| Organic farmer may show us the way King5 TV, Seattle, Washington By Saint Bryan / Evening Magazine Imagine trying to fill the shoes of the domestic diva Martha Stewart. Sure, many names have been proposed, but only one lifestyle expert has signed a million-dollar book deal with Martha's own publisher. She is MaryJane Butters, an organic farmer living in Idaho. If you haven't heard of her, you will soon! MaryJane Butters is so busy living the simple life, it's hard to keep up with her. She's going to need that energy. A million-dollar book deal and offers from network television have turned this organic farmer and wholesome food seller into hot property. MaryJane Butters is quite busy living the simple life these days. Even Time magazine is calling this woman with all the outdoor beds the "Pioneer Martha" - something with which her son is uneasy. "I worry that she's gonna take on too much and become really famous like Martha Stewart," said Emil Butters. She may soon be famous, but MaryJane will never be like Martha Stewart. Even as she prepared one of her signature bake-overs before our very camera, she wasn't exactly the most exacting we've ever met. She's not about impressing people, but helping people find balance in their busy lives. Trend spotters say we're all getting tired of the double-income rat race and many of us are on the verge of shifting down to a simpler way of life. "Women are the fastest-growing group of people buying small farms right now," she said. Book publisher Random House is betting a $1.3 million/two-book deal that MaryJane will be the one teaching the rest of us how to do it. She's been gathering material for her book her entire life. "We sewed all of our clothes, did all of our food, so I came into it naturally," she said. Though she worked as a wilderness ranger and many odd jobs, MaryJane always wanted to farm. "I knew I wanted to buy a farm at the end of a dirt road, so I looked unrelentingly for 10 years and that's how I found this place," she said about her remote, old homestead of 5 acres she bought for $45,000. "I finally found my dream place." Her dream place for years had no indoor plumbing, but working as a family, they raised bell peppers and zucchini to sell at the farmer's market in Moscow, Idaho. These hard times lasted for years. "You just have to get up every morning and reinvent yourself and keep trying," she said. "Women love to do that. They're good at that." Eventually, MaryJane started a line of organic dried foods and the catalog became a magazine full of recipes, crafts and advice. Could everything MaryJane fill the void left behind by everything Martha? "I think she's accomplished a lot and it will probably take dozens of us to fill that void," said MaryJane. And that's alright with MaryJane. "I'd like to share my talents and my ideas, but I don't want this to change for me," she said. MaryJanesFarm Bakeover recipe Use a nonstick skillet that is rounded and deep (like a wok) and about 8 inches in diameter. Select 4 cups of whatever you want: fresh vegetables, cheese, fish, deboned meat. Pick your favorites and be creative because just about everything will work. After you've chopped or sliced the vegetables you want, sauté them for 3-5 minutes in your skillet. Add one of MaryJane's mixes on top like a pie crust. In our story, she used organic Jonnycakes (cornmeal biscuit mix). After your skillet is in the oven for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, flip the contents upside down onto a plate and serve.
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