“Raw food” and “Cookbook” may seem oxymoronic, but that is because you don’t have much of an imagination. Not, at least, like the mind of Mary Rydman, the chef and author who brought us the “Complete Book of Raw Food.”
She has dreamed up 100 new recipes in “Raw Food Quick & Easy,” hitting bookstores today. The book includes salads, of course, but also soups, pates, desserts and hot (okay, not too hot) tips on sprouting, storing and dehydrating. And you thought raw food preparation meant washing a carrot and doing a Bugs Bunny impersonation?
In reality, even raw foodies cook with actual heat; just not greater than 118 degrees. Any hotter, and, according to the folks at Pure Food and Wine, a raw food restaurant in the East village, essential vitamins and minerals go up in smoke.
What better time to try out the raw diet than August, when the tables at the Union Square Green Market are literally overflowing with vegetables you probably didn’t even know existed? Try it. You'll be sounding like ODB in no time.
