A Bouquet of Bloggers

Instagram is the way to go I am told - well I've gone but I have no idea what to do with it. Any suggestions? 

Is there a collective name for bloggers, specifically bloggers interested in healthy food?  An "abundance" sounds good, a "bucketload" doesn't.  A"bunch" seems a bit crude and a "bundle" even more so. I'd almost plumped for "bevy" when "bouquet" came to me. This seems appropriate for the fragrant ladies that met up on Saturday at Erenler Sofrası.  Aslıhan, the proprietor had invited some of Istanbul's choice culinary writers to spend  the week-end with her as she showcased the Spring attractions of this part of South West Turkey and I was lucky enough to be invited along for the day.   So many city dwellers now think of Bodrum purely in terms of Summer/nightclubs/posh restaurants/beaches/ expensive yachts that Aslı decided to highlight the charm of rural life around Bodrum with trips to out-of-the-way villages, quiet seafronts, rural vineyards and a cookery demonstration of  local 'ot' recipes in her Ortakent restaurant. "Ot" translates as grass but means any greenery picked wild at this this of the year. It could be white mustard, nettles, wild fennel, broad bean tops, wild asparagus, chard, radish tops and so on.  Many of them will remain a mystery to me and often to those that sell them.  I often spy something in the market that I'm not familiar with and having asked the name I am fobbed off with "yellow grass" or "bitter grass".  Both the vendor and I know that they used that name for something else the week before.

Oya Emerk and Aslıhan Mutlu

Oya's Cuisine is in both English and Turkish and is full of just about everything you could ever want to know about Turkish food and dining. She also has a write up of her long week-end in Bodrum so I recommend you click on the link and take a look.

Funda Aydeniz testing white mustard greens with apricots.

Funda's blog arenandfamily is full of recipes, restaurants and is extremely useful for any of you with young families who live or pass through Istanbul.

Selma Mollaoğlu obviously more experienced than me and taking shots with the light behind her.

Selma's blog is a  cornucopia of recipes and has a translate button that will translate to every language.

Sibel Yalçın handy behind the camera as well as in front of it. 

Sibel's blog is also a beautifully laid-out selection of recipes. She is the TV cook on Derya's World on Kanaltürk on Tuesdays. 

Selin Rozanes, founder of Turkish Flavours, the pioneer of culinary tours in Turkey was also one of our party, but managed to avoid my lens, but if you click on the above links, both she and I are lurking in the back of the others' photos.

I'm going back to Erenler Sofrası this Saturday for an Indian Food extravaganza, click on the link if you'd like to join in.