Here at my farm, whenever a member of my team returns from vacation, I always encourage them to share their photos. It's always interesting to see various sites from someone else's view.
Not long ago, my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, his wife, and their son Mingmar, returned from a brief trip to Istanbul, the only city in the world that straddles both Europe and Asia. Istanbul is known for its rich history, its impressive mosques, and its busy bazaars. Chhiring and his family also visited Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. They enjoyed desert adventures, visited iconic landmarks, and experienced the vibrant nightlife. Chhiring says the nine day trip was an excursion that has been on his "bucket list" a long time.
Here are some of Chhiring's photos, enjoy.
Chhiring and his family made a short stop in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates and the UAE’s second-most populous city after Dubai. Abu Dhabi is located on an island in the Persian Gulf off the Central West Coast.
This is The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. It is the largest mosque in the UAE covering about 30-acres of land. The structure measures 950 feet by 1,380 feet and can hold up to 40,000 worshippers at one time.
The mosque includes 82 domes, more than 1,000 columns, gold gilded chandeliers and the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet.
In Dubai, Mingmar visited with this falcon. The falcon is UAE’s national bird representing strength, heritage, and agility.
The entire family went on a desert safari – a guided excursion into the sandy desert away from the city center. One activity is a camel ride. A camel is an even-toed ungulate in the genus Camelus. It can carry about 375 to 600 pounds and is known as a “ship of the desert”.
The Dubai Frame is an observatory, museum and monument in Dubai. The building, shaped like a giant picture frame, has a height of 493.4 feet and a width of 313.4 feet.
And anyone who visits Dubai must see the tallest building in the world – the Burj Khalifa designed by Adrian Smith, whose firm designed One World Trade Center. Here it is at night. The Burj Khalifa is 2,722 feet tall.
The Global Village is also in the city of Dubai. It has different pavilions to showcase the culture and traditions of each country around the world.
The pavilions are decorated in their native style and filled with lights at night.
Here is Chhiring and his family inside the Global Village.
Next stop, Turkey. This is the Galata Tower, a medieval stone tower in Istanbul. Originally built as a watchtower, it is now an exhibition space and museum offering breathtaking views of Istanbul. It is considered one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.
Not far is The Ayasofia Mosque, officially known as the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. It was originally a church and later converted into a mosque following the conquest of Istanbul by Mehmed II in 1453. The structure is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture.
Tourists are not allowed on the ground floor, which is strictly for worshippers.
The yellow walls of the mosque are made from yellow marble sourced from North Africa.
Across the street is the Blue Mosque, officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, an Ottoman-era historical structure. It was constructed between 1609 and 1617 and remains a functioning mosque today.
The exterior walls are light grey. The name “Blue Mosque” comes from the blue tiles used inside, which are predominantly blue but also feature shades of red, green, and white. The mosque has a central dome surrounded by four semi-domes over the prayer hall. It also has a large courtyard flanked by six minarets.
Chhiring and his family visited the busy bazaars of the Istanbul Market. One can find almost anything here including lots of candies.
This booth specializes in dates and nuts etc.
Turkey’s water transportation is very popular, especially in cities like Istanbul, where ferries are a common mode of travel.
Locals also enjoy fishing off the Galata Bridge. The Galata Bridge is a 1607 foot long drawbridge located in the Golden Horn estuary, which unites the old Istanbul with the newer areas. Traveling is a great way to learn about a new city or country and its culture. As I always say, “learn something new every day.” Thanks for sharing your photos, Chhiring.
Business gatherings are always more enjoyable when accompanied by a delicious meal.
Last week following a busy morning at my farm, I hosted a luncheon for a group of nine guests. Chef Molly Wenk, who has worked with me on many television and video food productions, and I, collaborated on a wonderful menu that included endive and radicchio salad with blood orange and a citrus vinaigrette dressing, poached asparagus with Hollandaise sauce, broiled salmon with a honey mustard glaze served with shallot confit, deviled eggs, and for dessert - a variety of homemade cookies to eat right away or take home. Many of the recipes are from my 100th book New York Times Best Seller, MARTHA, THE COOKBOOK: Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen.
Enjoy these photos.
Oftentimes when I host small, casual business luncheons at my farm it is done buffet style, meaning my guests serve themselves from a variety of dishes set out in my servery.
And then we all gather and eat at my long kitchen counter decorated with plants or seasonal flowers.
This lunch was so refreshing. I served this wonderful endive and radicchio salad with slices of blood oranges and drizzled with a citrus vinaigrette. Both endive and radicchio are part of the chicory family. Endive has a mild, slightly bitter flavor, while radicchio tastes more bold and peppery – they are great together.
Molly dresses the salad right before guests begin serving themselves so it retains its best texture and flavor.
Asparagus is available year-round, but from now through May, it’s in peak season. These are poached asparagus stalks. Hollandaise is offered as a sauce when plating.
I also served these delicious deviled eggs. The recipe for mine is in my 100th book, MARTHA, THE COOKBOOK. I hope you have a copy.
Deviled eggs can be served with a variety of toppings, such as sprigs of dill, tarragon, or chives and sprinkled with paprika. And use small to medium sized eggs, which are the perfect mouthful.
I love serving salmon with a glaze of honey-mustard. The recipe is also in my book. I broil the salmon – it only takes about seven to nine minutes depending on the size of the fillets.
This salmon was served with shallot confit, which is shallots submerged in olive oil and then slow-cooked until soft and translucent.
At most of my luncheons, I serve this pomegranate juice made with pomegranate concentrate, lemon, and slices of fresh citrus. I love the pomegranate juice from our friends at POM Wonderful.
Everyone’s plate was full, maybe even more than once.
Thanks, Molly. Everything was so delicious.
Two cookies from my book that are always devoured are my daughter Alexis’s Chocolate Chip Cookes and my Brown Butter Shortbread Cookies. Both cookie recipes are also in my book.
Brown butter enhances the texture and flavor of these cookies. Topping them with sanding sugar gives them a nice finish.
My daughter Alexis developed these cookies years ago, and they continue to be a huge favorite at parties – big, crispy, and filled with chips. My guests ate them after lunch and then brought some for the ride home too.
This is another cookie Molly made for the lunch – oatmeal, coconut, and cherry cookies.
And if you haven’t already, please get a copy of my 100th book. I am certain you will read it cover to cover and want to make every recipe.
After weeks of hard work, it's so great to finally see a project come to fruition - especially when it involves the restoration of my pergola.
Soon after moving to my farm, I built a winding 300-foot pergola along one side of a carriage road leading to my home. It was made using wooden beams supported by antique granite posts. After more than 20-years, it was time to replace the timeworn wood with new cedar beams and rafters. I designed the tail pattern and carpentry master Dmitri Logvinski of Logvinski Construction LLC went to work. Dmitri measured, cut, and meticulously checked every angle to ensure the pieces were installed to perfection. He also corrected any posts that had shifted, even slightly, over the years. It was an arduous task, but it is now complete and looks wonderful.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Earlier this month, all the wooden lintel, or horizontal, support beams and rafters were removed from the pergola, leaving just these antique granite posts.
If you follow this blog regularly, the beams and rafters were already made and painted my signature “Bedford Gray.” They were all transported to the pergola, so work could begin.
Each beam is selected carefully and measured. It must reach from the center of one post to the center of the next.
Because the distance between the posts is different along the entire space, Dmitri makes a slight adjustment to make sure the beams fit perfectly.
This image shows the cut – it is very small, but makes a big difference.
Next, Dmitri uses a homemade template to cut out a center notch using a router. A router is a handheld power tool designed to hollow out areas in wood or other hard materials.
This notched groove will help to secure the long screws at the top of each post.
Dmitri paints the end of the wood where he cut. It will not be seen, but the wood will be protected more from the elements in years to come.
Dmitri checks the post. Many of them have moved over the years. Each one is measured and re-straightened and leveled.
Here is Dmitri checking how straight it is – even the smallest tilt could alter the way the beams and rafters are positioned.
This post needs a bit of a push to get it level.
The beam is then hand lifted and positioned on the post. These cedar support beams are very strong and sturdy, weather-proof and fine-grained, making it popular to use for outdoor building projects. The long screw in the notch will help keep the beam from moving.
Dmitri screws the beams together from the bottom which helps to prevent water damage to the hole and the surrounding wood.
Here are two beams secured on a post.
Sometimes, because the granite posts are not level on top, slight cuts are made to make the wooden pieces completely level. Dmitri shaves a bit off…
… and again, paints over it with primer and stain.
Next are the horizontal rafters. I conceived and designed the rafter tail pattern.
Dmitri lifts one rafter up and selects the smoother side to face toward the carriage road, so guests see the best view.
Because the pergola is curved, each rafter is installed at a slightly different angle. Dmitri is a very talented and skilled craftsman. He checks and rechecks every measurement multiple times to ensure the angles are correct.
Here he is moving this rafter just an inch over. Dmitri says he enjoys working with angles. In fact, his mother was an engineer and taught him a lot about geometry at an early age. It became his favorite subject, and the prtractor his favorite tool.
Every rafter is level and perfectly aligned.
Here is a view from under the pergola rafters. My previous pergola was built with horizontal supports and then notched perpendicular rafters. This design is much better and will last longer.
This shows one of the more curved sections. It looks so beautiful and artistic.
And here I am with Dmitri. I’m so pleased with how it looks and can’t wait to take more photos when the gardens are in full bloom. Thanks Dmitri!!!
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