Crack rice and other delicacies

Our first week here, we all went out to lunch at a kebap place. The rice they served us was so good one of my classmates christened it "crack rice" for its addictive properties. I've had the same delicious rice many times since then, and it turns out that the secret is that before you boil it, you cook the raw rice in melted butter for a few minutes, until it turns translucent.

Seriously, the Turks are a people who know how to make good use of fat in cooking. For example, most of their vegetable dishes involve soaking/cooking the veggies in olive oil and serving them cold. (I maintain that there is nothing more delicious than eggplant in olive oil. Yum.) It rarely tastes overly heavy or greasy, though. That's one of the best things about Turkish food. Unless you're eating a big kebap, none of it makes you feel gross. (Don't worry, I haven't deluded myself into believing that that makes it healthy.)

So, the other night my host mom served me a plate of spaghetti noodles in a light red sauce. "Do you make pasta this way in America?" she asked.

"Um, yes," I said, "I'm pretty sure it's Italian."

"Right." She put the plate down in front of me and stood over me as I took a bite. "Well? Is it the same?" she asked.

"Not exactly," I said. "Say... did you use butter in this?"

"Yes!" she replied. "Both butter and olive oil! I add them before I add the sauce. It makes it taste better."

"It sure does," I agreed, silently thinking crack spaghetti.