Making everyday special; New food magazine captures the beauty of the simple gesture
By Liane Faulder | Edmonton Journal
April 25th, 2009
I couldn’t say that most cooking magazines inspire me. In fact, many are terrifying. But a new food magazine out of Winnipeg has caught my attention, and I want to tell you about it.
The magazine is called Anna and it’s the brainchild of Mari Loewen. The signature sentiment of the magazine is this phrase: make everyday special. The catch phrase is not a saccharine advertising gimmick (although, granted, it may serve the same purpose). It’s words for living that Loewen adopted after a devastating divorce — an event that helped launch both the magazine and a new chapter of her own life.
“I realized that making every day special was up to me and no one else. I can’t help the decision another person makes. And as I pulled myself together, I inspired a lot of people and it came from that,” says Loewen, 44.
“I wondered, ‘how can we get the message across of making everyday special and linking it to food?’ ”
The result of her musing is a product that combines exquisite design with straightforward recipes and entertaining guidance. I wanted to lick the cover of the most recent issue, an homage to the Parisian esthetic that makes me catch my breath every time I see it. The reason I like this perspective so much is that it values the beauty of the simple gesture — in food or in fashion — that is executed with time and care.
Launched in 2006, Anna comes out quarterly. Loewen, who runs the magazine with a full-time staff of five from her home, says it hasn’t been easy to get the publication off the ground. She used to be in the grain industry and was hardly trained to be a publisher. But she had always been a creative person who loved cooking and having friends over. The magazine is named after Loewen’s mother, a first-rate home cook, who was into organics and frugality in the kitchen long before it became fashionable.
“I have reconnected with my childhood, and what my mother did suddenly became glamorous to me,” she says with a bit of a chuckle. “An egg sandwich wrapped in wax paper and tied with string. She did it because she was frugal and we do it because it’s beautiful.”
Anna, with a mere 6,000 subscribers, is sold in Barnes and Noble in the United States, and at Chapters, Indigo and Coles in Canada, as well as specialty food markets such as Whole Foods in Vancouver and Toronto. Loewen relies heavily on premium brand advertisers and sells back issues as if they were collectors’ items. Which they are.
“It has such a homey feel, and people want to share it with their friends,” says Loewen.
Each issue has four components, including a section devoted to foods that are traditional, and those that are every day easy, such as one-skillet suppers. But though not over-challenging to the average homemaker, Anna emphasizes the use of quality ingredients, such as homemade chicken stock (for which there is a step-by-step recipe, with pictures).
The magazine, with a minimalist style, has the air of possibility. That may have something to do with the fact that Loewen created it, practically out of the air, when her marriage ended, and with it, not only cherished relationships, but her sense of her place in the world.
“You lose your friends and your circle and you’re a single parent and you want to be part of something,” she recalls. “I thought, ‘I have to create that myself.’ Instead of waiting for an invitation, I had to put that out. You need to knock on your neighbour’s door and invite them for dinner, and that’s how you get to be part of a group.”
Loewen wants her magazine to be a way for people to feel connected to each other through food and entertaining.
“We are all looking for something. Maybe it’s a quote to get you through the day and make you feel better,” she says. “Everyone is walking around with something going on.”
Here is a recipe from the latest Anna magazine.
BANANA CAKE WITH MANGO AND STRAWBERRIES
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsalted butter, room temperature, addition for pan
- 3/4 cup (175 mL) firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup (75 mL) sour cream
- 11/2 (375 mL) cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (10 mL) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon (.5 mL) salt
- 1 cup (125 mL) mashed bananas (2 large)
FILLING
- 2 cups (500 mL) 35 per cent cream
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla
- 2 cups (500 mL) sliced strawberries
- 2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and sliced
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Grease two 9-inch (22 centimetre) round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in sour cream. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture and beat on low speed for 1 minute. Stir in bananas until combined. Spread batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
For filling, in a large bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar and vanilla; set aside.
To assemble cake, cut each cake into two layers. Place one layer on a serving plate and spread with whipped cream and top with 1/2 cup (125 mL) strawberries and mango slices. Repeat with remaining layers. Spread top layer with whipped cream, strawberries and mango slices. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serves 8 to 10.
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There are a lot of magazines out there. Some are junky (and I’m not holding it against you, US Weekly!), others are smart (Oh, how I love you, Economist), and other still are just plain out gorgeous. ANNA Magazine falls into the third category. A new-ish publication out of Winnipeg just recently celebrating its first anniversary, ANNA’s tagline is “Making Everyday Special”. And how do they do this? Why, in the best way possible, of course. With lots of yummy, yummy food.
Editorial Director (and founder) Mari Loewen created ANNA in honour of her family traditions – with her mother as its namesake. Inspired by stunning photography and tasty delicacies I can barely handle waiting ‘til the weekend to try (and I’m waiting because recipes of this caliber deserve time and care, not because I lack weekday culinary ambition, I swear), the publication reads like the kind of cookbook you got as a wedding gift: special, beautiful, and pulled out each and every time you dare to engage with dinner guests. Indeed, while its heart is of the concoction-crafting variety, its soul is in the joy of entertaining.
The combination of ANNA’s tone and appearance will leave you utterly cozy, charmed, and intrigued by your own domesticity within. At only $8 per issue (yes, Canadian!), that’s a recipe worth trying out.
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Food Stuff | A Canadian focus on food
By Shelley Boettcher, Herald News Services | April 5, 2009
If you haven’t already seen it, you may want to look for a copy of ANNA magazine the next time you’re at a magazine rack.
ANNA is a canadian food magazine, based in winnipeg; it’s published four times a year and costs $8 per issue.
The design is beautiful, with food pictures that will literally make you hungry when you look at them.
Go to annamagazine.ca or call 1-866-274-5439 for more information.
In the current issue: articles on manners and etiquette, canning, a return to sunday as a day of rest (and good food) and more.
Baby swiss chard with tomato and vegetable
This recipe is excerpted from ANNA magazine, Issue 8.
6 cups baby swiss chard
8 medium tomatoes, blanched, peeled and quartered
6 Yukon gold potatoes, diced
6 cloves garlic, peeled
Coarse salt and cracked black pepper
In a heavy skillet over medium heat, saute garlic for one minute. Add potatoes and brown slightly. Add tomatoes and cook covered for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add swiss chard and cook another 10 minutes or until chard releases its liquid. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6.
© Copyright The Calgary Herald
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MAGAZINE CREATOR GETS A TASTE OF SUCCESS
By Trevor Suffield | THE METRO
March 5, 2009
Mari Loewen always had big dreams while growing up in Winkler.
Loewen has realized one of those dreams with the creation of Anna Magazine, a glossy, self-published quarterly periodical featuring recipes, inspirational phrases and entertaining ideas.
The 10th issue of the magazine Anna will be published later this moth.
Loewen, who serves as editor-in-chief of the mag, says it was her humble upbringing and desire for something more that inspired her to create Anna.
“My father was an entrepreneur, so I saw him building businesses and doing different things, and he was very creative,” said Loewen, 44, who lives in River Heights with her 11-year-old daughter Isabella.
“My mother was in the home and she did the cooking and nothing was ever wasted and everything was organic. I think it was a culmination of things that finally came together.”
Loewen moved to Winnipeg when she turned 18. She enrolled in management studies courses, but never completed them.
After jumping from job to job for a few years, Loewen published the first issue of Anna in 2006. The title of the quarterly magazine is a tribute to her mother.
Loewen produces Anna in the basement of her house with a dedicated staff of six.
Many of the recipes and inspirational sayings featured in the magazine were passed down from her mom. Loewen is most proud of how the magazine inspires people, especially in these troubled economic times.
“If we can remind somebody, in a short sentence, about something that will make them feel better or inspire them to follow their own dreams when there’s so much negativity around, then I think we’ve done our job,” she said.
Loewen admits she finds inspiration in the words as well, especially with magazines across the country going out of business due to the recent economic downturn and the difficulty in attracting and retaining advertisers.
Advertising revenue is just one of the challenges facing magazine publishers, according to Deborah Morrison, president of the Manitoba Magazine Publisher’s Association and The Beaver magazine.
A hike in postal rates for magazines has been equally troublesome, she said.
“Ninety-five per cent of our revenues come from outside the province into Manitoba, but we’re going to be charged more to ship the magazines back out,” Morrison said.
A 2006 study indicated that the Manitoba magazine industry accounts for 4% of the total number of Canadian titles available and generates $32 million in annual revenue for the province.
The work ethic that was instilled in Loewen during her formative years in Winkler continues to serve her well. All advertising designs for Anna are created in-house. This helps provide a consistent look throughout the magazine and helps keep production costs down.
Loewen currently prints 12,000 copies of each issue of Anna. Nearly half of that print run is delivered to subscribers. She plans to print an additional 30,000 copies of the March issue that will be distributed to select areas of Manitoba. Future plans call for issues to be distributed in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.
For more information about the magazine visit www.annamagazine.ca. Annual subscriptions cost $29.95.
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Taste and entertainment
Laurie Mustard
October 15th 2009
Local success story on shelves today!
A little background, from publisher Mari Loewen:
“I had a dream to create a beautiful magazine with a unique concept that would inspire readers to make everyday special and bring my love of food and entertaining to life …
“I never imagined Winnipeg would fall in love with the magazine as they have!
“ANNA magazine brings a homemakers voice to food and entertaining with simple recipes, inspiring articles and exceptional photography — a magazine simple enough to be timeless and beautiful enough to have as a coffee table book.
“Our 12th issue (“balance”) is in stores now, available at McNally Robinson, Chapters, Indigo, De Luca’s, Greek Market, For Space Sake, La Grotta, d.a.niels and at Gingerwood Lane in Winkler.
“I am so thankful to my extraordinary team, the many subscribers and advertisers. Each of them bring a passion that allows me to live my dream and create a product that will inspire others to do the same. Thanks Laurie, Mari Loewen, Publisher.”
There you have it ladies and gentlemen, a challenge to “live your dream”, as Mari has, all the while paying it forward for others.
This is me of late ooh’ing and aahhh’ing over a mouthwatering recipe, sandwiched between ANNA stars Melanie Sifton (picture No. 1, left) and publisher Mari Loewen. Check out Mari’s mag at annamagazine.ca … A delicious read.
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