Light the Fire: Fiery Food with a Light New Attitude

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

This is a confusing, hard-to-read conglomeration of recipes united by
the common thread of heat, heat, and more heat. With names like
Rattlesnake Bite, Great Bowls of Fire, and Sweet Heat, you’re warned
of what is ahead.

Are you ready for Green Chili Chocolate Chip Cookies? Or maybe you’d
like a mug of Germ Warfare. The variety is great, with recipes for
breads, soups, salads, entrées, side dishes, desserts, preserves, and
sauces. Unfortunately, the choice of page design and typography make
them nearly illegible.

Most of the recipes are of Mexican origin with a few Szechuan and Thai
additions. The author includes sidebars with information on various
types of hot peppers, hot sauces, and chilies as well as on other
vegetables; these are scattered throughout the book and hard to find.

The recipes are low fat and salt free. Most call for varieties of hot
peppers and chilies not readily available in Canada except in our
largest cities. Many require spices that the author sells by mail order.

Obviously not a good choice for most meal-makers, but a novelty for
those who crave heat.