The Rancho La Puerta Cookbook : 175 Bold Vegetarian Recipes from America's Premier Fitness Spa (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Rancho La Puerta spa in Baja California has been around for almost 60 years and has gained a reputation for its flavor-packed, low-fat vegetarian meals. Longtime chef Bill Wavrin, known for stunning his guests with his expertise, lets his love of Southwestern cuisine show through in his (mostly) simple recipes. Few dishes require more than a dozen ingredients, and he includes information on calories, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, protein, carbohydrate, fiber, and sodium for each dish. Orange-Corn Muffins and the Rancho La Puerta Granola have been satisfying guests after the strenuous morning hike for years. Dishes such as Mango Tomatilla Salsa, Broccoli Soup, Curried Rice Salad with Fruit, Banana-Oatmeal Cookies, and Blueberry Cheesecake will make you feel like you're indulging, but won't cost you more than 120 calories per serving. In between the chapters, Wavrin offers cooking tips (how to eat a mango; how to identify and prepare various chilies) and soothing ways to "take the ranch home" with you, including stretches and other fitness tips. If you can't get to Baja, this book is the next best thing.

From Publishers Weekly

Executive chef of this 58-year-old oasis in Baja, Mexico, not far from the California border, Wavrin has created an inspired panoply of spa cuisine, designed to keep daily fat levels below 18%. While he has six acres of organic vegetables to draw from, anyone can apply his tantalizing approaches to food likely to satisfy even those who are skeptical of low-fat dishes. Employing chiles, herbs and spices to energize flavors, Wavrin also assembles components that marry intriguingly. Soups are especially imaginative. Yellow Jubilee Tomato-Mint Soup is served either hot or cold. Appetizers include Thai Spring Rolls, which, filled with nine highly seasoned chopped and sliced vegetables, are baked, not fried. Salads can be warm (Sesame Broccoli Stir-Fry Salad; Warm Red Cabbage Salad with Sprouts and Green Beans) or cold (Lentil and Sun-Dried Tomato Salad). Blue Cheese Pepper Dressing features yogurt flavored with feta and blue cheese. Caesar Dressing leaves in the anchovies but replaces egg and oil with buttermilk. Entrees include sauteed rather than fried Chiles Rellenos, Classic Spa Lasagne slimmed down with a filling of vegetables, crumbled tofu and nonfat cottage cheese, and Chile Pasta with Arugula and Coriander. Blueberry Cheesecake has a baked graham cracker crust and a yogurt and ricotta filling firmed with gelatin. Wavrin's recipes are not complicated and most of the prep time will go into chopping.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (June 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767901630
• ISBN-13: 978-0767901635
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #114,891 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #29 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Regional & International > U.S. Regional > Southwest
  #95 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Low Fat

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, but a little *too* low-fat, February 15, 1999

By A Customer

There's a point at which reducing fat in recipes becomes a little absurd, and they've reached that point in this book. In spite of having many flavorful ingredients like chiles, garlic, and fresh herbs, the recipes I've tried so far somehow still seem bland. Also, texture can suffer when you completely eliminate all fat. The Chile Cheese Pie, for example, has a texture that's like... well, egg whites mixed with cottage cheese (the primary ingredients). So even though the flavor is good, it's not satisfying. I'll still use this cookbook, but it'll never be a staple.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice., February 22, 2000

By A Customer

Although I agree that some of the recipes do suffer from lack of fat and texture, this is a treat just to read. It stresses the importance of fresh ingredients, and uses spices and cheeses to enhance dishes, not overpower them. The philosophy of the spa is carefully presented, and the reader is encouraged--not lectured--to try a new, healthier way of eating and living. A good find.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Charming Look at Spa Cooking, October 27, 2000

By	Leslie Reissner "Sprocketboy" (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After reading this book, I thought how nice it must be to stay at the Rancho La Puerta and eat Bill Wavrin's food. I have made several of the recipes and the results were highly successful, although some of the combinations seemed a little odd in print. Mr. Wavrin likes to use lots of ingredients in his cooking, so it helps to have a well-stocked kitchen, but it is worth the effort. His comments in the book show a sensitive approach to vegetarianism and I was struck by his confession that even experience in Mexican and Nouvelle California cuisine did not really prepare him for meatless cooking. If you can't go to a spa, my advice is to pamper yourself for a weekend, with a good workout, a massage from someone you like, some time in the sauna and two days' worth of cooking from recipes in this book, with the best ingredients you can find. The low-fat, low-calorie thing is just a nice bonus.