In her popular lifestyle blog Yvestown, author and photographer Yvonne Eijkenduijn showcases a personal aesthetic that combines serious DIY skills, a passion for organic food and a strong sense of design with international flair. (Think a Gen-X Martha Stewart with Dutch roots, a Belgian home base and Indonesian influences.) Like her blog, Eijkenduijn's first book, Yvestown in the Kitchen, is both practical and aspirational.
Yvestown in the Kitchen includes recipes for 40 dishes, both familiar (apple-pear crumble) and exotic (coconut soup). The recipes are simple and clearly written. Each is accompanied with a photograph designed to make to make the mouth water. Nonetheless, this is not primarily a cookbook; instead it is a book about living in the kitchen--beautifully.
Eijkenduijn takes readers into not only her own kitchen, but those of 12 of her friends, most of whom are young creative entrepreneurs in Belgium or the Netherlands. The demographic of the kitchen owners is not diverse, but the style of their kitchens is, from sleek and professional to cozy and idiosyncratic. Each section begins with a brief bio of both the cook and the kitchen, followed by photographs that will instill envy in even a non-cook's heart. Each section ends with a quirky "interview" with the kitchen's owners, including a list of online inspirations. Too personal simply to copy, these kitchens offer a springboard to reader creativity. As Eijkenduijn says, "A nosy glimpse into someone else's kitchen can be incredibly inspiring." --Pamela Toler, blogging at History in the Margins