So a lot's been going on (lots of drama too, which I won't get into, not here); I left my job, got a new one (better one), but my start date has been delayed because of the "economy". So I'm just sitting around for a couple of weeks, cleaning up our apt, doing some baking, doing a lot of reading...
Anyway, I was at B&N earlier today and in the cookbook/food section (of course) and came across a new book called "Turquoise- A Chef's Travels in Turkey" The cover is beautiful and seeing "Chef" and "Turkey" in the same title, I grabbed it off the shelf immediately and took it down to the cafe section to flip through it.
*Note: I love turkish food. I love middle-eastern food in general; maybe it's because our cooking at home is influenced by middle-eastern cuisine, maybe because it's just so darn good, and sort of exotic!
I really, really like this book, and am planning on getting it--these hardcovers are just so darn pricey. It's a great book, not only recipes but stories too, about Turkey and the places the Chef and his wife--Greg and Lucy Maalouf--traveled.
**They are also the authors of "Saha" and "Arabesque- Modern Middle-Eastern Food" both great books. I think they have a couple more, don't remember the titles...
So of course I went straight to the dessert/sweets section and boy oh boy I can't wait to try a couple of the recipes there: Turkish Chewy Ice-Cream and Pistachio-Halva Ice-Cream.
Turkish Chewy has mastic and sahlab and I am extremely intrigued and can't wait to make it!
Mastic is an aromatic resin of the Mastic tree: a small tree of the pistachio family. The tree is native throughout the Mediterranean and even the middle east (Turkey, Syria, Israel/Palastine). However, only the trees in the southern part of the island of Chios (Greece) produce the distinctively flavored resin. Thus it is also known by the name "Chios Tears." It starts out as a liquid but then is dried (by the sun) into drops of hard, translucent resin. When chewed, it becomes soft and a bright white gum.
It's used both for flavoring and for its gum properties.
A picture of the mastic tree and mastic "crystals."
Sahlab is the root of a species of orchid that grows throughout the Mediterranean. The name sahlab/salep comes from the Arabic expression hasyu al-tha'lab, which means "fox testicles." It's a description of the appearance of the orchid's roots. If you also look at the Greek word 'orchis, it means both testicle and orchid. The comparison to testicles also comes from the fact that salep/sahlab is considered an aphrodisiac. ;) Orchis mascula is the species most commonly associated with salep/sahlab. Here is a pic of Orchis Mascula.
Soooo... as soon as I make one, or both of these ice-creams, I'll be sure to give an update. I'm sure I'll like them.
2 comments:
that orchid is one sexually active plant. the name has roots with testicles and when you look at the flower itself, especially the larger blooms, it totally looks like a uterus!
that book sounds really cool, turkish food is yummmyyy
And Orchis Mascula sounds so... macho and masculine hahah
i wonder if it being an aphrodisiac is true... ;) i wouldn't be surprised.
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