EDIT: THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED> THANK YOU FOR ENTERING> WINNERS ANNOUNCED TUESDAY SEPT 30th 2014.
Hey yall! Happy Autumn !
Well, yall may as well grab a chair and a cup of tea because this is going to take a minute. But there will be cuteness overload I promise and some giveaways to boot!
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| Photo Courtesy of Mary Jane Butters Milk Cow Kitchen |
Awwwww!! Cute!!!!!!!! Told ya!
Yall, I was so excited last month when I received a copy of Mary Jane Butters latest book "
Milk Cow Kitchen to review and giveaway to one of my readers!
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| "Milk Cow Kitchen" by Mary Jane Butters |
Mary Jane wants us to have a backyard milk cow and she shows us how in her 5th book "
Milk Cow Kitchen!
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| Photo courtesy of MJB Milk Cow Kitchen |
In her 400 page book, MaryJane starts off with teaching us about the differences between store bought milk and homegrown milk. The meanings of all the different milks offered in our Supermarkets like Skim, 1% Low Fat, 2% Reduced Fat, Whole Milk. Cream Line, Buttermilk, Old Fashioned Buttermilk and Organic! And how those differences affect the recipes offered in the book.
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| Photo courtesy of "Milk Cow Kitchen" |
Oh and recipes? How about Sweet Cream Butter, Cultured Butter, Flavored Butters, Cultured Buttermilk, Cultured Sour Cream, Cultured Plain Yogurt, Cultured Greek Yogurt, Cultured Kefir? Then we get into the cheeses. Soft Cheese,Cream Cheese,Cottage Cheese,Mozarella, Monterey Jack,Cheddar, Colby-Jack, Feta, Manchego, Gruyere,Swiss, Parmesan, Asiago, Blue Cheese and Brie! There are lists of all the equipment needed and each recipe tells you which type (s) of milk works best. Thermized, pasteurized or raw! There is a description of each cheese presented and step by step instructions with photos.
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| Photo courtesy of MJB Milk Cow Kitchen |
I have never seen a more thorough collection of recipes.
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| Photo Courtesy of MJB Milk Cow Kitchen |
Then we get into the recipes that utilize these cheeses such as Creamy Garlic Breakfast potatoes,French Toast casserole,Grilled Cheese and Pear Sandwiches,Eggplant Parmesan,Salad dressings,Buttermilk Biscuits,Kitchen Gravy, Pastors Pie, Four Cheese Macaroni and many many more! Geez I'm starvin" :)
Then she teaches us how to make Ice Cream, cookies and Ginger Snaps! And thats just the first 200 pages of the book! The next 200 pages are dedicated to how to buy a good quality cow, why it is so important to keep good breeding records, how to care for your cow, how to milk the different size cows, yes cows come in different sizes. Full size, mid size, mini and micro! lol!
The differences in feed, how to get rid of pests, how to build shelters, vet care, dehorning, ear tagging, and companionship. Now we get into the business side of this adventure! Do you want to sell your extra milk? The legalities of selling raw milk. Zoning laws. Home decor and if that ain't enough, she rounds it all off with how to braid your hair like a milk maid!
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| Courtesy of MJB Milk Cow Kitchen |
No, I wasn't kiddin! There is a section just for Milkmaid Fashion!
Yall I have to tell you, this book is the first book that I have ever seen that actually tells you step by step how to "Have a Cow"! Whether it is in your backyard or on the farm. Now, we have around 80 cows at the moment. But I have shied away from keeping a milk cow because it is just my hubby and I at home. That was before I found out about Mini -jerseys! They give 1 -2 qts of milk a day! I think I could handle that amount of milk! And a mini! Sweeeet! So, I guess I know what is going on my Christmas wish list! My very own copy of
Milk Cow Kitchen" and a Mini Jersey!
Now, if being an author and organic farmer isn't enough to keep MaryJane busy, she is also a fabric designer. Her past collections of Glamping and Bee My Honey were so adorable! She has a new line to go along with her book
Milk Cow Kitchen and the
Fat Quarter Shop was kind enough to send me a little to play with and some to giveaway!
I fell in love with the cutesy cows on that butter yellow background. I knew right away that I wanted to make a table runner for my big table and to use on my sideboard.
I used a charm pack and my tumbler template. Those tumblers remind me of an old fashioned milk jug!
I bordered it with Moda Essential Dots in Mocha ( think Chocolate milk!) and Crazy Girls in Butter!
I took it outside to see what my babies thought about it.
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| I think Clover approves! |
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| I added a little grass to the lower forty for those pretty girls on the back! |
I used a super yummy Aurifil 2105 for the quilting and Aurifil 2372 for hand stitching the binding. I love to hand stitch binding! I think it just gives a very pretty finish!
I stitched in the ditch around the borders and did a simple meandering in the center. I love these cows!
I made a couple of tumbling coasters with the extra charms, insul-brite and flannel.
Yall, this project has been so fun. My mother in law used to have a milk cow. She had 8 children at home. I can definitely see the benefits of having a source of good nutritional milk right outside your back door. We have several full size Jerseys but I don't milk them. We would never use that much milk. But I would love a mini Jersey!
Now I promised some giveaways. So let's see what we have:
First we have Mary Jane Butters new book
Milk Cow Kitchen. Thank you folks at Mary Janes Farm for sending this incredible book for me to pass on to one of my readers.
Next we have a charm pack of Mary Janes newest fabric line
Milk Cow Kitchen. Thank you
Fat Quarter Shop for offering a charm pack to one of my readers so they can make their very own project!
And finally we have a 10 spool set of Mark Lapinskis "I Can Fly"
Aurifil 50 wt thread collection! Thank you Aurifil for offering this collection for one of my readers!
Woohoo! THREE great giftaways! So how do you go about winning one of these prizes?
You have up to 7 chances to win! Enter once or all 7 times!
1. Leave a comment below. I would love to know if you do any type of hand stitching?AND which gift you prefer if you win!( first entry)
2. Drop by MaryJanes Facebook page and tell her Jan from Sew and Sow Farm said hello and what you think about her book! (optional 2nd entry) Let me know that you did.
3. Follow the Fat Quarter Shop blog
"The Jolly Jabber", like their
Facebook page
, or
check out their
You Tube channel! ( yes they have their own channel.Leave me a comment letting me know which you have done.( Optional 3rd entry)
4. Drop by Aurifil's facebook page and tell them Jan from Sew and Sow Farm said hello and if you have tried Aurifil thread! Or sign up for their newsletter Auribuzz!(optional 4th entry) Let me know which you have done.
5.Sew and Sow Farm followers New or Old get another entry! (optional 5th entry) Leave me a comment letting me know that you do.
6. Help spread the word through facebook, twitter, pinterest, instagram or your blog! Leave me a comment letting me know how you shared ( Optional 6th entry!)
7. Visit one of my followers from the sidebar and let them know that Jan from Sew and Sow Farm sent you! Let me know who you visited.( optional 7th entry)
What? Yall, I have so many nice people that have helped me along with this blog and I want to show them some love. Over on my right sidebar you will see Google Friend Connect followers (just click on one of the icons) and Bloglovin followers(click on followers). And also Google + followers.(I can't see my email followers) Just look around and pay a visit to at least ONE of them.( Try not to all visit the same person/blog as everyone else is) You may even decide to follow them. That is up to you. But I would love for you to just pick someone NEW to you and pay them a visit. Give them some encouragement!You will find so much inspiration and be so glad you did. If you need help, let me know and I will walk you through how to visit! Leave me a comment of who you visited! ( Now this is the 7th optional entry!) Kinda like a blog hop, giftaway ,visiting party! Yeehaw! AND when someone reaches out to you and visits your blog, try to return the favor if you can! I am certain they would love it!
That is 7 possible entries! Enter now through Sunday September 28th 2014! Winners will be picked at Random.org and I will announce the winners next week!
This giveaway is open to everyone, everywhere! Also if you are a no-reply or anonymous commenter, please include your email in your comments.
Yall, this has been so much fun! Thank you so much to our sponsors that make this all possible! Have fun everybody! And Good luck!
Thanks for stopping by!
I gotta go drink me a big glass of Chocolate Milk!
xo jan
