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!

Thank Buddha the week is over. The deadline was yesterday so I can relax for the weekend. And how do I do that you might ask? Well with you of course! So grab a cup of tea – be it long island, milky or both – and sit back as I start the relaxation process by taking you with me on a little musical journey that will drop your jaw and jump start your heart, girl power style…

These women are what I call FREAKS OF NATURE. They are in my artist category of being raw, real and refined (well, perhaps the last one isn’t exactly ‘refined’ but she makes up for it in being the most raw and real of all!). The common theme you will see in these first 3 videos is that they are a one-woman band, starting with the gorgeous KT Tunstall...

Isn’t she fabulous? That song always gets my feet going. My French readers will know this next one. And although I have heard rumours that her ego is a little oversized since she hit the big time, remember that she is Parisian (hehehehe) and plus that is just a rumour, I have not seen evidence of it although I could imagine it. Her album, Le Fil is a killer – I bought it a year ago and still listen to it from beginning to end. A self-taught musician, check out what she can do with her voice…

Next up is another beautiful French singer, this one perhaps takes herself a little less serious than Camille and in saying so, takes us straight to the Scottish Highlands. Welcome to the (blog)house stage, Anaïs…

And I cannot leave you without this from my absolute favourite female singer of the moment: the incredible Sia… and not just because her name rhymes with Pia. I bought her album a couple of weeks ago called, ‘Some People have Real Problems’ (oh I could not agree more!!) and I cannot get enough of this album. Although this video is not in line with the above one-woman shows, just take a look at the ease of her abilities here as she sings live on radio, dressed in a daggy t-shirt and no bra by the looks of it (oh us Australians, soooo uncouth!) She obviously came out of the womb with this voice, and she is a complete nutbag which makes her all the more charming. The first 15 seconds of this clip is the remnants of the previous recording so just stick with it. Take it away Sia…

Hope you enjoyed this as much me, I’m ready to start my weekend now…

Yesterday I managed to drag myself away from the killer deadline to go and pick up some of my prints. Racing against time on my little bike I zoomed past the many beautiful galleries in the Jordaan area of Amsterdam, wishing I had more time to stop. But one particular gallery window did manage to stop me dead in my tracks, striking me with that ever-present bolt of inspiration. It was the Wieke Ververs gallery, and it is currently featuring these absolute beauties…

Check out the Ververs Gallery blog to find out more info about these works. Oh I love Amsterdam!

photography by Caroline Moore

I am on a killer deadline this week and am feeling a little snowed under, Caroline’s image says it all.

just a little inspiration to get you going…

I photographed this in Paris in an old apartment where a heart shape had been scratched out in the door frame.

While some beautiful submissions have been flowing in already, I have gathered some inspiration for the rest of us still in thinking mode about their wandering heart. Below are some fellow bloggers whose photographic portfolios I am loving. You can see from their captures that these are not fancy or lavish rooms, but there is a common theme here: light. So think about placing your wandering heart where there is lovely light. That doesn’t mean the space has to be light filled – it can be dancing soft light, or moody dim light. And although there are no wandering hearts in these particular images, you can imagine finding one in each image, ever so subtle and sublime. Click on the names below each image and have a good thorough look at their other images as well, there is alot more inspiration where they came from.

If you would like some guidance don’t hesitate to email me your thoughts, ideas or a quick capture of what you have in mind. The email address is: myheartwanders@gmail.com

I have not yet set a deadline so do not panic, all in good time…

Laura Watt

Jen Gotch

Samantha Lamb

Laura Watt

Nurul H.

Maditi

Alyson