Hi, I’m Ribana. I was born and raised in Romania. A beautiful country with a lot of problems. After I’ve met my husband, I went to live in Italy, a wonderful country that went deep into my heart.
I am a nutritionist, pastry chef, recipe developer, food writer, and ultimately a passionate home cook. I curate and develop recipes that are high on nutrition. I develop and test cost effective, nutritious meals using quality ingredients to help people improve their everyday eating experiences.
I love Mediterranean cuisine and I am an advocate of using fresh, hyper local, and seasonal produce. I am dedicated to helping people better understand nutrition and have a healthier relationship with their food. I am on a mission to help spread the real food message to as many people as possible through my blog Popsicle Society. My food philosophy is:
โEat a little bit of everything.โ
Some years back, we left our home, our family, our full-time jobs, we left everything behind and traveled more than 10,000 km away in a city where we did not know anyone, without a job, without a home, only us.
Today, are more than 9 years that we have been living in Singapore.
I love traveling, cooking, and enjoying this beautiful nature. We have a wonderful world.
Life is not always easy, but it gives us the opportunity. It is a continuous experience, a journey with no map and no rules.
We’ve engaged in this never-ending adventure! Let’s enjoy the trip and see where it will take us.

I haven’t been to Romania since 2009 and should return.
Many thanks for stopping by my Travel and Photography blog. ๐
What a brave thing to do ! Thinking on it, it is exactly what my parents did – 3 young children. Moved to a country on the other side of the world, Everything was new and different. And here we are still over 60 years later!
Many blessing and joy in what you are doing. Thank you so much for the follow of my blog ๐
Yes indeed! We are braver than we think! โบ๏ธ Thank you very much for stopping by!
Nice to meet you and thank you for following me. I live in your birthplace now and we came from Florida… So… we share a similar road… one of adventure and dream following.
Thanks for stopping by! You have a wonderful blog! I hope you enjoy living in Romania! It is a beautiful country with some problems like all the rest. It’s awesome to have the opportunity to follow our dreams and experience all these adventures right?…๐
It sure is! You have a beautiful blog too! Thank you for your kind words. ๐ค
Hi how are you?
Hello, Iโm good, thank you for stopping by!
I haven’t even read anything more of your blog yet, but I cannot get over “Popsicle Society.” I love it. ๐
Oh thank you for stopping by! โบ๏ธ
Felicitari pentru noul blog !!! Te pup ๐๐
Multumesc ๐๐๐
Hi Ribana! Thanks a lot for joining Thoughts of SheryL! Great blog!
Thank you! Thanks for stopping by!
See you around!
you were very adventurous to leave your country….
good luck!
Yes, thank you! Iโm happy I did it! We donโt know what are we able to until we donโt step out of our comfort zone! It opens our mind! ๐
Well, I think you are braver than I am, don’t know if I could travel that far away! Thanks for following my blog, hope you will enjoy my odd adventures!๐
Thank you for stopping by too ๐ We all are braver than we think ๐
Hey Ribana, just wanted to let you know my blog is now private. Had some โproblemsโ I wanted to get rid of. Anyway, youโll need to ask for permission so I can grant you access. Itโs easy, youโll see, just click on my blog.
So, if you still want to follow me, you’re more than welcome to join my new playground.
Iโve noticed that is private and cannot see anything. Thanks for letting me know. ๐๐
Welcome.
your both survivors!
๐๐
Happy to have found your blog. I’ve been in Singapore once and thought it was a nice place where to live. So I will read your blog to discover if I was right :-).
Thank you for stopping by! Yes, Singapore is a nice city to live, very international ๐ Glad you liked it!
Nice meeting you Ribana, thank you for stopping by my blog, you have love one here ๐
Nice meeting you too Jessy ๐ What a great blog you have! Thank you for stopping by ๐๐ธ
Hello, many thanks for following The Monching’s Guide! Glad you’re enjoying life in the Lion City!
Great blog! Thank you for stopping by too ๐ Yes, Singapore is pretty awesome ๐
Definitely! Looking forward to return there and explore the Little Red Dot more!
Wonderful website! I love your layout and photos. Can’t wait to continue to journey with you on your blog. Thanks for following me on pathwaysandpatinas.com
Janet Nelson
Thank you for stopping by too and for your kind words ๐ Very appreciated! Happy blogging ๐
Hi Rabina,
Nice to meet you here & thank you for visiting my blog.
I have never been to Romania but I know a few friends from there Anna, who sells homeless magazine โBig Issueโ in my home town and Rebecca who sells the magazine in a town nearby.
Glad to hear you are making a new life although away from your homeland.
I have only been to Italy three times, to Venice, Naples and Rome. I find the Italian people are quite unique, warm & friendly.
I have never been to Singapore.
Take care
Hi Margaret, thank you for stopping by ๐ What a small world having friends from Romania ๐๐ธ
Yes, for now we are travellers around the world….now we are in Singapore, later we don’t know ๐๐ธ
Italy is beautiful ๐ you have visited 3 important cities ๐ธ and all 3 so different ๐๐
Is never too late for a Singapore trip ๐๐ธ if you like hot weather ๐
Yes Rabina, never say never ๐๐บ
wow you’ve been traveling around the globe ๐ ๐ I love Singapore, I’ve been there once for a vacation. I only know one Romanian (born and raise I mean) in my life – and that’s my husband. Now I know 2, you and him. Of course aside from his family. Yes life is really hard, but it is beautiful.
Oh wow, congratulations ๐๐๐ how small is the world ๐๐
I would love to be able to travel around the globe, we have such a wonderful world ๐ but Iโm also glad and grateful fir what Iโve seen so far ๐๐
Yes, Singapore is a beautiful city to live in ๐
Life is indeed hard but as you said it is beautiful and we must enjoy the journey ๐๐
Thank you very much for stopping by and for your kind words! ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
Traveling around the globe is a dream come true ๐ ๐ Thank you for sharing your experiences here. Loving it. ๐
Thank you very much for reading and for your kind words ๐ Very appreciated ๐๐ธ๐ธ
Hi Ribana! My name is Jessie. I think it’s so neat you have travelled some of the world. I love your hair!
Hi Jessie, yes, traveling is awesome ๐ We have such a beautiful world! Thank you for stopping by! Oh my hair, it doesnโt like Singapore though ๐คช
I was visiting your blog and Iโve noticed that we are using the same template ๐
I’ve never been outside of the USA, sadly! ๐ You are most certainly welcome. I noticed that too!!! great minds mean great taste! haha ๐
๐๐๐๐คช๐คช
Is never too late to start traveling ๐๐
Have a wonderful day! ๐ธ๐ธ๐
Thank you too!!
Hi,
I came across your blog. Great work! Interesting content and nice pictures.
I am a food blogger from Canada and I invite you to visit/follow my blog at:
https://zest4foodblog.wordpress.com
Cheers, Angelika
Hi Angelika, thank you for stopping by and for your kind words! Nice blog you have! And great recipes ๐๐
Thanks a lot.
I’ve visited Romania last year and I can say that’s a nice Country with amazing sites and very kind people.
This is a link related to my post about Romania… if you wish you can take a look and I hope you appreciate it ๐
https://giovanniaugello.wordpress.com/romania/
Wow! I’ve really enjoyed it! I have left a comment but not sure it went through ๐
Is so nice to read such wonderful things about my country ๐ I’m really glad you enjoy your trip and that 14.99 euros were well worth it ๐
A very beautiful photograph.
Thank you ๐
Hi Ribana,
I hope this email finds you well. You may find our book interesting. It’s called Making the Leap: An Insiderโs Guide to Teaching in China.
The book explores the transitions one needs to make when teaching Chinese students an international curriculum at an international school in China.
Let me know if you’re interested in reviewing this book (impartially) in exchange for a free copy ๐
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com.au/Making-Leap-Insiders-Guide-Teaching-ebook/dp/B07XDGY5LH
Kind regards,
James Kennedy
Melbourne, Australia
Hi Ribana; this is Cactus Flower finally commenting on your site; I think for the first time, sorry! It sounds like your journey has been challenging as well as wonderful. You’re in Singapore? Are you familiar with Pastor Joseph Prince who is the Senior pastor of New Creation Church; called the Star? I listen to him a lot….anyway, I just got back to my posting after some challenging circumstances myself. I did 2 pages so you are welcome to check it out and do comment. I won’t know how you think about it unless you do; thanks so much! I will do my best to keep up with everyone else too……
Hello and thank you very much for stopping by! Yes, still in Singapore currently ๐ No, I am not familiar with Pastor Joseph…
Thank you for letting me know!
Wish you a great day! ๐๐
Thank you very much Ribana; what is the correct way to pronounce your name? Singapore seems like a very beautiful country with a lot of building on the water from what I hear; is that right?
Exactly same as is written, Ribana ๐
Yes, Singapore is indeed a beautiful country and since the space is small, yes, they are claiming sea around and transform it in land, and then building and building and building…๐ but even so is a very green city…a city in a garden ๐
Thank you; that’s what I thought it was!
Hi Ribana,
Thanks a lot for following my blog.
I read your blog. Great work !! I loved it !! The pictures are awesome !!
I am from Pune, India. I have gone through your Eggplant recipe. The name “Eggplant” is new to me, but when I clicked the link eggplant I got to knew about it. In Maharashtra we called it “Vanga” in Marathi language and “Baingan” in Hindi language. There are many recipes we make out of it.
In near future i will try to share that recipe on Recipe_Theatre by Latika Sagar (https://recipetheatre.in/)
Regards,
Recipe_Theatre
By Latika Sagar
Pune, India.
Hi Latika,
thank you very much for stopping by!
I know in India eggplant is used very much but under different names ๐ Thank you for sharing!
Looking forward to your recipes ๐
Have a gorgeous day ๐ธ
My story is similar. I left Poland 34 years ago when it was still under a communist regime. I did not hope I would be able to come back, even for a visit.I did go back many times, but my home is here in the USA. Even though things are difficult here now, I know I made the right choice. Good luck to you in your adventures..
Sometimes we even donโt know how courageous we are before taking such decisions ๐คช A brave move but Iโm sure no regrets! I believe our countries will always be part of our journey but life sometimes has different plans for us ๐
Thank you very much for stopping by! Wish you the same! Letโs enjoy our adventures as we never know where life will take us ๐
You are a brave soul and your life journey is just so courageous. More power to you!
Thank you very much for your kind words! We only live once so better explore it and enjoy it right? ๐๐ธ
Hi dear friend, I wish you a Merry Christmas!
Hello and thank you very much for stopping by! Wish you a wonderful and magical Christmas too๐
it’s always a pleasure to discover new blogs and meeting new fellow bloggers ๐ nice to meet you Ribana, cheers from Lisbon ๐ PedroL
Thank you very much PedroL for stopping by! Yes, blogging community is awesome because we can discover new blogs and new friends all over the world ๐
that’s it ๐ all the best, PedroL
Thank you! You too!
Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my blog!!! Iโm so intrigued by your life store and have great admiration for the choices youโve made! I so look forward to checking out everything your blog has to offer! Iโm already in love with your photos!!
Thank you very much for stopping by and for your kind words! We need to try and enjoy this journey called life ๐ Welcome to my corner of happiness โบ๏ธ ๐ธ
Ribana. Hello from Australia Brisbane. I am from Sri Lanka settled in Aussie now of course it is because both my sons are here. I am following your food and pictures. How come I have not written here. I have written and posted old Kitchen things on the 1st and pictures of SriLankan food stuff. Very different to your pictures. You might be interest to have a look :
Thank you for sharing! I’ll take a look ๐ I guess no matter where we live, making and enjoying our home food is the best ๐
i wish you a merry christmas
Thank you! Same to you!
Very inspirational about! ๐
Thank you โบ๏ธ