This is a wonderful book, a true and rare treasure, full of hunger and appetite, joy and toil. Books like this are sometimes called "a labor of love", which is somewhat of a cliche, but this book is brimfull of all the labor and love that goes into gathering, harvesting, preserving and cooking food grown for its own sake. Here, food is not a commodity to be bought and sold but a mainstay of life, a vital ingredient for happiness, a celebration of simple and good - but hard - life. The book would be valuable enough if that was all but there are also so many delightful recipes, so many wonderful anecdotes and descriptions, so much interesting autobiographical material. I've seen someone compare Honey from a Weed to Frances Mayers tedious Tuscanny books but don't let that mislead you; this is a very different book, written with immense sensitivity and hard-earned knowledge of the land the author has cultivated and the people she lived with and learned from.

I first read Ms. Gray's book looking for a specific recipe, how was I to know it was not just a 'cookbook', but a charming look at life? Ms. Gray's stories about life among the stonecutters, peasants and artists of Greece and Italy was a delight to read. I'm buying extra copies to pass them around to cooks and non-cooks alike, anyone who needs to see firsthand that living well, often on a shoestring, can be the best revenge. Wonderful illustrations, simple recipes for soul-satisfying food...and one woman's recipe for a simpler life. If this doesn't make you long to quit the 'day job' and run off to live on grilled sardines and fresh tomatoes in Tuscany or Naxos, call Tech Support, you've got some wires disconnected.

This book has renewed my spirit for cooking. So simple in tasks, yet with the essence of true cookery, I have found a bible. Evoking the great repasts that my grandma used to lay on at a moments notice, this book has brought me close to understanding the old ways of cookery. The beauty of this book is that it beholds traditions alongside every new convenience, and is still as pertinent today as when it was written in 1957.

The summary on the Amazon site suggest that this is a book on French cookery. It actually covers a much wider range of peasant cookery from the Mediterranean region including Spain, Italy and Greece as well as France. The approach is practical and straightforward but pays due attention to authenticity. Even though many of the recipes which were unfamiliar and exotic 40 years ago are know well known, the elegant writing make this a book to read as well as cook from.