S.F. Life, San Francisco Living Food Enthusiasts, in response to member
requests, recently purchased a number of raw food recipe books to
increase their (lending) library collection. I obtained the books for
them at a discount. Because of this, I am holding the books until the
next potluck (first Sunday in March). Decided to use this opportunity
to inspect the books. As there is a lot of interest in raw recipe books,
it seemed appropriate to post a few notes/comments on the books, as
follows.

* Treasury of Raw Foods, by Edmond Bordeaux Szekeley
ISBN 0-89564-042-2, US $3.50
This is a small book, only 42 pages of subject information. The first
third of the book is a discussion of the merits and need for, a raw
food diet. The next third discusses food combining, which Szekeley
calls "trophology", and the properties of various foods. The last
third is a list of menus and brief recipes.

* Light Eating for Survival, by Marcia Acciardo
ISBN 0-933278-05-5, $14.00
A spiral bound paperback book packed with recipes ( >450 recipes, per
back cover) and information. Marcia was an associate of Viktoras.
Much of the artwork in the book is by Peter Max. On page 18 there is
a recipe for raw tofu, made from soaked raw soybeans. (Given the strong
flavor of raw soybeans, I suspect raw tofu might not taste good.)
In general, a very nice book.

* Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook, by Steve Meyerowitz
ISBN 1-878736-84-1, $14.95
Large (320 pages), information packed book with 250 recipes, many of
which are raw. Includes sections on: sprout breads, nut milk/yogurt
and seed cheeses, dehydrated foods, raw juices, salt alternatives,
and other topics. A surprise in the book: on pg. 237, he recommends
cooking sprouted grains! A good book.

* Making Sauerkraut and Pickled Vegetables at Home, by Annelies Schoeneck
ISBN 0-920470-12-2, $8.95. An English translation of a German book,
published in Canada.
Disadvantage: her approach to fermentation uses salt and in some cases,
whey. Advantage: the book contains a *lot* of information on the practical
aspects of fermentation, is well illustrated (color photos). It also
has a good description, in non-technical terms, of what exactly happens
when vegetables are fermented. Many raw fooders will want to modify the
recipes to replace the salt and/or whey. Includes recipes for fermenting
mushrooms. Very informative. Those interested in fermentation, and even
those opposed to fermentation, will find the book interesting.

* Dining in the Raw, Cooking with "the Buff", by Rita Romano
ISBN 0-9634742-0-0, $29.95
Rita is a former head chef at Hippocrates Institute in Florida. Large
book with over 700 recipes and lots of supplementary information.
Sample recipe titles: sprouted pea soup, cream of broccoli soup (raw,
no dairy), parsley pesto, delectable daikon salad, fennel slaw,
(marinated) cinnamon beets, avocado vegetable aspic, seed cheese pie,
sprouted chickpea hummus, dulse salad, tomato chutney, pumpkin seed
patties (dehydrated), sunburgers, raw fruit pies, carob cream delight.
The last half of the book is cooked foods. An impressive resource of raw
and living food recipes!

There are two other raw food recipe books on backorder, including "Soup Alive"
a raw soup recipe book. Will post notes on that when it arrives. The other
book on backorder is out of stock at the publisher - receipt date unknown.

Suggestion to readers - if you have favorite recipe books, other readers might
benefit from a "review" or brief notes on the books. I would encourage
readers to post info on their favorite recipe books!

Tom Billings
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