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.

this is actually a bit fun. it’s like i am graffitti-ing on my own post. sometimes i do wish it was possible to pick up a computerized pen and scribble all over my work on the screen. and if i could, i would scribble quotes, and doodle all over some of my less-inspiring material. but look at this gorgeous white cotton paper that i heard screaming out my name today, awaiting precious words…

…It’s from Cotton Idea Studio found via one of Erika’s recent guest blog posts on Design*Sponge.

okay, maybe I am prepared to let go of this post now. i said maybe. well, let’s see how i feel by morning.

………………………………………………

second part of post:

update: I am heavily distracted today. I am suffering from l’angoisse de la page blanche. And worse still, I just realised that once I write a new post after this one, the My Heart Wanders: where it all began post will move to the second page, and I’m not sure I’m ready for that. I still find myself glancing over the images. And singing Jewel’s song outloud as I work.

So can’t I just keep updating this post instead of writing a new one? Will the blog police come after me?

Whatever. Here’s what’s on my mind: these cinnamon coated marshmallows that I just spotted over at Swiss Miss…

I suggest we build a little fire by the sea side tonight and make some smores with them. What say you?
………………………………………………

back to the original post:

Today’s special My Heart Wanders sneak peek is from fashion designer Riley Salyards, a subtle heart made with the help of her baby boy. A newbie fellow Amsterdammer like myself, Riley is the co-founder of this fabulous label in North America. Go ahead, click away, you know you want to! Have a look at the collections as I know you will find some serious inspiration there like I have. Um, Riley, any chance I can have a little fitting sometime?!

And check out the curtain…

It was her grandmothers, isn’t it stunning. So this is it, only six apples left now…

click here to submit. click here to get a sneak peek of other submissions. and click here to read more about the book.

As it turns out, a good nights sleep does do the trick! and a morning ride around the canals, a stop into one of my favourite boutiques, and a delicious breakfast in the Joordan…it all helps.

This morning I was returning props from yesterday’s shoot, and I can tell you, that is the worst part of the job. Sometimes I’m drawn to tears, having to return such incredible props. And many times I just can’t part with the goods so I buy them. Above are some of the flowers I bought for the shoot. Mes chères fleurs! I think they are so beautiful. Peonies of course are in season, but I also love these little fluffy blossoms. I don’t know the names unfortunately. Don’t they all go so well together?

Also on the kitchen table:

French Boy and I like to try different wines from all over the world but with the French palate that we (umm, namely he) has, we are pretty picky and often stick with the French ones we love. But we have noticed a good number of reds coming from South Africa lately. The other day, we tried this one with dinner and it was succulent. So I kept the bottle to let you all know about it, and we will be stocking up on a few for the wine cellar (aka a cupboard in the hull of the boat). And guess what - it is fair trade and organic! I know, we couldn’t believe it - we felt like we had hit the jackpot. The label is called “African Star” and the one we had was labeled ‘organic red 2007′: its harvested in South Africa by a company called Stellar Organic Winery. Proceeds go to one of the local primary schools. Jackpot, right?!!

These Oat Crumbles. I’ve been having them with my tea lately and they are sooooo delicious. They melt in your mouth. Made by Island Bakery Organics on The Isle of Mull in Scotland.

And this is my favourite outift combo du jour. I don’t know why I felt like showing you but I just do. I’m loving it that much. Maybe it’s the summer weather we are having lately, and the freedom to be in flowy frocks and flip flops. I bought this dress for 10 euros at Free P Star vintage clothing in Paris. It’s one of my favourite stops. The belt is handmade, I bought it at the art and crafts markets in The Corso, in Manly, Sydney. The cotton wrap is about 10 years old, I have no idea where I found that one but it has followed me around on my travels, it still holds its shape and is so soft. I usually pin a flower to the wrap to complete ‘the look’. And wear Thai black cotton flip flops on my feet. And my hair up off my neck.

Okay, enough procrastination on my part. Time to get back to the grind stone. Enjoy your day mes chers amis.