Healthy Southwest Table
Taylor's companion to her 1999 Healthy Table Cookbook proves that flavorful southwestern cooking can also be healthy, provided you live near a well-stocked grocery or health food store. Her offerings include standards such as hummus and guacamole in addition to mouthwatering, healthy takes on dishes like Spinach-Filled Quesadillas with a Black Bean Sauce, Portobello Mushroom Enchiladas and a Quinoa Pilaf in place of traditional Spanish rice. The accompanying photographs are gorgeous, and the dishes carry a great deal of flavor despite the exclusion of sour cream, butter and other artery-clogging, waistline-expanding ingredients. Unfortunately, what the book lacks in calories it more than makes up for in preparation time: Black Bean Soup, while flavorful, has 22 ingredients, with another seven required for the garnish; the Pinon-Crusted Chile Rellenos employ a staggering 37 ingredients. Not all dishes require that much measuring, chopping and dicing (she also offers suggestions for leftover chicken and salmon) but the prep time can be considerable, as can the shopping-virtually all the recipes employ a less-than-common ingredient such as key lime juice (which she uses like Emeril uses garlic), umeboshi pickled plum paste or Stevia extract. That said, those looking for a healthier take on southwestern cuisine who don't mind a bit of effort are sure to find some new favorites here.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.