Star Wars: The Life Day Cookbook: Official Holiday Recipes from a Galaxy Far, Far Away by Jenn Fujikawa and Marc Sumerak

Star Wars: The Life Day Cookbook: Official Holiday Recipes from a Galaxy Far, Far Away by Jenn Fujikawa and Marc Sumerak

I never thought I'd say this about a cookbook, but what an absolute delight!! There's actually a great deal of narrative in the book all told from the perspective of Chef Strono "Cookie" Tuggs of Maz Kanata's castle. After the castle got destroyed by the First Order, Cookie got himself his own food freighter and settled on Batuu, occasionally zipping off to other locales to learn about different food traditions and cultures. This has culminated in a festive, all-encompassing cookbook celebrating all peoples and environments of the Star Wars galaxy! The voice throughout is very consistent and you truly feel as if Cookie himself is giving you a tour through Star Wars holiday fare.

There are six sections dividing the variety of foods up into types: Appetizers and Snacks, Side Dishes, Main Courses, Desserts, Drinks, and How to Celebrate Life Day at Home (a.k.a. crafts). Each recipe is headed by a paragraph detailing the story behind the dish and the in-universe ingredients that are a part of it. The ingredients list in the recipes themselves just names the Earth-equivalent, but the header paragraph is clearly in-universe canon and I absolutely love it!! We get all kinds of little details and descriptions, making my trivia-brain super happy! 

We hear about animals, plants, and traditions from Jedha, Naboo, Alderaan, Coruscant, Arvala-7, Dagobah, Vandor, Trask, Endor, Lothal, and of course Kashyyyk. So many planets from so many different media are showcased such that it makes this completionist very very happy!! We learn about three different mid-winter holidays: Winter's Heart, Solstice Tide, and of course Life Day. Winter's Heart was an Alderaanian holiday celebration that is still celebrated by those who live on, post-planetary destruction. Solstice Tide is a Coruscanti holiday celebration for which people "used to transport vecari trees all the way from Seylott, coverin' 'em with glow-globes and linin' 'em up and down Republic Avenue." Life Day is based around Wookiee legends about the Tree of Life, the tree from which all life supposedly sprung. The Wookiee's decorate for Life Day with glowing orbs that each "represents a specific memory in a Wookiee's family history." They hang them up around their houses and choose the most special one to go up in the Sacred Grove for the duration of the celebration. 

My favorite header paragraph was about Aunt Z from "Resistance"!!! I LOVE IT!! So happy that the Colossus and Castilon get a shout out in this book. Apparently Aunt Z made quite the impression on Cookie when she escaped to Takodana once the First Order took over the Colossus. As Cookie says, "she had a personality as bold as her signature Cirilian sour paste" and "I'd trade a Life Day miracle or two to see that ol' gal again." So cute!!

My only gripe with this book is that not every recipe has a picture...that seems like a major oversight. How do you know if you're doing it right if you can't see what it's supposed to look like? I say this as a person who does not cook that often and so needs the pictures, haha.

Again, as a person who doesn't cook that much, some of these ingredients seemed quite exotic and unique! While this is exciting and intriguing, I do worry that I won't be able to find some of the ingredients...my significant other loves to cook so maybe they can help me out! Some of the more unique ingredients include: dragon fruit, gochujang, gochugaru, sesame oil, masa harina, matcha powder, lychee, rainbow carrots, octopus, edible luster dust, mascarpone cheese, and chocolate pearls. Perhaps it's just where I live, but I feel like these are specialty store items.

There's also some interesting ingredient combos like strawberries/tomatoes/edible flowers (see below) and brussels sprouts/dried cranberries. And there's a recipe for "Vegispheres" which are meatballs but without the meat. Some of the techniques are interesting as well, such as fully encasing cod in salt (see below, Crait gets referenced here) and using rice to thicken up a beverage.

At the end of the book there are a couple of helpful appendices. One is "Dietary Considerations" and identifies which foods are vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, and easily made vegetarian vegan or gluten-free with simple alterations. I find that fourth identifier quite clever and you can clearly see that care went into creating all of these recipes with the hope that they would be accessible to as many people as possible. I love that. The second appendix is a collection of "Measurement Conversion Charts" including Volume, Temperature, and Weight. Definitely useful cheat sheets!

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Trivia:

-Bogwings are reptavians native to Naboo.

-Shi-shok is a sweet fruit from Kashyyyk.

-Reflection Day is a celebration that took place yearly on Jedha in the Holy City and involved staring into a fancy kyber mirror with hopes that the future would be revealed.

-Saava is a carnivorous parasite that latches on to its prey and slowly devours it. It also produces an "absolutely delectable" fruit.

-Millaflower is a "fragrant, edible blossom" native to Naboo.

-Kebroot and roast kulkan are staples of Winter's Heart meals.

-Yalbec stingers are actually edible! I find this a bit disturbing as they are sentients...

-Orga Root is native to Kashyyyk and has sharp vines and acid pods, but they will offer their delicious roots "freely to folks who treat 'em with just the right amount of admiration."

-Wroshyr tree sap is super versatile and can be used in a variety of food types. It also differs between plants from different locations on Kashyyyk. "The slightly smaller trees found in the planet's coastal cities have a sweeter sap that's perfect for a glaze, while the sap of the colossal wroshyrs found in the planet's deep forests has a more robust profile that's ideal for sauces. But if you want a sap that's great for guzzlin', then the trees 'round Mount Arayakyak are the ones for you."

-Two tree cities on Kashyyyk are Awrathakka and Rwookrrorro. An important mountain is Mount Arayakyak. And the Wawaatt Archipelago is an island-y locale.

-The Endorian brub-brub brush produces winter berries that can be used in a sauce for a variety of dishes.

-Aunt Z's full name is Z'Vk'Thkrkza.

-The Shadowlands of Kashyyyk are home to slyyygs, wyyyschokk, jaw plants, and gloomroot.

-Kod'yok are nearly extinct on Vandor after the Imperial occupation. 

-Mushblooms are bulbous mushrooms native to Kashyyyk that are delicacies when young and toxic at maturity.

-Trakkrrrn are an animal native to Kashyyyk that has natural spicy meat.

-"Joh Blastoh" is a super popular mid-winter holiday song that gets sung across the galaxy.

-Cookie's favorite chef is Gormaanda (the crazy cook from the Holiday Special!! Nice!)

-Roasted mickelnuts are "an aromatic holiday favorite sold on the streets of Coruscant durin' Solstice Tide."

-Orga root is a sacred Life Day staple. 

-Wasaka Berry Pudding is an absolute favorite Life Day dish amongst Wookiees...the problem is, every family has their own way of making it and they vehemently defend that method!! 

-The planet Mirial is mostly made up of a pink and green desert!

-Wyyyschokk are enormous spider like creatures native to Kashyyyk that lay edible eggs!

-Apparently there used to be resorts on Scarif??

-Sarjenn Prime inspires Cookie's "Sarjenn Snowcap" and as he says, "I've heard secondhand stories of archaeological adventures on that frozen rock that pushed my imagination into overdrive." At least some of these archaeological adventures were courtesy of Doctor Aphra herself!!

-lumebugs: "Accordin' to ancient legends, these luminescent insectoids swarmed from the Tree of Life when it was just a sapling, formin' all the stars in the sky."

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I cannot wait to try some of these recipes. They all look so delightful and I do so adore the in-universe work that went into each dish *heart*. I will leave you with images of two absolutely divine looking desserts: Kashyyyk Cake and Jogan Fruit Parfait.

Bon Appetit!

[Note: I did receive a free review copy of the book, but in no way, shape, or form has that affected this review.]