Hello & welcome to my blog! My Name is Diana; however, my Dad used to lovingly call me "Ani" ever since I can remember. I was born and raised in the countryside of Germany, near the border to France. During my childhood, most of my time was spent at our vegetable garden and picking fruit from nearby orchards. I was lucky to spend countless hours with my mother in the kitchen and creating yummy, seasonal dishes from our harvest. My mother is an excellent cook and baker, and much of my knowledge I share comes from her. There was always freshly baked bread and sweet pastries for the weekend. She taught me how to make delicious jams, churn ice cream, and make berry liquors. It was at an early age when I developed a deep passion for homemade cooking and baking. At our home, German dishes where heavily influenced by French style cooking. Smoked meats, cheese and wine are a major part of the cuisine.
At the age of 20, I knew I wanted to travel, so I packed my bags and flew across the ocean to the beautiful USA. I met my sweetheart, we got married, had kids, and bought a ranch in the mountains near Los Angeles. Most of my days are spent working in my home studio, raising our 5 sweet children, and caring for our vegetable garden. Feeding my family nourishing, home-made food is important to me. Focusing mainly on a 80/20 lifestyle; cooking healthy 80 percent, and sweet and savory for the remainder.
For many years my friends and family encouraged me to write a food blog. So finally last fall, I decided to refocus my career, and began recording my recipes. Since then, there has been a lot of weighing, stirring, photographing, video filming, editing and cataloguing recipes, not to mention a lot more mess in the kitchen.
I have a lot of fun creating these recipes and sharing them with you, and I hope you enjoy this blog and find recipes that will become your family favorites as well.
xo,
Diana