Styling from the weekend

How was your weekend?? I woke up with a nice sense of relief on Sunday, you know the kind of mood you feel after you've managed to put to bed a few big projects...


The photoshoot I styled with Michael Paul was done. He has taken some beautiful shots and I'm very excited to attend his "Sweet Paris" book launch on Tuesday evening in Notting Hill (I'm secretly hoping that Australian Chef Bill Granger will be there).
Our Spring Summer catalogue is being sent out this week to UK customers and that was a massive project in itself!!
So basically there were two more things to do:  Mila's Birthday party and another photo shoot with MILK magazine in June and that's it, I could relax...


So bright & early on Sunday, I made some pancakes for breakfast for Mila and her friend Clara and then bake a chocolate coconut cake for Mila to take to school.
OK I was one week behind schedule but as we say in French: "On ne peut être à la fois au four et au moulin" which means that you can be in two places at once.


Anyway, once the cake was done, it gave me an idea for the Christmas catalogue so I tried a few 'styling' ideas...


I won't share with you the recipe quite yet because frankly since my friend Verity gave me the recipe when we were in New-Zealand for Christmas, I must have done it a dozen times and put on 2 kilos so trust me YOU REALLY DON'T WANT the recipe before the bikini season but I promise to give it to you after the Summer because it's a very easy recipe and it is just amazingly de-li-cious!

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Jamie Oliver's 30-minute Spinach & Feta filo pie

Last weekend, we went to Bristol to celebrate Mother's Day with our friends. While Mila was having the time of her life playing with 5-months old Isla, the boys were watching rugby, my friend Mandy fed me with this gorgeous Spinach & Feta filo which frankly was to die for. Apparently it is also really easy to make, still had a WOW factor and the taste was beyond this word...so here is the recipe for you my dear...

SPINACH & FETA PIE 

• 100g (3½oz) pinenuts
• 5 free range or organic eggs
• 300g (10½oz) feta cheese
• 50g (1¾oz)
• Cheddar cheese
• Dried oregano
• 1 lemon
• A knob of butter
• 400g (14oz) prewashed baby spinach 
• 1 x 270g pack of filo pastry 
• Cayenne pepper 
• 1 whole nutmeg

Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Turn the oven on to 200C/ gas 6. Put a medium (approx 26cm/10½in diameter) ovenproof frying pan on a medium heat. Put the standard blade attachment in the food processor. 

SPINACH & FETA PIE:   Put the pinenuts into the dry ovenproof frying pan to toast, tossing occasionally. Keep an eye on them. Crack 5 eggs into a mixing bowl and crumble in 300g (10½oz) feta. Grate in the Cheddar. 

Add a pinch of pepper, a couple of pinches of dried oregano, zest of 1 lemon and a glug of olive oil. Once the nuts are light golden, add them to the egg mixture and mix well. 

Put the empty frying pan back on the heat, add a little olive oil and a knob of butter and pile in half of the spinach. Gently push and move it around and add more as it wilts down. Make sure it doesn't catch on the bottom and, when there's room, start adding the rest, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile, take the pastry out of the fridge. 

Lay a large sheet of greaseproof paper, approx 50cm (20in) long, on the worktop, rub a little olive oil all over it, then scrunch it up and lay it out flat again. Arrange 4 filo pastry sheets in a large rectangle, overlapping at the edges, so they almost cover the paper. Rub some olive oil over them. Sprinkle over a good pinch of salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Repeat until you have 3 layers. Don't worry about any cracked bits. Remember to keep stirring the spinach.

Once the spinach is really nice and dense, take the pan off the heat. Add the wilted spinach to the egg mixture and grate in ½ a nutmeg. Mix well. Carefully move the greaseproof paper and filo into the empty frying pan so the edges spill over. Push it down into the sides of the pan, then pour in the egg mixture and spread it out. Fold the filo sheets over the top and let them fall where they will (for more help go to www. jamieoliver.com/how-to-filo-pie). 

Put the pan back on a medium heat for a couple of minutes to get the bottom cooking, then put the pan into the oven on the top shelf to cook for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

Extracted from Jamie's 30-Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver, published by Michael Joseph on 30 September at £26. © 2010, Jamie Oliver. Photos © 2010, David Loftus. To order a copy for £20.99 (p&p free), tel: 0845 155 0720. Read more

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COMPETITION: WIN 5 COPIES OF DONNA HAY'S NEW RECIPE BOOK

Do you remember my post about Donna Hay's gorgeous new book: SEASONS in January?
The styling of her book is just unbeliev`ble and very inspiring and her recipes always be fresh, easy and delicious, she really took my love of Australian cooking to the next level. I got my copy in New-Zealand but SEASONS has just been launched in the UK so we've teamed up with the UK publisher Hardie Grant to offer you the chance to WIN 5 COPIES of Donna Hay's latest recipe book so enjoy!
All you need to to do to enter the competition, is to leave a comment on the BODIE and FOU Blog OR on our Facebook page, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.
The choice is yours and you can also do all of them to multiply your chance of winning your copy of Donna Hay's Seasons.

Small print: The Donna Hay Giveaway closes at midnight GMT on 23 March 2012.  Winning commenters will be chosen via eight random.org number searches . Prizes are non-transferable and all decisions made by random.org are final.. Bonne chance!

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Donna Hay's Seasons

I'm not the most prolific blogger in January.
As we spend the Christmas holidays with Steve's family in New-Zealand, I most often come back jet-lagged for a few days, then the post-holidays blues kicks in (read these tips to fight it) along with a mere attempt to resist giving in too quickly to the busy pace of my working life.
Do you know the feeling?
I have to admit that at the beginning of my holidays, I miss the fun and interaction from Facebook and Twitter because it's nice to have friends who will get as much excited as I'm about a new design or how beautiful the styling on a photo is (in comparison to Steve who does not really care).
However, having started a trend last Summer when our little family went on holidays on a 7m boat without internet connection and no shower (don't worry we used the ones available in the harbour), I had a taste during our back-to-basics holidays how hugely enjoyable my holidays were if I was nowhere near a computer to work.
Let alone the good this new trend has done to my relationship with Steve ♥

So this Christmas, I was determined to do the same.
No work, no social media, no pictures taken thinking that they would make a good post for the blog on my return...Nothing, peanuts! I slept for the whole of England and when I was awake, I spent quality time with my family and looking after the body I had neglected in the busy run up to Christmas.
It always amazes me (and saddens me) how I can easily throw away months of healthy habits when stress kicks in. Do you get that too? I find it so easy to reach out for the chocolate bar while trying to do several things at once...
It also hit me that as we are now trying for baby no 2, more than ever I need to look after my body and make sure whatever I put in my body is worth it and full of nutrients so rather than stocking on self-development and business books, this year, I got my first Donna Hay book: Seasons.

 

I love French food (actually food in general) but when it comes to cooking, I much prefer the relaxed, easy-going approach of the Australians and New-Zealanders rather than the pompous style of French nouvelle cuisine which does not inspire me.

Each year I marvel how Steve's sisters Linda & Caroline can make a whole, delicious homemade meal in no time while the rest of us is sipping wine and I bow to the two homemade meals our friend Verity made of us in Auckland while we were catching up after two years. I beg her to send me the recipe of of the chocolate brownie with coconut.

The thing is, while I love food, I'm not much of a cook.I spent years thinking it was boring and it is only since I met Steve and had Mila that I started appreciating how creative cooking can be and how important I need to make it fun & healthier for my daughter so she enjoys the art of cooking rather than living on cheese and toast at Uni like I did.

So when I look at a cooking book I want to be inspired and I feel a lot more in tune with the relaxed approach of the Australians. 

My first love was Michele Cranston who took over Donna Hay as Marie Claire Editor and has written over 25 books. I discovered her book Seasonal Kitchen three years ago when we were staying with Steve's sister at the beach and it changed my view on cooking. Here I was, reading this amazing book filled with inspiring images and easy, healthy recipes thinking I could re-invent myself. While her Spinach and coconut soup is not Mila's favourite, it's extremely good for the body and her spicy prawn salad has became one of my staple dish. It is delicious, easy to make, healthy and very comforting.

I then added Bill Granger to my collection, a self-taught Chef who recently moved to the UK and has opened a new restaurant in Notting Hill. His book Bill's Basics is full of classic recipes made simple and I like his easy-going approach then there was Donna..

  

Ah Donna...who took my love of Australian cooking to the next level. Not only her book is filled with easy, healthy recipes to feed you through the four seasons, the stylism and photos in the book are simply amazing and this is why, this month, rather than rushing back into the world of interiors, I shall indulge a bit more into thinking I'm still by the beach, eating fresh fish, scallops and avocado on toast and ensuring that I'm healthy habits are there to stay and will not be replaced by a Kit-Kat at the first sign of stress!

 

(C) images: Seasons by Donna Hay

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Wouldn't this make just the perfect Saturday afternoon in?

I had a great afternoon, styling some goodies from the boutique that he shot and now I'm making pancakes for Mila and her friend Clara.
Thanks to Nicole, an amazing food photographer (the shot from our Wine tasting/Fashion evening next week is from her), I discovered Call Me Cupcake! - a gorgeous blog with stunning photos and recipes (perfect combo). Wouldn't it be perfect to end the day with a few of these warm, cookies!?

J'ai passé un chouette apres-midi, faisant des petites mise-en-scene avec des objets de la boutique qu'il photographié aet maintenant je fais des crepes pour Mila et sa copine Clara.

Grace a Nicole, une photographe food géniale (la photo de notre Wine tasting/Fashion evening la semaine prochaine est d'elle),j'ai découvert Call Me Cupcake! un blog absolument canon avec des photos superbes et des recettes. Est ce que ce ne serait pas merveilleux de finir l'apres-midi avec quelques cookies comme cela, bien chauds!?

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Banana cake recipe

Has anyone tried the Banana cake recipe on page 30 of our catalogue?
When Steve forwarded me the recipe, I wasn't convinced at first. The thought of using ripe bananas wasn't exactly appealing to me but having recently received this huge fridge, I was going through a Nigella phase* (i.e cooking each Saturday morning homemade meals).
I also do our food shopping online and tend to order the same food over and over again each week.
While I'm not giving up on Mila getting her 5 a day, I often end up with a few bananas too ripe for anyone in the family to eat them, so rather than throwing them away, I thought I would give this recipe a go. I was happily surprised.
I put wallnuts in mine instead of dried fruits and it is simply delicious. My guilty pleasure at weekends now is to curl up on the sofa with Mila when the weather is horrible outside, with a cup of tea and a slice of two of this cake! Pure bliss....

*the phase has now ended

 

1.Nelly print (or sample sale here), 2. Friends of Violet poster by Studio Violet. 3. Bird clothes pegs

4. Countdown to Christmas DIY project by Annaleenas Hem

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