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My darling grand-girl Jillian. Is there anything cuter than a little blonde girl in braids, Farmgirl blue jeans and a vintage apron? And sitting in her Gram’s kitchen on a vintage stool? Smile!
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Merry Christmas friends!
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Debbie Bosworth
is a certified farmgirl at heart. She’s happily married to her beach bum Yankee husband of 20 years. She went from career gal to being a creative homeschooling mom for two of her biggest blessings and hasn’t looked back since. Debbie left her lifelong home in the high desert of Northern Nevada 10 years ago and washed up on the shore of America’s hometown, Plymouth, MA, where she and her family are now firmly planted. They spend part of each summer in a tiny, off–grid beach cottage named “The Sea Horse.”
“I found a piece of my farmgirl heart when I discovered MaryJanesFarm. Suddenly, everything I loved just made more sense! I enjoy unwinding at the beach, writing, gardening, and turning yard-sale furniture into ‘Painted Ladies’ I’m passionate about living a creative life and encouraging others to ‘make each day their masterpiece.’”
Rebekah Teal
is a “MaryJane Farmgirl” who lives in a large metropolitan area. She is a lawyer who has worked in both criminal defense and prosecution. She has been a judge, a business woman and a stay-at-home mom. In addition to her law degree, she has a Masters of Theological Studies.
“Mustering up the courage to do the things you dream about,” she says, “is the essence of being a MaryJane Farmgirl.” Learning to live more organically and closer to nature is Rebekah’s current pursuit. She finds strength and encouragement through MaryJane’s writings, life, and products. And MaryJane’s Farmgirl Connection provides her a wealth of knowledge from true-blue farmgirls.
Cathi Belcher
an old-fashioned farmgirl with a pioneer spirit, lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As a “lifelong learner” in the “Live-Free-or-Die” state, she fiercely values self-reliance, independence, freedom, and fresh mountain air. Married to her childhood sweetheart of 40+ years (a few of them “uphill climbs”), she’s had plenty of time to reinvent herself. From museum curator, restaurant owner, homeschool mom/conference speaker, to post-and-beam house builder and entrepreneur, she’s also a multi-media artist, with an obsession for off-grid living and alternative housing. Cathi owns and operates a 32-room mountain lodge. Her specialty has evolved to include “hermit hospitality” at her rustic cabin in the mountains, where she offers weekend workshops of special interest to women.
“Mountains speak to my soul, and farming is an important part of my heritage. I want to pass on my love of these things to others through my writing. Living in the mountains has its own particular challenges, but I delight in turning them into opportunities from which we can all learn and grow.”
Dori Troutman
Dori Troutman is the daughter of second generation cattle ranchers in New Mexico. She grew up working and playing on the ranch that her grandparents homesteaded in 1928. That ranch, with the old adobe home, is still in the family today. Dori and her husband always yearned for a ranch of their own. That dream came true when they retired to the beautiful green rolling hills of Tennessee. Truly a cattleman’s paradise!
Dori loves all things farmgirl and actually has known no other life but that. She loves to cook, craft, garden, and help with any and all things on their cattle farm.
Mary Murray
describes herself as a goat charmer, chicken whisperer, bee maven, and farmers’ market baker renovating an 1864 farmhouse on an Ohio farm. With a degree in Design, Mary says small-town auctions and country road barn sales "always make my heart skip a beat thinking about what I could create or design out of what I’ve seen.”
Rooted in the countryside, she likes simple things and old ways … gardening, preserving the harvest, cooking, baking, and all things home. While you might find her selling baked goods from the farm’s milkhouse, teaching herself to play the fiddle, or sprucing up a vintage camper named Maizy, you will always find her in an apron!
Mary says, “I’m happiest with the simple country pleasures … an old farmhouse, too many animals, a crackling fire, books to read, and the sound of laughter … these make life just perfect.”
Alexandra Wilson
is a budding rural farmgirl living in Palmer, the agricultural seat of Alaska. Alex is a graduate student at Alaska Pacific University pursuing an M.S. in Outdoor and Environmental Education. She lives and works on the university’s 700 acre environmental education center, Spring Creek Farm. When Alex has time outside of school, she loves to rock climb, repurpose found objects, cross-country ski on the hay fields, travel, practice yoga, and cook with new-fangled ingredients.
Alex grew up near the Twin Cities and went to college in Madison, Wisconsin—both places where perfectly painted barns and rolling green farmland are just a short drive away. After college, she taught at a rural middle school in South Korea where she biked past verdant rice paddies and old women selling home-grown produce from sidewalk stoops. She was introduced to MaryJanesFarm after returning, and found in it what she’d been searching for—a group of incredible women living their lives in ways that benefit their families, their communities, and the greater environment. What an amazing group of farmgirls to be a part of!
Nicole Christensen
Suburban Farmgirl Nicole Christensen calls herself a “vintage enthusiast”. Born and raised in Texas, she has lived most of her life in the picturesque New England suburbs of Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York State. An Advanced Master Gardener, she has gardened since childhood, in several states and across numerous planting zones. In addition, she teaches knitting classes, loves to preserve, and raises backyard chickens.
Married over thirty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields, been a world-traveler, an entrepreneur and a homemaker, but considers being mom to her now-adult daughter her greatest accomplishment. Loving all things creative, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “Bloom where you are planted”.
Yesterday, my husband asked for my ‘Mexican Lasagne’ which I haven’t made for a couple of years – very similar to yours … and I must try the springform pan. We’re all craving comfort food at this time of year !
Hello Donna,
Yes… it would be similar! Hope you are having a lovely Christmas day today! We are expecting a houseful of company – I’ve cooked Brisket!
– Dori –
Looks and sounds delicious – will give it a try. Yes the darling granddaughter is always a wonderful sight. Merry Christmas!!! God bless.
Hi Joan,
Thank you for writing Joan… Merry Christmas to you also.
– Dori –
Happy Holidays, Dori, to your family from ours!
Probably one of our favorite comfort foods is Shepherds Pie, topped with cheese and a layer of ketchup. 🙂
Take care and stay warm!
Love,
Colleen
Hi Colleen,
Oh yes… I love Shepherds Pie!!! 🙂
– Dori –
This sounds awesome, and I got new springform pans for Christmas. 🙂 How perfect is that? I do a stacked “enchilada casserole” that takes advantage of layers of flavor with corn tortillas. It is chicken, and cheese, and Wolf’s chili. So good and filling!
Hello Susabelle! I’ve made the enchilada casserole before with the chile and cheese. I think we also made it with Frito chips. If you love that, you’ll love this too! Let me know!
– Dori –
I will definitely try this recipe…we love Mexican!
Susana
Hi Susana, I love Mexican too! Definitely the food that makes me think of home! 🙂
– Dori –
Looks delicious! We’ll have to try it. We stack rather than roll our enchiladas.
Hi Angela!
Hope you are enjoying your Texas vacation! 🙂
I stack my enchiladas sometimes and sometimes I roll them. Depends on my mood I guess!
Big hugs,
– Dori –
We had ham and turkey for our Xmas meat. My sons wife and grandsons wife brought the rest of the food. I did bake 2 pumpkin and 1 pecan pie for dessert
Hi Carol,
For our Christmas meal I made Brisket, twice baked potatoes, a pot of pinto beans and homemade biscuits. Others brought green salad, fruit salad and roasted veggies. It was a perfect meal. And I’ve discovered that Brisket actually tastes better the next day! 🙂
Nothing beats pumpkin and pecan pies!
– Dori –
Favorite comfort food: fresh cooked pinto beans over hot buttered cornbread! Another New Mexico favorite and most definitely mine!
Hi Debbie,
Oh yes…. nothing better than a pot of pinto beans. And wonderful crispy cornbread! When my Mom and Dad came last month they brought me a 25 pound bag of fresh pinto beans and they taste so good. It is amazing!
– Dori –
Her Dori, my best friends mom was from Mexico, and she taught me a lot about cooking, so I too like mexican for my go to whenver I am sick or just get home from vacations, I always go to my mexican food. I make my own tortillas, and tamales. Growing up, we always had pinto beans and cornbread like Deb, so I turn to that alot. Raising my boys their early years as a single mom, we turned to those beans and cornbread a whole lot. 🙂 My boys are not so crazy about them anymore but I still love them they give me comfort knowing that they were something I could always afford to feed my boys. Hope you had a Merry Christmas and now I gotta try your recipe. Be Blessed. Neta
Hi Vivian,
I loved your comment. It made me smile because it is exactly how I feel… when I’ve been sick, when I’m getting home from vacation I too want Mexican food!!! 🙂 My Mom always made our own tortillas too – both corn and flour. But I’ve never been able to master it. I’ll take any pointers you have! I do love to make tamales though. It is a lot of work, but oh so worth it!
Thanks for writing!
– Dori –
That first photo makes my heart sing!
I know it Wayve. Isn’t she the sweetest little Farmgirl?! 🙂
– Dori –
looks so good, I’m going to give it a try soon! thanks!
YES, comfort food to ring in the New Year too! You know, I get that same sort of undercurrent melancholy when Christmas ends sometimes. I attribute it to the post adrenaline rush that surrounds December. Comfort food is my go to as well when I just want to feel like I did when my Mom would put her arms around me sometimes. Nothing sweet to eat, nope, sometime savory and cheesy is best.
Your sweet Jillian is totes adorb in her Farmgirl braids, jeans and apron! It is a hopeful 2016 when we see the next generation of Farmgirls getting experience with making comfort food. We must never lose those traditions and skills from our Grandmothers!!!
Hi Winnie,
I agree. I get so hopeful when I see my little grand-girls interested in learning real-life skills. It warms my heart!
Happy 2016 to you!
Big hugs,
– Dori –
P.S. Thank you so much for your email. I read and re-read it. Made me soooo happy!
Hi Dori, We have had a couple cold days here in Ohio and I always seem to want to cook some comfort food when it gets really cold. So…I remembered your post and had all the ingredients so gave it a try tonight. Yum! It was so good and my husband even liked it and he is not much of a Mexican food fan (if you tell him that’s what it is, LOL). We both had second helpings!
Thanks for a great recipe that I will add to my recipe box.
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie,
I’m so glad you tried the recipe! And thank you for letting me know! 🙂 It tastes just as good the next day for leftovers too!
Stay warm! It is finally getting really cold here in Middle TN now.
– Dori –