What’s Dani Dishing
Good food, curious living, and a little bit of magic.
I believe home can be both practical and enchanting. Dinner can be simple and still feel special. You can learn old traditions without taking yourself too seriously. And there’s always something worth getting curious about.
About Dani
I’m Dani, the creator behind What’s Dani Dishing. I’m a home chef, creative, craft enthusiast, amateur gardener, and at my core, someone who is always learning and trying new things.
Feeding people is my ultimate love language, which is why food is the heart of What’s Dani Dishing, but it’s also so much more than that.
My Journey
Creativity runs in my blood, and making things has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. The women in my family especially shared so many of their skills and passions with me. Summers were full of gardening and berry picking, and on rainy days we were always making something, whether it was homemade candles, mosaic stepping stones, Christmas ornaments... the list is truly endless. Cooking was woven into that upbringing too. I learned in the kitchen alongside my grandmas, aunts, and of course, my parents. I learned early on that food could be practical, expressive, comforting, and one of the clearest ways to care for people.
We used to joke that I had "creative ADHD." Turns out, I just have regular ADHD, and I've come to think of it as one of my superpowers. The list of hobbies and skills I've picked up over the years is honestly a little ridiculous. I even made my own wedding dress, which made my seven-year-old wannabe fashion designer self very happy.
How What's Dani Dishing Began
That creative, curious streak followed me into adulthood. In college, my husband, then boyfriend, and I moved into a tiny apartment together, and I started cooking for us regularly. I realized how much it meant to me. It was a connection to home while we were building our own.
Around that same time, I started learning how to cook wild game because my husband is a hunter and would bring home elk, venison, grouse, and whatever else was in season. Suddenly, I needed to figure out how to turn all that wild game into an edible dinner.
That learning curve eventually became my first cookbook, Wilderness Kitchen. I created it during my first year of teaching, because apparently starting a brand-new career wasn't enough to keep me busy. I've always had a habit of putting a little too much on my plate.
Teaching became another huge part of who I am. What I loved most was watching kids' creativity blossom and seeing those little "ah-ha" moments when something finally clicked. I think that same instinct still shows up in everything I share now. I love learning something, figuring out what makes it work, and then passing it along in a way that makes someone else feel like they can do it too.
Wilderness Kitchen grew out of that same impulse. I wanted to share the dishes I had adapted to wild game and help other people who might have a hunter in the family and absolutely no idea what to do with the meat. I started photographing the recipes and sharing the cookbook on Instagram, and somewhere in that process, my content creator life began.
After a while, I realized I wanted to share more than just wild game recipes. I wanted a place for all the other things I was cooking, making, learning, growing, and experimenting with too. That's how What's Dani Dishing started to become what it is now.
Where the Magic Comes In
Magic was woven through my childhood too, even if I didn’t always call it that. I was the kid making potions and obsessing over anything involving fantasy, witches, or magic, and I grew up in a relatively “woo woo” household. My mom burned incense, used essential oils, taught my sister and me about meditation and mindfulness, and instilled in us the importance of our thoughts and intentions. As I got older, that curiosity grew into crystals, tarot, spell books, yoga, natural remedies, and eventually a much more intentional relationship with witchcraft.
Somewhere along the way, I realized that my favorite place, the kitchen, was also where magic felt most at home. Food, creativity, ritual, care, seasonality, family, and intention already blended there so naturally. Kitchen witchery simply gave me a way to name something I think I had been doing, in one form or another, for a very long time.
Why I Share
While food is still at the center, this space is intended to be so much more than just a food blog.
As a recovering perfectionist, I know how scary it can be to learn something new. Starting from the beginning, being bad at something for a while, and knowing it’ll take practice can all feel intimidating. Thankfully, I’ve never let that stop me from trying new things. I want to share more of that process here too: not just the recipes and projects I’ve perfected, but what worked, what didn’t, and what I’m still figuring out.
More than anything, I want What’s Dani Dishing to leave you thinking, I could make that too. I still live for those little “ah-ha” moments, even if the classroom looks a little different now.
For a long time, I thought I needed to choose one creative passion and make a career out of it. Instead, I’m building a place for all of them. What’s Dani Dishing is my home for good food, kitchen witchery, garden projects, handmade things, creative experiments, and whatever I decide I need to learn next.
Hopefully, it gives you the courage to try a few new things too.
A Few Personal Notes
🌿 I could live entirely off sourdough toast and garden-fresh heirloom tomatoes.
🏡 I’d rather fill my home with things that have a story than things that simply match.
🕯️ My favorite kitchen tools are the ones I inherited from my grandma
📚 A perfect afternoon involves a cozy meal simmering on the stove while disappearing into a good book
🌙 I'm always aware of the moon phase, even if I'm not doing anything about it
🍂 I don’t have a favorite season. I love them all, but I get extra excited every time they change.