marie claire summer by Michele Cranston

marie claire summer by Michele Cranston. Image courtesy Murdoch Books.

'Summer is all about easy, great-tasting and healthy food with a sense of adventure and fun. Luscious tropical fruit, leafy bowls of salad, tangy Asian noodles and spiced couscous...   food that not only tastes great but is good for you. Food that is bursting with colour, dripping with yummy juices, and spiced with a splash of lime, a scattering of herbs and a sprinkle of seasoning.'

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Slip on a sundress or shorts and get ready for some light and luscious food with marie claire summer. Author, Michele Cranston, says she wanted to go on a culinary holiday...  [and] imagined myself on a tropical island where the food and good times [are] plentiful and [you] don't need to spend much time in the kitchen.'  Ms Cranston's philosophy for this book is simple and it works very well. 

I love it when I'm reviewing a cookbook, noting to myself that there isn't a single recipe in it wouldn't want to try and this can certainly be said of marie claire summer. I'm delighted to add it to the other marie claire titles on my bookshelf, though I suspect it will spend plenty of time on my kitchen bench in coming weeks and months.

The content and feel of the book is fresh and delicious. Chapters cover fruit, leaf, sea and husk, as well as basics. The recipes are simple, quick to prepare, easy to follow, and achievable by the home cook. There are great summer standards, such as green papaya and chicken salad, chilled tomato soup, watermelon and feta salad, and san choy bau, for instance. And a feast of sumptuous surprises, such as sweet pickled ocean trout, summer nectarine jam, very vanilla peach meringues, herbed ceviche with avocado salad, passionfruit jelly with fresh mango (yum!), and buckwheat noodle and herb salad, among them. All with mouthwatering images splashed with smatterings of blue sky, ocean, sand, coconuts and palm trees.

marie claire summer by Michele Cranston, $39.99, Murdoch Books. Thank you to Michele and also to the publicity team at Murdoch Books for giving me the opportunity to road test and review this title. 

Michele Cranston takes readers on a summer holiday. Image courtesy Murdoch Books