This past week, we’ve been eating a lot of raw food. But I’ve failed to take pictures of most of it. I already had Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet. I chose it as my first little step into raw because it seemed like most of the recipes could be made without any crazy kitchen equipment. I don’t think I’ve even seen a recipe call for a dehydrator yet. And my blender, crappy as it is, has been able to handle everything put to it.So what have we tried? Below is the first dinner, cucumber soup and not tuna paté on red bell pepper planks. I’m not sure exactly why she uses tuna in the name because it is in no way fishy. It is good though. More like a chicken salad in flavor though. I’ve also used it smeared into celery sticks, on ryevita crackers and mounded on a chopped salad. I didn’t know how I’d feel about cold soups, or, more accurately, room temperature soups, but these have been really nice. The cucumber one was made creamy with avocado and was flavored with dill.
What else have we tried? The Piña Colada Smoothie, Marinara Sauce on zucchini ribbons, Walnut Paté, Cream of Zucchini Soup, Papaya Lime Soup, and Not Tuna Sandwiches. The patés keep for a while in the fridge, so they’re good make ahead items. Other than going to the store, the only other thing you really need to think about in advance is soaking the nuts in some of the recipes. Otherwise, the prep work isn’t any more labor intensive than anything else I would make. So I’d say this is a good book to use if you want to take baby steps into raw food.