[Food Series] How NOT to make Turkish Meat Pie (Kıymalı Börek)

So I have been trying for the last few weeks to get a family recipe from our cousin for Kıymalı Börek, otherwise known as Turkish Meat Pie. He is, understandably preoccupied with the imminent arrival of their first child, so I emailed his wife. I knew they each have their own recipe. One is a variation of my mother-in-law’s and the other is a quicker stove top version preferred by my almost 9-month-pregnant cousin-in-law.

Mistake #1: I allowed my “chef” ego to reassure me that I could simply adapt the stove top recipe to the oven. Easy Peasy! Not.

Mistake #2: I forgot to buy eggs. Brain Fart.

Mistake #3: I haphazardly plopped down the yogurt mixture instead of separating the layers of phyllo and carefully brushing the mixture through all of the layers. Doofus.

Mistake #4: I didn’t consider the size of the pan I would be using, so the amount of ground beef filling that I had on hand to spread throughout was very sparse. Seriously.

Mistake #5: I decided, above all, to make this, for the first time, on an evening when we had to get out of the house by 6:30 pm to make it to a summer concert. Really. REALLY? Yes. Really.

The good news is: It was edible!

The good(er) news is: I will try it again, learning from my silly mistakes and I’ll share it with you all then!

[Food Series] A Summer Picnic at The Hollywood Bowl

The Hollywood Bowl is a beloved LA landmark whose cultural and musical history has been delicately woven into the very fabric of our lives for over a decade. It will be featured in an upcoming MommyHiker.com article, but today I wanted to showcase a few quick, easy and nutritious summer picnic ideas, perfect for mad-dashing out to a concert or just to the neighborhood park!

Caprese
1 Heirloom Tomato
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
Fresh Basil
Red Onion
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt & Pepper

Thinly slice the tomatoes, mozzarella and red onions then lay them on a plate, alternating tomato, mozzarella, basil leaf. Once you have used up all of the sliced ingredients, sprinkle red onions on top, lightly salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar!

Roasted Broccoli & Fennel
2 heads of Broccoli
1 Fennel Bulb
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Cut the heads of broccoli into florets and slice the fennel. Toss everything lightly in olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Fruit Salad
2 Large Apples
1 small container of Blueberries
3 Persian Cucumbers
1/4 pound of Grapes

Core and slice 2 apples. Remove grapes from stem. Peel and chop cucumbers. Toss everything into a bowl and serve!

[Food Series] Bon Femme (Good Lady Apples) with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

I rarely make dessert, we’re just not a dessert kind of family, but when I saw Jacques Pépin whip up this super simple dessert, I just knew I had to try it! I loved the fact that it was only baked whole fruit and 3 additional whole food ingredients! I must admit that butter is not an ingredient which is generally in our fridge due to the fact that when it is, we devour it excessively, but exceptions were made, rules were broken and these Bon Femme were exquisite! Enjoy!!

Mommy Hiker - Bon Femme (Good Lady Apples) Recipe
Bon Femme (Good Lady Apples)

Ingredients:
6 large apples
1/3 cup apricot jam
1/3 cup light maple syrup
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Cinnamon Whipped Cream:
1 Pint of Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 teaspoon Confectioner’s Sugar
2 dashes of Cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cut a 1/4 inch off the top and bottom of all 6 apples. Make sure the cut you make on the bottom of the apple is pretty level so that the apple can easily sit upright while baking. Carefully core and then score their skins making 3 1/8 of an inch deep lines going down from top to about midway down, spacing them equal distance around its circumference. The scoring allows the skin to expand as the apple bakes, ensuring that you won’t have an exploded appley-apricoty mess to clean up in your oven! Mix the apricot jam and maple syrup in a bowl, place the apples in a baking dish and evenly pour the mixture on top of the apples. Cut the 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter into 6 equal pieces and place 1 piece in the cored hole of each apple. Put the dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, baste, then bake for another 30 minutes.

To make the whipped cream, take a mixing bowl and the mixing blades (or a whisk if you’re not using a mixer) and place them in the freezer for 10 minutes. Ensuring that everything is very cold when you whip the cream will give you the best results! So after your bowl and utensils are chilled, pour the heavy whipping cream into your cold mixing bowl, add the sugar and cinnamon and whip on medium until you can create high stiff peaks (about 2 minutes). Make sure you don’t over-whip it, otherwise it will fall and become creamy).

Dab a dollop of Cinnamon Whipped Cream on top of your Bon Femme and devour!!