Great Mexican flavor without all the fat
The fourth in the series of Vegetarian Times Low-Fat & Fast cookbooks Vegetarian Times Low-Fat & Fast Mexican is jam packed with a variety of delicious recipes that pack all the flavor of Mexican food without going overboard on the calories and fat. As someone who has had great experiences with recipes from Vegetarian Times (1-year) this cookbook more than lived up to my expectations. It's great for people who love food and don't believe that low fat cooking has to be devoid of flavor and variety.
The book starts off strong with an introduction that includes tips on how to cook low fat (although much of this will be a review for people who have already been doing healthy cooking) and guidance on where to find some of the more exotic and specialty ingredients called for in the recipes. It goes on to provide recipes for appetizers, soups and salads, main dishes, side dishes, and desserts, all organized by course/type.
I was especially impressed by a few things in the book. The first is that unlike a lot of other "fast" cookbooks this one doesn't rely heavily on pre-made and processed ingredients. Instead what you will find is recipes that call for a lot of raw whole ingredients like vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Because of this you get recipes that are not just low fat, but also packed with nutrition.
Second, I really liked the variety of recipes in the cookbook. Not only does it include Mexican American recipes you would expect like Salsa Verde, Tortilla Soup, Tacqueria Tacos, and Horchata, but you'll also find more unusual and fusion recipes. Because of this it feels like this cookbook provides recipes you couldn't find in any other book. I love the idea of recipes like Mexican Tabbouleh, Macaroni Con Queso, and Hummus Tostadas with Jalapeño Peppers.
Two of the concerns that have been raised with this book are whether the recipes are truly fast and the ingredients easy to find. As far as the first point goes, I found the amount of time needed to make them reasonable, but can understand why others might not find these fast. They do often require a fair amount of chopping. However, I've found that a food processor goes a long way in cutting down the prep time. I have also found that the recipes for items I have already made like Horchata definitely require less time than the recipes I have found elsewhere. As far as the ingredients go, there are certain things that cannot be found at a standard grocery store, but can easily be found at health food stores as well as Mexican grocery stores. The one downside as it relates to the ingredients is that because there are no pictures in the cookbook at all there are also no pictures of the more unfamiliar ingredients. To me this is too bad because if you have not used an ingredient before just knowing what it looks like can go a long way in finding and cooking with it. It's one thing that another favorite cookbook of mine, World Vegetarian Classics does really well.
The other small nit about this cookbook, as others have mentioned are the errors in the book. So far I've only noticed a couple of typos and the omission of the pumpkin in the rice pudding recipe. I've been willing to overlook them because the book contains SO many great recipes. However, it certainly does make you doubt if anything else is missing. I also wish that the cookbook explicitly called out which recipes were vegan. While I am not vegan, I do know others who are so appreciate this indication to help me choose recipes when I cook for them.
Overall, this isn't a perfect cookbook but it does do a great job of providing flavorful and unique recipes that will satisfy your craving for great Mexican and Mexican fusion food without feeling like you are breaking the calorie bank.
Reasonable cookbook
This cookbook has some interesting recipes which are not particularly hard to make (like all vegetarian recipes, tends to use lots of ingredients). My main complaint is that it's not particularly authentic and is more an Americanized-vegetarian version of Mexican. If you want authentic, I think you need to keep looking.
No pumpkin in the Pumpkin-Rum Rice Pudding
The back cover of the book lists several titles of sample recipes, such as the Pumpkin-Rum Rice Pudding. So I looked up the recipe in the cookbook. Although the side note on page 149 writes, "Canned pumpkin brings a taste of autumn to this savory rice pudding treat," there is no pumpkin in the list of ingredients! and it is not mentioned in the recipe steps either! This is poor editing of a cookbook and makes me wonder whether other recipes in the cookbook have the complete list of ingredients and right amounts... Also, if you are used to GOOD authentic Mexican food, the recipes won't satisfy your cravings.
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