I Wrote a Book!
The day has finally arrived… I can officially announce that I wrote a book! A cookbook, to be precise. I am absolutely elated to be sharing this joyous news with you. As many of you know, writing a book has been my dream and goal, the reason starting this online business, since I was very young. As an eight-year-old, I can remember telling my parents that my dream was to become an author. Though I never imagined that my first book would be a cookbook, or that I would find my passion in cooking!
A little over one year ago, I was approached by the wonderful people at Page Street Publishing, who are distributed by Macmillan. We chatted over concepts about a cookbook that was inspired by slow living in the country with wholesome, hearty recipes. Soon, The Prairie Kitchen Cookbook was born, and I got to writing!
I spent weeks experimenting and pouring over eighteenth and nineteenth century cookbooks, researching recipe origins, and working to take my own modern spin on them. This book covers a lot of ground, and we ended up jumping from around 60 recipes to 75. Originally, there were 100 recipes! Part of me is really glad that we cut back. Making a cookbook is a LOT of work!
I was really inspired writing this book by food that would have been cooked in the Heartland of the United States when those states were being founded. This includes the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin (though this is widely up for debate!). While my recipe index is hardly a historically accurate representation of the foods that would have been appropriate, I feel that it is a beautifully inspired collection of nostalgic recipes. I tried my best, as well, to keep the range of recipes within my own personal heritage, as I am of English, Scandinavian, Germanic, and Eastern European descent.
Here is a little excerpt from the book’s description!
“Bring authentic, incredible farm-to-table meals to your home with Kayla Lobermeier’s collection of delicious recipes from her multigenerational farm. Taking beloved, old-fashioned classics and giving them a contemporary twist, this collection of heirloom recipes was made for those looking to get back to their roots and create home-cooked meals with heart. Discover simple, yet mouthwatering recipes that are perfect for any time of the year―along with tips on stocking your pantry with from-scratch essentials to make comforting meals that satisfy both your stomach and soul. Featured recipes waiting inside include:
• Pumpkin Butter Waffles with Whipped Maple Bourbon Butter
• Chicken Soup with Herbed Cracker Dumplings
• Butter- and Herb-Blanketed Roast Turkey
• Cranberry Brie and Walnut Pinwheels
• Honey, Peach, and Blackberry Barbecue Pork Ribs
• Salty Hard Cider Soft Pretzels
• Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Smoked Gouda
• Butternut Squash, Apple, and White Cheddar Soup
• Pioneer Stacked Celebration Cake with Applesauce Filling
Readied with this beautiful guide of nourishing recipes, you will have everything you need to capture the flavor and spirit of prairie cooking.”
I ended up having to write this book while I was pregnant with my daughter, Felicity, which made for a challenge! As I was approached about the book around Christmas of 2021, I spent the entire winter writing, recipe developing, and photographing a book that had to have the look of summer and autumn. This was another challenge in and of itself.
Really, this book changed everything for me. Around the same time, I was considering opening a restaurant on our farm. Then this opportunity showed up, I found out that I was pregnant (my editor was the first person to know I was pregnant other than my family!), and I was not really thinking of making food a major part of this blog. As you can see, that completely opened up a door for me that I never knew was there! After eight years of blogging about our slower paced lifestyle, homesteading and all that comes with it, recipe creation was only a small part of that picture. In 2022, I decided to take the leap and focus most of my energy on sharing food and my goodness… we jumped up over 300,000 people on our social media channels and gained millions of viewers! I was not expecting that to happen, and I am so thankful that it did. It created a full time income for myself and enough for me to be able to pay my mom, which resulted in the decision to close our farm to the public and end the retail side of our business. Wow!
Also, I shot an original cover while I was 7-months-pregnant and had to appear that I wasn’t pregnant at all (You can see those photos on our Patreon page). That was funny! The cover images that you see in this post were shot when Felicity was only two-weeks-old. It was hot, sweaty, and we had to prepare all of this food days in advance, haul it 30 minutes to the incredible public prairie land, and shoot everything in about 15-20 minutes before the sun set. Nothing like a good postpartum book cover photoshoot!
In all, I am just really proud of this book and all of the work that went into it. We ate really well this past winter - ha! I am so thankful for my mom, Jill, who provided the incredible illustrations inside of the pages and all the behind-the-scenes work that she helps me with on the daily. I am thankful for my dad and husband for taking on the brunt of childcare duties and washing endless amounts of dishes. I am thankful for my children who willingly taste tested all of the creations and waited patiently for meals and, above all, for inspiring me to do this at all. And thank you to the amazing team at Page Street Publishing and my incredible editor, Emily, who I have loved getting to know through all of this. What a fun thing it is, to write a book!
info about the book:
You can now pre-order The Prairie Kitchen Cookbook wherever books are sold. I have a page on the website dedicated to purchasing this book and more information about it. Simply click the button below!
It will be available at bookstores on June 13th, 2023. Until then, I’ll be sharing lots of fun promotional things if you want to hang in there and learn more!
I hope that you enjoy this book and let me know if you end up pre-ordering a copy! It will just make my day!
xoxo Kayla
