A Food, Fitness & Cooking Blog!
howtocookwithvesna 
The first time I ever tried to make my own cole slaw it was crisp, balanced, fresh – and wrong. What was missing? A certain je ne sais quoi: a refreshing, bracing note that was herbal yet earthy. But what could it be? After some investigation and experimentation, I found out quoi: Celery seed. Just a half-teaspoon of … Read more
Who knew you could make your own corn dogs? It’s easy, fun and delicious. We’ve been serving these at our son’s birthday parties for years. It’s become a tradition. At his sixth, a guest (a grownup guest!) said, on biting into one, “Wow! I had no idea corn dogs could be good! I always thought corn … Read more
How do you feel about your kitchenware? Do you like it? Do you hate it? Do you love it? If you’re not in love with your cookware, throw it out! If you hate your cookware, that’s good. At least you have feelings about it. Figure out what you hate about it, and use that as … Read more
Don’t try to sharpen your knives by yourself. You’ll ruin them! Send them out to be sharpened by a professional. Box them up and send them out! Oh, really? What are you supposed to cook with while your knives are gone? Turnaround time can be a week. What do you do, order takeout all that … Read more
My mother, born in Yugoslavia in 1920, was never a big fan of folk customs, which she saw as more antiquated than quaint. She was a twentieth-century teen who preferred swing music and Sinatra to kolo circle dances. Reading Tolstoy to practicing her embroidery. But when she and my father were building a new, post-WWII … Read more
Today in the mail I got one of those slick mini-magazines from my insurance provider. You know, those glossy publications stuffed with breezily written lifestyle advice along with lots of phone numbers and URLs for their various departments and services. Which is useless, because when you need something, you’re just going to call their main number … Read more
Ghee, an essential ingredient in much Indian cookery, is butter with the milk solids and water removed. Pure dairy fat! Just heat butter gently, and the components will separate. Then strain. That is the essential ghee recipe. Ghee is a type of clarified butter. The difference between ghee and regular clarified butter is that ghee … Read more
Serbian food is influenced by the unique spot on the globe where Serbian culture developed. It’s a liminal place where East crosses to West, where Northern Europe phases into Southern Europe. The seasonings are simple, yet the flavors are endlessly varied. I was born in the USA, but my parents, both full-blooded Serbs, came from … Read more
How do professional chefs make it look so easy? They take a piece of meat and slice through it like butter. They cut an onion into beautiful, slender slices. What do they have that you haven’t got? Sure, they have professional training and years of experience. But if they aren’t using a good knife, they’d … Read more
Grilled sweet potatoes and bananas mashed with coconut milk taste so wonderful. All the best features of all the flavors you associated with those words combine into something even more fabulous than the sum of its parts. Heres the recipe that got me started on the whole idea of having a Jamaican-themed cookout at my … Read more
