This is usually okay... what's not okay is that usually this narrative is broken up by ads, a constantly changing layout as you scroll, and eventually jumping so many times you can't resume scrolling, then eventually crashing because too many trackers/ads/etc overwhelmed the browser (on mobile).

No, it's not okay. I used google to look for a brownie recipe; I want a brownie recipe and nothing else.

This might be a hot take but I'm usually fine with this... If its authentic which most of the time it isn't.

But I don't know, I feel like personal stories are what really makes a blog worth reading?

I don't like it when it's unnecessary "info dump" type. Like, "we all know the benefits of garlic (proceeds to list the well known benefits of garlic)". It's not personal or relevant.

I just want there to be a well formatted way of viewing the recipe at the bottom for quickly checking the recipe on a second or third visit.

Sure, but there's a time and a place, and when I'm looking for a recipe, especially if I'm landing on a site for the first time and don't even know who the author is yet, it's the time and place to do the shopping or the cooking, not for reading even an interesting origin story.

I discovered justtherecipe.com and never went back. So far it's free and ad-free, though I suspect that will end soon.

Now that’s a recipe I would read. We can fold in the failing publishing industry and have authors presented by King Biscuit Flour.