general

This delightful book contains more than one hundred recipies of raw foods that can be prepared by slicing, dehydrating and juicing or cooked at low temperatures. Compiled by Roxanne Klein, a proponent of the health benefits of raw food, and restaurateur and writer Charlie Trotter, it opens up a new world of culinary delight in which the food retains all of its nutritional value.

Intense heat destroys beneficial enzymes and that is why raw is better. The authors explain the beauty and the health benefits of fruits and vegetables whilst providing delicious recipes like for example Polenta with Wild Mushroom Ragout and Peppercorn Crusted Cashew Cheese with Honeycomb and Balsamic Vinegar.

In their engaging writing style, Klein and Trotter take a fresh look at the benefits and the tasty variety that is possible in a raw food diet, although some of their ingredients might not be easy to find for the average person. Tim Turner's beautiful full color photographs illustrate the text. This book ought to be on every vegan and vegetarian's shelf.

Trotter and Klein have produced a beautiful book of really interesting vegan recipes. No milk, no meat, no eggs. What's intriguing is that the dishes seem like they'll be very tasty and the photographs make them look wonderful. I'm glad that someone is out there pushing the edge of cuisine. But, after reading through Raw, I really understood Mark Twain's comment that Richard Wagner's music "is much better than it sounds."

A problem with the cookbook is that the many of the recipes are unapproachable. Either the equipment requirements are beyond what most people have or can afford or the ingredients are so obscure as to be nearly unobtainable. Some of the procedures require several days to execute which is not really a problem per se; however, the process complexity is overdone. Like the Shaker song says "it's a gift to be simple."

The notion that only raw foods are truly good for you is specious at best. Some vitamins and other nutrients are released by heat; cooking kills potentially dangerous bacteria and germs; and cooking makes some foods easier to digest.

Bottom line - a lot of work went into this very creative cookbook. I'll keep it on my coffee table instead of my kitchen shelf.

As other reviews suggest, this cookbook is filled with complex recipes that frequently call for out-of-the-ordinary ingredients and food preparation techniques such as soaking, dehydrating, blending and sieving. Yet the results are worth every bit of the effort.

In exploring living foods, I've found other chefs' approaches to be too raw (salads, salads and more salads) or too intent on emulating cooked foods (nut loaf, seed cheese, sprouted breads). Frequently raw chefs deliver recipes that are variations of these same basic themes. This book transcends all of that.

Even when I'm preparing something that resembles a raw food basic, e.g. a soup made from fruit/vegetable juice, the results when following Charlie and Roxanne's recipes are completely different than expected, complex, layered, with lots of nuance to appreciate. The asparagus soup is a delectable example of this. Another is Roxanne's signature appetizer at her restaurant and opening recipe in this book, the Wakame Sushi Rolls. Many people dabbling or dedicated to living foods will likely have seen raw sushi rolls, in which soaked crushed nuts or ground root vegetable take the place of the rice in the roll. In Roxanne's version, the spice/vinegar/honey addition to ground parsnips is truly unique and lifts the raw sushi roll out of the reliance on nuts.

The most relevant grumble I have with the book: there are several dishes which require the preparation of four to seven distinct recipes. The Wakame Sushi rolls consist of four recipes plus the dicing/slicing of roll veggies. The Tacos Three Ways is the most egregious example I've noticed, with eight recipes in total to deliver the dish as written. Still, there are several dishes that are a straight, single recipe or two. And, of course, each of us is free to make tacos "one way" instead of three or otherwise omit and substitute. The Wakame rolls are plenty tasty even without the Wasabi mayonnaise or chiffonade cut Nori decorating the plate. Also, you will find that some of the component recipes are wonderful on other creations of your own making, e.g. the mushroom sauce and wild mushroom ragout used on something other than the raw-corn polenta.

You don't have to be a living foods enthusiast or zealot to appreciate the flavors, textures and experience that result from these recipes. Charlie Trotter is proof of that. But you will need the equipment that is standard among living foodies if you want to do anything more than dabble in these recipes. In order of priority, you will need a food processor, blender, juicer, dehydrator, and jars/trays for soaking and sprouting.

I've made ten dishes from this book, some several times already, and have been surprised, delighted and even amazed with the results. And my guests have been similarly pleased. Thanks to the nuance and layers of flavors, each preparation has been worth the effort.