Unfortunately we already spent another weekend and heading to our brand new manic Monday very fast. As the song of “The Bangles”, hit of 1986, says;

“It’s just another manic Monday, I wish it was Sunday.
Cause that’s my funday, my I don’t have to runday.”

I tell the same to myself, I just want to live Sunday again and again with all the fun and relief it brings. You would understand easily that I spent the day out of the city, in a peaceful place making you forget all your worries just with a touch of summer breeze coming from the sea, in an island close to Istanbul but far away from its rush and hectic daily life. It takes almost forty five minutes to reach Burgazada by ferries operating on a timetable but if you also have the habit of being late for scheduled events like us, you may take an alternative way to go there, small boats travelling back and forth every half an hour. These small boats are a lifesaver for latecomers but I have to add one more thing; they toss wild enough in windy days to become a complete substitute for a thrilling ride in an amusement park. It is also funny to get wet with a massive wave and watching all scared people running to take shelter in the closed part of the deck. Even though Istanbul is a city surrounded by water, most of its residents are not fond of sea. I believe only one out of five people know how to swim including the retired ladies in their 60s who swim like a side-engined steamboat making you feel they are about to stop any time soon. Despite the striking statistics, there is a great deal of brave hearts to jump on and off these boats every day.

After a quite wavy voyage we were on the island and had a long way to climb up to our dearest friend Ceren’s family house. Any sort of engined vehicle is not allowed to operate on the island so you just inhale the oxygen with a little bit of horse shit flavor when a horse-drawn carriage passes by your side (I said no engined vehicles but I did not say no vehicles at all).

Road to their house hosts beautiful mansions arousing your jealousy against their households and allows you to enjoy the fabulous view of Istanbul. When we got there, they were preparing the fish for grill and making the final retouches on their master pieces, all Mediterranean style light dishes and an amazing green salad with fresh herbs. In a short time all of us got carried away with the pictures we took during our vacation in NY and guess what? Mr. Oguz’s special bulgur with fresh herbs was almost about to burn and he was just lucky enough to get it off the stove making it a little bit caramelized, an accident with a happy ending I may call. After devouring all of the dishes accompanied with warm and enjoyable table talks in a terrace overlooking an amazing scene, it was time for us to set off.

Right after getting home, I decided to close this outstanding day with an outstanding drink, an apple martini with martini. I know that the name is a little bit strange for some of you since I made it up. When I learnt that the apple martini served in the restaurant or bars does not contain vermuth but just vodka it was a big disappointment for a Martini lover like me and I said to myself “An apple Martini should contain real Martini!” and I played with the original apple martini recipe. Here I am not talking about the less known martini cocktail which contains vermouth and vodka/gin together but the one made of white wine, caramel, aromatic herbs, and sold under the Italian brand name Martini since 1863.

The recipe is easy to follow but make sure that you have a measuring cup and get your glass chilled for a while before getting your treat. Cheers!

Apple Martini with Martini

Ingredients

• 5 cl. Martini Bianco
• 1 cl. green apple syrup
• 5 cl. green apple juice
• Finely sliced green apple
• Ice

Instructions