Hi, I'm Paula.
Biomedical engineer by day, food enthusiast always. I started Mostly Balanced to share recipes, then realised how much I enjoy writing. It became my own little digital cookbook, mixed with random thoughts and bits of life.
where I come from
Cottage cheese before it was cool
I grew up in Moldova, where cottage cheese went into cakes, pancakes, dumplings and all kinds of sweet things long before it was a high-protein trend. Too many family recipes disappear because nobody writes them down, so I'm writing mine down here.
how I cook
Healthy, but actually a treat
Mostly wholesome, often high in protein, never at the cost of taste. If a healthy dessert tastes like stevia, it doesn't make it onto this site. I want food I'd happily put in front of guests.
still discovering
Moldova, France, Germany, the Netherlands
I studied in Strasbourg, worked in Germany and now live in Eindhoven. Every move added something to how I eat. Cooking is where I keep trying new things and figuring out what I like, from a six-course tasting menu to a fridge-rescue bake on a Tuesday night.
by day
The science side
I'm a chemist by training. After a master's in chemistry in Strasbourg and a stint working on recyclable polymer coatings at BASF, I'm now doing a PhD at TU Eindhoven, in the Dankers lab and the ReWIRE doctoral network. I study how supramolecular biomaterials could help nerve fibres regrow after a spinal cord injury. It's also why I can't help explaining why a recipe works.
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