Some say you will love me one day

 Dear future hubster, 

we all know the saying about the way to anybody's heart leading through their stomach. If you're a returning reader here, you also know that I have a tendency (and some skills) to feed people. 

While I can be rather adventurous and ambitious with my cooking (I had no issue inviting 10 people for a couscous dinner BEFORE I even asked my colleague for her mother's recipe because, well, I'd never made couscous before?), I also have a few items that I've practised and foolproofed over the years.

Some say that one of those will get me a husband one day. Now while getting a husband is not an ultimate priority for me, I also don't want said husband to be disappointed, or, worse, have an allergic reaction.

So it's better for you, dear future hubster, to know, that my current list of signature dishes are mostly desserts, although I make a mean vegan stuffed pepper too, and my zucchini pasta has earned some recognition as well. I hope you will find your heart's desire somewhere among the cheesecake, the jammy brownie, Raluca's lava cake, The New York Times' perfect chocolate chip cookie, the garlic cheese bread, or, if you happen to be vegan, the banana bread. 

Other recipes might be tried upon request - please send advance notification and don't expect perfection. 

That's not my name

 Dear future hubster,

in case I haven't told you before: my family name gets mispronounced a lot in Hungary. Not because it's particularly complicated, but because people mistake it for a common although very old-fashioned noun that has a meaning. Also they probably think I don't know how to spell my own name correctly and fix it for me.

Outside Hungary, where accents on vowels are a mere exotic and slightly kinky feature, my family name gets mostly left alone. My first name on the other hand gets butchered a lot. Again, not because it's particularly complicated, but because people like to stick to what's familiar and comfortable, and there's no harm in addressing me in a nearly correct but not-quite-there way. 

I used to get more annoyed about my family name, because seriously, how hard could it be to put aside your own assumptions and read what's actually written. I used to be more forgiving with foreigners because... actually I don't know why, because it must be already difficult to listen to my accent? How can I expect them to also bother with my name?

Those days are gone. I've been noticing recently that family name mispronunciation has reached the critical level of irritation in me and I started - politely but consistently - correcting the mailman, the dentist's receptionist, the lady in the local government office. If they can handle Csajkovszkij, they can certainly handle Kaplár.

In that spirit, I hereby announce that I no longer will be responding to any cutesy variation of my first name that wasn't previously discussed AND endorsed. If it doesn't sound pretty to you, too bad. I'm not Katie, Cathy, Catherine, Cathy, Kate, Caitlin, Katalina(!!)*, Kathleen, or whatever other original solution comes to your mind. 

Identity matters. 

 *"Catalina de Baní" is acknowledged and authorized for specific circumstances.