RAWvolution: Gourmet Living Cuisine by Matt Amsden
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Book Reviews of RAWvolution: Gourmet Living Cuisine
Book Review: Good explanations for a new way of eating
Summary: 5 Stars
I started eating many raw foods in 2006, made sprouts from green lentils and finally found some whole masoor lentils to sprout. I have been to two raw food restaurants and was impressed by the very green soup. The easy things in RAWvolution Gourmet Living Cuisine by Matt Amsden are soups that go into a blender. One ingredient that is extremely common in RAWvolution is Nama Shoyu, "the champagne of soy sauces," (p. 200), a Japanese organic soy sauce aged in wooden kegs. Looking for easy recipés, I found many that also included lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic. If you want to keep track of how much raw garlic it is possible to eat with those other three basic ingredients, take your pick of soups: 2 cloves garlic (p. 41); 5 cloves of garlic (p. 52); 3 cloves garlic (p. 56); 3 cloves garlic (p. 59); and in dressings: 2 to 3 cloves garlic (p. 68 top and bottom); 8 cloves garlic (p. 70); 3 cloves garlic (p. 75 top); 2 to 3 cloves garlic (p. 75 bottom); 3 to 4 cloves garlic (p. 96); 2 cloves garlic (p. 111); Marinara or pizza sauce: 3 cloves garlic (p. 73); Mint-Tahini sauce: 2 to 3 cloves garlic (p. 74); Zucchini pasta marinara: 3 cloves garli (p. 132); Falafel: 3 cloves garlic (p. 140); veggie cakes: 1 to 2 cloves garlic (p. 154)
Many of the salad dressings had vinegar instead of lemon juice. I don't use much vinegar now, getting plenty with pickled ginger and pickled herring (the label says in wine sauce on the front, but the onion slices taste like vinegar, which the label admits on the back). It is bad manners for me to mention herring in a review for this book, because raw food often retains the character of live food, but I am sure the herring were dead before they were bottled. The author only eats "uncooked vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds." (p. 9). The herring that I consider brain food tend to be "dull, gray, heavy, and lifeless, like the standard American fare." (p. 13).
The first recipé I tried was Siamese Dream Thai Curry Soup because I have not been eating curry with raw food. I live near Oriental stores, so I was able to find a can of young coconut meat in coconut juice from Thailand. The whole can is only 90 Calories with 2 grams of fat and 48 grams of sugar and 1 gram of protein. It tasted sweet even after putting in a tablespoon of curry powder, but I did not put a quarter cup of lemon juice in it, which should make it better and not as sweet. I have been trying not to mix acid fruits with other food so I'm more likely to get live enzymes without toxic side effects, but an ideal meal for me is supposed to be one food, or one food group. I like to eat so soon after I start thinking about food, I am not likely to buy a dehydrator for making a quiche crust out of sliced yellow onions and ground seeds (which aren't ready until 36 hours after making 4 inch circles with a one inch lip), but I know how great such an appliance would be for people who want to put things on a cracker. I found a store where I can buy things that have been made that way from sprouted grain, but it is not something I do. I don't have a juicer, which is needed for the soups on pages 39, 42, 47, 60, and a dressing on page 68. Seeds are homogenized with almonds and walnuts in a Green Star juicer for Nut Loaf on page 155.
Mock tuna salad or mock chicken salad can be made with spices, celery, scallions, and soaked raw sunflower seeds. The dressing uses Thai coconut water, garlic, lemon juice, mustard and plenty of nuts mixed together in a high-speed blender. (p. 126). This does not explain how many servings it would be, but I should stop thinking about eating everything on the page right away.
Book Review: You will love it over time!
Summary: 5 Stars
When I initially got Rawvolution, I was pretty hard on it. I think I was spoiled by the simpler recipes in Natalia Rose's "Raw Food Life Force Energy" and Jennifer Cornbleet's "Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People" (both highly recommended).
In the last year or so, I have mostly moved away from nuts and seeds. I don't feel like I get as much energy from nuts as I do from fruits, veggies, and raw cheese. Since a lot of the recipes in Rawvolution are nut based, I was a little nervous. But, in the long run, I have found that these recipes provide some good variety to my diet. For you vegans out there, the nuts replace all dairy! For non-vegans, the nut-based cheese recipes are a nice substitute when you run out of raw cheese.
Some of the recipes in this book are a little complicated, involving a juicer, food processor, and dehydrator. But the good news is that Matt Amsden is very up-front about that. He rates each recipe by level of difficulty, and has icons on each recipe showing what equipment you will need. If you are feeling like something quick, don't select something that requires dehydrating, since it won't be ready until tomorrow. I find dehydrating projects are best for the weekend.
While I will admit I don't make the full "Big Matt with Cheese" on a regular basis, it is great to have recipes like that when you are having a big barbecue and want to initiate some folks into the world of raw.
Also good for entertaining: there are recipes that convert classic holiday foods into raw, like mashed potatoes (actually delicious pureed cauliflower), and a very rich and savory walnut-based stuffing.
I would agree with previous reviews that some of the recipes are too salty. I pretty much assume "salt to taste" with everything now! That's part of the fun with raw - adjusting the recipes to meet your tastes.
Another tip: keep an eye on the portions some of these recipes produce. Some of the recipes make enough to feed a family of 10 for a week, while others are a single serving. If it calls for 5 cups of sunflower seeds, that's probably a tip that it might be a bit much for just a couple people.
Some of my favorite raw recipes in Rawvolution are also the easiest (did I mention I'm lazy?). I love the Rawvolution Famous Onion Bread (yes, it requires dehydrating, but it is so easy - and everyone loves it); the bok choy salad (which I make with regular, not baby, bok choy, since it's half the price and just as tasty); and the Egg-less Egg salad (which I have made with all kinds of substitutions and it is still delicious); and a yummy apple pie (which I prefer as a cobbler).
I also love Matt Amsden's story. Based on some of his creations, I assumed he started out as a cooked food chef - but it turns out he heard about raw food on a late night radio show on his way home from a night shift at a factory!
For originality and variety alone, I would really recommend this book. It has become one of my most used recipe books.
Book Review: Simple ingredients create layered, complex flavors!
Summary: 5 Stars
For the past year, my diet has been vegan (coming from that of a prolific meat eater who would still love to eat meat but I love animals (live ones) more, and therefore cannot continue to support an industry that exploits and tortures them). That being said, the transition to veganhood was not easy by any means. I was only able to do it by finding extremely delicious vegan food/restaurants/recipes. And by delicious I do not mean tofu and stir fry. I mean savory, delicious, complex flavors.
My quest for such food led me to Matt Amsden's restaurant in Santa Monica, Rawvolution, where I had the privilege of experiencing the Big Matt with Cheese and the Tacos. OMG! My taste buds will never be the same.
So I bought his book.
The first thing I made was the tacos (which I turned into taco salad because I didn't care for the collard green leaf "shells"). I was blown away, first by how SIMPLE they are to make! And then, of course, the taste. It is complex, rich, filling, and hard to believe all raw.
Then I made the thai curry soup. Same thing!! Easy. Simple. Complex.
DItto for the ranch dressing. It runs circles around any store or restaurant ranch.
Matt's book is a gift to the raw food world and those of us who are striving to make positive lifestyle changes that take into consideration not only our own health but the health of the planet and the well being of the animals with whom we share our planet.
For anyone who is new to raw food, this book is a must have. So many of the recipes are beginner friendly in that you do not need to invest in all of the typical raw food appliances. A food processor and Vita Mix blender are easily enough to get you started. Dehydrator to follow whenever you feel like you are ready.
Book Review: Good Recipies
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not a vegan, I'm not even a veggie. I like animal products such as eggs and cheese. I even like virtually all kinds of meat. So why am I recommending this book.
Mr. Armsden gives seven reasons for his decision to be a vegan and to eat virtually all of them raw. All but one of these don't seem to make much sense to me. His comments about a koala bear living on eucalyptus doesn't really make much sense to me, I'm not a koala bear. His comments on 'Mental Outlook and Spiritual Progression' border on a religion that I don't follow. Humans are omnivores, just look at our teeth.
It's the first of his reasons that makes me a fan of the book -- uncooked vegetables simply taste better. Cabbage tastes better (to me) as coleslaw rather than with corn beef. Carrots are better raw than boiled to almost tasteless mush. And you can say the same thing about cauliflower, broccoli, virtually all the fruits, tomatoes, spinach and many, many more.
What I was looking for was a cookbook of recipies that would emphasize raw foods. And this one does an excellent job. To be sure I don't follow his instructions to the letter. Instead of making artificial cheese or 'mock' meats, I use the real stuff.
What I wanted was the recipies on raw veggies. And on these he does an excellent job. Don't give up on this book because of his views on veganism expressed in the first thirty pages or so. Go for the recipies.
Book Review: The best raw foodbook for the novice
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been eating raw food for only about 1.5 months. I came across this book after the first month, and even though I already had quite a number of raw "cook"books to work with, this one has emerged as my clear favorite, at least for this transitional period. Many of the other books seem geared only toward people who have fully adapted to a raw lifestyle -- even if they explain the principles for the newcomer, the food is often not exciting to the "raw palate in training" -- it's usually palatable, but just not exciting. This book has convinced me that I can stay with the raw diet for the long haul, because the food is really delicious. And the procedures are simple and generally quite quick to execute. For my first foray into the book, I made the mock tuna salad which I served on the famous onion bread. Both recipes worked perfectly and tasted absolutely wonderful. They will be staples for sure. This book, along with Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko, are the 2 that will light my way into the raw vegan diet -- which has already produced remarkable benefits for me in terms of weight loss, energy, and positive mood. I'm grateful to Matt Amsden for sharing his creative and delicious cuisine.