The 1st recipe of many..

So after much deliberation, I've decided to put up recipes that have been passed down to me, or ones I've come up with in this blog also.  Some of you may be thinking:  "this is a craft blog, why would you add food to it also?"  Well thats a simple question to answer.  My grandmother was a prized cook in our city in Lebanon.  She was orphaned at a young age and went to live with her aunty who taught her all the ins and outs of lebanese cooking.  These secrets and recipes have been passed down to me and now its time to share them with you.  Yes, this is a craft blog, but its also a journey of my life through the things I love, and if I've forgotten to mention, I was a chef at a top restaurant for nearly 2 years, however due to distance and "restaurant politics" I quit and now I'm undertaking aged care.  I also indulged in Turkish cookery obviously because of my partner, and many other different cuisines, however I think for the time being I'll just stick to middle-eastern recipes.  Most ingredients can be found in your local shops, or in a middle eastern grocery.

Cooking to me is my other love alongside craft.  I cook nearly every day, and sometimes get angry at myself because I can't think of WHAT to cook.  So I'll put up a section on the left hand side of the blog called "Cooking" (obviously?) after I put a few recipes up.

One thing I'll pre-warn you all about is I'm not very good with amounts and quantities, I normally just do it by eye, so hopefully we can overcome this together!

This recipe is one of my all time favourite Turkish recipes, as I love baking.  This is a perfect thing to whip up as an entree if you cut it in slices or just as a meal on its own,  I made these the other day for my partner, he loved them of course!

Cheese Pide:  (4 serves)Dough

2 3/4c  Plain Flour
7g (1 packet) Instant yeast
3/4c  Warm Water
2 Tbs Olive oil

Filling

1c  Feta cheese (if your feta is too salty, soak it in water for 10 mins)

1c Tulum cheese (this can be found at Turkish groceries, if you cant find it, use another cup of feta)
Parsley (optional)

GlazeYogurt mixed with water
Nigella or Sesame seeds
Olive Oil

-I used my bread maker to make the dough, but if you prefer you can always do it by hand.

MethodPreheat oven! (250 dC)

Place flour, yeast, water and oil together and mix until its just a little bit sticky but not too much, watch your dough, know your dough- if it needs more water add a little at a time, if it needs more flour the same applies.
When it has come together and formed a not so sticky ball, cover it in olive oil and leave to rest for as long as you can (an hour if you are in a hurry)

While you're waiting, crumble the cheeses and chop the parsley (optional) and mix together in a bowl.

Seperate your dough in to 4 pieces, rest another 15 mins. 

Pat down the dough into oval shapes, then use a rolling pin to make it more longer and wider.  If it sticks to the rolling pin, put a little bit more oil.

Put cheese mixture in the middle from one end to another, and start to fold the edges together but leaving it open in the middle.

Glaze with yogurt mixture and sprinkle nigella or sesame seeds on the dough.

Bake in a preheated oven at 250 degrees C on a tray lined with baking paper

Glaze with olive oil as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Enjoy!