Family Table is here!
Many of you have journeyed with us since the beginning of this blog. What feels like ages ago, Stuart and I were a newly married couple with a first born baby - just two months old. Though we dreamed of a homestead at the time, we were both still in the early stages of such skills. Chicken wrangling? What’s that? Milking by hand? Fu-get-about-it.The year I started my blog was the first year I ever grew a tomato - circa 2010.Eight years is hardly a lifelong journey, but from where we started, it does feel like another life. There was certainly a lot more quiet time and a lot fewer messes back then.Now, we’re nestled on just two and a half acres on a farm we own, Le Chalet. There’s a small herd of Katahdin sheep and a dairy cow grazing the spring pasture. The sound of chickens, ducks, and snorting pigs fill the quiet stillness of the farm with energetic noises and life.A dozen fruit trees have been planted and the garden has expanded from a single tomato plant to an entire acre of land.I don’t dare say we’ve arrived, but we’ve certainly come a long way.
When I first began this blog, I’d never made a loaf of bread from scratch. My idea of “home cooking” was just beginning to advance from sprinkling chives to put over canned chili to what it’s now become - real, whole, rustic farm food.If you were to ever visit my house, you’d notice how casual it is. Messy? Hopefully not. But casual none-the-less. My cooking is very much the same. Remember - I’ve got four little ones now that insist they sit on the counters while I cook up a meal. There’s always friends and family coming over to the farm and always a visitor to fill with strong espresso and baked goods.There is always a reason to eat good food and celebrate.
Family Table was written for those exact moments. For the everyday meals and moments that comprise the majority of our life. The recipes that you’ll find nestled among these pages were cooked and photographed right before they were eaten by real people on our actual farm. There was no staging. No photographers. Just a true reflection of what’s coming out of the farm kitchen.Many of you long time followers may recall this book from 2016 when we took a leap of faith and published it ourselves. What a huge financial risk that was! And what a success. Lyons Press publishing picked it up in 2017 and we are proud to bring you this refined and polished edition - a few of the recipes vary from the self-published edition, but only a few.
Family Table is for you, whether you live on a farm or not. You certainly don’t need to have your hands in the soil to appreciate good food (though it certainly doesn’t hurt). Rather, Family Table is for anyone who appreciates good food that’s been sourced well and enjoyed to the fullest. In our time, we have the joy of sipping and savoring. My hope is that Family Table encourages you to do just that.
If you’ve already purchased the 1st edition of Family Table, I would be extremely grateful if you popped on over to Amazon to leave a review. If you’ve yet to order, you can order it easily through Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
