And happydishrecipes is my little corner of the internet!
I launched Happy Dish Recipes in 2017 while I was still a full‑time graphic designer in Austin, Texas. I was tired of scrolling through endless recipe blogs that never seemed to match the time I had after a long day at the studio. One rainy Thursday I whipped up a quick lemon‑garlic shrimp pasta, snapped a photo, and posted it on a simple WordPress site. That post got 1,200 page views in its first week, and I realized there was a hungry audience for honest, fast‑forward cooking.
Fast forward to 2024, and the site has grown into a community of over 45,000 monthly readers. I now publish three new recipes every week, each tested twice before they go live. In March 2023 I hit 10,000 email subscribers, and in September 2024 I launched a printable “Meal‑Prep Planner” that has been downloaded more than 8,000 times. I’ve also started a quarterly “Happy Dish Box” that ships seasonal pantry staples to 1,200 members across the U.S.
I live in a modest bungalow just outside downtown Austin with my partner, Marco, and our rescued orange tabby, Milo. When I’m not in the kitchen, you’ll find me biking the Lady Bird Lake trail, hunting for vintage cookbooks at local thrift stores, or binge‑watching classic sitcoms with a bowl of popcorn I made from a recipe on this very site. My three favorite things are fresh basil, sunrise hikes, and the sound of a timer dinging at exactly the right moment.
One quirky habit I have is that I always taste‑test my dishes while standing on one foot – it keeps me balanced, both literally and in the kitchen. If you ever drop a comment on a recipe, chances are I’ll reply within an hour, because sharing food feels like sharing a piece of my life.