My mother's kitchen never had a cookbook. So I wrote one.
Hon, if you've watched my videos, you already know how we cooked on the farm. Cold water and good salt for the potatoes. Butter first, then the warm milk. Nothing ever went to waste. This is all of it, written down at last.
This book is for you if…
You want the suppers your grandmother made, not the ones from a box.
You're tired of lumpy gravy, gluey potatoes and tough pot roast, and you want to know why it happens.
You cook on a budget and want food that stretches from Sunday to Thursday.
You grew up in the Midwest, left a long time ago, and miss the taste of home.
What's inside the tin
[N] recipes in 8 chapters, laid out the way a farm kitchen actually ran.
Breakfast Before Chores
Eggs, buttermilk pancakes, fried mush and the coffee cake for the hired men.
The Potato Kettle
Mashed, scalloped, fried, potato pancakes and warm German potato salad.
Sunday Dinner
Pot roast, roast chicken, and gravy without a single lump.
Friday Fish Fry & Supper Club Nights
Beer-battered perch, rye bread, coleslaw and the relish tray.
Church Basement Suppers
Hotdish, casseroles and funeral potatoes that feed a crowd.
Biscuits, Breads & Kringle
Tall biscuits, farm bread and Saturday baking.
Pies, Bars & Dairy Desserts
Cream pies, bars and anything that needs real butter.
Nothing Goes to Waste
Leftovers, bacon grease, buttermilk and stale bread, all put to work.
Every recipe comes with
- 01Plain ingredients from any grocery store, with exact amounts.
- 02Short, numbered steps in big, easy-to-read type.
- 03Why it works — the old farm reason behind each step, so you never have to guess.
- 04If it goes wrong — what happened, and how to fix it next time.
Cold-Start Mashed Potatoes
serves 6- 3 lb russet potatoes
- Good handful of salt
- 6 Tbsp butter, soft
- ¾ cup whole milk, warm
- 1 spoon sour cream
- Cut even. Into COLD salted water.
- Simmer: hum, don't holler.
- Drain, dry in the hot kettle.
- Butter first, then warm milk.
- Mash by hand. Finish with sour cream.
Cold water cooks the outside and the middle together, so nothing turns to mush.
Gluey? Put the mixer away. Watery? Dry them a minute longer.
Also in the tin, at no extra cost
Large-print edition
The whole book in big type. Easy on the eyes, easy to print.
20 printable recipe cards
My favourites, sized to fit a real recipe box.
Sunday Pot, Four Suppers
A one-week plan that turns one Sunday of cooking into four weeknight suppers.
About Marlys
I was born in 1943 on a dairy farm in Clark County, Wisconsin, the fourth of six kids. My mother Hilda cooked three hot meals a day for all of us and the hired men, and there were potatoes at every one of them.
I'm no chef. I'm just a farm wife who's been peeling potatoes since I could see over the sink, and I'd hate for any of it to be lost.
Marlys is the storyteller of our channel, a character inspired by real Wisconsin farm kitchens. Every recipe in this book is real and kitchen-tested.
Recipe Tin
- The Recipe Tin: [N] farm recipes, PDF
- Large-print edition
- 20 printable recipe cards
- Sunday Pot, Four Suppers plan
Cook one supper from the book. If it isn't the kind of cooking you were hoping for, write within 30 days and get every penny back. No hard feelings, hon.
Questions before you buy
Do I need special equipment?
No. A big pot, a skillet, a baking dish and a potato masher will carry you through almost every recipe. Cast iron is nice, but not required.
I'm not a good cook. Is this too hard?
These are everyday farm suppers in short steps and big type, and every recipe tells you what to do if it goes wrong.
Is this a printed book?
No, it's a digital download (PDF). Read it on any device, or print the pages you want.
I'm not good with computers. How do I open it?
After you pay, you get an email with a download button. Tap it and the book opens. You can download it again any time from that same email.
Are the recipes the same as in the videos?
The tricks from the videos are all in here, plus many recipes that never made it on camera.
What if I don't like it?
Write to us within 30 days and you'll get a full refund.
My mother never once wrote a recipe down. Now you'll never have to guess.
Get the Recipe Tin — $37