Available for purchase September 30, 2026
Organic Cooking for (not-so-organic) Families is more than a cookbook. It’s a practical guide for families who want to make healthier food choices without giving up meat, dairy, or the foods they already enjoy.
Marlene Bumgarner breaks down topics like fats, fiber, sugar, organic and natural foods, GMOs, and food labels in an approachable way. Recipes are organized around childhood stages, mealtimes, holidays, and celebrations, with additional guidance for making staples like bread, yogurt, cheese, butter, and ice cream at home.
Drawing from decades of experience as a mother, grandmother, educator, writer, natural food store owner, and homesteader, Marlene understands that healthy eating has to work within a busy family life. This book takes the mystery out of healthier, more organic cooking with practical ideas and recipes that don’t depend on expensive or hard-to-find ingredients.
Welcome!
I have been a writer ever since we produced a newsletter at Girl Scout camp. I have also been an elementary school teacher, a natural food store proprietor, and a college instructor. Along the way, I raised four children and wrote four books.
My fifth book, Back to the Land in Silicon Valley, is a memoir of the years my husband and I homesteaded with another couple and our children. I am currently working on a cozy mystery and several nonfiction projects.
These web pages are where I post my finished work, share peeks at new projects, and connect with my readers. I have been writing a newsletter for a decade now, and you are welcome to wander among the archives or sort on a topic or title. Mostly I write, about food, about families, and about grandparenting.
If you subscribe by entering your email address on the right of this page, you will receive each essay as I finish it. I hope you will come along on my adventure and also take a look at past posts and join the conversation.
And invite your friends.
Marlene
