Dearest reader, I was born and raised on the Iberian peninsula, to Yugoslav expat parents, with a 3-year stint of my childhood spent in the Persian Gulf. I am a child of the Mediterranean with Balkan roots. My comfort foods range from Hungarian goulash and ossobuco to shakshouka and shawarma. Today I have a gorgeous piece of veal ass and a craving for shawarma. Instead of foraging through the delicacy aisles of the grocery stores in central Serbia, I find it easier to make my own tahini.