Books

Is the world ready to rethink bread making? I certainly think so. My book, Wild Bread, completely reinvents the concept of healthier-for-you, naturally fermented sourdough. Until now, sourdough meant too much work and sour-tasting, artisan-style-only loaves. My revolutionary fermentation technique demonstrates the use of eight different types of flours for each bread featured—everything from gluten-free brown-rice flour to quinoa to common white to heirloom whole wheat—for a whopping 295 recipes and 475 photographs. Using my method, every style of bread imaginable, including gluten free, will loft with wild abandon without the purchase of a single packet of not-so-healthy, store-bought yeast. In nutritionally superior wild-yeast bread, fermentation triggers the release of vital nutrients and breaks down carbohydrates. In my world, there’s no such thing as too much bread because once you convert to slow-rise wild-bread making, that bagel you’ve been thinking about is more like a vitamin pill than a source of “carb-loaded” guilt.

Whether we’re urban or suburban, straight-up city or downright country, cast-iron cookware holds a special place in our hearts. For generations, it’s the one thing that has never changed. Or worn out. With its rich history and formidable staying power, who among us doesn’t have at least one of Grandma’s skillets?  

Not only is it cheaper than its modern-day, fancy-pants counterparts, it’s non-toxic. And if your great-granmama were around to utter admonitions, she’d tell you a thing or two about proper kitchenware (and manners), and then hand you a cast-iron griddle and show you how to make a mess of biscuits the likes of which you’ve never tasted before.

From Asparagus and Mushroom Quiche with Potato Crust to Chicken and Biscuit Skillet Pie to Ham Dinner on the Half Peel to Rhubarb-Raspberry Pandowdy, MaryJane’s unpretentious recipes for breads, breakfasts, soups, casseroles, main dishes, and pies and other desserts that include step-by-step instructions accompanied by beautiful color photography will make you feel as if you were sitting with her in her farmhouse kitchen in the outback of Idaho.

Preparing meals in this tried-and-true cookware just got easier with MaryJane’s farmhouse recipes and cooking tips that include her unique take on cast-iron cookware care.

If you have a farmgirl friend who’s just discovered (or has yet to discover) MaryJanesFarm, you can bet she’ll enjoy MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook — 416 pages with more than 600 photographs and illustrations; farm kitchen recipes; make-it-easy how to’s; outpost advice; and old-fashioned tips, hints and values; MaryJane’s Stitching Room — a treasure trove of projects that will have you stitching, crocheting, embroidering, and tatting before you know it; and MaryJane’s Outpost — a guide to show you exactly HOW to get outdoors ... and what to do once you’re there.

• MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook
• MaryJane’s Stitching Room
• MaryJane’s Outpost

It’s about time! MaryJane and daughter, Megan, have finally written a children’s book, illustrated by Karina Overfelt—a 34-page cowpanion to MaryJane’s fifth book, Milk Cow Kitchen. Give or get the gift of this adorable adventure story about a milk cow named Sally O’Mally, who finds love in the home of a single mom and her daughter who never gave up hope that someday, they’d have a backyard milk cow.

Includes 5 reader-to-child educational pages that are jam-packed with conversational questions, including an irresistible hands-on project.

“Move over dogs, cats, and hamsters—milk cows are making the ‘moo-ve’ to be your next household pet. With songs to sing, fun facts, and colorful illustrations, Moo-n Over Main Street Metropolis is a wonderful reader-to-child experience that connects children to their food, one milk cow at a time.”
– Suzanne Gibbs Taylor, Creator of BabyLit^®

MaryJane Butters wants YOU to have a cow—that “pet” cow you’ve always dreamed about. You know, that gorgeous beau-vine you’ve seen grazing outside your “cow”girl kitchen window. Of course, you’ve wondered what it would feel like to bring a bucket of fresh milk into your kitchen and turn it into butter, your own yogurt, sour cream, and artisan cheeses like Manchego and Brie. MaryJane’s fifth book, Milk Cow Kitchen, is one part milk cow how-to, one part cookbook (75 fuss-free, farmstyle recipes, in addition to 15 step-by-step, super simple cheese-making recipes), and three parts play!

Beginning each day by milking her Jersey dairy queens—Miss Daisy and Buttercup, MaryJane’s Visionworks, LLC supplies milk and butter to local residents in her hometown of Moscow, Idaho, where she runs her many businesses that include a successful organic farm, product lines, and MaryJanesFarm magazine, now in its nineteenth year. Follow MaryJane’s “milk-her-once-a-day-not-twice” backyard milk cow movement at HeritageJersey.org.

MaryJane Butters’ go-to guide for putting glamour into camping.

“Glamping, or glamour camping — one of MaryJane’s pet concepts — is about the juxtaposition of rugged and really pretty, grit and glam, diesel and absolutely darling.”—The New York Times.

Glamping—unleashing your inner wild while wearing a pair of fishing-lure earrings—is for every woman (or man!) who ever had a get-away-from-it-all fantasy (with a few frilly embellishments thrown in). Learn about the never-fail campfire, cooking with cast iron, how to change a flat, and much, much more.

Follow the growing Glamping movement at maryjanesfarm.org and internationalglampingweekend.com.

Get out! No matter what your age, MaryJane Butters walks you to the door and OUT you go. Wilderness ranger turned Idaho organic farmer, MaryJane is a woman OUTSIDE ... the norm. Drawing from her own diverse background, she’ll show you exactly HOW to get outdoors—and what to do once you’re there.

Think and get inspired in her OUTTHINKING chapter. Head to your porch, yard, or rooftop, using the innovative and easy suggestions you’ll find in OUTBOUND. Kick up a little sass with her ideas in OUTRIGGED, joining the ranks of “reel” women who go tramping (trailer camping). In OUTSTEPPING, learn to load a backpack with her unique high-protein meal plan that won’t break the bank or your back, and read about wily huntresses who take the kind of “heart shots” that knock ’em dead and into the freezer.

And throughout these pages you’ll encounter the inspirational stories of OUTSPOKEN women who’ve blazed the trail and beyond. By the time you turn the last page, you’ll be going flat OUT for all the world to see.

MaryJane’s Outpost—Unleashing Your Inner Wild is the latest follow-up to MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook.

If you already have MaryJane’s Outpost, you can find a pattern for the cute corn potholder here →

Whether you’re a farmgirl or just wish you were, MaryJane’s Stitching Room is a treasure trove of projects that will have you stitching, crocheting, embroidering, and tatting like one before you know it. Plus you’ll find more of MaryJane’s engaging essays and endearing farmgirl wisdom. Using simple step-by-step instructions, she outlines projects that have a nostalgic appeal for the contemporary crafter who is intrigued with the delicate handcrafts of yesteryear. MaryJane includes irresistible patterns for projects to wear, for gifts, or to bring down-home charm to any room of the home—all with her unmistakable farmgirl flair.

MaryJane’s Stitching Room is a wonderful companion to MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook, but it also stands alone as a useful guide to the handiwork of days gone by.

If you already have the Stitching Room, you can find related links here:

• The results of the Pinkeeper Contest →
• Crochet Instructions →
• Fancy Work Apron variations →
• Headwrap Patterns →
• “Make-do” Apron Pattern →

Whether you simply need encouragement to embrace a more authentic, wholesome lifestyle or you’re looking for guidance on building a greenhouse, chopping firewood, hosting a town event, caring for a flock of chickens, making your own butter, growing a winter salad, or choosing a water filter,MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook for the farmgirl in all of us is both an inspiration and a practical road map for farmgirls of all stripes.

When you order it through us, you’ll receive an autographed copy of MaryJane’s book, published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House. It’s 416 pages with more than 600 photographs and illustrations; farm kitchen recipes; make-it-easy how to’s; outpost advice; and old-fashioned tips, hints and values—with love, from our farmhouse to yours.