Full Moon Feast

Oddly there can be a certain beauty in being trapped inside a construction project. It can force you to complete tasks that you would otherwise find all sorts of distracting reasons to avoid. In my case, I have faced the onerous task of unpacking boxes without any escape. My office in fact is almost fully re-established. And in the process, I have unearthed a useful book I forgot I had ordered prior to the move. It is called Full Moon Feast, Food and the Hunger for Connection by Jessica Prentice (http://www.wisefoodways.com/moons/).

Full Moon Feast, as you might surmise, is organized around the cycles of the moon. According to Deborah Madison’s introduction, “The moons in the title refer to food times, times of the year when certain foods assume prominence, and they make perfect sense, if you can imagine – and with the author’s help, you can – a world in which human cultures are exactly in tune with the places they occupy on the planet.” To find seasonal recipes that correspond to the April/May timeframe, I consulted the chapters in her book that related to Egg Moon (early spring) and Milk Moon (falls near May day).

Jessica Prentice tells us that during the Egg Moon hens start producing more eggs on old-fashioned farms. The longer days provide more light, and light is what hormonally stimulates the hens ovaries to produce. In factory farming, they use artificial lighting to trick the hens bodies into non-stop egg production – not what mother nature had in mind.

If you are not aware of the methods used in egg factory farming, you may want to read up on it (http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/eggs/). In the past I have bought only cage free/range free eggs. However, after reading this book, I now know that just because my eggs are labeled cage-free/free range, my idea of what that means and the corresponding organic standards may not mesh. I now realize it is best to buy your eggs from a small farmer who practices free-range agriculture or to trade with a friend who raises hens like Paul (see his blog entry dated March 23). Or, of course, as Paul recommends, raise your own.

Jessica offers a few recipes in each Moon chapter. From the Egg Moon chapter, I have selected the Avocado and Hard-cooked Eggs with a Lemony Dressing, page 69, as a possibility for our menu. The ingredients include eggs, olive oil, mustard, lemon, avocadoes, salt and pepper, and lettuce.

Another promising recipe is the Asparagus Frittata, page 66. The ingredients include asparagus, leeks, butter, eggs, cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cheese. The idea of a frittata was also recommended by Sally Weare, an eco-artist and member of WEAD (http://www.weadartists.org/weare/weare.html). She sent us an email with the following two suggestions:

I just want to add 2 ideas into the mix:

one is a frittata --usually made with eggs, zucchini or broccoli, possibly cheese, herbs. Recipes vary and zucchini may not be available until June or July, but other veggies can be used, and it can be made in a large quantity and cut into squares--easy and tasty to eat!

two is a Thai starter (can't remember the name): lettuce or spinach leaves, individually filled (or can be filled by each individual out of a common bowl) with a combination of interesting things, such as marinated mushrooms, shredded carrots, garlic, walnuts? and something crunchy.

They both sound delicious! Thanks Sally.

That’s all for today. I’ll next be exploring what Jessica has to say about the Milk Moon.