Just a Few Words:::

I have not been online for a few days. I do apologize for this, I have been ill and still am. I have the flu and it hit me really hard this last couple of days. 

 Please forgive for this and continue reading my posts. I will be up and ready for posting more when I am better. 

 Loves and hugs to all my readers! 

and... Stay Healthy!

Call Me Crazy, But:::

I FREAKING LOVE This stuff. 

  This is called Kuru Fasulye. (kudu fasool-ye the same a sound in the word ate.) I am sorry to my dear Turkish Readers if I am spelling it wrong. (Yes, I meant to capitalize Readers because I am using it in a Title of respect because you wonderful wonderful people of Turkey have grabbed my heart, and made me the American that LOVES Turkey.) 

  

Now, for you Americans or non-Turks. This is a version of Navy Beans or White beans and cooked with other things and I wanted to tell you all how to make it. 

Why? I love this stuff so much and I wanted to show you how to do it because I am freaking awesome. 

This food is ooooh so good. There is some down stairs right now in The Long Rock's apt, but since it is 2:23am and I do not want to wake anyone up, I will have to wait til morning to eat some... But I am craving this right now and IF I had some I would be eating it up here. "sigh"

Recipe: 

White Beans (Kuru Fasulye)

3 cups white beans (Navy Beans are ok) 

1 Onion

2 Carrots

2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste

1 Tbsp Red Pepper Paste (IF it is available)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

 Black pepper to taste

Salt to taste

8 cups water

Method

Soak beans over night. Drain and boil in a large pot for about 45 minutes. (or until somewhat soft)

Drain and set aside

In a large pot heat up olive oil and add tomato paste and pepper paste. Add onion and carrots and cook until onion is transparent and carrots are cooked all the way through. 

 Then, What my Turkish mom does is takes a fine strainer and smashes the onion, carrots and paste through it, and makes it into a fine paste ish red paste. Then, gets water back into the white beans on the stove adds water to is so that it is like a soup not too much water but not too dry either, and the smashed paste with the onions are added to the  pot of beans to finish cooking.I have seen it kind of boiling to get it kind of thick. It looks like Baked Bean Soup. Serve Hot! 

It is served with hot peppers served on the side, fresh French Bread, yogurt, and sometimes Beef is added in the soup. Depending on where you go, but this family I live with prefers it without meat (yay!)

I have heard other people put it over rice, but in this family we don't really serve it that way. 

I got the picture off the internet on resimle yemeklik. Something like that. 

 I love this so much. There is a song with Kuru Fasulye in it!!! Please look below:  It is not about Kuru Fasulye, It is about a man that wants to marry a woman, but anyway... Here it is!!!

Also , I would like to tell you about this dish a little. It is a very old staple dish dating back to the Ottoman Empire Kitchen. This means that although there are variations of this dish, anywhere that the Ottoman Empire Ruled, you will find a variation of this dish. I hope you cook it and enjoy it! Let me know what you think or if you have questions about how to cook it, I would like to hear from you! Post it on my blog! 

Peace! 

and as we say in Turkey Afiyat Olsun!!! (Bon Apetit)

I have a very difficult time with this. 
The reason being is that Africa has the most corrupt societies and the most terrible people in the planet. 
Not to mention that the children, upon growing other, 85% of them if they survive become the worst form of humans ever to walk the planet. 
 I speak with frankness and boldness. 
Recently, there is a man by the name of Jason Russell who made a video and posted it on Youtube to get attention about a man who is not much of a man but more of a horrible monster, named Joseph Kony. Joseph Kony is a man that has been pillaging villages of Uganda for well over 20 years with his army called the LRA. These people will take children to raise them either into slavery, or to raise him into his army. The people of children he does not want he will mutilate, torture and kill. Those he wants in his army he will coerce them into killing mutilations and all manner of horrific things. And so, with a promise to help a small boy ten years ago, he has decided to try to make a difference his own way, by doing everything he can to get people to be outraged. 
 Now, he has been asking and pleading for the US Government to go after this guy since as long as he had heard about this Evil Kony guy. But, sadly, it has been difficult. Until over the last couple of weeks. Now, in just two weeks over 66 million people have watched his video and people are doing everything they can to get funding to go after this man. and using their celebrity to do it. 
 One women Rosebell Kagumire had decided to complain about the viral video and one of her reasons is because in her opinion, celebrities come into the scene in Africa and then leave and in her opinion makes a bigger mess (paraphrasing). Also her opinion is and some other opinions is that the LRA will attack worse than ever. 
 This is the thing. I am sick and tired of people in Africa crying and crying and crying then us Americans go in to Help, BUT Who do we help? The rebels against the Governments or the Governments who are JUST AS BAD as the REBELS??? 
 I am sick and tired of my Military friends having to get called to Africa which is far worse than getting called to Iraq or Afghanistan. 
Let me tell you why. 
Remember in the 1980's when we Americans had a huge out rage of people send Aid for the  "AID TO AFRICA" Campaign? Remember that? Remember how now, you do not ever even hear of it? Because let me tell you what happened. 
The L.D.S. Church had heard of this and decided to help also, and along with the world, and so when the supplies came to Ethiopia, well, the tons and tons and tons (millions of tons) of water and supplies went to the Rebels and the Government and NOT The people. The people came to get their things and they were shot, raped, tortured, round up and left for dead, and it caused even MORE problems. Why then oh WHY do we went to go back there???
  The Rebeka were started off going against the Government and we, America, was helping a little, like we did with Afghanistan and Russia. How little help that was!!! We were not only targeted, but we were killed by Al Qaeda in Africa. The LRA is like The Al Qaeda. I say this because they had started off not good men with good intentions, but evil men to gain control of an evil Government. That is why when I say that we should not go into Africa and help them, I mean it. 
 People can say it is because there is nothing in Africa we want or there is so much resources in Africa that we want to go, The problem with Africans resources is that there is so much corruption and greed and evil there, the entire continent is infested with evil diseased minded low life criminals and they are like cock roaches. How do you wipe out an entire continent of infestation to this magnitude? You literally have to wipe out 85% of the adults there. I say that because there is only about 15% of adults there that are decent human beings. 
I have friends that fled from their life there, born and raised. I have friends that were in places in Africa that watched their family be tortured, their sisters and mothers be raped and I have one friend that was shot in the chest by Rebels there. I know what they saw was real and more horrific than I can describe. 
  I do not believe that there is much help in "SAVING" this country, and I disagree with bring troops in for a war there because you would have to Assassinate several thousand men, then who would come into power? 
 I have had friends come back from Somalia and can not sleep, nor eat, and after being in theater there, they ended up having to take simple duties such as paper work because of the stress of watching their comrades being dragged in the streets by the evil people there. Who were helped? Normal civilians went against our troops there. Believe me when I tell you that there is no way that Africa can be "Saved" at this point.  
 How many times have we tried? How many times has the people who cried to us to help them taken themselves and made themselves better people for it? 
 For this and as harsh as I sound, I would never even support anyone that says help help ooh Heavens please let us help Africa. 
It is a farce and I am sick of people saying how "Americans" just want to control the world and be police. Well, If I had a say in controlling Africa, I would bring down any one in Any Army, and wipe out anyone that is in any faction of an Army or rebellion, then rebuild. That is too much money and too much corruption. I would not "bring anyone to justice" there because they have no idea what that means. 
 When people go to a business meeting in Africa, they wear bullet proof vests, pack heat and have 20 body guards. That is not an exaggeration. They ride in armored cars and jeeps and they shoot and kill, then ask questions. This is just a business meeting. "Africa Money = Blood Money" and I do not care what you think. There is no point in doing any business in Africa.    

Movie Review II

Surprisingly, I never saw Big Fish.
  So when I watched it last night with The Long Rock, I was really pleasantly surprised how much I liked this movie.
 I never read about it and I never wanted to. The movie is rated 8.0 in "IMDB" and I never wanted to know what it was about, because I hate people's opinions. I feel it spoils the toe of the movie for me.
 This movie is about a relationship with a boy who becomes a man, and his father.
As a boy, he was told stories and myths about his dad who is an excellent story teller, but as he got older, all he could think about was his dad being a story teller about his own life and then things turn into something greater. The once boy now wants to know the truth behind the myths. And so, he spends time with his mom and dad to find the truth.
 This story is filled with such a sweetness, and such an adventure at the same time, you will want to see how it ends.
 For those of you who are a little sensitive, please, get yourself some tissue before you start watching. By the end of the movie, you will want it.
This movie has a slew of great actors.
Danny Devito, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Ewan McGregor, Helena Bonham Carter, and Albert Finney,  to name a few.
  This movie was directed by Tim Burton.
I highly recommend this movie to someone that wants a feel good, funny, and very charming movie.

Facebook Detoxing, Still

So, I decided last Tuesday to go off Facebook. 

I had tried that in the past, with much failure. So, I deactivated my account until I know that I can handle going on just moderately. To speak to my family, I am sending emails. 

There are 4 people in my life that spend more time on Facebook than emailing and so this is really really hard for me because I want to talk with them at least 3 times a week. However, I forewarned my friends and family on Facebook that I was doing this, and so it should not come as a shock.Nor a surprise. 

 Anyway... I have been good now, Starting by detoxing with the "cold turkey" method, and then gradually come back and use it in moderation. 

  

See? I knew I can be good.

For the Want of a Nail

For the want of a nail

 The shoe was lost

 For the want of a shoe

 The horse was lost

For the want of a horse

The Rider was lost

For the want of a Rider

The message was lost

For the want of a message
The battle was lost

For want of a battle 

The Kingdom was lost

All for the want of a horse shoe nail!

More Misconceptions About Turkey

I have been thinking about this a lot. 
 Us Americans and how we feel the world views us. But how the world really looks at us. 
 We are not a perfect people. I think that collectively, we are honest, good and want the best for our children and we want to just live in peace. That is what I think. 
 However, there are extreme all over the world. I think that us as Americans, one of the things we did not do well was study other people better. I have several friends that have never been outside the state that they live in or they were born in and some that have never been outside America. 
 When I travel to another country, I study the land, the history, the culture and read as much as I can. Then, I go, not wanting to be an elitist traveler but one of a curious mind. This way I can see the world in my eyes but hopefully see it through the eyes of others. 
  The news is not a good place to read about the real things that are happening in the country. 
I have been reading articles on Al Jazeera English but started to delete them because I discovered that although I wanted to read about what was happening in the world, they were writing opinions and not NEWS. opinions are just diatribes of somethings, for example when I have a tangent on something. That is not news. It is just a tangent. 
  HOWEVER...   I loved watching their under cover reports about the Slaves- For- Wife problem in India. to me, that is news because it was real and on camera. It was not opinion it was fact. 
  Now, with this said, There is a lot of talk about Iran and Turkey being buddy buddy. 

Let me clear something up for you Americans that read my blog. And let me also give you a challenge. 

First of all the Challenge. 

Please ask me or people here in Turkey what is really going on. Not once do people ask me anything about my life as an American nor my life living in other places, not anything. But then, that is fine. However, people are reading the "News" when really please look carefully to see if it is news or just opinion. 

Second: The clearing up bit. 

Since right after WWI Turkey and America has had their ups and downs as far as friendship is concerned. 
 In WWI the Ottoman Empire was still here in Turkey. The Lat Emperor to Rule Officially was a man named Abdul Mecid II.  Of course there are recognized descendants but we are talking about the man who was in power when Kemal Ataturk became the President and made Turkey an Independent Country.  
 Well, us Americans are all for a monarchy dissolving. (hehe) 
 Turkey has a very very unique position and a very important one in the world. I believe that Turkey has far greater use to us Americans than we give them credit for and we should be working hand in hand in their great efforts in trying to make the gap between America and the world a smaller one and a more peaceable one. 
 Let's look at this, or consider this. 
For a few minutes  do not think about Turkey being friends with Iran. Because you will see that Turkey is friends with America too!


Turkey is literally a country where East and West meets. Turkey is the beginning or the ending of the old famous and ever needful Silk Road, which is used in part today that helps the smaller countries in the Far East connect to the outside world and parts of Central Asia. Also, when I say literally, I mean it because Turkey is the only country in the world that sits on two continents and they are both huge and vast. Turkey sits on Asia and Europe. It is the only EurAsian country. Period. 
 With this in mind, please reader, think of all the countries East of Turkey. Those countries were once part of this now smaller but great nation of Turkey. So, who better can we learn from than to get the view points of  the world today in those regions than to talk to those leaders but also to get opinions from that of the  Political opinions of Turkey. 
 Turkey wants to just be friends with everyone, although they have been given a lot of bad flack lately. 
Turks are proud people but I do not mean that in a negative proud way. They are hard working and try their hardest to just do with what they have. 
 Turkey is not with out flaws, but Turkey has had our backs since after WWI. Thy did not want to go to war in WWII but we did not either. They helped hundreds of thousands of victims of Genocide. Jews, Bulgarians, The Former Yugoslavia States. They do not have a lot of Jews here but that is because many Jews after WWII were able to go to USA but there are many that stayed. I know of several Jewish Synagogues in Turkey. 
  Turkey and Iran. Turkey is on the border with Iran. However, we Americans have an Air Force base here and we are getting another base here closer to the Iranian border. 
 Turkey was trying and has a lot of oil and natural gas here but the land it is in is Turkey but Armenia is whining about it and so the project to get it has been halted.
 Turkey has been working with American Government and proactive in trying to defeat the PKK (a well known Terrorist group in the Eastern part of Turkey)
Turkey helped American troops in Afghanistan, Iraq, and even Korean War. 
 The Turkish people need more modern technology and they need it done in a cheaper way. They want it.
Americans spend too much money in factories in China and India for building things and they should move their companies and jobs to Turkey. They would be higher quality, made in a better way faster, and it would not make the items more expensive. In return Turkish people would be able to benefit because there would not be the high cost of import fees which are more than double than anywhere in the world. Seriously.
Americans complain about the cost of Petrol. I would beg that our Petrol prices were that of America. Turkish people pay by the liter and it is more than double the price for one gallon. Americans would be outraged if they had to pay the prices of United Arab Emirates, Nigeria and Turkey. Not to mention anywhere else in teh world.
Turkish Citizens pay 50% taxes on their pay checks every month. That is the cost of Socialism.
Turkish Citizens that are working only get 2 weeks off a year. Period. Some will work 14-18 days before they get one day off. 
 The average worker in Turkey works 12 hours a day and get paid the equivalent of 300 USD a month. There are not any compensations for that either. 
Turkish people LOVE LOVE LOVE Family so very much and Family is the backbone of their life. 
Turkish people want to advance their knowledge, and are curious about the world they live in and other people and what others think of them. They are friendly and caring. 
Yes all over the world you will find in all places bad people, but they are good here. Just very hard working which give them more stress here than other places. 
 There are not a lot of books here and not a lot of libraries. Not a lot of people read for leisure. But people want to change that. 


Turks need to be given more credit for the good and not be thought of so negatively. 

Turkey has a lot of artifacts and antiquities and are doing everything they can to preserve their ancient History. People have come, excavated Turkish Lands and pillaged items by removing them and taking them to London, Egypt and Italy and even Greece. This is an atrocity in my opinion! Those things should be sent back to Turkey and in a honorable way! When Turkey, in 2005 asked the Queen of England to return some items because they deserved to be in the rightful land, she basically said no. She did paint the ceiling as though it was outside in a blue color and that was that. So, Queen of England... .You stink because your Ancestors Stole something and you refused to return it and make a bad thing the right thing. 

  Turkey's antiquities "Touristic Spots" rival anywhere in the world. 


Turkey has a strong strong Ancient Christian back ground and have a huge respect for the Virgin Mary and Jesus who is called Isa in Turkish. No, Muslims are not Christians but Turkish people are proof that you can live with other people and cultures side by side and still have respect and kindness for others and their way of life even if it is different then their own. Ancient Turkey was Roman Empire which was very strong here in Turkey.
  The Ottoman Empire has a bad wrap for killing Christians but Christians killed tons and millions of non-Christians. Even, they would pay for Crusades. What do you think Crusades were? They were simply leaving England, Spain, France, Portugal and Italy and even Germany and what??? Smoking the peace pipe with people who did not believe what they believed? 
The Ottoman Empire were great Conquerors but The Crusades were mean and nasty, so I get really tired when I hear about how wonderful other Monarchies were, and how "Bad" The other Empires were. That is just simply, nonsense. 


Well there is my soap box for the day. 
 Read wisely. Think more wise.
 

I am craving

Empanadas. Colombian style. Beef Empanadas... Oh with the salsa that you put in it

Facebook Detox, Again

So, I was off Facebook for a while and I did not close it I just did not come onto it.

That worked for three days. Then, it was over. 

    I should do Lent and since I am Christian, I really ought to. I mean what is 40 days right?

 So I thought about what to 86 from my life. I should say Facebook. But, What about some of those people that are on Facebook that seriously is my only means of communicating to for now. And so, I 86'ed about 85 people from my Facebook. 

  Of course they were all students I had in the past and there were a couple of other people. 

 One person in particular I have not a very good liking for her. As a matter of fact, I strongly dislike her and thought, why play games? I will 86 her. Well, come to find out, I guess she beat me to it. Which is kind of funny if you think about it like that. 

I guess there are other things to 86. Lent here I am