Welcome to Mary’s Nest Cooking School
Do you want to be a Modern Pioneer in the Kitchen, and be part of the Traditional Foods Movement? If so, you’ve found a home at Mary’s Nest!
Through detailed video tutorials and recipes, I’ll teach you how to make Traditional “Nutrient Dense” Foods, including Bone Broths, Cultured Dairy, Ferments, Sourdough Bread, and More.
I’m Mary Bryant Shrader, and I’m so glad you’re here!
A Little Background About Me
I’m a former New York City Girl, now a Modern Pioneer, living the simple life with my sweet husband in the Texas Hill Country. And I’ve been a Modern Pioneer in the Kitchen, making Traditional Foods for over 20 years.
So whether your kitchen is in a city apartment, a house in the suburbs, or on a farm in the country, join me on this Traditional Foods journey as we create Nutrient-Rich Meals that nourish our family, our friends—and ourselves!
Together we’ll be Modern Pioneers in the Kitchen, no matter the century or where we call home!
Mary’s Nest YouTube Channel
My award-winning YouTube channel has over 900,000 subscribers and over 50 million views.
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Get to Know My Family
Here’s a family picture from my new book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook, that was taken in the Texas Hill Country outside of Austin. I’m getting a big hug from my sweet husband, Ted, and my sweet son, Ben.
My husband helps me behind the scenes with filming, editing, and many other tasks that help me bring my videos and website to you. My son is just a drive away and often visits for holiday celebrations, board games, and—of course—cozy family meals by the kitchen fireplace.
I also love dogs, and we have a lovable yellow lab, Indy, who I also call “Mama’s baby.” Among other family news, I post a lot of updates about him and his adventures on my YouTube Community Page.
What You’ll Find Here
I cover how to cook from scratch, including making traditional real foods using seasonal ingredients and how to preserve the best of the harvest. I have over 500 videos to share with you, including my Mastering the Basics video series.
Cooking traditional real foods from scratch is easier and less expensive than you think!
I’ll help transform your processed foods kitchen into a traditional foods kitchen, where you’ll create easy traditional real food meals that will be flavorful and delicious. You’ll cook and eat foods that are familiar, affordable, budget-friendly, and free of additives that your friends and family will love.
My Mastering the Basics playlist includes 15 videos to help you make bone broths, cultured dairy, fermented vegetables, sourdough starter and sourdough bread, soaked and sprouted grains, and more. It’s perfect for the beginner.
I cover a variety of related topics in my Mary’s Nest videos and website, including easy recipes featuring traditional real foods, how to best stock our pantry, how to make natural and herbal remedies, gardening, advice on how to shop, and more! Watch my Mary’s Nest YouTube welcome video to learn more.
The Modern Pioneer Cookbook
In my new book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook, I show you how to master the basics of pioneer cooking to make over 85 delicious recipes that are all simple and incredibly nourishing. Penguin Random House is publishing my book under their DK imprint with lots of beautiful pictures.
Order YOUR COPY Now!
The Modern Pioneer Cookbook
Seasonal ingredients, traditional techniques, and nourishing recipes. Over 85 traditional, from-scratch recipes! Discover for yourself how you can use simple ingredients and traditional techniques to cook the modern pioneer way.
More About Mary and My Website
With so many different traditional food recipes to choose from, from bone broth to sourdough and more, you may not be sure which one to start with, especially if you’re new to cooking. So I always say, “Start with a roast chicken.” With this recipe, you’ll gain confidence in the kitchen, have a leftover carcass for making chicken bone broth, and best of all, you’ll have a delicious meal for you and your family!
With all that’s happened to us over these last few years, from weather events to disruptions in the supply chain, we know that we can’t always guarantee that we can find the foods we need to feed our family at the grocery store. You can create a Prepper Pantry to become more self-sufficient but don’t feel you have to stock your pantry overnight. I’ll show you how to build your Prepper Pantry on a budget over time for just $5/week.
That’s a hard question! I love all kinds of kitchen gear, but the three that jump to my mind are my (1) Fat separator, since it gives you the best clarified bone broth, (2)
Magic whisk, which I often use anytime I need to quickly whisk ingredients, and (3) Mockmill grain mill, which helps me make fresh flour from the whole grains that I’ve stored in my Prepper Pantry. And if you find that you’d like to get a Mockmill or other items, be sure to visit my Shopping guide page, where I have lots of discount codes to share with you.
I use two cameras. We shoot my videos using my Canon EOS 90D and my iPhone. I set my Canon on a tripod to film videos at my kitchen island, and I use the iPhone for additional videos or still photos so that I can bring you in close and show you more detail on my recipe steps. My Video Gear and Services page lists all the equipment and services I use to make videos and maintain my website.
A Blessing of the Simple Art of Homemaking and Natural Living
My wonderful mother, who is in her 90s now, took complete delight in being a homemaker and perfecting the art of homemaking—the domestic arts—especially those that revolved around kitchen life. She cooked real food, in season, and made everything homemade from scratch.
She kept her pantry well-stocked so as to never run out of food and to always be prepared during hard times or bad weather. My mom always had a garden, including a huge herb garden that provided her with the raw materials for creating a plethora of natural remedies for coughs, colds, the flu, and a myriad of other ailments.
My mom taught me how to cook Traditional Food from scratch and to use every last bit of every ingredient we had in our fridge, our pantry, and our garden. Having grown up during the Depression of the 1930s, my mom learned how to make the most of everything. She was a true pioneer in spirit with a bit of Yankee grit thrown in. And I am blessed that she passed her knowledge on to me.
And now I’m continuing on in her pioneer spirit with my Yankee grit in tow—albeit I’m now living and loving in the beautiful Texas Hill Country…with the man of my dreams. But that’s a story for another day!
And so, let our journey together as “Modern Pioneers in the Kitchen” begin.
I’m SO glad you’re here…And I look forward to getting to know you!
If you wish to contact me, visit my Contact page or—via the old fashioned way—at:
Mary’s Nest
P.O. Box 342001
Austin, Texas 78734
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