And tastymum is my little corner of the internet!
I was a third‑grade teacher in Portland, Oregon, when I first started messing around in the kitchen back in 2015. After a particularly rainy Tuesday, I whipped up a quick lemon‑thyme chicken for my class and the kids begged for the recipe. That night I wrote it down, posted it on a tiny blog, and called it “Clara’s Kitchen.” The blog never went anywhere—until 2017, when I decided to give it a proper home and launched tastymum.
Fast forward to today, tastymum has become a modest but thriving food hub. In March 2023 we hit 45,000 unique visitors a month and have published more than 120 original recipes, ranging from “One‑Pan Summer Ratatouille” to “Grandma’s Cinnamon Swirl Bread.” I’ve also released two e‑cookbooks (“Everyday Comforts” in 2021 and “Seasonal Harvest” in 2024) and partnered with a local pantry to donate over 3,000 meals in the past year. The site now features a searchable recipe index, a weekly newsletter (1,800 subscribers), and a small shop where I sell my homemade spice blends.
I live in Asheville, North Carolina, with my husband Mark and our two kids, Maya (7) and Leo (4). When I’m not stirring a pot, you’ll find me hiking the Blue Ridge Mountains, digging through vinyl crates for jazz records, or chasing after the perfect dark‑chocolate chip cookie. My favorite kitchen tool is a well‑seasoned cast‑iron skillet, and my favorite comfort food is a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup on a rainy afternoon.
One quirky habit I have is that I always taste my sauces with a tiny wooden spoon I bought at a market in Oaxaca back in 2018. It reminds me that cooking is as much about the journey as the destination, and that every bite should feel like a little celebration.