Yes, I had too much demli cay! Besides I am an Abstinenzler. German word for not touching alcohol.

oysters, ha, ha, ha!

now i see how great tarkan is..

Oh, correction, not oysters, Turkish hamsi/hamzi.

I love cooking. Please allow me to prepare tonight's menu for you, with a delicious Kirmizi Mercimek Corbasi (Red Lentil Soup), a nicely cooked Tas Kebabi (Meat Stew) and Patlican Begendi (Eggplant Puree), and for the dessert Kabak Tatlisi (Pumpkin Dessert).

Red Lentil Soup (Kirmizi Mercimek Corbasi)
Ingredients: 1 cup red lentils; 6 cups water, chicken broth or beef stock; 2 medium onions, grated; 2 carrots, grated; 1 teaspoon hot red pepper (aci biber, kirmizi biber, pul biber or isot); salt; 2 tablespoons butter; 2 cups tomato juice. For the topping: 1 tablespoon butter, 1/2 tablespoon red pepper.

Place lentils, water or broth, onions, carrots, red pepper and salt into a saucepan. Cook until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and press through a sieve (discard residue) or blend in a food processor or blender. Add butter and tomato juice and bring to a boil. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a pan add 1/2 tablespoon red pepper, stir and sprinkle over soup. The soup should be creamy. You can also replace the butter and paprika topping with croutons.

Meat Stew (Tas Kebabi)
Ingredients: 2 medium onions, grated; 2 tablespoons butter; 2 lbs. (900 gr.) meat (lamb, veal or mutton), cut into cubes; 3 medium tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped; 1/2 tablespoon thyme; 1 cup boiling water.

Saute onions in butter, stirring constantly for 5 minutes until lightly browned. Add meat and saute, browning on all sides. Cover and cook over low heat until the meat releases its moisture and reabsorbs it. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, thyme and 1 cup of boiling water and cook over medium heat for 1 hour. Lower heat and cook partially covered for another 20 minutes until meat is tender and has a thick gravy. Add a little hot water if necessary.

Eggplant Puree (Patlican Begendi)
Ingredients: 2 large eggplants; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 tablespoons butter; 2 tablespoons flour; 1 1/2 cups milk; salt and pepper to taste; 4 tablespoons gruyere, fresh kasar or parmesan cheese, grated.

Pierce the eggplants with a fork. Place them in a pan over an open flame, on a high gas flame or over charcoal and cook them for half an hour, turning often until the skin blisters on all sides and the eggplant becomes soft. Cool. Set aside.

Slice the eggplants lengthwise into two. Scoop out pulp, squeeze all the moisture and mash with fork on wooden board. Place eggplant pulp into a bowl, add lemon juice and set aside.

Place butter in a saucepan, add flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Add cold milk and continue stirring for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Mix eggplant into mixture. Add cheese and mash until it turns into a paste.

Pumpkin Dessert (Kabak Tatlisi)
Ingredients: 2 kg. pumpkin, peeled; 5 1/2 cups sugar; 1 cup chopped walnuts.

Peel and cut the pumpkin into slices. Wash. Cut each slice into a 1-inch squares. Place them in a large saucepan, sprinkling sugar between layers. Cook over medium heat for more than an hour or until pumpkin is very tender and syrup has formed.

Transfer to a serving plate with syrup. Allow 2 hours before serving for pumpkin to absorb most of the syrup. When serving top with a little syrup from the serving plate. Garnish with chopped walnuts.

First let me serve you the Kirmizi Mercimek Corbasi topped with butter and red pepper, then the Tas Kebabi, which is served on top of the Patlican Begendi. And for the dessert the Kabak Tatlisi nicely cooked in syrup. And for the last word, all I can say is Afiyet Olsun!