Guest Author - Amelia Tucker
This week's book is another staple in my well used book collection. The title:
Cooking by Moonlight, A Witch's Guide to Culinary Magic By Karri Ann Allrich ISBN#1-56718-015-9, is a beloved addition in my kitchen must-haves.
To begin, the reason I like this book is that from the first turn of a page there is valuable information about the hows and whys cooking by moonlight is an important part of kitchen witchery. Books that delve a bit deeper into the reasons behind doing something are more worthy of the limited space I have in my small kitchen space and this one really fits that description.
There are kitchen blessings for all stages of the moon and then some ideas of the perfect meal to prepare and why. The chapter entitled "Developing Seasonal Intuition", explains why it this is an important skill and how to think of foods by way of their relationship with the seasons. The lists are extensive and contain not only foods themselves but also herbs and spices.
As Love spells seem to always find their way into books on magic, this one is no exception. There is a chapter on Love Foods that list the foods and the ways each one can be incorporated into a seductive meal.
The chapter entitled "Notes From A Moonlit Kitchen" delves into food as the powerful magic that it is. The author also talks about organics and choosing foods to eat intuitively. She also has some empowering comments on the denial of pleasure and the Lie of Perfection. As I said, there is much more here than a simple magical cookbook.
Next, there is a huge list of pantry ingredients. It is a wonderful way to simple read and get ideas for dishes that you may never have thought of previously. The section on Using Herbs and Spices Magically will surely be bookmarked so that you can refer to it again and again.
Finally we get to the actual recipe part of the book. The dishes are luscious and well laid out. The directions are easy to follow for a sucessful meal.
After owning and using this book for a few years, I can certainly attest to the quality of the writing as well as the quality of the recipes.
