Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This cookbook was a huge disappointment. First of all, the directions were severely lacking - for example, recipes may call for nuts, but do not indicate whether they should be soaked or unsoaked, which can really change the ultimate outcome of the recipe, as well as greatly alter the volume of the ingredient that is needed. Second of all, I found all recipes to be completely uninspired and lacking in culinary creativity. Sure, any dessert will taste good if you slather it in agave nectar, but that is about as tasty as this one gets. Mr. Amsden is not a chef. Proof of this shows through in his recipes for all entrees and sides, as he relys mostly on nama shoyu soy sauce and garlic to try to make his foods palatable. As a result, foods are salty and pungent, yet lacking real flavor. At the end of the book is Mr. Amsden's real reason for publishing this book - to promote his cafe and food delivery service. Again, save your money - I thought maybe I had screwed up the recipes and decided to check out how they are supposed to be prepared. I hadn't screwed up. They are just really bad. It seems like the true purpose of this book was just to make a quick buck for the author, since the recipes reflect a lack of understanding in raw food preparation. Save your money and instead spend it on "Raw Food Made Easy" by Jennifer Cornbleet - a much better choice for the raw food cook.