If you haven’t watched The Biggest Little Farm, a 2019 documentary that has already achieved cult status in certain circles, then you’re going to want to see it immediately after hearing this news: Apricot Lane Farms now has a cookbook. Yes, the 234-acre certified biodynamic and regenerative farm that stole hearts on the big screen can now visit your home off the screen — and the recipes inside are every bit as educational as they are mouthwatering.
The Apricot Lane Farms Cookbook is the brainchild of Molly Chester, who worked as a private chef before founding the farm with her husband, film director John Chester. We spoke with her about her decision to create a cookbook, why she believes soil is the most important ingredient for any recipe, and how she managed to make an avocado ice cream that will have you saying goodbye to the dairy version forever.
What made you want to write your own cookbook?
In some ways, this book began 11 years ago, when my husband and I founded Apricot Lane Farms. Before the farm, through culinary school and my experience as a private chef, I came to understand that a nutritious and delicious dish actually starts with the choices a farmer makes.
Once I myself began farming and cooking in relationship with the land we were regenerating, I came to deeply understand how a truly healthy dish is created in connection with our natural surroundings, guided by the seasonal and regional rhythms and offerings of Mother Nature herself.
How has your work on the farm informed your recipe creation?
I first came to cooking through a fascination with how food can change the way that we feel, which led me to learn how to maximize nutrient density in the kitchen through traditional cooking techniques like soaking, sprouting, and fermenting. Ultimately, cooking healthy meals actually requires starting with nutrient-dense food, which is all about healthy soil.
Through farming, I’ve come to understand how the soil is the gut of the land and regulates the farm’s immune system the same way our digestive system is the gut of our bodies and regulates our individual immune systems. At Apricot Lane Farms, everything we do is about building healthy soil, which in turn develops flavor for our culinary expressions. This is the foundation of the cookbook.
The recipes in The Apricot Lane Farms Cookbook showcase the seasonal offerings of the farm — and thankfully, growing in Southern California means that we can grow just about anything! With that said, the vast majority of the featured foods can be found in your local grocery store. In addition, all of the recipes in the cookbook cater to the unique qualities of pastured meat. Pastured animals live a healthy lifestyle and get proper exercise to keep their muscles and bones healthy and vibrant. As a result, the meat can have different needs in the kitchen than conventionally raised animals.
The book also features guides with fine art drawings that reflect the biodiversity of the farm: All of the avocados we grow (over 15 varieties!), all of the citrus, a guide to the edible flowers in the garden, and all of the chicken breeds with their corresponding colorful eggs.
Do you have any advice for those who are looking to shop seasonably and engage in more sustainable food practices?
The very best way to eat seasonally is through shopping at your local farmer’s market and getting to know your farmer. When this becomes habitual, you will gain an understanding of what foods are in season at what time of year in your region, by witnessing the changes in produce availability at your market.
Eating close to the source ensures you’re eating the most vibrant, healthy food provided by Mother Nature at any point in time, reduces the carbon footprint generated by cross-country transportation, and eliminates packaging all together. When it comes to minimizing food waste, there are traditional techniques shared in the cookbook for preserving each season’s bounty like pickling, preserving, and canning.
Oh, and if you do end up with leftover food or food scraps… COMPOST! On the farm, we see this as the #1 thing anyone who eats food can do — whether you’re living in a city or on acres of countryside — to divert food from the landfill and return it to the soil.
What’s your favorite recipe from the cookbook?
My very favorite recipe is our creamy avocado honey ice cream. My husband asked for a dairy-free avocado ice cream when we first started developing recipes for the book, and we delivered! This ice cream is so creamy that you would never guess that it’s dairy-free, and my family has it at every birthday. It’s extra decadent and drizzled with some of our biodynamic avocado oil.
Feeling in touch with your appetite? The Apricot Lane Farms Cookbook is currently available right here.
