The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center Cookbook - 9781603585132

Celebrating biodiversity through the Mother Garden’s collection of rare, open-pollinated varieties and wild edibles from OAEC’s ecological preserve

The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center Cookbook is a collection of inventive recipes from the renowned farm, educational retreat center, and ecothinktank nestled in the hills of western Sonoma County, California. One of the first farms to be certified organic in California, the “Mother Garden” has been at the forefront of the eco-agriculture movement since the early 1970s. Today, it continues to feed and inspire activists, biologists, educators, and artists seeking innovative and practical approaches to the pressing environmental, cultural, and economic crises of our day—while having fun, celebrating, and eating well.

OAEC has a passionate ethos about eating seasonally, with ingredients based on what is available in the garden. At OAEC, all parts of the vegetable (or fruit or nut) are utilized whenever possible; weeds are seen not as a nuisance, but as a welcome delicacy; and, above all, cooking and eating is best experienced through celebration, and with a community. OAEC is famous for their signature salad green mix and inventive salad dressings; a "signature salad" is offered at every meal, which is always served buffet style for crowds, usually with one sauce or spread that can be used drizzled all over the entire plate of food, or used just as a side.

This beautifully illustrated cookbook includes 204 unique and delicious vegetarian recipes with ingredients from all seasons of the garden (including weeds, flowers, herbs, nuts, fruits, mushrooms, and other forages), and offers samples of seasonal menus to inspire cooks even as their gardens appear most dormant. The recipes are also perfect for cooking for a crowd. Each recipe has measurement servings for gatherings of thirty to forty, so each dish can be served as large-scale dishes for parties, potlucks, and community events. It is sure to appeal to gardeners wanting new ways to cook with their vegetables, anyone shopping at the farmers market looking to expand their repertoire, home cooks who find themselves scratching their heads every time they’re invited to a big dinner party, chefs looking for inspired recipes using weeds and perennial fruits and vegetables, and community-based organizations who cook for crowds on a daily basis.