A Ukrainian summer kitchen is a small outhouse near a garden plot where dishes are prepared and eaten in summer and surplus food is preserved for the colder months. Every evening at the moment I am able to go and pick the fruits of my early lockdown hard labour: spinach; lettuce; broad beans; the tomatoes are beginning to flower and I’m going to need a lot of ideas for surplus courgettes. So this book really resonated with me as I turned the pages for the first time.

Olia Hercules was born in Ukraine but settled in London. In this book she shows the reader the exciting flavours of the Ukrainian cuisine. First up is the September ritual of fermenting, pickling and preserving. There’s no glossy, fake food photographer here, the photography feels earthy and real.

Next comes ‘breakfast and bites’ and more fascinating insights into Ukrainian living. Not every recipe here appeals, but burnt aubergine butter on tomato toasts is going to be attempted in my summer kitchen here in Kent. There are some interesting broths and soups, followed by the chapter after my own heart - the alchemy of flour and water. Lots of yummy bread, pasta and dumpling recipes to inspire. .

Half way through the book and we’re up to vegetables, some ideas for my surplus courgettes.

Meat and fish share a chapter. All the recipes here surprisingly heavy, considering Olia comes from South Ukraine where the temperature are very hot.

If you still have room, we have desserts, cakes and pastries. And to finish there are contributions from Ukrainians missing home.

It’s a lovely book, I might not cook every recipe but I will certainly be dipping into it this summer and returning in September to preserve for the Winter.

This is the kind of cookbook that needs to be written, not just to share authentic recipes but to preserve our cooking traditions that are being lost around the world. Summer Kitchens is a delightful read, packed with memories of the author growing up in the Ukraine. Stunning color photos accompany every dish. The dishes are a delight, many of which are nearly unheard of today. There are lacto-fermented recipes, offal recipes, fancy buns, sourdough breads, you name it. Many of them use foraged foods, which delighted me as I cook with wild foods myself and it's so hard to find them used as ingredients in most modern cookbooks (though British cookbooks are far better at using many so-called hedgerow foods like elderflowers and currants).

While I cook mostly vegetarian and do not have any plans to cook ingredients like tongue, I appreciate these authentic, frugal, diverse recipes. I also cook gluten free, which means many more of the wonderful recipes are out of my reach without some clever conversions, but many of the recipes are gluten free, even a few cakes (made with poppy seeds) and other desserts.

The entire cookbook is filled with beautiful photos of old fashioned families in the Ukraine, traditional cooking, farm life and other really lovely scenes. Highly, highly recommended.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

I loved this book with its beautiful mix of stories of place, people and about the recipes themselves. I was taken by the idea of a summer kitchen and how they evolved in the Ukraine and really gave me greater understanding of the land, people and rhythm of life. Particularly pleased with the varenyky recipes as a good friend of mine use to make these as a special dinner treat and being able to do so myself brought back some great memories. Looking forward to owning it in hardcover!
Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC and all views are my own.

It was a great introduction to Ukraine cuisine. I loved the detailed recipes and will surely try some of them.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Summer Kitchens is a sheer delight to read; Olia Hercules' evocative writing transports us to the Ukraine of her childhood - this is made even more tangible through the atmospheric photographs which accompany each recipe. Summer Kitchen offers a brilliant insight into Ukranian cuisine, which is definitely not all about potatoes and overcooked cabbage as Olia reminds us! I'm planning on making the poppyseed babka and will report back once I've made it. The steamed bilberry doughnuts are also quite tempting... T

Thanks to Olia and the team at Bloomsbury! It's always great to see what you're working on.

Beautiful book, full of wonderful photographs and descriptions of the cuisine of Ukraine; interesting recipes that I hope to be able to try one day.

I originally picked this on the title "Summer Kitchens" without reading the small print underneath. Not in any way criticising or demeaning the wealth of culinary expertise within, it just wasn't what I was expecting. I have given 4 stars, it would have been 5 but for the misleading title.

Oh what a beautifully illustrated, vibrant and informative book Summer Kitchen is. I love looking at cook books and getting new receptive ideas so this book by Olia Hercules is perfect reading for me. I will be buying the hard copy to add to my cook book collection. Thanks for the ARC.

What an interesting book. I knew nothing about Ukrainian food or even the culture so I found the descriptions between the recipe sections most interesting. I read through many of the recipes and cannot say that I was keen to try them. This is a different way of approaching food to most of our tastes here in the UK. Now I do enjoy international cuisine but this does not appeal. There maybe some ideas I could take from the book and I certainly think i is beautiful and fascinating but it will not be one on my kitchen shelf.

Summer Kitchen is a cookbook with an edge. This books gives a lovely introduction to summer kitchens, which are out houses separate to the main house, usually used within summertime to prepare, cook and preserve food. Summer kitchens are quirky beautiful buildings in decline in present Ukraine, yet are a heritage the author wants to revive. The images that accompany the story of the buildings and recipes within are vibrant and compelling and give a lovely extra to what would otherwise be put into the category of ‘just another cookbook’. This book not only gave me recipes I would have not otherwise come across but also transported me to a beautiful summer in a Ukrainian kitchen. There are some absolutely must try recipes, which are a real treat as well as great staples to add to your everyday. An addition to your cookbook arsenal which won’t disappoint.

This is absolutely glorious - lots of inspiring kitchen projects for these warm months that I can't wait to get started on. Olia writes so beautifully and the photography provided is so evocative that I found myself reading the book as I would a novel.

This is a wonderful cookbook that drops you into the middle of Ukraine. I confess I knew very little about Ukraine cuisine ahead of browsing, and so this was very informative. Full of anecdotes, historical context and so much more, it really has everything you could possibly want.

The recipes themselves are carefully thought out, and heavily detailed which would certainly suit beginners like me. There are also a good selection available that range from fairly simple, to the more complex. There are even recipes for special occasions, and suggested menus.

Beautiful photos and plenty of interesting facts also line these pages. We've wanted to try pickling ourselves for a little while, and this book has plenty of great tips and tricks that we can't wait to try. Five stars!

The summer kitchens of the title are single roomed buildings, separate from the main house, used for cooking and eating primarily during the hot Ukrainian summers. They are a springboard for Olia Hercules' recipes and reminiscences.

This book is a delight. It is surely almost worth buying for the essay on borscht alone. The author writes beautifully. She puts recipes into historical context and describes variations throughout the country and elsewhere is Eastern Europe.. The recipes are many and varied, and I must confess many are not to my personal taste, but I just don't care.

The book is well-produced and well-illustrated. There are photos of each finished dish along with people, places and objects.

I greatly enjoyed reading this book and learnt a lot about Ukrainian culture and cooking. I am determined to try some of the recipes.

A lovely little book which belongs in every kitchen, really handy and with a beautiful cover and amazing photos! Can't wait until it comes out!

A great insight to Ukrainian food. I knew nothing about the food but Olia explains the food differences in the different regions and what one region has the other may not. I am very interested in how people adapt and use what they have food wise and this book is great for that. I will definitely try the fermenting, pickling and the stews sound wholesome and delicious.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have learnt a great deal about Ukraine and the lives of ordinary folk centred around the kitchen. The book has stunning photography and would love to try some of the recipes, maybe I will at the end of the summer with the inevitable glut of fruits and vegetables. I do love preserving in all forms and advocate reducing food waste, but have yet to try the more fermented recipes that Olia features. A wonderful collection of wholesome recipes, evoking a forgotten way of life, that will inspire the reader to try, myself included.

I love this author and have several of her previous books. A sunny, think outside the box cookbook that contains many original and inspiring recipes. I love it.

Having already got Mamushka by Olia Hercules in my cookbook collection, I was certainly interested to see what other dishes she had to offer in her new book.

It's an interesting cookery book with recipes from all corners of Ukraine, that are cooked in an separate outside cooking space or pickling room in the autumn. These rooms are known as Summer Kitchens, hence the title of the book.

There are a variety of recipes to try:
- Fermenting, pickling and preserving
- Breakfasts & bites
- Broths & soups
- Bread, pasta & dumplings
- vegetables
- Meat & fish
- Cakes, desserts & pastries

Interspersed throughout the book are memories either from Olia or other Ukrainians living in other parts of the world. At the rear of the book are menu suggestions.

I'd certainly like to try the 'Rock and Roll' pancakes, and the Slow cooked pork with kraut and dried fruit - both look delicious!

The book includes colour photography for most of the recipes plus of the culture., The measurements are provided in metric terms.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

What a delightful book! A "summer kitchen" in Ukrainian terms is a building separate from the main house used for cooking during the hot summer months, and to prepare larger winter feasts too. Reading this during a lockdown was not the best idea - I constantly wanted to head to the shops to buy ingredients to try out the delicious-sounding recipes. I loved that each recipe has a story behind it - it's not just a list of ingredients and the method. The writing is wonderful, and the numerous pictures throughout the book are vivid and evocative. The letters from other Ukrainians at the end of the book on their "summer kitchen" memories are very moving too.

*I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Summer Kitchens by Olia Hercules

This is a really lovely, beautifully put together cookbook. With just the right mix of photography, biography, Ukrainian culture and tasty recipes!
I grew up with grandparents who had been born in Ukraine and this book reminded me of visits to their family homes in the west of Ukraine, of family dinners where we’d compete to see who could eat the most varenyky and of course the taste of dill!
It’s definitely a book that I will treasure. There’s a lot of good and fairly easy recipes that I’m sure will become classics in my home.

Thanks to @netgalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely read a trip to the Ukraine it’s food wonderful recipes..I had never heard of summer kitchens .separate rooms not in the house used during the hot days, The photography in this book is lovely drew me in to the country the food the people and the traditional summer homes. So many delicious recipes native to the Ukraine. a beautiful book.#netgalley #summerkitchens