Zey's B-day

2nd post today.

Well it was Zeynep's birthday on the 27th but she invited us to this very nice pizzeria in Cihangir (Djihangir) called Miss Pizza. It's one of the best pizzeria in Istanbul I've been to.
On the way there I saw this cool cat sitting on a grave stone in this tiny cemetary sqeezed between two buildings. A patient cat by the way, it took me many shots before being able to get this steady one. Hand held camera at night.




























It was a cool night. Happy Birthday Zeynep.

Yesterday's picture

Yes, it is in fact a shower head. Thanks to ALR. It's the shower in the studio we're shooting in.










We're shooting this 'Jamie Oliver like' cooking show in this very nice old building in Taksim, Beyoglu. I'll try to take a picture from the outside next time. It's from the beginning of the last century.



















The shoot is pretty cool. We shoot twice a week. The thing is that it's only pasta recipes, so we eat pasta all day long.
Today we finished around 4 p.m. so I'll go home and get ready for Zeynep B-day (next post).

Today's picture

Guess what it is ...











Yes it is ;)

2-1

I was working today. For Canal+ but not as cameraman for once.
As a translator for the French director.

I got to meet Aimé Jacquet.

Going to bed, it's 1.30 a.m. and I need to get up at 6.30 a.m. tough.

Left turn prohibited

I guess they were out of "left turn prohibited" sign. But they already have two signs saying that you can't go this way. So why bother putting this third one ? That's Turkey's charm I guess.

Arnavutköy

I did some walking and running today.

traffic

I hate Turkish drivers. I hate them, I hate them, I hate them !!!
#\*@?!% !!!!!

Beykoz

on the way to work

I saw this writing on a wall today.

I can't really read the english part.
If someone could help me, that would be cool.






Today we shot new episodes from the Teknosohbet show.

Cheesecake

Today I made my first cheesecake. The New-York Cheesecake.

Here is how I did :

I mixed up 150 grams (5.30 ounces) of Flour, 60 grams (2.10 ounces) of sugar, some lemon zest and 5 grams (0.20 ounce) of vanilla powder. Add 120 grams (4.20 ounces) of melted butter and 1 egg yolk. Let the butter cool down if you melted it bain-marie, otherwise you will cook the egg.

Handle until you get a homogeneous dough. Make a ball with it, wrap it with stretch film and leave it half an hour in the fridge.
-----------------
Preheat your oven at 210 °C (410°F).
Butter up your mold, spread the dough evenly up to the upper side. Cook it for 10-15 minutes. Have a look often, mine almost started to burn by the 10th minute. Then take it out and let it out to cool down.
-----------------
In a big bowl, mix up 650 grams (1.4 pounds) of Labne Cheese if you are in Turkey, Saint-Moret or fromage blanc if you're in France, or any softened cheese cream you can find. Add some lemon zest, 200 grams (0.45 pounds) of sugar, 1 table spoon of flower, 5 grams (0.20 ounce) of vanilla powder, mix it all.


In a separate little bowl, mix up 3 eggs + 1 egg yolk, then add it to your previous ingredients. mix.

Have your oven preheated at 270°C (518°F). Pour your new mix in the mold on the cooled dough.
Put it in the oven.
After 5 minutes lower your oven's temperature to 90°C (194°F) and let it cook for an hour (maybe a bit more, depending on your oven.

Let it cool for 3 hours. Serve cold.

Bon appétit.

Satellite dishes

Today's picture :

Nutella

Man, Did you know the nuts variety used for the production of Nutella is mainly coming from Turkey ? The needed quantities are so huge that approximately 80% of the turkish production is bought by the manufacturer : Ferrero.
The volumes bought are so big that Ferrero can select the best nuts leaving its competitors the smallest calibers and lower quality nuts. This could explain why no other product quite match the specific taste of Nutella.
Another incredible fact : The Nutella found in the U.S.A. does not include E and B12 vitamins as it does in Europe.

I need to ask someone living in the States if this is all true.
The american Nutella is enriched in iron but impoverished in phosphor.
There is more peanut butter (mono-saturated fat), which is of a lower nutritional quality than vegetal oil (richer in Polyunsaturated fat acids) usually used.
It has more sugar and the peanut butter is preferred instead of cocoa butter.
It is sold in disposable plastic can and not in recyclable glas.
They say that the american Nutella would taste more like chocolaty peanut butter with a less smooth texture and less homogeneous making it less easier to spread.

Although I have some doubts about most those facts about the american Nutella. Those are probably old data.

Anyway, Nutella Rules everywhere.

- And if you ever go to Paris, France you'll be able to eat the best Nutella flavored Italian ice cream.
This is the only place in Paris where they really use Nutella to make their ice cream. The other flavors are also delicious; made from real fresh fruits.
The name of the place ? : Amorino.
Where to find it ? : Click here to see the 7 shops on google map.
There is one in Strasbourg at 11 rue Mercière.
And even 3 in Shanghai.

Cat

So many cats in the streets here. This one is sleeping in this old fountain in the streets in Cihangir.

Happy Birthday

Mustafa













& Umut

Bulgur King

The picture was taken while driving. Sorry for the poor composition ;)










The restaurant is here for those who are interested in raw meat balls. This one does it without meat though. They use bulgur (dried crushed wheat) instead. You can't really tell but on the sign you have the web address of the place. Every body has a website here, even the street salesmen. A place for vegetarian I guess.

Toilet Seat

I saw this very cool toilet seat in the streets of Cihangir today. It was here. The building it's in is abandoned with many graffities and stencils on the outside wall. You may see them soon on another blog I will create just for wall art.

Blue cat

The kids in the neighborhood love him so much they painted him in blue.

Bimbo

Today I went To Ikea with Jake, we took a look at the new outlet (Meydan) adjoining it they recently finished and went into this new hypermarket (Real) in which we found this amazing cherry juice.
This new outlet is an open-air shopping center. The air-conditioning is provided by one of the largest geothermic units in Europe. The center is heated and cooled using mainly geothermic energy.

Bosphorus at night

We went to see Gülper in Istinye, She has one of the best views over the Bosphorus.

Today's Picture

What is it ?