PM vs AM
Last night we saw a most spectacular view from our window. The sun was setting to the West, but in the East a storm was brewing. I tried to capture it, but a picture only can only do so much to illustrate the stark contrast of what was happening on the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. Ironically enough, the Asian-side storm never even dropped one rain drop on the European side (at least in our neighborhood).
Also in stark contrast was our morning scene vs. last night. Here’s the beautiful view out our window early this morning…
to fig or not to fig?
I don’t know why I never liked figs before. I think it all started with my dislike of Fig Newtons, which disgust me to no end. But when I moved to Turkey, my tastes for a lot of things changed… for the fresher. We eat every veggie and fruit under the sun here, and a lot of them. And it’s so easy when there’s a green grocer or pazar on every corner. Our meat consumption has gone down (red meat completely gone for me), fish consumption UP, and it’s a rare day that we eat something fried.
It has also really helped that I’ve taken up cooking here. I flat out never had the time for it living in NY, but now I’m really enjoying it. I’ve even conquered some non-entry-level Turkish food like Hünkar Beğendi (lamb cubes over a bed of smoked eggplant puree), İmam Bayıldı (stuffed eggplant dish), and Etli Yaprak Dolması (grape leave rolls stuffed with meat and rice)!
Back to figs. I don’t know who ever decided to let a fig sit out in the sun and then eat it afterwards. I mean, have you taken a look at the things? Not necessarily appetizing looking. But I guess it’s more logical (and safe) than the first person who tried eating a chicken egg (who thought eating something that pops out of a chicken like that would be a good idea?). Yes, I think about these random things.
But now I am hooked on figs… dried ones anyway. I can’t get enough. I’m not so into the fresh ones though, as they resemble pink brains to me. Not so appealing.
The verdict: if it’s dried, fig it.
