Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection

I was excitedly anticipating this book to be amazing, but unfortunately it is just a rambling of yet another white woman’s perspectives & opinions on indigenous & ‘old world’ traditions & ways of life. For example, on the chapter of the blood moon, the only information regarding the blood moon is found in the first three sentences, after that the ENTIRE chapter is sentence after sentence about the author’s personal journey through vegetarianism; how odd. In fact, most of the book is about her personal views & experiences. The choice of recipes are just as strange; shouldn’t the recipes for the hunter’s moon include some sort of wild meat? venison, turkey, rabbit perhaps? Nope. chicken, beef & pork. A book about breaking free & returning to nature’s cycles to renew community, yet it’s only serving us a stew of colonialism. I just wanted to learn more about the full moons & correlate foods around them, but I ended up learning to unearth traditions in other ways. This book is sad.

Jessica Prentice's book was a joy to read. In fact, it is so readable, I've recommended it as a book club selection to several friends -- after all, we all eat! The way Prentice talks about eating and food, it is like she is an old friend on a passionate adventure. I have spent years of searching for a way of eating that seems "right" nutritionally (from all-American to vegetarian to vegan to macrobiotic to low-carb to Gittleman!). I have owned books on all of them, and I have lived all of them. None have made as much sense intellectually AND intuitively as what Jessica describes. Her book is organized by thirteen moons, and each moon represents a theme. This organization is one of the things that makes her book so readable - each chapter is a complete exploration of that theme, and then you're off to another theme. Jessica's work is well-researched, well-written, fascinating, inspiring, and for me, life-changing. I took my hundred-or-so other cookbooks and diet books to the used bookstore, purchased a few others that Prentice recommended in her resources, and my kitchen supply of books is now complete at only a few books rather than the close to 100 that I owned before. I feel THAT sure of this. This book is for everyone -- interested in nutrition or not. I guarantee you will enjoy it, you will learn things you didn't know about what you eat, and you will be inspired by Prentice's knowledge and passion. And if you are searching for a way of eating that makes sense intellectually AND intuitively (and feels GOOD physically), you will have found a path home.

This book is a great deal more than just a cookbook. Rather it is an historical account of the human relationship with food before the great energy bonanza of the fossil fuel revolution made so many things appear easy, at least in the "developed world." But, as it becomes increasing clear that this bounty is failing, and that the economic and technological precepts upon which our civilization is based have certain fatal flaws from an ecological standpoint, we would do well to remember the wolf moon and the hunger moon that Prentice invokes so eloquently, and to contemplate why the people of old called their months so, and what that could mean to us in the future. Reading this book brought me to tears at times, as I contemplated these subjects, and the fragile bonds we humans have with all of creation. I hope to never experience a true "hunger moon", but am afraid I may as climate change, oil depletion, and an increasing toxic load threaten our food supplies. It could all come crashing down very quickly. I am glad to have this small map of how our ancestors managed to feed themselves even without the technology we have come to rely upon.

I love this book! The folklore blends easially with the recipes and information as well as the personal stories. This book is must for anyone interested in tradiational nutrition and medicine. It is soon to be a new classic like Nourishing Traditions!

Blending food lore, memoir, and recipes, "Full Moon Feast" appeals on many levels. I learned more about food than what's in my standard cookbooks. But thanks to Jessica Prentice's conversational style, I didn't feel like I had to work hard to do it. Her evocative prose inspired me to learn more about the issues she raised, cook more, and eat better -- and just plain eat. You'll get hungry reading this book! The author uses lunar cycles as a launching pad to discuss old food ways and current corporate food practices without being preachy or long-winded. I found it interesting to learn how our ancestors ate and prepared food, and how relatively easy it is to preserve those traditions today. The recipes at the end of each chapter provide accessible ways to eat seasonal foods and try your hand at making foods based on older methods. I made 2 recipes and found them straightforward, complete and delicious. I also liked the extensive list of resources at the end. Her facts are footnoted. "Full Moon Feast" offers wisdom on food choices for cooks and noncooks a like. A great gift for a foodie or environmentalist.