Chef Russell James

If you want more raw chef inspiration- see what Russell James is (un)cooking up at www.therawchefblog.com. All of his recipes are raw and vegan.

If you take his three question survey (regarding how he can serve people in the raw community better) you can download PDF versions of his Marbeled Chocolate and Orange Tavoletta, Chocolate Raspberry Cake with Ginger Chocolate Mousse, and Fennel and Cherry Tomato Tart with Macademia Cheese. He gives what looks like very thorough directions.

I have been wanting to try the Tavoletta for a while but am intimidated. He mentions using a high power blender for the mousse. I'm looking at it- wondering how this would work out with my $30 blender. I could substitute raw almond butter for the cashews in the marbeling. The rest of the recipes- I think may be doable with my blender and $30 food processor. (It cost $60 for the two appliances together at Costco. I mention this because one criticism of some raw (un)cooking is that it requires expensive equipment.)

Herbivoracious

I found a great site called Herbivoracious. The guy who writes it interned at Cafe Flora. He appreciates wonderful, beautiful vegetarian food. There are lots of recipes and lovely food photos to inspire you!

Link to Herbivoracious from the links section.

Most Raw Foodists are Vegan

There are a lot of crazy things written about raw foodists. The craziest is that raw foodists eat raw meat. After reading many different books about raw foodism over the past year and a half, I can emphatically tell you that is not the case. Most raw foodists are vegans. I've seen two references to meat-eating in books. One author said something like "I knew a guy who got into that, and he got very sick. He's still sick. Don't do it." In the other case the author mentions that he's known a few meat eaters and says "But they are shunned." (Italics are mine, for emphasis.)

Again- just read any of the literature and understand the history of the movement- most raw foodists are vegans. Because this is becoming a popular diet among the general public, you may find some that eat very little cooked meat. A person who formerly ate a diet of mostly cooked foods, that enjoys going for sushi and continues to eat sashimi after becoming a raw foodist- is just doing what he did before. The person is not suddenly eating raw meat as a raw foodist.

Anyway, the idea is so crazy I almost didn't mention it. But, it is super important to fight this perception because it would be terrible if health care professionals believed this was a usual practice of raw foodists.