A mere stone’s throw from my front door a fresh foods market blossoms every Saturday. Here is one of scores of similarly scrumptious vendors that bring their produce every weekend.

Today I walked the length of the market, eyes agog and mouth a-watering, absorbing the sights and smells and hoping for inspiration for dinner. With no particular plan, I purchased the following produce (all for less than $7.50):

I then faced the somewhat more complicated task of preparing a dinner, and after much Google recipe-searching, chopping, tongue out-sticking, and tasting, the following meal came to be:

A large bowl of cacık (“jah juhk” - a Turkish yogurt dip much akin to Greek tzatziki) prepared with garlic, fresh dill, grated cucumber, salt, olive oil, a bit of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and yogurt, and…

…eggplant (briefly boiled and then sautéed w/ olive oil, salt & pepper) topped with cheese & an Indian chutney-inspired tomato-based sauce made with grated tomatoes, onions, carrots, chopped green pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano. I apologize for the artistic deficiencies of the photo, but I couldn’t help but eat a plateful before finally getting my camera for the picture.

Overall the cacık turned out well, though didn’t end up making much of a pairing for the main. That’s fine, as I have stored it and will use it later as a dip for the additional peppers that I sliced and then had no use for. The eggplant didn’t really need to be both boiled and sautéed I realized when it was too late, but fortunately the sauce & cheese flavor fusion more than made up for softness of the eggplant (with which I’d never cooked before, hence the probably elementary mistake).

After finally having a full-fledged kitchen for the first time since I left home, it was only a matter of time before this: my first egg sandwich in 11 months

Video from my visit to Gezi Park & Taksim Square

Photos from my visit to Gezi Park & Taksim Square: Part 3

Photos from my visit to Gezi Park & Taksim Square: Part 2

Photos from my visit to Gezi Park & Taksim Square: Part 1

Moved off my friend’s couch and into an apartment today - here’s a quick tour of some of the hot spots

It’s a very nice, comfortable, safe place in a great location (relative to campus and my favorite food joints), and it is all thanks to completely random chance and the benevolence of my Turkish friend (who is leaving for the summer and letting me stay in his room) that this is all possible! I have my own room and share the flat with two Turkish students. It promises to be an excellent home-base :)

Just wanted to let you all know that despite what’s going on here in İstanbul and all around the country (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22783127), I’m safe and all is quite well

Panorama overlooking Tso Kar Lake

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Jordan reading in the village of Rumste, day 1 of our second trek

Two of our (four) ponies, loaded up with the gear for our trek

Me looking triumphant atop the second of two ridges we climbed up unnecessarily when separated from our guide on our second trek

Tso Kar lake in the background

On the shores of Lake Tso Moriri

Leaving one of our campsites on a beautiful, sunny morning

In the valley surrounding Lake Tso Kar

Neighbors outside our tent at Lake Tso Moriri

And the beautiful Lake Tso Moriri

Our tent with prayer flags high up above

The day we just say by the lake and relaxed - Jordan reading and me (unpictured) sunbathing

The village of Korzok, beside lake Tso Moriri

It was extremely windy at this look-out over the lake