My Frugal Accomplishments

For the week of 5/6/2013- 5/13/2013

Picked up free bags from my local recycling center. The man gave me 3 packs since I don't get there that often.

Babysat made $50

Picked up 55 yogurt cups for free. They were a managers special with a 50 cent peelie. They rang up 50 cents making them all Free!!! What a steal.

Joined a co-op and placed my first order for grass fed and raw dairy. The prices are comparable with conventional food prices.

Baked 3 loaves of bread.

Had a potluck of leftovers for dinner one night.

Made goat cheese from failed goat milk yogurt.

Passed on material presents for Mother's day and got exactly what I wanted. A family barbeque dinner that I didn't have to cook.

Processed 3 of my chickens myself. Got a little over 20 lbs. of fresh meat!

Karniyarik

Karniyarik is a stuffed eggplant dish.  It is my favorite Turkish meal! On my last trip to Turkey I finally learned how to make it.  It is hard to find the right size eggplant here but, the ones from my garden were perfect!

Peeled eggplant from the garden.
 

I don't have an exact recipe just yet. Rather a method.  You need small eggplant for this. The baby or Japanese kind are best.
First peel the eggplant leaving stripes of skin on.  Make a slit with the tip of a knife. You are now ready to fry these babies whole.

Once they are soft and cooked through put them aside to cool. While they cool make the filling. I used a little less than a pound of ground beef for 5 small eggplants.  First saute one chopped bell pepper and one onion in a little oil.  When the onion and pepper gets soft than add the beef to brown.  Season with salt and pepper.  Open the eggplants where the slit is and spoon in the filling.  Place in a baking dish.

Mix together some tomato paste and water (maybe a tablespoon of paste to a cup of water).  Pour into baking dish.  The liquid should come to just below the top of the eggplant.  Bake at 375 until the liquid has reduced by half.

I had forgotten to take a picture of the finished product when it first came out.  I took these out of my husband's lunch box before he headed off to work.

I served my karniyarik like this with a side of Bulgur Pilav and salad.  I have had these served with a slice of tomato and hot green pepper placed on the top of each eggplant before baking. Maybe next time I will try it like that. 

Macaroni a la Turk

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. Macaroni
1 tbsp. Butter
1/4 c. oil
2 tbsp. Tomato Paste
1 (32 oz.) container plain Yogurt
1 c. water
2 large garlic cloves
salt to taste

Directions:
Heat a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add macaroni.  Cook according to the package directions or until tender.  Turks prefer macaroni fully cooked not al dente.  Drain and place in a service bowl.  Add butter and stir until macaroni is coated with the butter and the butter is completely melted. 
In a separate bowl mix yogurt with 1 c. water.  Stir until smooth.  Crush garlic cloves and add to yogurt.  Salt to taste.

In a small skillet heat oil over medium-low heat.  Add tomato paste.  Stir for about 5 minutes or until the oil turns a nice red color. 
Ladle half the yogurt over the macaroni.  Then drizzle the oil and tomato paste over the top.  Salt dish to taste and serve.
With the leftover yogurt you can eat it as is or make it into Cacik by mixing a grated cucumber up with it.