Getting Started in the Kitchen
To develop the skills of a fresh chef, explore the techniques and tools that will bring these recipes to life. As you master each technique and move on to the next, you'll continue to broaden your repertoire of gourmet raw foods.
Basic Tools
You can make many of the recipes in this book with just a blender and a good kitchen knife. For about $100, you can purchase all the essential basic equipment you'll need to get started, including:
Conventional blender or cup-style blender
Good, sharp knives of different sizes
Spiral slicer
A potato peeler for shredding carrots
An inexpensive mandolin grater
Citrus juicer — a hand juicer is fine for one to three people
Miniprep (food) processor
Garlic press
Nut milk bag (similar to a cheesecloth, this is a nylon mesh bag that allows you to strain liquid from pulp)
Measuring cups and spoons
Melon baller
Bamboo mat for making sushi/nori rolls
Presentation
Making a delicious and satisfying meal involves more than just mixing a few ingredients together. You want your food to have pleasing colors, textures, aromas, and garnishes so that the meal stimulates all five senses. When food looks great, that tends to increase your enjoyment of the meal.
The ideal pH for your body is slightly alkaline at 7.4 on the pH scale. This balance can be achieved by eating a general diet of around 80 percent alkaline foods and 20 percent acidic foods. Lemons are classified as an acidic fruit, but they actually create an alkaline environment inside the body. Chlorophyll has a similar nutrient profile as the human blood and is a perfect 7.4 pH. This is probably why a diet high in fresh greens tends to promote a good acid-alkaline balance.
Beautiful Vegetables
There are a number of simple, manual tools that you can use to create wonderful shapes and designs with the food and very creative presentations. With a spiral slicer, you can make colorful ribbon slices and noodlelike shapes from carrots, zucchini, beets, or apples. Another useful inexpensive little tool is the mandolin grater, which you can use to quickly slice vegetables such as cabbages, zucchini, or portobello mushrooms.
A potato peeler is handy for grating carrots into slender ribbons that are attractive and easy to eat. These three simple kitchen tools really speed up prep time, making it possible to prepare elegant salads in just a few minutes.
Little Power Tools
At times you'll want to grind nuts or grate firm vegetables such as carrots. These denser foods can destroy almost any slow-speed blender — even a really good one. If you're not ready to invest in a high-speed blender, a mini food processor is a good inexpensive solution. You'll be able to grind nuts and harder vegetables in the food processor using the low gear.
Basic Food Prep
Antioxidants are nutrients that help to slow down and prevent premature aging and degenerative diseases such as cancer. Antioxidants are molecules that neutralize harmful free radicals in the body that result from pollution and infection. Most raw foods contain high amounts of antioxidants. The foods at the top of the antioxidant list include goji berries, raw cacao, prunes, acai berry, green tea, blueberries, algae, and mangosteen.
Becoming skilled at the preparation of raw entrées involves learning some new techniques. You don't have to master them all at once. For example, one of the staples of raw cuisine is vegan pâté. This versatile food is prepared by grinding nuts and blending them with a mixture of vegetables, seeds, herbs, and spices. The pâté keeps nicely in the fridge for four to seven days, and you can use it over and over in different recipes, including burrito wraps, nori rolls, and salads.
Use fresh herbs whenever possible. They're easy to grow indoors all year round, and they have more flavor than dried herbs. If you grow extra, you can harvest and dry them in your kitchen or in the dehydrator. To grind whole dried herbs into powder, use a coffee grinder or a spice mill, or hand grind them with a mortar and pestle.
