Read The Complete Book of Raw Food Online
Authors: Julie Rodwell
The Complete Book of Raw Food (11 page)
Dried or sundried tomatoes—
the soak water used for reconstituting them can either have a wonderful taste that adds to a recipe’s flavor, or it can be overly salty—so be sure to taste before deciding!
Flax seed—
soaking for a few hours or overnight creates a gluey mixture that would be almost impossible to rinse off, and it’s high in protein so you want to incorporate this into your recipe.
Nut cheeses (made by draining off the nutmilk)—
both the liquid and the solid should be kept, but likely for use in different recipes.
Prunes—
soak water becomes a thin prune juice; definitely worth using.
To the extent possible, our recipes specify whether to incorporate or toss the soak water.
The seasonings and herbs you include in your recipes can make even the blandest ingredients come to life. To help you add spice to your raw food dishes, here’s some advice from our creative raw chefs.
I use numerous herbal seasonings to add accents to my recipes, including rosemary, thyme, basil, tarragon, oregano, summer savory, cayenne, paprika, cumin, curry, turmeric, sage, vanilla bean, etc. If you can get these herbs fresh, or grow them in your kitchen or garden, all the better. Otherwise, organic dried versions are acceptable.
—Jinjee and Storm Talifero
To sweeten foods we use honey. You can replace this with medjool dates or raw agave (cactus) nectar. Some people believe honey is not vegan because bees make it. However, we distinguish between insects and other animals and therefore don’t see honey as animal product. We have done extensive research on honey and are convinced it is extremely healthful, as long as it is used in moderation.
—Jinjee and Storm Talifero
Add more seasoning than you think you will need!
—Karie Clingo
USING AND CARING FOR YOUR TOOLS
The tools you use to prepare your raw dishes should be clean and well-maintained. To help you use them and keep them running, here are some suggestions from our chefs.
The Champion juicer quickly gets stained by beet, carrot, tomato, and other juices. The same problem exists for green juicing machines; you can wash them, but the plastic absorbs stains and after the first use, your gadget will no longer look white. A lost cause? Not at all.
I tried Regent’s Kleenite® Denture Cleanser on a used Champion whose parts were not only stained but also coated with a sticky goo. After three days of soaking the parts in a hot strong mix of the denture cleanser, and some scrubbing with an old toothbrush, they look like new.
—Julie Rodwell
I use ceramic, not metal, knives in the kitchen. Ceramic knives stay sharper much longer than metal ones and they don’t cause oxidation as metal knives do.
—Stephen Arlin
When using your Champion to make ice-cream, chill the rotor blade and blank plate in the freezer, then install them.
—David Klein
Above all, don’t be afraid to experiment with herbs and spices. Use common sense, and taste your food as you go along. Remember which flavors work best with which dishes, and write these down in a notebook for later use. The more you learn, the more fun you’ll have—and the better your food will taste.
The techniques you use to prepare your food can affect how a dish looks and tastes. To help you avoid waste and become more efficient in the kitchen, our chefs offer their advice on the best ways to prepare your favorite raw recipes.
CHEF’S TIPS
Pay special attention to your seasonings:
Buy pure extracts not made with alcohol
Substitute raw carob powder for cocoa
Stock up on raw organic honey and other sweeteners of your choice.
* * *
Here’s a way to keep all your favorite recipes protected and in one place. Purchasing a ring binder and some clear plastic sheets with holes punched down the left hand side. Photocopy pages from your favorite recipe books and slip them in the plastic wallets. You can also use the folder to keep handy phone numbers for food suppliers, mail-order catalogs, even food prep hints and tips. And because the wallets are clear plastic you can protect everything from water, spills, and staining.
—
Karen Knowler
When a recipe calls for raspberries to be blended, use a food processor rather than a blender. When done in a blender, the raspberry seeds become like sand.
—Emily Lee Angell
When a blended recipe calls for fresh parsley, dill, or cilantro, blend only the stems and save the leaves for garnish or another recipe.
—Matt Amsden
When making pâtés and burgers/nutmeats, chop a portion of the ingredients by hand very finely for a coarser and more interesting texture and mix them into the main pâté or burger mix.
—
Shazzie
When weighing down a batch of kim chee or sauerkraut, cover it first with plastic wrap, then put a weight on top. I use unopened bags of lentils, as they form well to the shape of the bowl.
—Shazzie
Un-Cooking
Now that you’ve learned how to create fantastic raw meals, it is time to take this raw knowledge to the kitchen. The recipes in the section that follows should serve to guide you as you learn to prepare these delicious live foods. Remember that no recipe is ever written in stone—you should not be afraid to experiment and add your own ingredients and spices.
As you get more comfortable with your tools and techniques, you may even decide to close this book and invent some recipes all on your own. That’s fine! Keep
The Complete Book of Raw Food
handy to turn to as new questions arise.
FOOD CRAVINGS
When you start a raw diet, you may experience cravings for the foods you used to eat. We’ve listed some of these cravings below and suggested raw replacements. They can all be found in the next section on recipes.
| When You Crave This: | Eat or Drink This: |
| Apple Pie | Raw Apple Pie |
| Burritos | Sunflower Herb Pâté |
| Candy Bar | Almond Butter Candy |
| Candy | Nut Candy |
| Cheese | Tahini Cheese |
| Chip Dip | Sprouted Hummus |
| Chocolate | Raw Carob Treat |
| Dessert | Sensuous Fruit Salad |
| Drugs and Alcohol | Green Juice |
| Ice Cream | Nutmilk Smoothie with Almond Butter, chilled |
| Ice Cream, Milk Shakes, Candy | Fruit Smoothies |
| Liverwurst, Meat, Beans & Rice | Seed Pâté |
| Meat, Meat Loaf | Nut Loaf |
| Meat, Sushi | Nut Sushi |
| Milk | Cantaloupe Milk |
| Milk | Nutmilk |
| Milkshake | Nutmilk Smoothie |
| Pastry, Breakfast Cereal, Pies | Oatmeal Treat |
| Pizza | Nut Pizza |
| Protein Shake | Tahini Milk |
| Purée, Pudding, Jello | Watermelon Juice |
| Ratatouille, Italian Sauce Dishes | Raw Ratatouille, Raw Tomato Sauce |
| Salad Dressings | Raw Salad Dressings |
| Sushi | Veggie Sushi Rolls |
| Thai Food | Raw Thai Lemon Coconut Soup |
Some other basic cooking replacements Jinjee and Storm Talifero suggest we use are flax oil in place of butter, nut meal in place of meat, and marinated vegetables in place of cooked vegetables.
U
nlike most conventional food preparation, raw food preparation can sometimes require several days of lead time. Needless to say, it’s disappointing to pick out an enticing recipe for supper and then realize it will require several days of soaking and sprouting beforehand—and perhaps several days of dehydrating afterwards—before that enticing meal will make it to your dinner table. Therefore, at the start of each recipe in this Second Edition, we have specified both the
advanced preparation time (“Advanced prep”)
along with the specific activities that need to be done far in advance, and the
immediate preparation time (“Immediate prep”)
, meaning the chopping, blending and mixing that is similar to what’s required for cooked recipes. Of course, there are also many recipes that are extremely quick to create, and you’ll notice that these don’t require any “Advanced prep” time.
Applenut Salad