Come visit our new Web sites:

Vesna's blog:
http://vesnavuynovich.blogspot.com

Don's blog:
http://bloggingforpancakes.blogspot.com


Vesna's published work:
http://vesnaswriting.blogspot.com


See you there!

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Norwegian heritage is alive in this magical southwestern Wisconsin town
By Vesna Vuynovich Kovach
In Wisconsin Trails, March-April 2002
Gone for the Weekend, Spring/Summer Travel Guide
Photos: Kortney Kaiser

In Norwegian legend, trolls guard hidden treasures. On visiting Mt. Horeb, a tiny hilltop burg perched just within Wisconsin’s rugged Driftless Region, I figured out the secret to its improbably dense cluster of unique attractions: the place is protected by trolls.

How else to explain, for ...   more »

Minocqua, Woodruff and Arbor Vitae have been delighting vacationers longer than you might think
By Vesna Vuynovich Kovach
In Minocqua-Woodruff-Arbor Vitae Area Visitor Guide, 2002.

Into a lake once called Kawaguesaga, a fist of land reached southward, knuckles nearly brushing the opposite shore. Norway pines and white pines—80 to 100 feet tall, three to five feet across their trunks—towered over the land for miles around. The wigwams of a Chippewa village gathered near the west shore of this odd ...   more »

By Vesna Vuynovich Kovach
In Minocqua-Woodruff-Arbor Vitae Area Visitor Guide, 2002

Why is a country doctor who passed away nearly half a century ago the hero of Woodruff? You’ll understand when you see the video at the Dr. Kate Museum.

Kate Pelham Newcomb, M.D. (1885-1956), affectionately known as Dr. Kate., was the daughter of Thomas Pelham, president of Gilette Razor Company. Against his wishes, she attended the University of Buffalo Medical School, earning her degree in 1917. She practiced medicine in Detroit until she and her husband, William Newcomb, moved to the clean ...   more »

Through site selection and product placement, Dane County businesses support responsible growth and local agriculture.
By Vesna Vuynovich Kovach
In Corporate Report Wisconsin, May 2001

On the Capitol Square in downtown Madison, dollar bills and jars of jam flash across a vendor table in brisk trade. The woman busy behind the table grew the fruit for the jam on her own land, according to the strict requirements of what well may be America’s largest open-air farmers’ market, where an approximate quarter-million ...   more »

By Vesna Vuynovich Kovach
In Wisconsin Trails, March-April 2001

At the dawn of the last millennium, Wisconsin’s first agricultural community was born. It happened on a special spot, a place where the woods opened onto a narrow oak savanna that ran along the west bank of a plentiful river. A shoulder of high ground protected this fertile expanse from winter’s fierce west winds. Here, a group of Native Americans planted a cornfield, and built ...   more »

By Vesna Vuynovich Kovach
In Racine County Visitor Guide, 2001

What original Racine creation is tender, feather-light flaky, and totally scrumptious? It’s kringle, Racine’s signature ethnic dish--a local treasure par excellence.

The kringle style of Danish pastry--an oval ring, generously filled and iced--was developed by Danish-American bakers in Racine. Like croissant, its culinary cousin, traditional Danish pastry is made by repeatedly rolling out a piece of dough, coating it with butter, folding it, and then ...   more »

By Vesna Vuynovich Kovach
In Racine County Visitor Guide, 2001

Some of Racine County’s most intriguing treasures are somewhat tricky to discover. We’ve compiled a short list of must-see wonders of this diverse region--and the inside scoop on how to take advantage of them.

Be sure to call ahead for each of these attractions. Hours are limited, reservations are required, or both. Signage is slight, so get directions.

You’ll be amazed at how much hidden ...   more »

How about a bobbing gobbler this Thanksgiving?
By Vesna Vuynovich Kovach
In Madison Magazone, November 2000
Column: Table Talk

When I first heard about deep-fried whole turkey, it sounded like a joke. Outrageous. You’d need an enormous pot! You’d need gallons of oil! Really hot oil--it would be dangerous! But, I was told, I’d never eat a juicier, more perfectly cooked turkey, and the skin would be out-of-this-world crispy good.

So I had to...   more »

Dreamy when it's steamy
By Vesna Vuynovich Kovach
In M, the magazine of Isthmus Newspaper, Summer 2000

Local. Seasonal. It's a great approach to buying fruits and veggies, so why quaff the same corporate brew year round? This is Wisconsin. Take advantage.

    In the nineteenth century, beers varying with the seasons and made with locally grown hops and grains were on tap in virtually every town and hamlet in Wisconsin. The state boasted over ...   more »

Around the world in Madison: Lao Laan-Xang, Sole e Sapori, and Nadia's
By Vesna Vuynovich Kovach
In Isthmus Annual Dining Guide, 2000

For a mid-sized city in the heart of the Midwest, Madison is lucky when it comes to dining out--and it’s not just because we have so many diverse restaurants serving dishes from all around the globe. It’s the exuberance and creativity of the people who run them. In bringing us their foods, they ...   more »