FULL BELLY FARM & KITCHEN: RECIPES AND STORIES FROM A FAMILY FARM

REVIEW BY ARIANNA LITRENTA
RECIPES BY AMON AND JENNA MULLER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOLLY DECOUDREAUX

For our spring Cookbook Club, we’re diving into the folds of Full Belly Farm & Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from a Family Farm, featuring an exclusive from authors and Full Belly Farm owners Amon and Jenna Muller. Their debut cookbook offers an intimate look at life on a working farm and the central role of seasonality on and off the page. We’re honoring that approach with three strawberry recipes that celebrate the season’s beloved fruit and Full Belly’s produce-driven spirit.

It’s only fitting that the cookbook kicks off in spring, as Amon and Jenna intended Full Belly to “travel through the seasons on a farm,” helping readers understand farm life as a lived experience. Even the process of bringing Full Belly to life followed this rhythm, with monthly photo shoots capturing ingredients at their peak.

This deliberate pace reinforced the book’s seasonal theme while allowing the Mullers to thoughtfully balance accessibility. Their aim is for readers to cook with what’s available—seeking seasonal ingredients as much as possible.

When deciding which recipes to include, Amon and Jenna drew from their long-running dinner series, family recipes, and commercial-level favorites like preserves.

That perspective shaped a balance between sparking curiosity and remaining approachable, leading to the guiding question: “Would people make this at home?”

Looking at the first seasonal recipe, Simple Strawberry Jam, the Mullers carefully considered whether home cooks would have the produce, time, or motivation to make it themselves. Originally created to use overripe fruit, the jam quickly became a favorite among visitors. That response encouraged the Mullers to include it in the book, a choice readers will find well worth the effort.

The showstopping Strawberry Citrus Pavlova may sound intimidating, but Jenna says she “never realized how easy it was to make.” With minimal hands-on time and forgiving results, the Mullers note that it still tastes delicious even when under- or overcooked. Luckily, the cookbook offers plenty of tips for success.

Finally, the Strawberry Thyme Shortcake plays with traditional expectations. Jenna acknowledges this isn’t a classically sweet shortcake, but instead “a more herbal and savory biscuit,” allowing the berries and the cream’s sweetness to shine. All three recipes focus on simplicity, letting strawberries take center stage in their purest form.

From the first pages, Full Belly draws readers in with its humor, reflections, and what Amon calls “local lore on the farm.” The Mullers set out to create a cookbook that reads like a memoir, preserving the stories that have shaped the farm over generations.

“There’s a lot of history we would have loved to have written down,” Amon says. “And these stories do just that.”

When asked how they hope readers feel, Jenna shared, “It’s so important to know that food comes from a place, grown and picked by people.” Together, they encourage readers to rediscover the joy of creating or preserving something with their own hands.

That belief carries through Full Belly, where the Mullers’ love for their craft inspires readers to slow down, better understand the roots of recipes, and appreciate the simplicity of seasonal ingredients.

Recipes and images excerpted with permission from Full Belly Farm & Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from a Family Farm by Amon and Jenna Muller (Hardie Grant Publishing, March 2026).

» purchase here*

*This article contains links that are not provided, maintained by, or in any way affiliated with Edible San Diego.