Getting into your kitchen and cooking a meal for yourself — or the people you love — can make you feel grounded, proud, and accomplished. Planning a meal, cooking it, and placing it on the table for people you love is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

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My journey into food began more than 20 years ago when I launched ANNA Magazine from my home kitchen — growing it into a recognizable media brand that married storytelling and recipes with beautiful food photography and design.

It’s true, after a major life change, I quit my corporate job and started a food magazine, named after my mother, and built around one simple idea: Inspiring readers to Make Everyday Special regardless of circumstance.

Every issue has a name rather than a date, and holds 30 tried-and-true recipes we tested in my own kitchen. Some of our most loved stories came from a section called What I Have Learned. It featured people who had endured heartbreak, loss, reinvention, uncertainty, and change — and shared what life taught them along the way.

Today, my Substack For The Love of Food with Mari Loewen is a place for all of it: delicious, easy-to-make best recipes, thoughtful stories, reflections on life, conversations with inspiring people, and a reminder to make everyday special.

xo Mari