The Lowfat Jewish Vegetarian Cookbook: Healthy Traditions from Around the World

Rating:
Summary: A slim but handy book
Review: Considering the challenging subject matter, I have to appreciate this book even though it does not contain as much material nor is as professionally presented as many cookbooks. There are not as many Passover recipes as I'd hoped; but ANY source of non-dairy vegetarian Passover recipes is helpful to me, as I need to prepare dishes to bring to a meat-centric Passover seder where vegetarians will be in attendance. I have also just purchased the booklet Vegan Passover Recipes by Nancy Berkoff, which is brief but helpful as well.

I have not tried every recipe in Lowfat Vegetarian (I can't comment, for example, on the matzoh ball recipe another review complained about). One non-Passover dish that I particularly enjoy is the Romanian Paprikash (made of mushrooms, potatoes, paprika and other seasonings, and elbow macaroni). Many recipes involve legumes (beans, chick peas, etc.) and various grains. I think the recipes for foods that are originally low in fat probably come out better than the adaptations of traditional fat-ful Jewish food.

Rating:
Summary: Some recipes questionable...
Review: Some of the recipes presented here are quite tasty...but I found that many of them were thoroughly unworkable, as if they'd been translated into "vegetarian" without much thought. Matzoh balls are fussy enough with eggs -- with nothing to hold them together but potatoes, they're nearly impossible! Other recipes lacked flavor. In short, simply removing meat, dairy, and eggs does not necessarily make a good vegetarian recipe; something else needs to be provided to supply flavor and structure.

Rating:
Summary: A slim but handy book
Review: Some of the recipes presented here are quite tasty...but I found that many of them were thoroughly unworkable, as if they'd been translated into "vegetarian" without much thought. Matzoh balls are fussy enough with eggs -- with nothing to hold them together but potatoes, they're nearly impossible! Other recipes lacked flavor. In short, simply removing meat, dairy, and eggs does not necessarily make a good vegetarian recipe; something else needs to be provided to supply flavor and structure.

Rating:
Summary: Easy to follow
Review: This cookbook will be easy to follow and give more alternatives to eating a sound diet.