Bosnian Cooking 101: Back to the Basics

Having quite a bit more free time here in Sarajevo than I ever did in school, I have found myself experimenting with a new hobby: cooking. Sure, I've been inspired by people close to me in the past to learn how to cook. In fact, last year I resolved to cook something new every other week. Like most new year's resolutions, it only lasted for a few months though. Fortunately here I don't need to make a resolution to experiment with cooking. I found myself becoming bored of the same old eating routines, so I decided to be brave and expand my cooking repertoire. I have received some encouragement from my friends to continue to cook. After all, I usually share it with them!

There are several reasons I waited so long to experiment with cooking in Bosnia. First, pictures on food products only explain to a certain extent what is inside. Without a broad knowledge of food vocabulary, honestly you just have to guess what it is. Second, there isn't as wide of a variety of foods at the super markets here like I am used to. I know I'm spoiled, but it is really hard to find some ingredients that are staples of my cooking back home. For example, I've only found powdered sugar in one super market here, and I have yet to find black beans. Finally, the kitchen supplies in my apartment are fairly limited. I have invested in a few key items such as a liquid measuring cup (in metric and english systems) and a couple of pie tins. I am reluctant to invest in kitchen gadgets because I know I will be here for a limited time.

Perhaps my favorite part of cooking in Bosnia is that I am almost always forced to make things from scratch. American super markets are full of pre-made foods. We have cookie dough, pie crusts, powdered mashed potato mix, canned soups, flavored rice, sliced fresh fruits, minced garlic in a can, etc. This helps people who are challenged at cooking put food on the table without ordering take out from a restaurant. It's great for college students (who don't know how to cook yet) and adults (who don't have the time or energy to put supper on the table after a long day at work). The problem is that nearly all of these foods have extra preservatives and ingredients that I cannot pronounce. I like knowing what is in my food. Plus, it feels much more rewarding when you eat something entirely made by you.

Because of the many differences between cooking in the US and cooking here, I have found the following sites useful. Perhaps you will too:

Cup to Gram Conversions for Baking Ingredients
Wolframalpha (for conversions and nutrition information)
Ingredient Substitutions
AllRecipes.com (for new recipes or ideas)
Good Eats Recipes (recipes backed by scientific explanations)

Throughout this blog, I will be posting some guides to cooking specific recipes in Bosnia, complete with Bosnian-English translations and conversions to the metric system. I hope to learn how to cook some popular Bosnian dishes as well as expand on my knowledge of American recipes.