As you may have heard, I recently celebrated my birthday! Turning a year older has made me reflect on how much I’ve accomplished in the past year, exciting changes on the horizon, and how grateful I am to share the journey with you all. This past year has been full of so many milestones for me and Turkuaz Kitchen: my first cookbook was released and became an instant NY Times Bestseller, I went on book tour, and to top it all off, there’s a new family member on the way! I’m fortunate to have family, friends, and followers all cheering me on. Time flies by so fast. Speaking of grateful, I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate than spending some time in Georgetown with my family.
The brick pathways and colorful homes here transport me to another world or different time. The architecture feels like something out of a novel, especially with all the late spring foliage everywhere. I could (and did!) spend hours just walking around and taking it all in. D.C. is one of our favorite cities to visit; we love having it nearby our home in Blacksburg, and we’re always finding new favorite places to eat—while being sure to revisit some tried-and-true ones as well! Here are the highlights from this trip:
Tatte Bakery — A bakery and cafe that has it all: pastries, coffee, breakfast, sandwiches, salads… All of it delicious!
Zaytinya — Mouthwatering meze plates with Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese influences. We take Mediterranean cuisine very seriously in our household, and this restaurant definitely holds up!
Dolcezza — Our favorite gelato in the area. I got the classic combination of dark chocolate and hazelnut, but there are so many flavors to choose from! My husband always goes for the pistachio and salted caramel.
I’ve been hearing that I missed out on YELLOW, so that’s definitely on the list for next time! If anyone else has recommendations, I want to hear what your favorites are, too.
Let me know if you have any other D.C. recommendations!
I love spending time with my husband and son when we travel, but can I confess my preferred way to celebrate my birthday? A solitary walk with a view. A simple pleasure, but there’s no better way to spend a morning, especially somewhere as idyllic as Georgetown. It’s not always easy to take a quiet moment for yourself, but sometimes it’s just what I need. It took some real effort to sneak away on my own, but being able to have a slow morning waking up, grabbing some coffee, and wandering the streets before the rest of the world was awake was truly magical.
It wouldn’t be a birthday without some cake, and this year I decided to make one very near and dear to my heart—my take on the Whole Foods Berry Chantilly Cake. Here, I fill it with the Vanilla Pastry Cream from my cookbook, but feel free to use any pastry cream of your choice.
The Berry Chantilly Cake was a frequent feature of my early married days. Once I discovered that my husband loved it, I dedicated myself to replicating it and made it weekly. No surprise, he quickly gained weight so it was a short-lived tradition, but it was such a significant memory in our relationship so we have no regrets. Now I make it periodically for special occasions, and I know you’ll love it as well!
The recipe for this cake, along with many others, are on my Substack! If you make it, I hope you have the opportunity to share them with loved ones. A celebratory cake is best enjoyed that way.
Until next time,
