Just a few inspiring things I’ve been wanting to share with you before we go for our little amsterdam wander…

First up is this book that I have begun reading. It is called The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society and is written by the unfortunately recently deceased Mary Ann Shaffer. I had no prior knowledge of this book or the author as it was given to me as a gift, and this offering is testament that books are the best gifts of all. So I am not going to tell you anything about it in the hope that you might just buy it blindly and enjoy it as I am. I will just tell you this: it is, without a doubt, the most inspiring piece of literature I have read this year.

It is published in Australia by Allen & Unwin, and available to purchase here and here.

…………………………………….

Sofia has come up with a rather lovely autumn inspired idea - it’s called The Autumn Swap. What is it? Its a means for us to send each other some special treats to ring in the change of season! And is just what I need, I can’t wait to put together my goodies for whoever I get to swap with. All the details for the swap are here. Please join us, it will be alot of fun!

The sweet image above is from Sofia’s personal poetry blog called Aller-Retour.

…………………………………….

This guy is wonderfully entertaining and is my new inspirational TV chef. His recipes are easy, enticing, and fuss-free. His personality is easy, enticing, and fuss-free. And he’s kooky. Just what I like in a man chef! Monday nights are dedicated to him.

…………………………………….

And if you need a good belly laugh, this video on Liberty Post Editor might just do the trick!

…………………………………….

Enjoy the links. I’ll be back soon to take you on our little excursion as promised. x

We made it to our mid-week dinner date last night, albeit rather late. None-the-less my hunger was well-satiated. French Boy surprised me by taking me to a restaurant we had never been to before. A place, as it turns out, that we’d walked past many times but had never seen. And it was very, very good.

It’s called de witteuijl, or ‘the white owl’ in english, and it’s in one of my favourite streets in De Pijp. They cook with organic ingredients and have a wonderful wine selection - as well as champagne, which is not so easy to find here (well, not as easy as it is in Paris). For entree French Boy had wontons filled with mushrooms and gorgonzola, served with a sauce of spinach and a poached egg, and I had an avocado and shrimp puree with home-smoked mozzarella - I could taste the delicious smoke infused in the mozzarella as though I were sitting by a campfire, the flavour took me straight there.

French Boy and I have a rule that we visit a restaurant that we like 3 times before we decide if it gets a shot at our top 5 restaurants around the world. We will be back to de witteuijl to taste the other dishes on the menu soon. So far, if you are in Amsterdam, we do recommend this place - the service was excellent, the ambience was perfect, and the menu fabulous. Click here for location details.

Oh and I must add, to end the meal the hostess served me a slate plate filled with a selection of milk, dark and white chocolate chunks to choose from and eat at my leisure. Heaven.

………………………
images courtesy of de witteuijl.

Available in postcard and magnet form here.

If French Boy hadn’t promised to sneak me out for a mid-week dinner date ce soir, I would stay home and bake this:

The one above is prepared by Aran of course, you can get the full recipe here. And don’t forget, some of my favourite recipes of Aran’s are in le (blog)house kitchen at this very moment, click here to check’em out.

It’s with absolutely pleasure that I am able to show you a sneak peek of Holland’s hottest new magazine called Maria, out on shelves now. Inside it, you will find a story on how to use this season’s fruits, produced by Dutch food stylist sensation & restaurateur, Yvette Van Boven, photographed by Jeroen Van Der Spek, and styled by me, Pia Jane Bijkerk. Notice how nicely my last name fits in here - I feel like goldilocks, having found the porridge that suits her just right. Yes, as a part-Dutchie, I’m as proud as punch…

And do you remember me mentioning the other day how I am drawn to recipe writer’s who are pastry chefs, like our (blog)house guest chef Aran? Well Ms Yvette is one of them too - a pastry chef by trade, her culinary creations continue to inspire and amaze me every time we work together. I will be telling you lots more about Yvette soon, but for now, these…

Yep, that fig tart was to-die-for - I devoured that slice right after we shot it. And it was super fun filling the cupboard with all those jars. Don’t you love that cupboard? I will tell you where I got it from in a post to come - its my little shopping secret that I can’t wait to take you through on a personal, exclusive tour. But for now, these…

Yvette baked all these different little shortbread-like twists, twirls and shapes to choose for the pear and vanilla marscapone recipe, and we selected this one you see, it just sat so beautifully with the pear that it seemed meant to be.

I had such a blast working on this story, and I look forward to showing you more of my work with Jeroen and Yvette in the future. Thanks Maria!

yep, my favourite vegetable is back to being a part of the weekly menu chez nous because 1. the price is normal (99c per ’stuk’ instead of 3.99€ each!) and 2. they are in their prime and packed with deliciousness! They featured in last night’s meal as the obligatory entrée followed by baked salmon fillets glazed with a mustardy dressing, pan-fried asparagus and steamed rice. And since our dining table is covered with my papers and props these days, our meals are devoured from the comfort of the sofa. So the photograph above is my exact view of our meal as it arrived on the coffee table. Can you tell I’m slumped from exhaustion? What better way to relax and spend a summer’s evening than chilling back with a glass of wine and an artichoke? I have no idea. Nothing, in my opinion. Did I cook this meal, you might ask? No, but I did ‘design’ it, if that counts for anything. French Boy does all the cooking lately as my workload has grown to ‘barely manageable’. He assures me he loves to cook after his long day at work. And since he can’t lie to save his life, I believe him, his eyes do tell all. It does seem I’ve found the ideal man, n’est-ce pas.

This is the song I am loving right now, and perfectly accompanies the image above. Thank you Itsasne.

Rachel’s chilled pandan soufflé, recipe in the kitchen right now…

It’s been a quick shuffle in the kitchen as the two cooks exchange the (blog)house apron and hand over the inaugural wooden spoon. As we say our goodbyes and thank yous to sweet Laura (merci Laura! au revoir! à bientot!), we welcome our wonderful new friend and fabulous food stylist, Rachel Khoo. She and friend Andréa have been busy in their new venture, la cocotte - a wonderful bookstore/mini café in the 11th arrondisment of Paris. Check out some of the books on the la cocotte shelves here.

Rachel aptly calls herself “the London girl munching her way through all things delicious in Paris”. She works with such publications as Elle à Table, and Galeries Lafayette Gourmet, and has kindly created a sweet tooth menu for the (blog)house. It includes that delicious chilled pandan soufflé above, plus her almond milk panna cotta , and scrumptious biscuit poppets! What’s a biscuit poppet you might ask? Well, go in the kitchen and find out! And click here to read her very funny post about biscuit poppets.

I will tell you more about Rachel in the coming days but for now, please make her feel very welcome.

Take it away dear Rach, have fun in the (blog)house kitchen , and make as much mess as you like (Alfred really loves cleaning up!)!

……………………………..

Rachel’s little blurb about her chosen menu…

“I would happily eat 3 desserts and just skip the starter and main. I’m definately a “pâtisserie-a-holic”. What I love about sweet things is the reaction they get. Mention to someone you’re making some sweet treat and you’ll see their eyes light up immediately. Desserts are meant to be shared. Bake a cake, wrap up some pieces and pop around to your neighbours and you’ll have no problems borrowing that extra cup of sugar whenever you want. So here are several sweet treats which are perfect for sharing but also just as good for curling up on the sofa and eating all by yourself…”

click here to view the menu.