“We’re hungry for more than food,” writes the author. “We’re hungry for connection, joy, meaning, completion, truth.” The foods every culture uses to mark milestones and seasons honor this multifaceted hunger and feed the “hungry ghost,” a Tao concept about restless souls still “hungry” beyond the grave. In Feeding the Hungry Ghost (New World Library, $15.95), Ellen Kanner serves up recipes that satisfy these cravings, including DIY Matzo, When All Else Fails Pasta, and Caribbean Christmas Pepper Pot. In a voice as appealing as her recipes, Kanner seasons her text with warm, wise stories (helping kids plant a garden, hanging out at farmers markets, meeting Marcel, a Haitian who marks loss with soup) that show why “Often, the best way to exercise your faith and serve the world comes in choosing what you eat for dinner.”