BOOK REVIEWS

Kate Wood resides in England and has been a committed raw foodist since 1993. Her book, Eat Smart Eat Raw, serves up more than 150 raw recipes. Many of the dishes are simple to prepare, which is not always the case in raw cuisine.

Here are just a few of the recipes you'll find in this book. The Mushroom Pàtè is made from mushrooms, celery, parsley, and a variety of ground seeds. ‘Cheesy’ Stuffed Peppers are prepared by blending corn, carrots, parsley, ground flaxseed, olive oil, miso, nutritional yeast, red chili, garlic, and onion and then adding some orange juice. This mixture is then stuffed into red peppers. Finally, the Coconut Cookies are made from bananas, fresh coconut, ground cashews, and raisins. Then, the mixture is dehydrated.

Nutritional analyses are provided in this book. You'll also find many raw food tips.

You will find a Real Food Daily restaurant in both Santa Monica and Hollywood, California. These establishments are quite successful, and, fortunately, you can now sample the delicious cuisine by purchasing their cookbook.

Included among the 150 creative vegan recipes in this book are Spring Rolls with Raw Mango Sauce, Nori Maki (sushi made with tempeh), Quinoa Vegetable Soup, Lemon-Lime Jicama Slaw, Wheat-Free Corn Muffins, Corn-Sage Stuffing, Athena Barley with Kalamata Olives and Tomatoes, Seitan Enchiladas with Salsa Verde, Pecan Pie, and Coconut Cream Pie with Chocolate Sauce.

The recipes are arranged in seasonal order, and this cookbook includes beautiful color photos that will entice even meat-eaters. Nutritional analyses are not included; however, most recipes do not appear to be high in fat.

Yet another raw foods book has appeared on the market. The Raw Transformation contains beautiful color photos throughout the book, adding to its appeal. The section on food preparation and basics is also quite useful, especially for someone who is not yet familiar with raw cuisine.

Some unique dishes in this book are Cucumber Tahini Soup, Quinoa Pistachio Salad, Lasagna (made with a macadamia and pine nut cheese), Flax Seed Crackers, and Mango Fig Pie.

Bloodless Revolution is not light reading. This 416-page book focuses on the cultural history of vegetarianism from 1600 to modern times. The author, Tristram Stuart, is a graduate of Cambridge University and is a relatively young historian. This is his first book; however, he was previously a freelance writer for several Indian newspapers.

The book introduces readers to puritanical revolutionaries, Europeans devoted to Hindu philosophy, and visionary scientists who embraced Eastern ideas and worked to overthrow Western society's hunger for meat. You'll find information on philosopher Pythagoras, physicist Isaac Newton, mathematician Renè Descartes, physician George Cheyne, poets Percy Shelley and Henry David Thoreau, the Shakers, Mahatma Gandhi, and many others.

The book includes historical illustrations and is well-footnoted.