Hi, I’m Hana.
I grew up amongst the redwoods in foggy, salty Santa Cruz, California, where my mom taught me how to cook. From a young age I acted as my mom’s sous chef—chopping onions, cleaning lettuce, baking cookies, and even cooking one whole meal a week alongside my older sister—until I moved to Los Angeles to go to art school. Several years later, I’m back in Northern California with a degree in graphic design, a husband, a toddler, and a baby on the way. I now spend all my time as a full-time mom, but in my free time I’m also a food stylist, photographer, recipe developer, and occasionally a paid designer. (To see the kind of design work I do, visit my portfolio site.)
This blog is a compilation of stories and recipes from a life spent loving food, eating well, cooking adventurously, and the desire to share that passion with others. My family members can attest that at any meal, I will not hesitate to be (respectfully—no elbowing children out of the way) first in line to get my plate of food, and therefore first to the table, ready to tuck in.
I would in no way have this avid appreciation for food if it were not for my mom, Dawn. Many of the recipes came from, or have been inspired by, her. Her motto is “love people and feed them.” And so, in a roundabout way, that is what this blog is about. It’s my wish to bring joy to others through food, just like Mom did for me.
Happy cooking,
Hana O’Regan Barber
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