Being Neighborly and Aşure

I mentioned several posts back that we made a ton of Christmas cookies, and we were taking them to the neighbors. In Turkey, un-announced visits are quite normal (therefore one's housekeeping has to be a priority). It's also very common for neighbors to take dessert, a bowl of soup, etc. to each other (again, unannounced). They don't give food in tupperware. They don't give food on sturdy paper plates. They give food in/on their normal china. The neighbor who receives the food is then expected (in a reasonable amount of time) to return the china filled with something else. It starts, in a way, a never ending cycle of giving. Anyway, Eli and I dropped by 5 different neighbors houses with Christmas cookies. While I knew that most of them would probably find our Christmas cookies a bit on the sweet side (with the exception of baklava family, Turkish desserts are not very sweet) I knew it would be an opportunity to practice my Turkish, get to know the neighbors better, and share a little bit about Christmas. Three of the neighbors are housewives and we were invited in at each of their homes for tea, chatting, dessert, etc. Fortunately, I can now decline the tea as I'm pregnant and not wanting to have caffeine. It's not that I don't like Turkish tea...it's that I don't like 6 glasses of Turkish tea (2 cups + 3 different homes = 6 cups and WAY TOO MUCH caffeine). Anyway, it was an enjoyable day of visiting, and now, one week later, our doorbell has begun to ring. Neighbors are beginning to return my plates...or have a bowl of something sitting on top of the plate (do you see where the never ending part can come in? Now I have to fill the bowls...). One of the neighbors brought over something that resembled spice cake. Two of the other neighbors brought us bowls full of Aşure (pronounced "ah sure eh"). I think I blogged about Aşure last year around this time, but I find the tradition behind it intriguing, so it's worth another post. But, since this post is looking long winded already, here is a link that will tell you all about the Turkish dessert. And here is a picture.