Du pain?

There is something so delicious about going out and buying fresh bread to eat that day.  We all still need loaves of bread in the cupboard that are our staple toast in the morning but Mum, Findlay and me have discovered the delights of buying fresh bread.  Each morning we head out in search of the squishiest, warmest loaf.  Yesterday Findlay picked one which was a series of little buns all attached, which made the loaf look like a flower.  There were stacks of them in our local deli, all piled up in a basket paper bags next to them inviting you to help yourself.  Findlay chose a perfect loaf and we tore into it at lunchtime with cold meat, cheese and vegetable crudites.

Bakeries here are very inviting.  In the morning you will see a variety of fresh loaves and simit (a turkish bagel covered in sesame seeds and another of our favourite morning purchases to be enjoyed still warm as we head up the street)....by the afternoon simit and loaves have been replaced with cakes, pastries and sweet delights which are a perfect accompaniment to cay (turkish tea which is served in a glass).

Today we decided to wander up off Bagdat Cad. and away from the waterfront.  The heat was intense in the  back streets but still there was a quieter hustle and bustle.  We stumbled upon a Börek cafe.  These are little tea shops serving all manner of pastries (sweet and savoury).  Börek is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of a thin flaky pastry dough. It can be filled with cheese, often feta, minced meat, or vegetables.  For the sweeter tooth there is an array of Baklava.  It is this that Mum, Findlay and I enjoyed.  Mum ordered Tea and Findlay had peach juice from a can!!  Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.  The ones we ordered were with Pistachio and boy were they good.  Findlay even enjoyed them while playing in the children's play area.  Mum had taken her book along and would have gotten 5 minutes to enjoy it were it not for the over zealous staff who insisted on touching me and bringing Findlay colouring books while speaking Turkish and the odd English word to her.  "Beautiful childrens" they kept saying.  We left making note to take Daddy back to try the walnut Baklava, and perhaps have a couple of Borek while we are there.