Calphalon Contemporary Nonstick Omelet Combo Set Giveaway Winner

First of all, thank you to all of you who participated in the giveaway sponsored by CSN Stores. It would have been nice to have more than one winner, but unfortunately we only have one prize.

For the drawing, I used random.org and the winner is Rita T.! Congratulations to Rita! Enjoy making your stir-fry with the pans.

Rita, please contact me with your full name and address within the next 48 hours to receive your prize.

Thanks to CSN Stores and to the participants!

Spinach with Eggs (Yumurtalı Ispanak)

The combination of spinach and eggs can certainly delight your palates. I relished every single bite while eating this simple, yet delightful meal which holds a good standing in Turkish cuisine. My lovely mother graciously shared this recipe with me (as always) when I inquired about it. I personally had made spinach with eggs before, but never this good! I think I was leaving out the cumin and onions. This same recipe can also be prepared with the addition of ground meat which will be posted on my blog on another date. A piece of bread and yogurt can make a great accompaniment to this dish.

The spinach was purchased from the farmer’s market in Houston this weekend along with some other fresh and organic vegetables. I am working on a few more recipes involving the vegetables I bought at the farmer’s market. Now that I have some breathing room from work (for a while anyway), I look forward to documenting and sharing some more of my favorite, healthy and delicious recipes.

On another note, I would just like to remind those of you interested to enter my contest for the Non-stick Calphalon Omelette Set giveaway! A lucky winner will receive the prize! Check my previous post.

2 bunches spinach (approx. 2 lb with stems)
4 eggs
1 medium shallot (chopped)
1 small garlic clove (chopped)
2 tbsp olive oil
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp cumin

Wash the spinach in cold water thoroughly. Discard the stems.

Chop the spinach roughly.

Heat olive oil in a medium non-stick pan. Add the shallots and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the spinach in the pan. The spinach will wilt in the heat. When it starts to wilt, add the salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and cumin. Stir to integrate all the ingredients. The spinach should wilt and reduce in size. Break four eggs on top of the spinach. Sprinkle the top of the eggs with a pinch of salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Cover for 3-4 minutes and continue to cook under medium heat. Remove cover and cook for another 2 minutes until most of the water evaporates. Serve with bread and yogurt.

CSN Stores Giveaway-Calphalon Contemporary Nonstick Omelet Combo Set

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Thanks to CSN Stores, it’s time for the giveaway I have been mentioning in my previous posts! I was ecstatic when I was contacted by CSN Stores recently on hosting a giveaway or a product review on my blog. Although, I must admit that it was not easy to decide whether I should review an item and KEEP it or host a giveaway by allowing my readers to receive a prize. Ultimately, I decided that I would be immensely gratified if my one of my readers received a nice item. If you have not heard about CSN Stores, they have 200 plus online stores which hold everything from bar stools to bedding, to furniture and anything you can think of for you and your home. Their selection of items is very impressive. I spent a couple hours on some of their websites when trying to decide which prize I should pick for my giveaway. Some of CSN Store’s websites are http://www.allmodern.com/, http://www.diningroomsdirect.com/, http://www.cookware.com/ and http://www.toysandgamesonline.com/. I am confident that you can find almost any type of item from one of their stores.

The giveaway item I decided on is the Calphalon Contemporary Nonstick 10” and 12“ Omelet Combo Set since I have the exact ones in my kitchen for a few years now and I am very happy with them. I thought these pans can be useful for anyone spending time in the kitchen.




Here are the details for entering the giveaway contest:

To enter do one or more of the following: (Leave a separate comment for each entry):

1) Leave me a comment telling me that other than making omelets with these pans, what else can be cooked with them (1 entry).
2) Blog about this giveaway on your blog (3 entries) and leave me a link on your post about the giveaway in the comment section.
3) Join my facebook. If you are already on my facebook, just leave a comment telling me that (2 entries).
4) Announce my giveaway on your facebook and let me know (1 entry).
5) Subscribe to my feed. If you currently subscribe, just leave a comment telling me that (2 entries).
6) Follow me on Google Friend Connect. If you already follow me, just tell me so. (2 entries).
7) Place my blog’s link on your website (2 entries). If you already linked to my blog, just leave a comment telling me that.

The giveaway end date is Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 7:00 p.m. (Central Time). The winner will be selected by random.org and announced the next day. Unfortunately, the giveaway is ONLY open to my readers who reside in the U.S. or Canada. The winner will need to send me their full name and address within 48 hours in order to receive his/her prize. The prize will be directly shipped to the winner by CSN Stores.

Note: Please leave a separate comment for each entry. The more entries you have, the more chances you have of winning. All entries will be verified.

Chicken Breasts with Vegetables (Sebzeli Tavuk)

This chicken dish came together one night when I threw a bunch of ingredients I had on hand together for a dinner. Most of my cooking involves throwing things together unless it is for a specific recipe that I want to publish in my blog or for company. Working full time and cooking after a long day of work is not an easy thing and we prefer fresh, home-cooked meals, therefore I usually just make up a quick meal (max 30 minutes) on weekdays with the ingredients in my fridge and pantry. Also, I rarely have a grocery list when I go to the grocery store, so whatever looks fresh and appealing that day ends up in my shopping cart and then my fridge. Most of these quick 30 minute meals usually are not Turkish, however may be inspired by Turkish/Mediterranean cooking. This chicken recipe is inspired by Mediterranean cuisine and certainly took longer than 30 minutes to prepare, however it tasted really good. So it made the list of recipes to be published.

Before we get to the recipe, I would like to share that my next post will be the GIVEAWAY! One lucky winner will get a nice prize!

Now, here is the recipe.

3 bone-in chicken breasts
2 yellow potatoes (diced thick)
2 carrots (sliced thick)
1 red pepper (sliced lengthwise)
1 bunch green onions (cut thick)
5-6 cremini mushrooms (quartered)
½ cup parsley (chopped)
2 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried rosemary
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large pot. Place the chicken breasts and sprinkle half of salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, cumin, oregano and rosemary on top. Cook for 5 minutes without cover. Turn the chicken breast over and sprinkle the rest of the salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, cumin, oregano and rosemary. Cook for 5 minutes. Squeeze the half lemon on top of the chicken breasts. Add the potatoes and stir so that the spices integrate with the potatoes. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, carrots, red peppers. Give it a stir and cover lid. Turn heat down to low and cook covered for 35-40 minutes. Turn off stove and uncover the pot. Stir in the green onions. Turn on the oven broiler and place the pot in the middle rack with the chicken on sitting on top of the vegetables. Broil about 8-10 minutes on each side until the chicken get a golden color. Remove from broiler and stir in the chopped parsley. Serve with rice and/or flat bread.

Poached Eggs in Yogurt (Çılbır)

Çılbır is known throughout Turkey. Probably because it is simple to make and it contains two popular ingredients; eggs and yogurt. Eggs are so versatile and nutritious; they make a good meal any time of the day, not only for breakfast. This was our dinner one recent evening when we wanted something quick, light and delicious.

If you wish, you may serve and decorate each serving on a different plate rather than all in one serving plate. Enjoy.

On another note, if you like FREE stuff, I will be hosting a giveaway on my blog in the next two weeks! The item for the giveaway is a really good one! Stay tuned!

5 eggs
2 cups plain yogurt
2 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
1 tsp dried mint
1 ½ tsp salt
¼ cup vinegar
5-6 cups water
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp red pepper paste
1 dash cayenne pepper (optional)

Boil water in a wide pot. Add cayenne and vinegar.

In the mean time, add garlic, ½ tsp dried mint and ½ tsp salt to yogurt and mix vigorously. Spread yogurt in a large serving plate.

In a small pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Mix in the red pepper paste and mix together until the paste is completely dissolved.

When water is boiled, gently break the eggs and let cook for 2-3 minutes. The outer of the eggs will cook, however the inner part should still be runny. Remove eggs gently and place carefully on the yogurt spread. Poach eggs one or two at a time if the pot is not large enough.

Once all eggs are poached and placed on the yogurt, pour the sauce made of olive oil and red pepper paste on top of the eggs.

Chickpeas with Chicken (Tavuklu Nohut)

Here is a nutritious recipe full of protein. Chickpeas by themselves are full of protein, so for vegetarians, the chicken can be omitted from the recipe and you can still have a tasty and nutritious dish! Chickpeas with chicken or beef are very common in Turkish cuisine; sometimes they are saucy, sometimes on the drier side. Feel free to experiment with different spices and meats.


1 ½ cup chickpeas
1 small onion (chopped fine)
2 cloves garlic (chopped fine)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cubed)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp tomato paste
2 ½ tsp red pepper paste
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ cup fresh parsley (chopped)
2 tsp salt (adjust to your taste)
1 ½ cups water


Soak chickpeas overnight. Drain and boil in a pot for about 30 minutes. They should be soft, but not mushy after boiling.

In a large pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Saute chicken cubes until they start to take whitish color. Add onions and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add chickpeas and sauté for approximately 6 minutes.

Add salt, cumin, black pepper to the pot. Dissolve the tomato and red pepper pastes in water. Add to the pot. Stir the ingredients in the pot and cook covered on medium heat for approximately 40 minutes. Make sure the chickpeas are soft to eat.

Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top and serve.

Grilled Chicken Thighs and Drumsticks (Izgara Tavuk Budu)

This recipe was also made in the middle of the Rocky Mountains of Canada with a beautiful view of nature as mentioned in the last post. The grilled chicken turned out to be very moist and flavorful. The first weekend we made this (slightly a different version), I did not document it. Since it turned out so good, the following weekend, I tried to remember the ingredients and their proportions. This time I documented them and created this post. Enjoy

5 skinless and boneless chicken thighs
5 chicken drumsticks
½ garlic clove
1 tsp blackening spice
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp red pepper sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vinegar
1 ¼ tsp sea salt

Flat bread (optional)


With a sharp knife, stab the chicken drumsticks from 4-5 different places so that the marinade seeps into the flesh of the chicken and cooks faster.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except chicken.

When all the ingredients are married together, add the chicken and cover all the chicken with marinade.

Refrigerate for 5 hours. Heat an outdoor grill or oven broiler. Cook chicken about 10 minutes on each side.

Lay out some flat bread on a plate and place the chicken on the flat bread along with onion salad and grilled vegetables.