I love
it when you get a new book that perhaps you would have maybe
overlooked or missed out on. Whenever I manage to go to my favourite
book shop ever – Books for Cooks in Notting Hill – I always find
such a book, which is the beauty of that shop (and of course any
other good book shops!). Homemade Summer by Yvette van Boven is one
of those books and this one came courtesy of my Sister-in-law and
Brother which they got for me from Books for Cooks as my Birthday
present. Having never heard of the book, the author and her other
published books (Homemade and Homemade Winter) I was over the moon to
get this book and to be introduced to her.
Yvette
van Boven is not only an acclaimed cookbook author, but a freelance
food stylist, recipe developer and an illustrator (as well as the
recipes she also did all of the illustrations for the book!). On top
of that she also runs a restaurant and catering service in
Amsterdam and spends her time living between Paris and Amsterdam.
Talk about a busy lady!
The
book is packed with 250 pages of recipes, photographs, drawings and
lovely little personal stories. There are 6 chapters in total devoted
to recipes including 'Breakfast, Brunch & Lunch', 'Cakes &
Sweet Things for Tea Time' and 'Main Courses'.
The
Tested Recipes:
Banana
Crumble Muffins
Quinoa
Patties with Feta, Zucchini and Corn
Yogurt
Dip with Mint
Buttery
Corn Risotto
Cake
with Raspberries, Blueberries and Coconut
Italian
Chicken Stew
Grilled
Goat Cheese Polenta
The
first recipe to be put to the test was the Banana Crumble Muffins.
Only problem is I'm not sure if I can technically classify this one
in the “tested recipes” since on the day of baking it turned out
hubby had taken 1 of the required 3 bananas!! Since the remaining 2
were large I decided to continue anyway and thankfully it didn't seem
to make a difference. I was a little hesitant using my food processor
(which she does) and almost wished I had used my stand mixer instead
but as it turns out they were great and really easy to make. Mine did
take a few minutes longer to bake than the recipe suggested but that
could be due to where I live and/or my oven. I will definitely make
these muffins again as so super easy and disappeared in no time!
Next
up and with a friend coming round for dinner with a hungry appetite I
made the Quinoa Patties with Feta, Zucchini and Corn to start
the meal. The patties were very straightforward to make but you
do have to cook the Quinoa first. Thankfully she gives quick, simple
instructions for cooking it so it's not really a problem. We did have
a few issues making and cooking the patties as it is a pretty soft
mixture but we got there in the end. I think we perhaps just didn't
use enough oil in the pan but they turned out fine and tasted
amazing. I served them with the suggested Yogurt Dip with Mint
which took minutes to make and was also really lovely and refreshing and went very well with
the Patties.
For
the main course I made Beer Can Roasted Chicken and although she does
have a recipe for it in the book I wasn't organised enough as with
her method you put the chicken overnight in a brine. What I did make
however was her Buttery Corn Risotto which she suggests
serving with Roast Chicken. Since corn is perfectly in season just
now and our local farm is overflowing with fresh corn I knew I had to
try it and I'm glad I did. You start by making a stock using the corn
and a few other vegetables and it really is worth it as the risotto
tasted so much like sweet buttery corn before I had even added the
actual corn! It was a standard risotto recipe – nothing complicated
just a lot of stirring but worth it as it was delicious and went
perfectly with the Roast Chicken.
To end
the meal I made Cake with Raspberries, Blueberries and Coconut.
Since the cake batter is made in a food processor it's very
straightforward although one thing I did find is that with the recipe
she includes the measurements in both cups and grams which I love,
however I didn't find them to be accurate. I measured out in cups but
then weighed it and it didn't match at all, which is exactly why I
struggle to use cups and am thankful for my scales! After that I
ditched the cups and stuck to weighing and it all seemed to work out
fine. Typically the cake took a lot longer to bake than the recipe
suggested but I'm getting used to that variation with using books
from home and baking here. The end result was a delicious, lovely and
moist cake that everyone loved. Although she does say it keeps for a
few days in an airtight container I have to say that due to the
crumbly topping this really is a cake best eaten when still slightly
warm from the oven. A beautiful cake that I will make again and to be
honest might even be tempted to try frozen fruits in the Winter
months although you could easily just change the fruits to suit the
season and I will definitely try this again soon with blackberries.
The
final two dishes that I managed to try was the Italian
Chicken Stew with Grilled Goat Cheese Polenta.
The accompanying photograph looked so unbelievably delicious and
right up my alley so I just had to give it a go. I started by making
the Grilled Goats Cheese Polenta which was fairly straightforward
although I have to say I did appreciate (and laugh at) her comment
regarding the polenta bubbling like “hot lava” but assuring me I
would remain unfazed! Thankfully her words of warning prepared me so
I was able to stay serenely calm in an otherwise potentially panicked
situation! The grilling was also easy enough and I was delighted that
it didn't stick. It was tasty although I have to admit I didn't
really taste the goats cheese in it and the other issue was it makes
LOTS! I had far too much left over and I should have followed my
initial thoughts of halving the recipe, however instead I froze the
majority of it and now whenever I need a carb-a-licious side all I
need to do is delve into my freezer for an instant delicious treat!
The
Italian Chicken Stew
again was a very straightforward recipe although there were a few
changes made on my behalf. I was unable to get any Chanterelle
Mushrooms (couldn't find any to buy) and since I don't quite trust my
foraging skills just yet I opted for Chestnut Mushrooms instead.
Although not as luxurious as a Chanterelle my bank account did at
least thank me and hubby and Wee One were none the wiser! I also had
to adapt the quantities of spinach as the recipe called for 1kg!
Since I had a bag of tender spinach leaves with stalks already
detached (therefore weighing less) I opted for half a bag (not even
close to the recommended amount) but to be honest it would have taken
a considerable amount of time to add and wilt the spinach so that I
could fit it all in the pan! The end result was a tasty meal –
quite light actually but that comes down to the tomatoes you use and
with the polenta it was really lovely. It's an ideal family meal that
is guaranteed to keep everyone happy or to serve to friends popping
round during the week for a casual supper.
Although
I managed to test 7 recipes from this book there were so many more
that I wanted to try that although I'm posting this review I am going
to continue cooking from it for the rest of this month before Summer
is well and truly over. Tonight I'm make the Artichokes “en
Cocotte” (will let you know how it turns out!) and I already
have all of the ingredients for the Wonton Ravioli with Ricotta
which we are going to enjoy on Friday. I'm desperate to make the
Fragrant Summery Cake with Lemongrass Syrup and of course I
have to try the Super Macarons with Raspberries and Pink
Mascarpone to prove (if only to myself!) that I can make
Macarons!! As well as those 4 recipes here are some other recipes
that I originally bookmarked for testing:
Bookmarked
Recipes:
Cherry,
Blueberry, and/or Blackberry Jam with Orange & Basil
Fougasse
with Bacon and olives
Feta
& Olive Cake
Red
Iced Tea
Raspberry
Lemonade
Clear
Virgin Mary
Cava
Sangria
Raspberry
Vinegar
Crispy
Chickpeas
Chanterelle
Pate
Preserved
Lemons
Maria's
Fritters
White
Gazpacho
Infused
Oils
Rillettes
Lamb
Roast Stuffed with Oregano, Mint, Garlic & Pine Nuts
Brined
Pork Chops with Sweet Mustard Barbecue Sauce
Crab
Cakes with Fresh Citrus-Tomato Mayonnaise
Cedar-Smoked
Apple Salmon
Rolled-up
Feta & Garlic Bread with Radicchio and Mint
Lemon
Tart with Meringue
Pomegranate
& Pear-Lime Rockets
Honeycomb
Candy
“Mousse
au chocolat” with cherry-pink peppercorn sauce & lemon thins
Nougat
I
really enjoyed cooking from this book as the recipes were a little
different from what I would normally make (for the most part) and so
I'm really looking forward to trying some more. I like the fact that
the measurements are in cups and grams which is an unusual feature
from a book hailing from the UK but certainly a bonus (although as
mentioned I did have issues with the Cake and the accuracy of the
measurements so I will look more into that). The book is bright and
summery and I love all the little quirky features to it and the
stories that are included. The majority of the recipes are
accompanied by mouthwatering photographs (beautifully captured by her
husband) but the ones that don't have illustrations instead, which
were done by the author.
There
are only a couple of downsides to the book which weren't to do with
the recipes but more the aesthetics. I found some of the recipes hard
to read because of the font used and the background photographs and
although I like the 'quirky' aesthetics to the book (the multiple
types of font and little illustrations) it can make the recipes
really hard to read. Also for some of the recipes there isn't an
ingredients list but rather everything is just listed in the
instructions which I'm not a big fan of, but at least I guess it
makes sure you read the recipe a couple of times!!
Specialty
Ingredients?
For
the particular recipes that I tried there were no specialty
ingredients needed, however I wouldn't rule it out for all of the
recipes. Interestingly she uses a lot of North American ingredients
and terms such as All-Purpose flour, Heavy Cream, Zucchini and
Arugula (to name a few) but I've concluded that's possibly due (along
with the cup measurements) to the fact the book was published by an
American publisher (please correct me if you know otherwise!).
Learn
anything new?
While
I didn't learn any new techniques, the book did open my eyes to
different flavour combinations and at times made me feel like I was
actually on holiday in France.
I
really enjoyed this book – both to read and to cook from – and I
love the new variations and twists it introduced me to. There are
more than enough recipes to get your through the Summer months
whether you are looking for a quick supper to enjoy after a long day,
a meal for family or friends or just perhaps a new idea for a Summer
cocktail to enjoy in the garden on a Friday night! This book has it
all and although it is definitely best suited for the warmer, sunny
months, if you take this off your bookshelf in the midst of Winter
I'm sure the bright pages and delicious recipes will revive you from
dreary days! Failing that she thankfully has another book entitled
'Homemade Winter' which I can't wait to read.
Homemade Summer by Yvette van Boven gets the Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops
stamp of approval.
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