It’s the week of love. And I’m not one for celebrating a day of something, I like to make the good things last so I extend such celebrations for a week. My birthday last month being the big 3-0, was designed to last for 3 weeks (although that in the end did get a bit too much of a good thing!). So here in the (blog)house this week, we are celebrating love, and to do so I will be picking out some of the my heart wanders early-bird submissions at random and showcasing one each day with a little ditty. But to kick start the celebrations I’d like to begin with one of my loves: food. I’ve come up with a special menu for you which will stay in the kitchen this month. And although I’ve designed it for two, it is easily a menu that can accommodate 12. In fact we dined on an abbreviated version of this menu for my birthday dinner.

So here goes my lovelies, I hope you enjoy. I photographed and styled this story of images in Paris on a warm summer’s eve…

For hors d’oeuvre, start with a perfectly steamed artichoke. Pluck a leaf from the flower and dip it gently in a mustardy vinaigrette and softly bite into the meaty flesh at the base of the petal. Whisper sweet nothings tu m’aimes, tu ne m’aimes pas until you have both made your way to the core. Remove the tiny prickles to reveal the heart and cut little pieces, dip it in the vinaigrette and feed it to your love. The bowl of tossed artichoke leaves will leave you with a beautiful living still life to gaze upon…

Plat Principal: Raclette

Melt slices of fine raclette cheese over individual plates of cold meats, a simple boiled potato and serve with petits cornichons, cherry tomatoes and pickled baby onions while you sip on Savoie.

Indulge in a little pre-dessert to tantalise your tastebuds and follow with les fruits et le fromage: fresh figs with crumbled goats cheese and drizzled with rose-infused honey…

Before it gets too hot in here, lets cool down with a glass of champagne with wild hibiscus flowers. Santé a l’amour. Capture the moment and scribble each other a little message of love…

Then, between stealing kisses, serve le paroxysme. That is, la mousse au chocolat…

Et voilà.

bisous

Often (okay, sometimes) I use the freedom of my Sunday to bake… bake cookies that is. Because I love cookies. And cookies love me.

But I have been flat out these past few weeks and have not had a chance to try Momo’s recipes that have been in the kitchen this last month. But today was the day and I can’t wait to show and tell…

Starting with this one, Momo’s choc and banana slice. Now I think I have explained before, habit of my occupation I cannot help but detour off the beginning recipe – Momo did call this a pudding but as you can see mine turned out more like a slice. And WHAT A SLICE it is! I asked French Boy who is un palais (translation ‘to be a palate’, or to have a fine sense of taste) to taste test the result with me. Deliceux was the answer. Et je suis d’accord. As I’ve now discovered with Momo’s recipes, she allows the sweetness to speak through the fruit she uses and in this one, the banana and raisins add the sweetness necessary to bite through the cocoa. This is a perfect naughty afternoon treat that actually is not naughty at all, just take a look at the recipe .

Next up is this treasure I’ve been wanting to try ever since I saw Momo’s batch come out of the oven and onto her blog. This is how mine turned out…

Yes they are so very different to hers! I didn’t actually follow the exact instructions and just went with the flow, creating a log with the fruity filling.

When I scrolled through the quantities in Momo’s recipes I thought they seemed tiny – I’m so used to seeing recipes with cups of flour and cups of sugar, and I was intrigued. When I made the dough for this it seemed so little but it is just absolutely perfect. Note there is no baking powder and hardly any sugar. Again, the fruit reveals all. I would suggest baking two ‘logs’ as these little pillow cookies will be eaten up quickly.

I love that at the end of Momo’s recipes she wrote this:

This is a gentle vegan baking.
Gentle to animals.
Gentle to the earth and gentle to us too.

And gentle is exactly how I would describe the process of cooking and enjoying these recipes. It was such a pleasure to cook these recipes too. I am not a vegan or vegetarian but absolutely adore the real and simple flavours within Momo’s ingredient choices. Thank you so very very much for being my very first guest in the (blog)house kitchen, it was such a beautiful birthday gift.

In light of celebrating love, a new menu will be in the kitchen this week. So please make a copy of Momo’s recipes if you haven’t already. If you would like to submit a menu of your own for the (blog)house kitchen, please send me the recipes and some photos if possible, and also a story about what this menu means to you. Or if you just have one recipe then send that and I will endeavor to make a menu collaged from the submissions. And for those who haven’t yet tried my chocolate and cranberry cookies, the recipe is over at A World In A Pan.

Happy Sunday mes chers amis, see you tomorrow!

Each new week here in the (blog)house I am overwhelmed with the amount of inspiration and talent I find amongst you. Little girl giddiness takes over and my heart starts racing, I get ants in my pants and I just want to shout out to the world with hands full of my new-found treasures. Yes, it is just like being given the key to open a new treasure chest every Monday, the light from all the goodness shining on my face like glittering gold. I intended to post an update of My Heart Wanders but first I just have to share with you this morning’s finds…

photography by Caroline Moore

I’m proud as punch to announce that I won Caroline’s birthday competition! I can’t wait to receive her fabo cupcake prints. When you go and read her ‘and the winner is’ announcement post you will see who I have been selected alongside, I feel rather special and am very honoured. Thanks Caroline, it was heaps of fun to compete and am looking forward to your next one, I implore everyone to get on board! It’s a great excuse (not that you need one) to peruse Caroline’s extensive photo collection in her etsy shop. I will showcase another one of Caroline’s photographs in the upcoming post of inspiration for ‘My Heart Wanders’ .

Eat me!

I’ve been holding back on revealing my chocolate and cranberry cookie recipe for some time but when Laura from A World In A Pan asked if I’d like to submit a recipe for her beautiful website I gave up the notion of keeping this secret any longer. Friends and family have always said I give away too much but bugger it I say, if I wanna I will! So here it is, my treasured cookie recipe. Click here for the recipe and to read about the background of this cookie, inspired by my love of Canadians and the fruits of their fine land. Also check out Laura’s blog for an update on her cooking classes in Paris and the fabulous stores in her arrondissment, I am especially loving the look of that fromagerie!

And last but not least, I must start this week by introducing you to the very talented young Queensland potter and poet, Kylie Johnson. She has just published a collection of her poetry in book form called ‘Count Me The Stars’. The above image is of one of her bowls just to give you an idea of her work, but for a more thorough look go and wander around her Paper Boat Press website and blog. I have already popped her into my blogroll so that I don’t miss out on her updates.

Submissions are trickling in already for My Heart Wanders . Next post will give you a little more inspiration… à tout à l’heure!

little oliver has got the idea for this week!

“GRUB” is aussie lingo for ‘food’ and for this week, I have a very unique menu designed by an incredibly humble talent…

When I first spotted her in the blogosphere a few days ago, I was captivated by her ‘mistake’ cookie that she baked. The photograph (as seen below) alone was fit for a magazine and I thought wow, if that beautiful cookie was a mistake, what are her successes?! And not only had she managed to produce something beautiful with this humble creation, she had just sent me straight back to my childhood growing up in Australia, when amongst iced vovos and spacefood sticks, my favourite snack was what us kids called ‘pillows’: fruit filled (store-bought) biscuits in the shape of little pillows….

So without further delay, may I present you the delightful momo hosking, vegan home cook extraordinaire. Originally from Japan, Momo now lives in Australia with her husband and beautiful boy Oliver. When you have a wander through her blog Kurashi, you will notice an incredible peacefulness, a calmness that comes from her unique culture and background. I have had a love affair with Japanese style and cooking for some time, and Momo epitomises everything I adore about Japan and has made me fall in love even deeper. I asked her if she might like to come and cook in the (blog)house kitchen for a little while and she indulged me and said yes. She has cooked up a storm with my favourite food for this week’s celebrations: cookies. So make your way to the kitchen, say hi and cook up a batch of your own momo cookies, you will not be disappointed – beautiful ingredients, beautiful images. Enjoy…

Mandazis are best described as doughnut-like breads very popular in Kenya. Anywhere you travel to in Kenya there are Mandazis being served in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and are traditionally served with my favourite beverage, Chai (Indian tea).

In light of the Kenyan crisis and my appeal to support the Kenyan people, I thought it might be nice to share one of their recipes with you. As with all traditional recipes, once I get into the kitchen I tend to re-work them (habit of occupation!) and with this one instead of making the traditional larger Mandazis I have made smaller ones that are perfect for morning or afternoon tea. I highly recommend you make up a pot of chai with them too, the spices in the tea perfectly compliment the spices in the mandazis. So,invite your friends and the kids over for some Kenyan inspired afternoon tea and munch on these baby mandazis.

Makes about 50

How To:

In a bowl combine all the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, sugar, and spices. In another bowl, mix the water, butter, milk, and egg together. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic (add a little extra flour if necessary). Leave the dough to rest for a few minutes.

Roll the dough out and then break apart into small pieces or cut into little shapes if desired (baby heart shapes would be nice).

Heat a few cups of your chosen vegetable oil in a deep pot (I use a wok). To check when the oil is hot enough, I place a little piece of bread and if it sizzles it is ready, if it does not, try again in another moment. Deep fry the baby doughs in the hot oil, gently rotating. Remove when the baby mandazis are golden brown. Place onto a paper towel to drain. Dust with a little icing sugar. Serve warm with a pot of milky chai.