From acclaimed cookbook author and illustrator Yvette van Boven, a comprehensive kitchen resource for making hundreds of simple dishes from scratch

In her latest cookbook, Yvette van Boven shares step-by-step explanations for the foundational dishes that can transform how you cook and what you eat at home. Accompanied by her signature illustrations and beautiful photography, van Boven offers more than 400 recipes for delightful dishes that tell you how to make everything: simple dressings, vegetables, pastas, gnocchi, tortillas, perfectly poached eggs, and much more. Whether you’re new to cooking or an experienced home chef, this cookbook teaches you to make satisfying food without a lot of fuss or complicated ingredients. In her unique and friendly voice, the author guides you through every step of cooking simple, well-made everyday meals.

A staple for everyone who loves to cook at home, Home Made Basics offers fresh, healthy, and original meals you’ll want to make all year round.

Amazon * B&N * Abrams Books

Review

This cookbook was released last fall and for some reason, I neglected to share it here with you. This cookbook is not lightweight but what you will find inside makes it worth the heft. The recipes, photos, and other helpful hints are something you will want to pour over versus just flipping to a recipe and creating the dish.

There are so many wonderful recipes to try and one that went to the top of my list was the Lemon Date Bar. Imagine a lemon bar with a date paste layer. Delicious! The hardest part was making the date paste. I soaked my dates for a long time but ended up adding a lot of water to the blender to get it to the paste level and not chunks of date. It was worth it in the end.

The book covers all of the different categories and multiple different options for things like dressings and syrups. I almost hate to cook from the book because of the quality of the book. The images pop with color and it is almost like a coffee table book.

I do love a good ice tea, and there is even an “ice teas from my garden” section in the book. While I don’t garden, I imagine I can get several of these items from a store and still make my own flavored teas. I’m going to share a couple here with you.

Lemon Verbena Tea with Honey & Ginger

1 small bunch of fresh or 1 tablespoon dried verbena in a tea diffuser
1 quart boiling water
1 small organic lemon, thinly sliced
2 inches of fresh ginger, shaved into razor-thin slices
2 tablespoons honey, or to taste

Steep the verbena in the boiling water in a large jug. Let the tea cool to room temperature.

Remove any tea bags or diffusers from the water, add the lemon and ginger, and refrigerate the tea for at least 2 hours, allowing it to completely cool off and the flavors to infuse.

Pour the cold tea through a sieve into another jug. Serve over ice with honey if desired.

“Tea” of Coconut Water with Blackberries and Lemon Balm

1/2 organic lemon, thinly sliced
2 springs of lemon balm
1 quarter coconut water
Handful of blackberries, about 5 oz

Put everything in a large jug or jar that fits in the fridge. Let the “tea” steep for an afternoon before serving. Serve the coconut water with a handful of ice cubes.