Oh my gawd!

I just received an advanced copy of Matthew Kenney’s “Entertaining in the Raw” and all I’ve got to say is, whatever level you are at in raw, even if it’s to just put a leaf of head lettuce and ketchup on your Mickey D’s hamburger, get this book.

It is one of the richest, most beautiful, well-laid out books I’ve ever received. As I’m going through it I’m saying “I’ve GOT to make that; and that; and that!

As far as food prep, if you’re not used to preparing raw gourmet, the recipes might, at first, look a bit overwhelming yet, if you settle down and read each recipe you’ll see you are familiar with most, if not all of the ingredients and those you aren’t familiar with can be gotten at pretty much any chain store or, an ethnic store.

For instance I’m looking at “Vegetables and Grape leaf Dolmas w/ Sumac Flabread and cool Mint, Tahini and Aleppo Pepper Sauces”. Yes, that’s all on one page. The thing is, each thing ~ vegetable dolmas AND grape leaf dolmas AND Sumac Flatbread can all be made separately. They are 3 different recipes on one page. Next page contains the 3 sauces.

For me, there’s nothing in any of the recipes on these two pages I’ve not heard of except for aleppo pepper. So, what’s a woman to do? http://letmegooglethatforyou.com/ (yes, that’s a real site which more people need to use) ahem!

The Aleppo pepper is a variety of Capsicum annuum named after the town Aleppo in northern Syria. Most Aleppo peppers are grown in Syria.

It has a moderate heat level with some fruitiness and mild, cumin-like undertones.

Aleppo pepper may also refer to a dried, granulated spice made from Aleppo peppers that is also produced in Syria. It is similar to paprika, but coarser, and is only moderately spicy.

So, now we know what the pepper is and maybe, if not available, can find a substitute.

The pictures in this book are amazing! They were done by Miha Matei and they really bring this book to life.

This book is also divided up into chapters with names including: Blossom; Contemporary; Spice, Radiance and more.

I’m really excited to try these recipes. From just thumbing though the book although the recipes are considered “gourmet” it doesn’t seem that they are overly expensive.

For those of you who are “trying” to get more raw into family/friends, I’d suggest choosing a few of these recipes, creating them; making a beautiful presentation, then having a party.

Since I’ll be making and selling the food at a holistic expo in July, I’ll be looking for recipes I can make easily beforehand and presenting to people at all levels of raw from none to experienced.

Get this book and let’s share experiences. As of this writing, Amazon has this $35 retail book listed at $19.80 for pre-orders. I suggest you do it now.

Matthew Kenney Lifestlye

Injoy and life,

Revvell

BTW ~ I’ll be having Matthew on Rawkin Radio as soon as possible and, also on Let’s Talk Raw!

When doing an interview with an author, I like to write a review on the book.

Recently I interviewed UK raw food chef James Russell. I received his wonderful book in eBook form “Thai Style Raw Food Recipes”. IF you enjoy Thai food, you’ve got to get it.

One thing I like about this book besides the beautiful colors and layouts is that, the recipes are very simple, very often the same spices are used; most ingredients are easy to acquire.

He’s got a section in the front where he lists Thai ingredients (most of which are available at any grocery store and those that aren’t (mangosteen and durian) you’ll probably pick up at an Asian food store). He also has an explanation for what other foods are and how to use them. I have an issue with the tamarind section as I’ve never used it and his directions to soak them in cold water until it forms a paste isn’t thorough enough. Questions I have on this is, how many do I need to make the amount of paste in a recipe? How long do I soak? I’d gotten about a dozen of them and they were in varying shapes, colors, textures. I didn’t know if the REAL dark ones were as good as the lighter ones. Anyway, I put it out on a raw board and received answers there ~ soak overnight.. how much? Still don’t know that so, trial and error it will be.

So far, I’ve made the Thai flax crackers. They are scrumptious! I left them in an open bowl on the counter and my husband loves them. Need to make another batch soon. I also made the Curried Cabbage Pillows. Suggestion: Start them in the morning so you can keep an eye on the wrappings. I put them in the D at night and by morning they were too crispy to wrap around the filling so, I put it at the bottom of the dish and put the filling on top. It’s GREAT even w/out the dipping sauce. (be care-filled of the chilies. They are REALLY hot!) Next time I make it, going to use one less chili.

Next on my things-I’d-like-to-try is the papaya & Mango Crepes with Lime and Passion Fruit Cream. They look SO yummy! Oh! The Lime and Passion Fruit Cheesecake is high on my list as well.

Other items in the book are: Thai Nori Bites (yes, NEED to have some of THOSE!); Sweet & Spicy Sunflower Seeds; 5 salads, Portabello Sticks with Almond Satay Sauce and more!

I DO recommend this. The price is right; the food is goooood!!! Get it here! Oh! And pick up his free recipe ebook as well. Wait until you see what’s in it!!!

Another eBook I received recently is Pure Jeevan’s “Raw Food Recipes”.

Last night I was in a real pissy mood ~ the kind that if it was in front of me I’d eat a whole (SAD) pizza all the time telling myself I didn’t care. I knew I needed to eat SOMEthing but didn’t want just a salad like I’d been eating so, I picked up Jim and Wendi Dee’s ebook, looked through it and found “Veggie Stir Don’t Fry”. Hmmm. Well, I had many of the ingredients yet, being that to me, recipes are just guidelines, thought I’d just use what I had. Did that; made the simple dressing and voila! Good chewing stuff, filling, tasty! What more could one ask for? I lost my desire for junk food and stayed raw and healthy.

The other recipe I’ve created is “Lemony Luminous Surprise”. Oh man, this is SO good! It took me 3 days to eat it (no, I didn’t share) on Russell’s crackers and on celery. An awesome combination of cashews, macadamias, pine nuts, hazel nuts, lemon and spices.

Other recipes I’m currently looking forward to are: Tahini Genie Spread; Crunchy Purpleicious Chiposity (not sure if I can find purple corn but I’ll use yellow if necessary ~ I NEED chips!); soups (3 are included); Rawsome Refried Reward; and Wendi’s Wonderful Treat. Actually, I want to taste everything in this awesome ebook.

There are 34 pages of recipes and you know what? This ebook is FREE! Just go to Pure Jeevan and get it! While there, check out their whole selection of raw recipes and sign up for their newsletter. GREAT site, great people! Go there now!

Final thing ~ Please, check out my latest site ~ Let’s Talk Raw. There you will get to hear live interviews with people you know as well as people you SHOULD know. There is (currently) a one-time, life-time fee to cover my and my engineer’s time in putting it all together for you. We also pay for the web-simulcast so you can listen live and ask questions via your computer for no long-distance charge.

Thank you for your continued support of Rawkin Radio and now, Let’s Talk Raw!

Yours in health and vitality,

Revvell