What Baba Cooked

About

Meet Baba: hormonal, a little tipsy, and always thinking about the next meal

Once upon a time there was a girl named Ana who loved blogging so much that she had a whole bunch of different blogs for all the different interests and seasons of her life: parenting and Mum life, books music and gig life, vegan life, shopping fashion and OOTD life, faith life, and even perimenopause life. Then there was the blog she loved most of all: the food, recipes, and all things cooking life.

Then life itself got really busy and Ana decided that she needed to let some air out of the proverbial tires and get herself off social media, so the food blog, the last man standing of all those many many blogs, was quietly (and a little regretfully) retired.

But the thing is, she never really managed to get off social media, and eventually she realised that she truly loved sharing the meals she made: traditional family recipes passed down through generations, new recipes from all cporners of the world, and the simple midweek meals she came up with as a busy mum of four. She had also cracked the perfect French macaron as well as becoming the family mixologist with her signature margarita. It seemed almost mean not to be able to share these recipes. So one day while she was home sick and forced to stop for a minute, Ana finally decided to relaunch the recipe and food blog she so loved.

🥂

The original site went through a few name changes, and eventually settled in as What Ana Cooked. One of the hats I most proudly wear these days is that of Grandmother, or Baba, so here we are: a place where I’m weaving together the traditional recipes made with love by my Croatian mum, mother in law, and grandmothers (shout out to the OG Baba’s and Baka’s ♥️), as well as the food that I’ve enjoyed cooking for over three decades for my family and all the extended family and friends we’ve shared our table with.

All delicious, not too complicated, and made to share. Old recipes and new in one happy place, with some of my original 2013 recipes being brought back to life to join new ones.

Welcome to my kitchen.

-Ana.

An elegant terrazzo tabletop featuring a single vintage-style coupe glass filled with a pale lime margarita, rim dipped in flaky sea salt and garnished with a thin wheel of fresh fig balanced on the rim. Beside it lies a small ceramic dish holding sliced figs dusted with lime zest and a pinch of chili salt. The background includes an out-of-focus carafe of infused water with fig and lime segments floating inside. Golden hour light streams from the right, casting long, refined shadows and catching the glass’s delicate stem. Photographed at eye level with a centered, minimalist composition and clean, photographic realism, the mood is sophisticated, leisurely, and subtly indulgent, perfect for a modern food lifestyle feature.