Cookbook Review

I don't buy cookbooks very often. It's just so rare that I find one that has more than half a dozen recipes that look really enticing.  Now that "healthy" is an important criteria, the number tends to be even lower.  I'm more likely to get my recipes on line. 

Our teen neighbor stopped off before heading back to college a few weeks ago, and brought a cookbook she'd gotten on clearance at Borders. I flipped through it, and immediately put it on reserve through the library.  Every time I look through it, I see more things I want to make, so I'm adding it to my wish list.

Cooking Light Complete Meals in Minutes (over 700 great recipes) isn't without its flaws. It does rely a little more heavily on pre-made ingredients than I generally prefer, but that's the nature of "meals in minutes," and most are things that I can easily sub out with homemade if I want.

The chapter of fish and shellfish recipes is really appealing to me, because I'm still trying to find ways to get us to eat more fish. The Spicy Tilapia with Pineapple Pepper Relish is top of my list in that area right now, but there are several I would happily try. From Soups, the Tortellini Basil Soup looks really tasty to me.  It's not like it's complicated (8 ingredients), but it's a combination that I wasn't thinking of before I opened this book. The Desserts chapter looks a little lackluster to me, although Sarah would go bananas for Jasmine Chai Rice Pudding (she made "tropical" banana pancakes for breakfast this morning).

Have I made anything from this book yet?  No, not yet.  My work schedule is taking me out of the house in the evenings more than I'm used to, and I am still limited as to how much I can do.  Example:  I can't peel shrimp, and since that's a job Sarah hates, the shrimp in the freezer is likely to stay there for a while. 

But since I'm planning by owning this book by Christmas at the latest, I'll have lots of opportunities to cook from it, and I'll post results here when I do.