Egg and Burger

I found my people's food! It's called Egg & Burger, and it's a legit diner!!

Abby and I went here for lunch today. She's constantly on the quest for a great milkshake (the Turks tend to forget the ice cream), and I'm constantly searching for a good burger. We found both! And the place is very American. I ordered a Coke to be traditional. 

When we finished our meal, the owner started chatting us up. He kept referring to it as "your people's food," and wanted to know how we liked it. I must say, I am pretty excited about this place. In addition to the burgers, the menu includes jalapeno poppers, chicken fingers, and hot dogs. They also have a Texas Burger which consists of 4 slices of bread, 4 slices of cheese, burger, caramelized onions, and special sauce.

I got a Blue Cheeseburger because the Texas Burger was honestly too pricey for this girl. But the burgers were surprisingly well done. I'll definitely be back, if only to get my hands on some of those poppers. Maybe I'll find out why they added that Egg to the title.

Simmer Down

ZOMG! I had a successful cooking evening! I know it looks gross but it was really good!

It was carrot-lentil soup! I combined a couple different recipes from the interwebs plus all the advice my mother gave me, and this is what I got!

It's pretty thick, and it's pretty flavorful. The flavor is a mix of black pepper and garlic. Abby gave it two thumbs up but commented that next time I make it, I'm not allowed to add any extra spices. And she is totally right. The garlic just kind of sat on my lips for a while, being super garlicy. 

So yeah, carrots, onions, garlic, lentils, and water. Simmer down, baby. 

I can make soup! One step closer to being a real person. Now if only it didn't take me an hour to chop vegetables...

Daha Kar

It was snowing tonight when I left work. I decided to see how far I could make it on foot. My plan was to walk to the bus stop (about 15 minutes away), take the bus another 15 minutes, and then slide down the hill on my butt. Only one part of that worked out.

My plans were first thwarted before I even got to the bus stop when I wiped out. Wiped. Out. My keys flew out of my pocket. It was like this story without the Aman!Aman!Aman! guy to save me. These valet guys tried to give me napkins to dry my entire left side, and instead I just asked them to get me a taksi. I was ready to abandon the whole bus idea. 

I hopped in the taksi and he started heading down the hill. And then we slid downhill for a block. He decided that he was not going to be driving me down the hill. He told me he would take me as far as the bus would have taken me anyway and I would have to walk down the hill. 

We got 3/4 of the way to the place at the top of the hill where he was going to drop me off, and there was a car stuck in the middle of the road. It had spun out and couldn't get traction, and traffic was backing up. The guy decided that I should probably just get out and walk from there. I agreed. 

I walked about 5 minutes, then started making my way down the hill. It wasn't so bad. In general, I always try to keep my eyes open for slide marks, like the one above. These are places where someone before me has encountered a slippery patch. Except, unfortunately for me, that's my slide mark. I only fell for real the one time but I was slipping and sliding all the way down the hill. 

I spent 6 lira. I still had to walk down the hill in the snow, and it still took me longer than usual. I'm not putting this one in the "Win" category. 

Lance

I know, I know. I shouldn't have petted him. But he was so cute, I couldn't help it. Lance followed Chris and me home and is currently sleeping on our stoop. He's a little camera-shy, and by that, I mean he's a little camera-oblivious.

The stray dogs here are very friendly but if you show them any amount of attention, they will stick to you like glue. A month or so ago, I was walking home after a bit of rain and stepped on a loose tile. It shot water out from under it (Kate calls it 'tile squirt') and disturbed a sleeping dog. I felt really bad because these poor dogs have already been through enough without foreigners shooting tile water at them while they're asleep.

I apologized and tried to convey that it was an accident. Well then it followed me, and as I was waiting at a crosswalk, it came and put its head right under my hand. I had no choice but to pet it. It was just so darn sweet.

The same thing happened tonight. This poor pup was right within arms reach and its head was just the right height for a good behind-the-ear scratch. Then he followed us all the way home, right up to our door.

This has happened before with another dog; the dog followed us home then waited outside the door until someone else walked down the street, inadvertently giving him someone to follow. Lance didn't wander off after we closed the door. Oh no, he curled up and went to sleep right there.

Awwww...poor Lance. I know we can't let him inside, and I know we shouldn't feed him. But look at him...

What would you do?

The Roommate Cooks

Chris cooked us some amazing food last night. I came home late from work so I wasn't able to snap a good picture of the food but here's the kitchen, post-cooking.

He made kısır, mercumek köftesi (lentil balls), and patlıcan (eggplant). We also had lahmacun and baklava. It was amazing. Recipes forthcoming. 

It's so crazy. There are so many things that I have grown to like since coming here. This list includes, but is not limited to, eggplant, zucchini, and cucumber. I'm a fan. A big fan.

Happy Bed

My sad bed is now a happy bed! I have a full board, and I can fully extend my legs on it.

It also only cost 50tl ($30) to fix. Pretty good deal! One step closer to the elusive "adult bed". Obviously, upgrading from a twin is the next step but there's no rush.

It's comfortable for now. I'll get there.

Snow Way.

My quick jaunts up The Hill have been marred lately by the snow. It's stopped snowing now but for the last three days or so, there was continuous snow. When I wrote about it in November, The Hill looked like this:

Now when I stop to rest, this is my view:

There's no way for me to get to work without walking up this hill. The best public transportation option would add 2+ hours. Walking down The Hill when I come home is nothing short of treacherous. During the day, the temps are a little higher and the snow on the road is mostly water, but at night, I walk down a flight of stairs that has frozen over. 

I used the picture the other day in a whimsical post. Back in the days when I didn't have to go to work, I thought snow was soooo lovely. Now I go down these, gripping the rail the entire way and imagining myself sliding alllll tthhhee wayyyyy down. The second part of the stairs (oh yeah, this is only 1/2 of the stairs and 1/4 of the total distance) doesn't have a rail so I hold onto a fence and a tree branch, cursing aloud in Turkish and English.

I'm ready for summer.