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Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection
Full Moon Feast invites us to a table brimming with locally grown foods, radical wisdom, and communal nourishment.
In Full Moon Feast, accomplished chef and passionate food activist Jessica Prentice champions locally grown, humanely raised, nutrient-rich foods and traditional cooking methods. The book follows the thirteen lunar cycles of an agrarian year, from the midwinter Hunger Moon and the springtime sweetness of the Sap Moon to the bounty of the Moon When Salmon Return to Earth in autumn. Each chapter includes recipes that display the richly satisfying flavors of foods tied to the ancient rhythm of the seasons.
Prentice decries our modern food culture: megafarms and factories, the chemically processed ghosts of real foods in our diets, and the suffering--physical, emotional, cultural, communal, and spiritual--born of a disconnect from our food sources. She laments the system that is poisoning our bodies and our communities.
But Full Moon Feast is a celebration, not a dirge. Prentice has emerged from her own early struggles with food to offer health, nourishment, and fulfillment to her readers. She recounts her relationships with local farmers alongside ancient harvest legends and methods of food preparation from indigenous cultures around the world.
Combining the radical nutrition of Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, keen agri-political acumen, and a spiritual sensibility that draws from indigenous as well as Western traditions, Full Moon Feast is a call to reconnect to our food, our land, and each other.
In Full Moon Feast, accomplished chef and passionate food activist Jessica Prentice champions locally grown, humanely raised, nutrient-rich foods and traditional cooking methods. The book follows the thirteen lunar cycles of an agrarian year, from the midwinter Hunger Moon and the springtime sweetness of the Sap Moon to the bounty of the Moon When Salmon Return to Earth in autumn. Each chapter includes recipes that display the richly satisfying flavors of foods tied to the ancient rhythm of the seasons.
Prentice decries our modern food culture: megafarms and factories, the chemically processed ghosts of real foods in our diets, and the suffering--physical, emotional, cultural, communal, and spiritual--born of a disconnect from our food sources. She laments the system that is poisoning our bodies and our communities.
But Full Moon Feast is a celebration, not a dirge. Prentice has emerged from her own early struggles with food to offer health, nourishment, and fulfillment to her readers. She recounts her relationships with local farmers alongside ancient harvest legends and methods of food preparation from indigenous cultures around the world.
Combining the radical nutrition of Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, keen agri-political acumen, and a spiritual sensibility that draws from indigenous as well as Western traditions, Full Moon Feast is a call to reconnect to our food, our land, and each other.
374 pages, Paperback
First published June 28, 2006
52 people are currently reading
1568 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Prentice
6 books10 followersJessica Prentice is a professional chef, author, local foods activist, social entrepreneur, and sought-after speaker on issues related to healing our broken food system. Her book Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection (Chelsea Green, 2006) mythopoetically explores the connections between the environment, human communities, and traditional cycles through food. She is a co-founder of Three Stone Hearth (www.threestonehearth.com), a community supported kitchen in Berkeley that uses local, sustainable ingredients to prepare nutrient-dense, traditional foods on a community scale. Prentice is also co-creator of the Local Foods Wheel, coined the word “locavore,” and is a regular contributor to Edible East Bay.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
December 31, 2013
This is not a cookbook, and it is not a diet book. If you are going in to it thinking it is either of these, you will be disappointed. It does give some recipes at the end of each chapter, which all deal with a certain lunar period.
The book is more about reconnecting with the natural cycles of nature, and instead of focusing on seasonal eating by "Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring" she uses lunar cycles. This isn't "New Age" as I have seen some other comments suggesting. She doesn't talk about angels, or spirits, or using quartz crystals to make you feel better. She isn't a mystic, she's a chef. She talks about environmental stewardship, responsible farming, reconnecting with natural cycles, even some pieces on what I considered feminism (how preparing food was traditionally "women's work" because they were tasks you could perform while still caring for children, and women's work was vital and important to the survival of a people, not mocked or derogatory, as it can be now). One of my favorite pieces is when she talks about how people in America are more shocked by not being able to drive than not being able to cook. Cooking is a skill you need to take care of yourself, something I full-heartedly agree with. Women who tell me they "don't cook" say it almost with pride, as if cooking is beneath them. Cooking is beneath NO ONE. It is something we should all be doing. Grinding your own flour shouldn't be considered "hippie" or "foodie", in fact, in Europe, it's commonplace. These are the points Prentice makes, and I couldn't agree more.
I wouldn't suggest reading this book cover to cover. As it is December, I started with "Hunger Moon" and then skipped to "Wolf Moon" and read a few other of the cold weather moons before reading the spring, summer, fall ones.
Also, Prentice is based in California. You are not going to see Asian recipes, as that would go against her whole approach of eating what grows in your local region. She clearly states this is more suited towards those who also live in the North American region. Nothing she stated seemed like hardcore dogma to be followed, but more like guidelines.
I will admit she romanticizes a little, but people have been romanticizing "country life" and "the old days" for a very long time. It doesn't detract from the points she makes about taking care of the land and ourselves through our food systems.
Very great book, I will be buying it for myself and others.
The book is more about reconnecting with the natural cycles of nature, and instead of focusing on seasonal eating by "Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring" she uses lunar cycles. This isn't "New Age" as I have seen some other comments suggesting. She doesn't talk about angels, or spirits, or using quartz crystals to make you feel better. She isn't a mystic, she's a chef. She talks about environmental stewardship, responsible farming, reconnecting with natural cycles, even some pieces on what I considered feminism (how preparing food was traditionally "women's work" because they were tasks you could perform while still caring for children, and women's work was vital and important to the survival of a people, not mocked or derogatory, as it can be now). One of my favorite pieces is when she talks about how people in America are more shocked by not being able to drive than not being able to cook. Cooking is a skill you need to take care of yourself, something I full-heartedly agree with. Women who tell me they "don't cook" say it almost with pride, as if cooking is beneath them. Cooking is beneath NO ONE. It is something we should all be doing. Grinding your own flour shouldn't be considered "hippie" or "foodie", in fact, in Europe, it's commonplace. These are the points Prentice makes, and I couldn't agree more.
I wouldn't suggest reading this book cover to cover. As it is December, I started with "Hunger Moon" and then skipped to "Wolf Moon" and read a few other of the cold weather moons before reading the spring, summer, fall ones.
Also, Prentice is based in California. You are not going to see Asian recipes, as that would go against her whole approach of eating what grows in your local region. She clearly states this is more suited towards those who also live in the North American region. Nothing she stated seemed like hardcore dogma to be followed, but more like guidelines.
I will admit she romanticizes a little, but people have been romanticizing "country life" and "the old days" for a very long time. It doesn't detract from the points she makes about taking care of the land and ourselves through our food systems.
Very great book, I will be buying it for myself and others.
February 14, 2012
Beautiful exploration of our relationship to food through looking at different eating practices across cultures. Reading this book really gave me a new perspective on a lot of food practices I take for granted, and has given me lots of ideas about what a healthy diet could look like.
I felt that, at times, the author romanticized indigenous cultures and "traditional" ways of making food. Although she gave a lot of specific examples of food practices from a wide variety of cultures, she also often referred to "traditional" and "indigenous" cultures as if they are unitary groups with a single practice. Also, as my partner remarked when I described the author's complaints about modern food preservation: "Spoken like someone from a culture where food-borne pathogens are no longer widespread." And it sure sounds mystical and magical to grind your own grain... when you don't have to do it every day.
I don't disagree with her point - that we've lost our connection to food and the earth through techniques of mass food production - but it is amazing to think how much time and energy are freed up by mass food production. True, that's what allows us to check Facebook and write GoodReads reviews... but it also fuels education, the arts, invention, scientific discovery, and many other exciting and wonderful things about modern life. It seems like there must be a way to preserve these benefits while still re-connecting to our food and our earth.
I felt that, at times, the author romanticized indigenous cultures and "traditional" ways of making food. Although she gave a lot of specific examples of food practices from a wide variety of cultures, she also often referred to "traditional" and "indigenous" cultures as if they are unitary groups with a single practice. Also, as my partner remarked when I described the author's complaints about modern food preservation: "Spoken like someone from a culture where food-borne pathogens are no longer widespread." And it sure sounds mystical and magical to grind your own grain... when you don't have to do it every day.
I don't disagree with her point - that we've lost our connection to food and the earth through techniques of mass food production - but it is amazing to think how much time and energy are freed up by mass food production. True, that's what allows us to check Facebook and write GoodReads reviews... but it also fuels education, the arts, invention, scientific discovery, and many other exciting and wonderful things about modern life. It seems like there must be a way to preserve these benefits while still re-connecting to our food and our earth.
January 22, 2009
If Anthony Bourdain, Joesph Campbell, and Michael Pollan had a love child, it would be Jessica Prentice.
I loved this book. Loved. I want to drive to Richmond and find Jessica and talk to her, see her grain mill, and watch her cook. I know that sounds stalker. Not the goal. It's just that I read this book with so much nodding and "yes!".
This book is where I needed In Defense of Food to go. Eating food is a good start, but filling our selves and bellies with connection is the key. I loved the diversity in this book, both in food, culture, and religion.
Some of my favorite quotes:
p. 41: "The point is to be wise, not rigid."
p. 201: "The knowledge that every animal, plant, person, wind, and season is indebted to the fruit of everything else is an adult knowledge. To get out of debt means you don't want to be a part of life, and you don't want to grow into an adult."
This book is amazing. I can't believe I have to take it back to the library!
I loved this book. Loved. I want to drive to Richmond and find Jessica and talk to her, see her grain mill, and watch her cook. I know that sounds stalker. Not the goal. It's just that I read this book with so much nodding and "yes!".
This book is where I needed In Defense of Food to go. Eating food is a good start, but filling our selves and bellies with connection is the key. I loved the diversity in this book, both in food, culture, and religion.
Some of my favorite quotes:
p. 41: "The point is to be wise, not rigid."
p. 201: "The knowledge that every animal, plant, person, wind, and season is indebted to the fruit of everything else is an adult knowledge. To get out of debt means you don't want to be a part of life, and you don't want to grow into an adult."
This book is amazing. I can't believe I have to take it back to the library!
July 28, 2012
I admire the ideal that Jessica Prentice is aiming for: a world in which we are able to eat "locally grown, humanely raised foods" prepared via traditional methods. In thirteen chapters, each dealing with a specific kind of food and named after a Native American or other traditional month, Prentice discusses each food, contrasting how it was historically raised and prepared with how we deal with it in our world of large-scale agriculture and convenience foods. She adds bits of her personal history with food and health through the book; a former vegetarian, she eventually began eating meat again, in great part for health reasons. Although she advocates an omnivorous diet, I thought that she was sympathetic to the reasons many people choose vegetarian and vegan diets.
My disagreements with this book are the same ones I have with many books of this type. There is no discussion of how to make this lovely local, organic, minimally processed food available and affordable to people on limited incomes. Prentice advocates consuming raw milk; I am not convinced that just raising cows on grass in open pastures would be enough to make this a safe option. The author seems to have an uncritical acceptance of the writers whom she agrees with, and I wondered if there actually were some flaws in their work that should be looked into. She acknowledges that many of the traditional ways to prepare food take time and effort:"Modern women may not relish the thought of spending six hours grinding grain by hand. But I think we should take seriously the possibility that this kind of work can be deeply satisfying and even be a form of expression for the soul." Actually, I do take this possibility seriously, and would love my cooking to be deeply satisfying. But while Prentice is a professional chef, who presumably wants to spend her days working with food, how does this six-hours-or-more-a-day schedule work for people who want to work in other fields altogether? But despite all this, I think Prentice's vision of a closer tie between food and community makes this book a worthy read.
My disagreements with this book are the same ones I have with many books of this type. There is no discussion of how to make this lovely local, organic, minimally processed food available and affordable to people on limited incomes. Prentice advocates consuming raw milk; I am not convinced that just raising cows on grass in open pastures would be enough to make this a safe option. The author seems to have an uncritical acceptance of the writers whom she agrees with, and I wondered if there actually were some flaws in their work that should be looked into. She acknowledges that many of the traditional ways to prepare food take time and effort:"Modern women may not relish the thought of spending six hours grinding grain by hand. But I think we should take seriously the possibility that this kind of work can be deeply satisfying and even be a form of expression for the soul." Actually, I do take this possibility seriously, and would love my cooking to be deeply satisfying. But while Prentice is a professional chef, who presumably wants to spend her days working with food, how does this six-hours-or-more-a-day schedule work for people who want to work in other fields altogether? But despite all this, I think Prentice's vision of a closer tie between food and community makes this book a worthy read.
November 25, 2013
Jessica Prentice is a chef and food activist in the San Francisco Bay area who is an avid proponent for locally grown foods. In other words, she urges us toward tradition. Full Moon Feast is a book about food and more with stories from Indigenous cultures of appreciation for what nourishes. It also tells of challenges and confusion related to relationship with food. Jessica advocates for small farmers who choose to uphold commitment and passion toward their way of life. At the same time, she documents methods of modern food production that have lost their humanity and encourage disconnection from our food sources and each other.
The author calls us back to a more engaged, mindful way of nourishing ourselves by connecting us to what food once held—the circle of life. She grounds the meaning and timing of food selection by our own natural rhythms and the thirteen lunar cycles. This book comforts and takes back to our roots—easily forgotten in a fast food universe. And it’s full of tempting recipes like Salmon Cured with Maple and Juniper, Summer Berries with Lavender Créme Anglaise or Sourdough Cheese Herb Scones. If you allow it, Full Moon Feast will deepen your appreciation for the food in your life and cause you to start searching out locally grown produce as it did me.
The author calls us back to a more engaged, mindful way of nourishing ourselves by connecting us to what food once held—the circle of life. She grounds the meaning and timing of food selection by our own natural rhythms and the thirteen lunar cycles. This book comforts and takes back to our roots—easily forgotten in a fast food universe. And it’s full of tempting recipes like Salmon Cured with Maple and Juniper, Summer Berries with Lavender Créme Anglaise or Sourdough Cheese Herb Scones. If you allow it, Full Moon Feast will deepen your appreciation for the food in your life and cause you to start searching out locally grown produce as it did me.
October 6, 2012
With compelling articles and comprehensive sources, Prentice writes evocatively about our Western shift in diet and the backlash with our health. This book does a good job of balancing the dietary warnings with celebrations of ancient food and the communal practice of collecting and cooking it. She takes examples from all over the world, and clearly spent a long time researching methods and practices of worldwide cultures with regard to certain foods. The recipes look great, and I can't wait to try some of them out- I love when I find recipes that aren't the same thing I've always done, but with a slight variation. She actually provides guidelines on lacto-fermentation, and wort drinks. How cool is that?!
If you're contemplating becoming a locavore, growing your own food, trying to get in touch with a healthier and more holistic diet, or have some health problems that you want to try treating with nutrition, I recommend this book. Also, if you're curious about the changes in human diet, the foods that seem to unite us as a species, and some definitely non-Western flavor combinations, I recommend this book.
If you're contemplating becoming a locavore, growing your own food, trying to get in touch with a healthier and more holistic diet, or have some health problems that you want to try treating with nutrition, I recommend this book. Also, if you're curious about the changes in human diet, the foods that seem to unite us as a species, and some definitely non-Western flavor combinations, I recommend this book.
March 6, 2010
One of my top 10 favorite books of all times. I have just reread this book (although I read it originally back in 2005 or so). For some reason, the second time around is even more powerful. Her words are like getting a full-body massage (deeply nourishing, connecting, and loving).
Her book draws on all of our ancestral cultures which followed the cycles of the moon. Each chapter focuses on a particular moon (harvest moon, sap moon, egg moon, etc) with stories, poetry, nutritional advice from across the globe, along with excellent traditional recipes! Jessica is an excellent writer and passionate about diet, culture, food, and well-being. She is able to tie subtle themes of connection and spirit into the greater foodie movement through her purposeful articulation.
All I gotta say is -- Thank you Jessica!!! And, if you are interested in her work on the ground, google search 'Three Stone Hearth.'
Her book draws on all of our ancestral cultures which followed the cycles of the moon. Each chapter focuses on a particular moon (harvest moon, sap moon, egg moon, etc) with stories, poetry, nutritional advice from across the globe, along with excellent traditional recipes! Jessica is an excellent writer and passionate about diet, culture, food, and well-being. She is able to tie subtle themes of connection and spirit into the greater foodie movement through her purposeful articulation.
All I gotta say is -- Thank you Jessica!!! And, if you are interested in her work on the ground, google search 'Three Stone Hearth.'
July 17, 2009
This book looked like it might have some interesting recipes for fermented foods and new takes on traditional foods. Unfortunately the book was so off-putting that I don't want to revisit it to find out. First of all, the tone of the writing is way too new-agey for my tastes (and I am sure many others, as I will put up with a bit of this is the content is good). Second, the author makes the assumption that because she did not feel well eating a vegetarian diet that everyone should eat a heavily meat and animal product based diet. She embodies all of the bad aspects of the modern-day followers of Weston Price. Prentice purports to have a great enthusiasm for the food of traditional cultures, but seems to completely ignore Asian food traditions in favor of those that are meat- and dairy-based and fit nicely with her theories. If you are looking for source for recipes using fermentation techniques, I would recommend instead Sandor Katz's "Wild Fermentation."
May 15, 2014
If this is someone's first book on traditional foods and the evils of modern foodstuffs, then this might be a 4-5 star book. She is Christian, but I still don't appreciate her views on evolution, global warming, petroleum it's a myth that we are running out and sexuality. If it weren't for those, I probably would have given it 4 stars.
Food topics are organized and discussed under the season or more specifically the moon, when it has traditionally been harvested.
Not a whole lot of new info in this for me and still nothing about benefits of eating food in its season. I am officially giving up on finding such info, it isn't that important.
Food topics are organized and discussed under the season or more specifically the moon, when it has traditionally been harvested.
Not a whole lot of new info in this for me and still nothing about benefits of eating food in its season. I am officially giving up on finding such info, it isn't that important.
November 24, 2012
So I'm not 100% finished this book, but I do know that I quite like it so far. It is not solely a cookbook, in fact, I'd say that the bulk of the book is dedicated to explanation.
There a lot of things I like about this book, such as NOT lumping Native cultures under "Native Americans", but finding sources and the proper names of bands/tribes, using their languages where she can.
Also, there is really good commentary on veganism and Indigenous reality, which might upset some not-so-critically-thinking vegans, but that is not me, and I appreciated it.
Everything is cited, and it's just an all around fascinating read so far.
There a lot of things I like about this book, such as NOT lumping Native cultures under "Native Americans", but finding sources and the proper names of bands/tribes, using their languages where she can.
Also, there is really good commentary on veganism and Indigenous reality, which might upset some not-so-critically-thinking vegans, but that is not me, and I appreciated it.
Everything is cited, and it's just an all around fascinating read so far.
September 9, 2009
This is a beautifully written book, and a wonderful follow-up to Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions. Jessica Prentice truly honors food in its natural state and supports the reader/eater in making the connections between what we eat and how we feel on many levels. This book is not preachy because the author writes honestly about her own transition from being vegetarian/vegan/sugar-free/dairy-free/etc. to an omnivorous existence, and how that transition has allowed her to become more honest with herself, true to nature, and open to the benefits of comforting, health-building foods.
August 8, 2009
This book was very interesting. The author is some stripe of Christian but, obviously playing with lots of ideas, working to form a synergy of meaning from multiple cultures and traditions and stepping outside of the box. I enjoyed her focus on community, and the social nature of food and eating. I feel the same way and thought many of her philosophical ideas were charming. There were lots of recipes I want to try at the ends of the chapters and I am looking forward to flipping through the seasonal sections as the year progresses to remind myself of the food cycles we spin through.
May 5, 2010
This is a beautiful book, and it came to me at the perfect time - when I wad ready to give up vegetarianism.
It may not jive with others, but this way of eating made complete sense to me and started me on, what to me is, a healthier path. I found the writing to be earnest, but in a heartfelt way. I couldn't say enough good things about this book. Nutrition and diets -they're always personal, touchy subjects, but I'd recommend this book to anyone
It may not jive with others, but this way of eating made complete sense to me and started me on, what to me is, a healthier path. I found the writing to be earnest, but in a heartfelt way. I couldn't say enough good things about this book. Nutrition and diets -they're always personal, touchy subjects, but I'd recommend this book to anyone
July 15, 2010
Read this with a gnarly winter virus and now remember it through the lens of a slightly high fever. A book about the healing power of food seemed like the perfect choice at the time, and I vowed to make several of the inspired recipes included in each chapter-- like egg drop soup. Until now, mostly forgot about adding them to my repertoire. Hm, maybe i should stick this on my 'to do' list of infinity... OR maybe not.
January 2, 2012
this book blew my mind. I can't wait to read it again and start to understand some more of it in a deeper way; it totally changed my thinking about how to eat, what to eat, why to eat, and how to make food. I don't pretend that I'm going to be as dedicated and comprehensive in my cooking and eating practices as Jessica Prentice, but this book certainly gets me thinking about how to move in her direction, and it makes me feel excited and connected in doing it. no guilt here!
August 4, 2014
Absolutely brilliant book! I love her philosophy on food and eating, this is so much more than a cookbook. It is really a wonderful read on this cultural history of food and eating. Her research into the indigenous traditions was just wonderful. It motivates you to really take a deeper look into what we eat and why we eat it. As well as brings to light in a beautiful way the problems with today's eating habits and almost forever lost food traditions.
June 9, 2015
Recommended by Eve.
I intended to just skim through this book so I could talk to Eve about it, after she posted that it was "life changing." But it sucked me in, and I ended up actually reading large sections of it. A fascinating and fun collection of the author's personal food journey, including an eating disorder, cultural myths, legends and stories, essays on the environment and how we can still have hope and find positive actions.
A fun journey.
I intended to just skim through this book so I could talk to Eve about it, after she posted that it was "life changing." But it sucked me in, and I ended up actually reading large sections of it. A fascinating and fun collection of the author's personal food journey, including an eating disorder, cultural myths, legends and stories, essays on the environment and how we can still have hope and find positive actions.
A fun journey.
October 21, 2007
I met Jessica Prentice while organizing on a conference. (She was promoting her book at the conference) She gave an amazing talk with David Crow and I decided to buy her book. It's fablous. You really begin to appreciate more and more where our food comes from, who has grown it, picked it and shipped it to you. But also I appreciate our connections to the earth.
May 24, 2008
this book really brought home to me the importance of enjoying and appreciating your food. As a culture we are so obsessed with health and trying to correct our body flaws that we look at food as a means to control our bodies, when it is really so much more.
This was a refreshing read and really changed the way I look at eating. I'll definitely be reading it again!
This was a refreshing read and really changed the way I look at eating. I'll definitely be reading it again!
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October 27, 2008Chef and passionate food activist Jessica Prentice champions locally grown, humanely raised, nutrient-rich foods and traditional cooking methods. She decries our modern food culture and the suffering—physical, emotional, cultural, communal, and spiritual—born of a disconnect from our food sources. Includes recipes for foods following the 13 lunar cycles of an agrarian year.
December 23, 2008
I thought that this book would embody everything that I love about food and counterculture. Alas, the writing was just so painful...the recipes never anything I would make and her awkwardly earnest delivery (quoting her journal from 17 years prior) made it not worth my time.
August 1, 2015
Extraordinarily beautiful and informative book. Full of wonderful recipes for eating seasonally, locally, and healthily. Learn about the history of the pasteurization of milk. Learn and meditate upon the ways we can eat in balance with our body's needs.
April 28, 2012
This book is transforming the way I think about food.
September 2, 2023
I'm still in the midst of reading this book since I am tackling one month at a time with a slow-living reading group. So far, I love that this book has gotten me to think about the history of many foods in different ways. Some things I had generally heard about, but she delves a bit deeper into things like sugar and about women being the first brewers. So fun to learn! This has made me want to read up further on these segments of history.
One aspect that I could not relate to was how she grew up with a controlled obsession about what she ate. I know that this isn't uncommon, but reading her story made me so grateful that I never felt this pressure growing up, despite being in competitive sports where people were very thin and tiny. It made me really appreciate my parents' choices of healthy local and primarily fresh foods.
I also absolutely love the inclusion of recipes in this book! I have tried a few and really enjoyed them. It would be a boring world if we never tried anything new in our lives.
Lastly, I know that there are many names in many different cultures for the various moons, but for me it was fascinating to just be further in connection with the cycles of the moon and seeing how much connection these names do (or don't) have to what is changing in nature around me. For example, the Egg Moon correctly reflected when chickens in our area were starting to naturally lay more eggs again.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book because all of the fascinating stories about food and connection to people, land and the moon.
One aspect that I could not relate to was how she grew up with a controlled obsession about what she ate. I know that this isn't uncommon, but reading her story made me so grateful that I never felt this pressure growing up, despite being in competitive sports where people were very thin and tiny. It made me really appreciate my parents' choices of healthy local and primarily fresh foods.
I also absolutely love the inclusion of recipes in this book! I have tried a few and really enjoyed them. It would be a boring world if we never tried anything new in our lives.
Lastly, I know that there are many names in many different cultures for the various moons, but for me it was fascinating to just be further in connection with the cycles of the moon and seeing how much connection these names do (or don't) have to what is changing in nature around me. For example, the Egg Moon correctly reflected when chickens in our area were starting to naturally lay more eggs again.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book because all of the fascinating stories about food and connection to people, land and the moon.
December 9, 2025
This book was written in 2006 and has been on my shelf for years, waiting to be read with the changing of the moons. I embarked to read a chapter each month this year, which helped me appreciate the seasonal guidance that the author offers. As our society continues its over-consumption of resources and drifts even further away from the food pathways of our ancestors, books like this remind us of the downfall that awaits us. While many would argue we don't need more despair and feelings of helplessness in our lives, others might say that by taking control of our food systems, we can mitigate the downward spiral we seem to be in. The ideas presented in this book might seem over-whelming for the everyday person (processing grains, creating nutrient-rich topsoil for gardening, fermenting and canning food, etc.), especially for those struggling to merely survive. But for those who have the space, time, and opportunity to invest in such practices, this book offers a wealth of guidance. I look forward to trying more of the recipes as well, which accompany the end of each chapter and its subject matter.
December 23, 2019
Lots here to like, and lots to question. I love the idea of a seasonal exploration of food focused around the lunar calendar, and Prentice writes it beautifully. So, too, she lovingly envisions a world where people relate deeply to their food, and, through their food, to each other.
On the other hand, she romanticizes and often deeply flattens indigenous cultures. She recommends raw dairy without seriously discussing the risks, which makes me skeptical about her food safety in general. And she relies almost entirely on Weston Price for her “science” which is... less than persuasive.
On the other hand, she romanticizes and often deeply flattens indigenous cultures. She recommends raw dairy without seriously discussing the risks, which makes me skeptical about her food safety in general. And she relies almost entirely on Weston Price for her “science” which is... less than persuasive.
February 13, 2017
Interesting read that got on my radar via a nutritionist. While a bit of a fluffy title, the content is interesting - rethinking types of foods, food seasons.
The recipes are great for anyone looking to really go out of their way to try different types of vegetables, herbs, etc.
That said, as some who eats gluten-free, wade carefully through the recipes. Eating healthy doesn't always mean being free of allergens ;) (not the fault of the author! Just a note for potential future readers).
The recipes are great for anyone looking to really go out of their way to try different types of vegetables, herbs, etc.
That said, as some who eats gluten-free, wade carefully through the recipes. Eating healthy doesn't always mean being free of allergens ;) (not the fault of the author! Just a note for potential future readers).
June 21, 2018
Loved this book. Picked it up at a whim at my cousin's cookbook shop café Archestratus, and it is a must for anyone interested in the moon, food, and traditions. Each chapter is arranged according to the different moon it can be (according to different traditions) - the milk moon, the mead moon, the sap moon, etc. There is an examination of the history of this tradition, reflections, and some recipes end every chapter. So great!
July 9, 2019
I loved this book! No, it's not new age-y, rather it's a meaningful study of nature, timeliness, history, cultures, food and, icing on the cake, a cookbook. I appreciated Prentice's dietary bio and how she got to where she is today (when she wrote this book). I found myself nodding in agreement with her philosophies; eating local, respecting the soil, cherishing the history behind the food. I'm definitely following her so I can read more.
January 28, 2019
I really loved this book. It taught me about different phases of the moon and how people have traditionally eaten in partnership with the seasons and the earth. I’ll definitely be more mindful and will change some of my eating habits and food choices. Very good!!
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