Boven - Home made Christmas

USEFUL TIPS All recipes serve 4, unless indicated otherwise.
I bake in a convection (fan-forced) oven. Baking times may be longer or shorter in other ovens. Baking times in this book are therefore provided for information only. It is best to rely on your own experience with your own oven. I typically use extra-large free-range eggs. I always use free-range or even better, organic meat, but that seems like a no-brainer to me.

Text, design, and illustrations: Yvette Van Boven
Photography: Oof Verschuren
Editing: Hennie Franssen-Seebregts
Translation: Olivier De Vriese, www.dutch-translator.co.uk First published in 2010 by Fontaine uitgevers bv, s-Graveland, www.fontaineuitgevers.nl Published in 2011 by Stewart, Tabori & Chang
An imprint of ABRAMS Copyright 2011 Yvette Van Boven
Photographs copyright Oof Verschuren
2010 Fontaine Uitgevers bv All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,without written permission from the publisher. Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress. ISBN: 978-1-58479-946-7
eISBN 978-1-61312-562-5 Stewart, Tabori & Chang books are available at special discounts when purchased in quantity for premiums and promotions as well as fundraising or educational use. Special editions can also be created to specification. 115 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
www.abramsbooks.com To my mother Maritte, who encouraged me to cook
To her sister Emilie, who encouraged me to make a book
To their children, my sister Sophie, & my cousin Joris, who encouraged me to do both. FOREWORD I am no stranger to writing cookbooks. FOREWORD I am no stranger to writing cookbooks.

I wrote my first one when I was four years old. From then on I started with my almost morbid passion for collecting recipes and cookbooks, preferably illustrated. It is actually odd that I ended up doing nothing with them until later, but strangely enough the idea never occurred to me. After some wanderings I did end up in the kitchen eventually. I can most often be found in my own kitchen, but I currently also work in a professional kitchen, which is completely mine. Okay, it also belongs to my cousin Joris, since I run a restaurant and catering business with him.

So it turned out all right. I have been writing and drawing recipes for numerous periodicals, websites, and newspapers for years and at some point also started doing so for our restaurant. I primarily draw inspiration from my memories, for example from my youth, which I spent in Ireland. My mother and the women in our street made a lot of things with their own hands, out of necessity or by tradition, and my sister and I did the same. We made soda bread, biscuits, shortbread, jelly, and stew for our toy restaurant, which we built in our room or in the garden. We made ice creams, cheeses, yogurt, butterfly cakes, and ginger ale for our dolls or friends.

Fresh memories were created during summers with the Colombet family in their orchard in Provence where Oof, my husband, has been part of the family from a young age. Each time these visits resulted in a slew of family recipes. George and Jacqueline taught me to make liqueurs, nut wine, jams, and all manner of dishes from their vegetable gardens. With Norbert we built campfires each summer and we walked along the Durance, in search of fennel to grill fish over the open fire. The Colombet family took us to the courses camarguaises, innocent races between bulls and husky men, called rasateurs, and to charettes, fabulous traditional parades in the surrounding villages. Afterwards, we received recipes for bull meat, bohmien, and chi chi stews and we drank cold beer, pastis, and cool red wine.

Travel to Italy, our life in Paris, and working with the chefs in our restaurant On the Amstel, in Amsterdam resulted in so many memories, that my collection eventually started to burst at the seams. I had to start writing out, sorting, photographing, drawing, editing, and cataloguing the recipes. All this work resulted in this booka book in which I aim to show you that preparing your own food is simple. I chose recipes which I am certain are easy to make; recipes that will not let you down because you do not own the right appliances. Sometimes you dont even need anything, just a little patience. I have learned to be creative and to cook with what I have available.

That is what I wanted this book to be about. Do not let yourself get discouraged if there are no blueberries, just look at what is available; perhaps it is raspberry season and the fruit grows in your own backyard free of charge. I have used things that I thought you will have in your housean oven, a range, maybe also a food processor or hand blender, but in any case a knife and a colander, etc. I hope that this book will encourage you to collect jam jars or beautiful bottles with matching corks, as you wont need more than those for preserving. My recipes represent a starting point to help you on your way, but I hope you will make up your own versions and create fresh memories. Be sure to invite me.

Who knows, I could write another book about it. Yvette Van Boven CONTENTS We start the morning with strong coffee. After which we dash out the door most of the time. Without breakfast. But if we have a day off, we fill the table.

You really dont have to make a gazillion jars: some three jars are enough. I will rush you through it in eight steps. I made a number of jars last summer with George with fruit from his garden. Pick the fruit yourself (whatever is growing at the time) or pick up leftover fruit at the market, at the end of the day. If you are unable to get fresh fruit, frozen fruit also works well. Collect a maximum of 6-7 lb of fruit each time.