Farmhouse Kitchen, September 2025
For Rachael McLendon, the kitchen is the heart of the home. She and her husband, Jonathan, are raising their four children — Addie, 10, Anna, 8, Brett, 3, and Lindsey, 1 — on their Clarke County farm. The McLendons’ goal is to ensure their kids know the value of hard work by involving them in every aspect of the family farm. Rachael said one of her biggest blessings is homeschooling her children.
Tell us about your farm.
When we married in 2019, I was new to the farming lifestyle. Jonathan had been farming for 14 years before that, raising cattle and hay. Over the years, we’ve added a small pork operation, meat chickens, honeybees, dairy cows and a garden. We try to raise and grow as much of our own meat and produce as possible. We also own a land management and forestry mulching company.
When did your family get involved in the Alabama Farmers Federation?
Jonathan started with Young Farmers in 2006 and is now vice president of the Clarke County Farmers Federation. I’ve been involved with the Women’s Leadership Committee since 2019. I am also the Clarke County Farm-City Committee chair.
When did you learn how to cook? Who taught you?
I have been in a kitchen for as long as I can recall with vivid memories of standing on a chair in my nana’s kitchen as a toddler. As a child, I sat in a car seat on her counter helping make chocolate chip cookies. As I got older, she taught me to cook as part of home economics. My mom has also taught me so much. I am always calling her for another recipe or watching her cook as I write it all down, hoping I can make it the way she does so I can then pass it along to my kids.
What role does food play in your family’s life?
Food and cooking hold so many emotions. When I make a family recipe, I think about the memories shared around that dish. Many of our family stories involve meals together. We look back and laugh about the memories and mishaps. There’s also the connection to loved ones. I love recipes from my mom or my nana that bring me back to my childhood. I also enjoy my mother-in-law sharing her family’s favorite recipes. It’s such a special feeling of connection I cherish.
Do you have signature recipes?
My kids’ favorite is probably my version of a homemade Hamburger Helper. It’s quick and easy and a go-to for those hectic evenings when I need to throw something together. Our family also really loves pot roast. Most of my recipes come from found recipes that were shared or passed along. One of my favorite recent traditions is sending and receiving recipe cards with our Christmas cards.
Why do you write down exact recipes?
One Christmas, I wanted to make gumbo that tasted like one from my childhood. There wasn’t a recipe for it because my nana always made it from memory. I searched for a basic recipe and edited it until it tasted like that pot of gumbo I remembered. I realized how important it was to write down recipes to share and pass along to the next generation. I started writing as I would cook, scratching through bits and scribbling notes on the recipe cards so it would taste the same every time. It is a goal of mine to make sure my kids can make something that tastes exactly the way they remember it.
Life is busy. Why do you spend time in the kitchen?
On my kitchen wall, there is a framed needlework that says, “The kitchen is the heart of the home.” There is also a framed notebook from an old family friend with a handwritten recipe collection from 1928, cast iron skillets that belonged to my great-grandmother and an ironstone plate that held meals my great-great-grandmother prepared for her 12 children. Spending time in my kitchen brings a sense of connection to my family. Preparing food for my family to enjoy is a love language.