I have had an opportunity to review a new book in the raw food cookbook series “The Complete Book of Raw Food” called
Raw Food Quick & Easy: Over 100 Healthy Recipes Including Smoothies, Seasonal Salads, Dressings, Pates, Soups, Hearty Creations, Snacks, and Desserts (The Complete Book of Raw Food Series)
Mary Rydman, a former commuter airline pilot, has been a raw foodist for some 20 years and shares her favorite and simple recipes in this cookbook.
The recipes are indeed quick and easy while they add a delicious sparkle to your raw food cuisine repertoire. The book is 100% text so do not expect to see photographs of her various recipes. This is fine as the recipes are not complicated and thus need no further elaboration.
Contents:
- Author’s story
- Soaking, Sprouting and Storing
- About Dehydrating
- The Raw Kitchen
- Is it really raw?
- Simple ways to boost your nutrition intake
- Eating according to our biological design
- Food and emotions
- The Recipes
- The 5 element smoothie and other breakfast foods
- Beverages
- Dressings
- Sauces and Gravies
- Salads
- Dehydrated Crackers
- Soups
- Raw Dairy
- Pates
- Sides and Hearty Creations
- Snacks and Finger Foods
- Desserts
- Ice Cream
- Sources
For my review I chose to make one of the recipes on page 59 in the “Sauces and Gravies” chapter.
Spicy Seed Sauce
Advance prep: 6 hours to soak seeds
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, soaked
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked
- 1 tablespoon onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- pinch cayenne pepper
- water to blend to desired consistency
Directions
Blend all ingredients well in a blender or food processor. Serves 4.
Changes I made:
I forgot to use onion! It tastes fine without it. I used fresh basil and marjoram. I also added some fresh oregano. I added some grated ginger and lemon juice as well. The juice helps inhibit some of the oxidation. I added some goji berries as well!
My review of the recipe
I used this dressing on avocado chunks and it was simply delicious! It comes out sort of creamy. I added in some whole seeds and goji berries to add a bit more interest.
I found that it made quite a lot some I froze about half of it in an ice cube tray.
Once frozen I will pop these out and put into a freezer baggie!
I would recommend this book to both a raw foodist as well as anyone who would like to build some variation into their use of fresh vibrant vegetables. I would suggest that in the next edition, the author craft an index so as to ease rapid navigation.
Product Information:
- Title: Raw Food Quick & Easy: Over 100 Healthy Recipes Including Smoothies, Seasonal Salads, Dressings, Pates, Soups, Hearty Creations, Snacks, and Desserts (The Complete Book of Raw Food Series)
- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: Hatherleigh Press (August 25, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1578263069
- ISBN-13: 978-1578263066
- Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
- Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
