a delicious little cake with rose petals &  blueberries from black star pastry

If you missed the official book launch at Ariel in Sydney last Friday, there are a few more events coming up during the last couple of weeks of May, I hope you can come along. This Sunday May 15, there will be a french-inspired high tea author interview, organised by Books and Nooks. It will be at Velluto, in Potts Point. From what I know, it’s already sold out, but if you want to come along, it might be worth giving Books and Nooks a call anyway, they may be able to make room for one or two more.

On May 21st, I am going to get creative in Stef’s window display area at her gorgeous store, newspaper taxi. Stef and I have been busy thinking up some great ideas for the day, it’s going to be so much fun being surrounded by creative people in such a beautiful boutique, sipping sparkling wine, chatting about all the things we love, and nibbling on some of the most delicious treats from neighbouring cafe Black Star Pastry…

please feel free to print this invitation out, give to your friends, or post it on your blog. x

Tickets cost $5.00 which puts you in the draw to win a fab lucky door prize with handmade goodies from newspaper taxi. But if you pre-order My Heart Wanders through newspaper taxi (I will sign it for you on the day), then you can come along to the event for free! But please RSVP sooner rather than later as places will be limited…

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When:
Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 4pm
Where:
Newspaper Taxi, 247 Australia Street, Newtown
Tickets:
$5.00 per person or pre-order My Heart Wanders now online and get in for free
RSVP:
Stefanie on 0421 981 182 or info@newspapertaxi.com.au

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I have something rather magical in mind for the window which I will work on with Stef in the lead up to the day, and then it will be revealed at 4pm on Saturday, May 21st. Oh I do hope to see you there!

xx

PS For those who live on the Northern Beaches, Jayde from Little Paper Lane in Mona Vale is hosting a similar event on May 28th, which I will tell you more about in a few days time.
PPS word is that My Heart Wanders will be released in Europe on June 6th, yay!

what: latest issue of Elle Decoration Norge where: from Norway, to Sydney why: it just arrived in my mailbox

If you live in, near, or around Norway, I hope you can get your hands on a copy of the latest issue of Elle Decoration Norge (formally known as Elle Interiør) because there is a story in there that I think you might really like, full of never-before-seen images of my life on the houseboat. The photographs were taken by me and friend & fellow photographer David Finato, with the full page portrait by Riitta Sourander.

Thank you Elle Decoration.

x

all photos and recipes in this post by Marjorie Taylor from The Cook’s Atelier

Marjorie Taylor’s Spring Menu:

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Gougères
endive salad with roquette, fava beans, garden radishes
and oil-cured olives
Monsieur Vossot’s filet de canard with Jerusalem artichokes, asparagus, fava beans, young spinach and herbs
Orange sorbet
Strawberry tartlet with soft cream

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Gougères recipe:
Makes about 30 1 1/2-inch hors d’oeuvres

Gougères are the perfect little bite served with a chilled glass of crémant from Burgundy…

1 1/4 cups water
10 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup all purpose flour
5 eggs
3/4 cup Gruyère cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

To make the choux paste, combine the water, butter and sea salt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture comes to a full boil.  Immediately remove from heat, add the flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon.  Keep stirring until the mixture has formed a smooth mass and pulls away from the sides of the pan.   Beat the mixture over low heat for a minute or so more to dry it.

Make an egg glaze:  Whisk one of the eggs in a bowl and set aside.  With a wooden spoon, beat the remaining eggs into the dough one by one, beating thoroughly after each addition.  Beat just enough of the reserved beaten egg into the dough until it is shiny and just falls from the spoon.  Beat in the Gruyère cheese.  Transfer the warm dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip, and pipe onto the prepared baking sheet.  Brush the tops with the egg glaze and lightly sprinkle the top with a little cheese.

Place the gougères in the oven immediately and bake until they have puffed, are nicely browned, and feel light for their size, about 25 minutes.  These are delicious served warm straight from the oven.  Or, let cool completely, and store in an airtight container for up to a few days, and recrisp in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.

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Endive salad with fava beans, roquette, oil-cured olives and garden radishes
Serves 6

This salad is a favorite at The Cook’s Atelier and the ingredients can vary depending on what looks good at the market…

5 Belgian endives, cores removed, separated into spears
1 handful of roquette
1 handful of radishes, thinly sliced
1 cup shucked fava beans
1/3 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and thinly sliced length-wise
2 tablespoons chervil or flat-leaf parsley leaves
lemon slices (optional)
Parmesan, cut into thin slices using a vegetable peeler
A grind or two of black pepper and a sprinkling of fleur de sel

Lemon vinaigrette:

1 shallot, finely diced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large bowl, place the shallot, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and set aside for 5 minutes.  Whisk in the olive oil.   Add a few grinds of pepper and taste for seasoning.  Add the endive, roquette, radishes and fava beans to the bowl and toss to gently coat in the vinaigrette.  Arrange the salad on chilled plates, piling it up in the center.  Tuck the lemon slices in and around the salad.  Scatter the chervil and olives over the top of the salad finish with a few slices of Parmesan.

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Recipe from Marjorie Taylor, The Cook’s Atelier

photo by murdoch book publicist ashlea wallington, photo treatment using lo-mob, with text additions in adler font.
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A little less than a year ago – about half way through the making of My Heart Wanders – it did occur to me that once the book was published, I may have to do some public book events. For a very private person who has shied away from the spotlight my entire life, I can tell you, that realisation was much, much more daunting than writing, photographing, and designing this book. Over the weeks leading up to these events, I have had many discussions with french boy about how and why I don’t like being the centre of attention. My reasoning and explanations range from “I’m an artist, not a performer” to “I don’t have an oral monologue to tell” to “this is not who I am”.  He listens. And smiles. There is always something in his dimpled smile that gives me strength.

Last Friday night’s official book launch at Ariel was the first time I’d gotten up in front of a crowd with a microphone to my lips in, well, I don’t think I ever have. I didn’t say much, just a few thank you’s. But that in itself was a huge deal for me. I asked Romain if he would come up on stage with me and hold the microphone in case I had shaky hands. He did. He held it so close to my mouth though, and kept moving it every time I moved my head that it made me giggle, which helped relieve the tension I had building up inside me. It was wonderful to have him by my side. But I have to say, I think it was all made easier by the fact that everyone who came that night made me feel so special and supported. After a lovely introduction by Ariel’s event coordinator Steven, my publisher, Diana Hill, talked a little about the ‘making of’. It was wonderful hearing about it from her perspective, and funny to be reminded of some of the more stressful times we had last year, trying to work from opposite sides of the world. Then Victoria Carey, editor of Country Style, spoke next about how she first came across my blog, and how thrilled she was to learn that there was a country connection that stirred my wandering heart, and how that lead us to meeting and me writing the piece for the latest issue of Country Style. Victoria also read out parts of my book, and that for me was delightful. I don’t read my work out loud, so to hear it in her voice, with her interpretation, was very special.

Regardless of the awful weather outside, and the royal wedding, so many people came to wish me well and buy the book. I met lots of beautiful sydneysiders who I’d been in contact with online over the years but had never met, I had friends come along who I hadn’t seen in years, and family who drove through the downpour from the other side of sydney, to be there to support me. Ariel put together a great event, with french champagne and a fabulous spread of charcuterie and french cheeses (including my favourite cheese, comté)  by La Planchette.  It was an amazing night, one that went way too quickly, but one that I will treasure for always…

A big thank you to Jillian Leiboff for coming along with her camera and taking so many great shots of which you see above. Please visit her blog to see more photos from the night.

Thank you Ariel, Murdoch Books, Country Style and each and every one who came to celebrate with me – you made the making of this book worth all the effort.

xx

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PS here is the dress I wore that night…

It’s bright red, vintage, and I bought it at Grandma takes a trip the day before the launch. I wanted a big red flower for my hair but I couldn’t find one, so I took a red chiffon scarf that I had in my closet and fashioned it into a flower shape and pinned it on the side of my head.

beautiful floral sculpture by tracey deep

Since settling back in Australia – but especially over the last few days during the book launch events – the question I have been asked the most is “Why did you move back to Sydney?” Has this been on your mind too? I thought I’d answer that question here, in the (blog)house in case there are more of you wondering the same thing:

I came back to Sydney for my Mum.

I wanted to say this at the launch on Friday night at Ariel, but when I practiced saying it out loud in the days leading up to it, each time I’d choke up with tears before the answer came out, so on the night I thought it best not to.  Also, I know mum dislikes the spotlight as much as I do (can you imagine how anxious I was writing about her throughout My Heart Wanders? Thank goodness she loves it), so I thought it wiser not to shine it in her direction.

But I’ll shine it on her here now: Happy Mother’s Day Mum. It’s so nice to not be so far away.

I’m off to Brisbane today to celebrate the book’s release with many wonderful and creative Brisbane folk this Saturday, just in time for Mother’s Day. I know a number of people are bringing their mums along, and have bought copies of My Heart Wanders to give to their mums on Mother’s Day – thank you! I will try to keep you posted on my whereabouts via twitter, which has now become my mini visual diary as I post photos during my days through instagram.

Next week I’ll definitely catch you up on all the events over the past week. For now, you can see some great photos of Friday night’s Sydney launch on Jillian Leiboff’s blog (thank you Jillian!).

xx

PS yesterday I created some little foresty oases in the windows of two great bookstores in Sydney – Better Read than Dead, and Oscar & Friends in Surry Hills, I’d love it if you would swing by these bookstores to have a look, and tell your friends about them, thank you so very much.

PPS if you’ve missed out on some of the events already, there are still a few more coming up – please check the sidebar for the schedule. x