
1/2 cup yogurt
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp pepper flakes
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
salt



















-We cut the pumpkin you see above into two, took the seeds out with a spoon, and placing the two halves on an oven pan baked them until soft. (with one half, Aaron made a pumpkin pie, the other half got into this soup)
-Heat the oil in a big pot and stir in the onion and garlic. After 3-4 minutes, add in red cabbage, banana pepper, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds. Stir for 8-10 minutes.
-Add paprika, stir for a minute and then add pumpkin puree, vegetable stock, yogurt, black pepper, pepper flakes, thyme, and rosemary, and salt. Simmer for half an hour.
-I smoothened the soup with a hand blender, my soup master; however, if you want a chunky soup, you don't need the soup master.

Menu for Hope

Menu For Hope, now in its third year, is an annual charity event to raise money for a good cause. This year, it will support the United Nations World Food Programme. The creator of this generous event is Pim of Chez Pim and Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen is one of the hosts in States.

My contribution to this event is two jars: one is filled with Turkish semi moist, delicious smelling, hot, flaked red peppers from southeastern part of Turkey. You can use it while cooking or sprinkle it on your foods.
























The second jar is full of fresh grape leaves for dolmas and also comes straight from Turkey. I personally picked them at my uncle's vineyard in northwestern Turkey. There are no preservatives added; leaves are folded and squeezed in this jar with absolutely nothing. Seriously, you won't believe how fresh they will smell! It will come with a recipe for dolma and a how-to guide for preserving grape leaves. There are enough grape leaves in the jar to make a big pot of dolmas.






















To impress family and friends with delicious dolmas, here's what you need to do: write down the code for this prize --> UC01

1. Go to the donation page at First Giving.

2. Make a donation. Each $10 will give you one raffle ticket towards a prize. Please specify which prize or prizes you'd like in the *Personal Message* section when confirming your donation.

3. If your company matches charity donations, please remember to check the box and fill in the information so A Menu for Hope can claim the corporate match.

4. Please also check the box to allow us to see your e-mail address so we can contact you in case you win.Your e-mail address will not be shared.

5. Check back at Chez Pim on January 15 to see who the winners are.


Thank you!

Turkish Feta-Potato Rolls (Fırında Sigara Böreği)

Sigara Böreği literally means "cigarette pastry" in Turkish and they are usually deep fried. However, I didn't want to have a heavy snack, so instead I baked them with instructions from my mom.

Yufka, Turkish filo dough, is not as thin as the Greek one that you can find frozen at the stores here in States; it is usually round 15-20 inches in diameter. It is not easy to find Turkish filo dough here, but the Greek one is too thin and delicate for me to handle. So I decided to go online; the Turkish filo dough I used for these cigarette pastries is available at Tulumba.

1 pack of Turkish triangle filo dough (there were 28 pieces)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp yogurt
2 eggs (put aside one egg yolk to brush the tops)

for stuffing
2 medium size potatoes, peeled and boiled
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/3 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 tsp black pepper (optional)

black seeds
sesame seeds

-Mash the potato, feta, parsley, and spices with the back of a fork (you can use only potato or feta for stuffing. you don't need to salt the stuffing if you'll use feta, but if not, make sure you salt it)
-Mix olive oil, yogurt, and 2 eggs(-1 egg yolk; we're saving one egg yolk for brushing). Put one layer of filo dough and brush with the mixture. Put the second one on top and brush it again (not to have dry pastries, we need two layers of filo dough wetted with oily yogurt sauce). Place one spoonful of stuffing on the wide side of filo dough. Fold the sides and roll. (Wet the tiny end with the yoogurty sauce if it doesn't stick) Place them on a greased oven tray.
-After you roll all of them, beat the egg yolk that you set aside. Brush it on top of rolls and sprinkle sesame or black seeds, or both.
-Bake in a preheated oven at 375 F for 20-30 minutes until they're golden brown.


























If you want to try them deep fried, you don't need the olive oil+yogurt+egg sauce. Take only one layer of filo dough, put the stuffing, roll, and deep fry it in a ligther oil like vegetable, corn, or canola oil until golden brown. ( Wet the tiny end of filo dough with water to stick) Place on a paper towel to soak excessive oil.

These pastries are good for breakfast or/and with tea. They're good for storing for emergencies, too. Just put them in the freezer seperately until frozen, then gather them in a bag/box until they're needed.

I don't know if you like savory and sweet things together, but you should try dipping your cigarette pastry in any kind of jam (my favorite is cherry), which is, I guess, a very Thracian thing to do in Turkey.