“I must get around to writing about food”. And I finally did, around seven years ago – thus the original blog name I must get around to it.
Back then I was navigating the new mum course, working part time and training for a marathon. How things have changed. My little guy is now at school, I quit work to go the Chef school and I finished the run.
About the only constant over the years has been the blog. Some months, I’ve been a prolific poster and others I’ve wondered if I’ll ever write again. It’s a little bit like life, somewhat erratic.
Welcome and thanks for dropping by. I’m Marija (that’s Maria in Croatian) and I live in the coolest little capital in the word, Wellington. I’ve cooked all my life, drawing strongly on my culture and spending my childhood at my mother and grandmother’s knees.
When I’m not mothering, pottering around the kitchen or trawling food emporiums, I tutor cooking at Wellington High School community education and Crave Cooking School, teach children to cook in the Garden to Table programme, take private lessons, and do project work. I also love to cook for Good Bitches Baking.
I have an on-going and close relationship with Kenny – my Kenwood mixer. He features frequently in my posts and often travels on holiday with me (true!).
My thing of the moment is bread. Big crusty sourdough to be specific. I’m slightly obsessed with making the perfect loaf and addicted to sourdough starter croissants.
You can follow my blog by clicking on the link. More often than not these days, you’ll find me on facebook or insta. Be sure to leave comments – it’s always good to know that someone is out there. Or, drop me an email or message if you are keen to talk about working together.
Happy cooking.
Marija
the underground baker 
Hey Marija, I just found your cooking blog – how cool! Can’t wait to see what you are up to in the kitchen. Back in Melbourne, so if you need any research in the form of tasting, just let me know – happy to help xx Lisa
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Thank you for following my blog. I really appreciate the kind gesture. Nice to know that you love cooking and eating. I do too. I look forward to receiving posts from your blog. Kind regards!
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And thanks for following me too Liz. I can’t wait to try out some of your recipes.
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Hi Marija, made your bread on Tuesday and it was so easy. I just have a couple of queries. When you use the dough hook about how long do you beat it for. I found that my bread was quite dense, is this how it is meant to be.
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Hi Pat. Really pleased to hear you tried the bread. It is a little more dense than bread that has proved but it should not be stodgy. This is not a ‘light and fluffy’ loaf, more a robust bread that won’t leave you feeling hungry. Perfect for soup dunking – or just eating as is with butter or olive oil. When kneading by hand, I knead for anything from between five-ten minutes and probably do the same with a dough hook. The dough should be lovely, smooth and elastic when it goes into the oven. Hope this helps 🙂
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Hey,..This is a very cool blog Marija, will be following now..hahahah…
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Thanks Ross, maybe you’ll even try a recipe or two? ! Happy reading.
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