About me

Hello, I’m Lina, and I’m so glad you’ve found my sweet corner of the baking world!
I’m a 37 year old mom of two living just outside of Portland, Oregon. If you’d told my twenty something self, sleep deprived, juggling classes and waitressing shifts, that I’d one day be writing about my kitchen adventures, I would’ve laughed while burning another pot of rice. But here I am, and I wouldn’t change a thing.

I didn’t go to culinary school and I don’t own a blowtorch (yet). What I do have is years of figuring things out the hard way, trying to make dinner after soccer practice or whipping up something edible when I was a broke college student staring down a half empty fridge. My kitchen philosophy is all about real food, real life.
That means meals you can throw together with a toddler on your hip or recipes that forgive you for forgetting the garlic.
Cooking for me became a survival skill first, then a passion. I grew up on boxed mac and cheese and frozen burritos and there’s no shame in that. But I remember the first time I made my own marinara sauce from scratch. It wasn’t fancy and I definitely overcooked the garlic, but I felt like a magician. That feeling, that spark, is what I chase in every meal.

These days, my favorite moments are when my daughter helps me stir pancake batter or when my son critiques my meatballs like he’s a Michelin inspector. I believe anyone can cook, truly. You don’t need perfect knife skills or hours to spare. You just need a little patience, a pinch of curiosity, and the courage to try. Mistakes? They’re just part of the recipe.
So whether you’re trying to make your first pot of soup or just figure out how to feed yourself without resorting to cereal again, I’m here with you. Let’s make food that feeds our families and fuels our busy lives. And hey, if we burn the rice sometimes, we’ll just call it crispy and move on.
Grateful you’re here, and happy baking!