June 27th, 2007
Another friend, another difficult farewell
Bye and best wishes from Lifensuch to Hacer and her family. Miss you all.
I have decided I dont like farewells 
, I am rather happy welcoming people. But then again, this is life!
June 26th, 2007
Tuesdays with Morrie
I just thought that it would be appropriate to mention a beautiful book I read; especially one which relates to meaning of life on Life’n'such.
Tuesdays with Morrie, is a novel; rather its more like a thesis paper written by a student on the last few meetings with his professor Morrie. Morrie is a sociology professor, who is so passionate and full of life, that even when he discovers that he has ALS- a life threatening disease, his last few months are more interesting, than the entire lives of so many of us.
I recommend reading this book. I am sure, it will wake you up from inside. I was laughing at times, and there were tears rolling down my cheeks the other. Hmm… a good read after a long time!
p.s. the book is by Mitch Albom. You should find it at your local library, and if you have to buy it, it would totally be worth it!
June 23rd, 2007
Bye Bye my Friend
Ulfet, my dear friend, my teacher, is going back to Turkey. I hope and pray the very best for her and her family. I am so sad
June 23rd, 2007
Cleaning Tip# using talcum powder as fabric stain remover
Haa another fantastic tip; this ones from Adnan’s sister Uzma. Use talcum powder, I am not sure if you make a paste of it or what; but apply it to oil or gravy stains on fabric. Then leave it for a couple days. Then use your blow dryer to blow the powder off.
She had a Georgette sari and some food fell on it. She did this, and it worked!
Note: On the box of my cornstarch, this same tip is given using corn starch. Since talcum powder is made of corn starch; I have a feeling this little tip is going to work with either product.
June 17th, 2007
Sheesh kebab or kebob?
Another weekend of summer, another barbecue with friends. Only this time, it was a farewell party for our dear Turkish friends. I am going to miss them all. Let’s not talk about that now.
We had a nice menu for barbecue. There were sheesh kebabs, meat kofte and chicken. This is a turkish recipe for making sheesh kebab. In India, we call it boti-kebab, but its marination is different.
Ingredients:
salt, red pepper, oregano
and ofcourse boneless meat/chicken cubes
skewers
onion and green pepper diced, cherry tomatoes
Method:
Marinate the meat/chicken over night. Then string them on the skewers, such that, there is a meat/chicken cube between a onion/tomato/pepper. Thats it. Next step grilling and then eating 
June 14th, 2007
Ice Cream Cookies – a recipe from Lifensuch’s youngest reader
This recipe is from Elif, the youngest reader and now a contributor on Lifensuch! I am pretty sure, all little-chef’s-to-be will be trying out this recipe.
Ingredients:
cookies (24), (I am guessing its chocolate chip cookies)
ice cream as much as you like. (I think vanilla ice cream will be good)
Method:
In Elif’s own words:
“First you get a tray (enough to fit twelve cookies) you cover the tray with wax paper. You take 12 cookies and lay them on the tray. Bottom side up. Now you take some icecream. Put it on the 12 cookies. Now take 12 more cookies. Right side up. Cover with more wax paper. Put them in the freezer. Let them stay there for about two hours. Take them out and then you eat them.”
Isn’t this recipe perfect for hot summers!
Update: Elif also suggested rolling the sides of the ice cream cookies in sprinkles, or nuts, or chocolate chips….Mmmmmmmm
June 11th, 2007
Turkish Raita – Yoghurt Salad
I don’t know if this is a Turkish recipe for real, but my dear friend Fauzia, said it was. Now I have to ask my Turkish friends, if it really is. Fauzia made it for barbecue yesterday. We had a good time. You should check this park out, its in Aurora, Ohio. Its called Sunny lake Park. Its huge!
I like to call it Turkish raita (raita means yogurt salad in India), so that everyone is happy. But wherever this recipe came from, it tastes fantastic. Dont believe me, well try it and see for yourself.
Ingredients:
boiled potatoes, diced,
carrots, diced,
cucumbers diced,
yogurt
mayonnaise (lesser in quantity than your yoghurt)
salt, black pepper, cumin powder (jeera)
optional: cilantro (if you want to call it Indian) or parsley (if you want to claim its Turkish); chopped
Method:
Mix the yogurt, mayo and the seasoning first. Then drop the veggies in it. That’s it! Its ready to be eaten. I loved it so much, I kept eating spoonfuls of it, during, through and after my meal 
June 9th, 2007
Doctor Doctor…
“Help, we need a Doctor, its an emergency”. If you hear this and you happen to be around Dr. Uludag or Dr. Gul, never mind, they are not going to be of any help. They are not real-Doctors.
But yeah, you could congratulate them! They just received PhD in Criminal Justice – isn’t it amazing!!!!
Well, of course, they are our friends, so I have to mention them on my blog. Its a big achievement And yeah lets not forget their wives and children (my dear friends) who helped them accomplish it, may I add…. with so much patience.
Congratulations!
Now you must be thinking why am I mentioning something unrelated to food here? Well there is a good reason, when its time to celebrate, its all about food with my friends. So if they happen to be cooking something fabulous, I will not rest in peace until I get the recipes, and share it with you guys. Now do you see the circle of life, my friend?
June 6th, 2007
Chicken Parmesan
I just made this for lunch today! I remembered Yasir’s friend Matts Chicken Parmesan, so I thought I should try it myself. I remembered the recipe a little bit, it hasnt come out as good as Matts though. I am going to ask him to email me his secret recipe and then post it up here for you all .
For the time being; here is mine!
Ingredients:
chicken breast, as many as you like (approx 1 chicken breast per person), and cut them through the middle, so you get 2 pieces out of 1 breast
spaghetti sauce (Store bought)
mozarella cheese, as much as you like
parmesan cheese (I used the Kraft brand)
bread crumbs (if seasoned, great, if not, add some italian seasoning and salt to it)
egg,
1/2 cup milk
oil for frying
Method:Â
First dip the chicken pieces in the egg and milk mixture. Then dip the pieces in the breadcrumbs. Fry the pieces till they are golden red in color.
Arrange them on a baking tray (I used a glass tray). Then sprinkle the mozarella cheese and pour the spaghetti sauce over it. Cover this with foil and bake at 350 deg F for about 30 minutes. Towards the end, sprinkle some more mozarella cheese and lots of parmesan cheese and bake with the foil for a few minutes. Done!
Eat with spaghetti. Yumm Yumm!
June 4th, 2007
‘Ande ka halwa’ or ‘Thool Halwa’ or Egg Halwa – Egg dessert – Indian Recipe
Some of you are going to wonder what in the world is Egg halwa? Well, if you happen to be from north India or Kashmir, you wouldnt be surprised. This is a very common dessert made at home, the simplest dessert with very few, ‘easy to find in your kitchen’ ingredients. And oh soo soo good! You have to give it a try, when its all done, your guests will not believe you if you told them this is made with …. eggs!
It is called ande ka halwa in hindi, thool halwa in kashmiri.
Oops, forgot to mention, Rudaba aunty used to make it when I was little. This is an excellent topping over shahi tukda. (I have the recipe for it somewhere on this blog.)
Ingredients:
Eggs (about 6 for 10 servings)
1 can condensed milk,
1 cup sugar, (more or less as per your taste)
3-4 tbsp of ghee (indian butter) or butter
few pinches of saffron (kesar)
Nuts for garnishing (I like using almonds, cashews, and raisins)
Method:
Put all the above ingredients, except nuts in a blender. Now preferably in a non-stick deep pan, pour the mixture and cook on a slow-medium flame, stirring continuously. (You need to do this on a low flame, or your halwa will turn into egg omlette )
Thats it, keep stirring till you see oil seperating out.
Keep stirring!
When its all done, taste for sugar, and garnish with nuts.
Serve warm or hot.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention, this takes about 40-45 minutes to cook, using 6 eggs. I would suggest doing this with another partner. Happy stirring!