The Sprouted Kitchen by Sara Forte, photographed by Hugh Forte. Hopefully hardcover, matte paper, intriguing images, produce focused, approachable recipes… a book. We’re creating one. Exciting and petrifying, right?
I left my big-girl-career-job last March, knowing that it was not my future. I enjoyed the work and the people, but despite the pragmatist in me, I had a hope that maybe I could take a chance at doing what I actually enjoyed. Hugh motivated me to take the leap, and a lot has happened between then and now. Who knew that months later, the opportunity to write a book would find it’s way into my inbox? Long story short, there have been months of emails with Ten Speed Press, lots of questions and me seeking advice from a couple people I respect who have published cookbooks of their own.
I love to eat, I find it gratifying to experiment and end up with something good every so often. I believe in encouraging people to eat well by providing practical tools/recipes to fill their bodies with good things (that may include a bit of ice cream pie) and most importantly, to end up at a table, spending time with each other, because eating is an experience and we all need to be fed. This blog has given me space to do that, and I want to be better; I want to keep learning, and to learn more you must be challenged. Through your kind comments telling me that you made something on here and liked it (which p.s., makes my day), or that you enjoyed the pictures, or resonate with something I wrote, I have been inspired and fulfilled. So, even though I didn’t think the opportunity to write a book would come about as quickly as it did, and I may not be completely ready for the task, I needed to say yes. We are beyond excited, but because you people are my trusted internet friends, I am scared and intimidated to enter a market that is inundated with so much incredible work.
I am off to a bit of a slow start, but I am at a grocery store or farm stand every other day, so we’re on our way. Hugh is my live in taste tester, and so far hasn’t complained about the four dozen carrot date muffins I made before I felt the recipe was just right. It’s been fun to brainstorm the feeling we want this book to evoke – to dream together.
So I made this lemon meringue ice cream pie in honor of the big news. I love the different layers of flavor and texture here; crunchy to creamy to tangy to pillowy golden meringue. It may not be ice cream weather where you are, but trust me, it doesn’t matter. A slice of pie and a thanks to all of you for making our corner of the internet a place to dream big.
LEMON MERINGUE ICE CREAM PIE IN TOASTED PECAN CRUST
Serves 8
Slightly adapted from Jamie’s Restaurant in Florida via Bon Appetit
There are a few softening and freezing steps, but overall, this is a very easy pie. If you were in a pinch, store bought lemon curd will work in the layers here. The homemade version can be made ahead of time.
See our Lemon Curd recipe here
Crust//
1 1/2 Cups Finely Chopped Pecans
1/4 Cup Evaporated Cane Juice/Sugar
1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, melted
3 Cup Good Quality, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Meringue//
3 Large Egg Whites
Pinch of Cream of Tartar
5 Tablespoons Evaporated Cane Juice/Sugar 
1. Make the curd according to instructions and chill for a few hours to firm up.
2. Preheat oven to 400′. Mix the pecans, sugar and butter together until moistened. Press the pecan mixture on the bottom and up the sides of a 9” diameter glass pie dish, the mixture will be crumbly. Bake until the crust is slightly toasted, about 12 minutes. The crust will have slipped down the sides, use the back of a spoon to press it back in to place. Cool and then freeze the crust for 30 minutes.
3. Dollop 1 1/2 Cups of the softened ice cream over the crust, and spread into an even layer. Spread lemon curd over the ice cream and freeze until firm. About 1 1/2 hours. Dollop the remaining ice cream over the lemon curd, and freeze again. You can do this in advance and finish it with meringue when ready to serve.
4. Preheat oven to 500′. To make the meringue, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until frothy, add the pinch of cream of tartar and gradually add the sugar while mixer is running. Beat until stiff peaks form. Spread the meringue on top of the pie in an even layer. Place the pie in the oven until meringue is golden in spots, about 3-4 minutes. You could use a butane torch as an alternative if you own one. Cut and serve immediately.
It really did live up to the hype of being ‘the best day of my life’.
True love, whether it comes from a significant other, old friends, new friends or family, is an overwhelming feeling. We had SO many people who poured themselves into this event, there is no way I could have been anything but elated that entire day.
But let’s start from the beginning. I have told you before that I am infatuated with Hugh, so my excitement towards actually getting married, put me ahead of the curve from the get go. I had dear friends, and coincidentally professionals, do my make-up and hair. My designer-sister made my dress, as well as the saucy bridesmaids dresses. I felt gorgeous (I think I’m allowed to say that, because it is a testament to my talented sister). She even sewed a patch inside that said “i love you sister”. Yes, the heart swelling continues. I’ve never experienced as much giving and taking of love that I felt that day. I wish you were there, because words are tough.
We wanted a natural but put together look, and it turned out gorgeous. I had the creative juices of my mom and Whitney, to create the perfect ambiance. Hugh and his dad built the arch we stood under, my grandma and aunt sewed pillows, runners and couch covers. The list is long, but there were many hands involved in making it as gorgeous as it was. One of my favorite parts was the ‘take a note, leave a note’ wall I made instead of having a guest book. Hugh and I wrote notes to every guest, thanking them for coming and reminding them why they were important to us, and there were paper and pens to leave notes in return. It’s going to be so neat to read those for years to come.
The dance party never stopped. Everyone had such a great time, that after we left, our friends… and some parents, jumped in the pool with their clothes on. First time in Ace Palm Springs history.
                 
I must give shout out’s to our team, because this is certainly not a project you pull off on your own:
- My sister, of Stone Cold Fox, for the dresses.
- James and Sergio for capturing every moment so well, and celebrating with us – we felt so lucky to have you both there.
- Whitney for being a flower and decorator mastermind.
- The man who made this party history, The Flashdance DJ.
- My supportive parents, who remain without a link, but have our utmost gratitude.
I am gone for one blog post and Hugh goes and raises the bar. Videos and romantic coffee bean pictures… I can’t top that, but these pancakes are just lovely.
This past week, we spent some time in Mammoth with some good friends. We don’t get to the snow often, but I love the change of scenery. It felt refreshing to freeze for a couple days (but that’s not to say that I didn’t do my fair share of complaining while the sharp winds and snow hit my face, of course).
I’ve been snowboarding a good ten years or so, but I can’t really say that I go flying down the slopes like a seasoned pro. It has nothing to do with skill, mind you, I totally get the technique, but cautiousness is a personality trait I can’t seem to grow out of. I wish I had taken a big spill, just so I could see for myself that, yes, I’ll actually survive. This antecdote parellels to other news going on in life – a risk of sorts – but I am saving that for next week :) For some reason, that news just doesn’t pair well with pancakes. Speaking of, these are excellent. I have browsed, and am now closely studying Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain , as it is a stunning and inspiring cookbook. I only slightly altered these pancakes by adding some spices and swapping in buttermilk. The pear flavor here is pretty gentle, so make sure you use ripe and fragrant ones. I am an eggs-for-breakfast girl, but my cute barista has requested something on the sweeter side, and I’m not one to contest a whole grain pear pancake.
Enjoy your weekend!
PEAR + BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES // Makes 12
Adapted from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce
1 Cup Buckwheat Flour
1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/2 Cup Unbleached All Purpose Flour
3 Tbsp. Turbinado Sugar
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Spice Blend*
3/4 tsp. Sea Salt
2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 Cup Buttermilk
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Large Egg
2 Firm Pears (I used Bosc and Comice)
1/2 Cup Honey
2 oz. (1/2 stick) Unsalted Butter
* I have a baking spice blend from Penzey’s that has some anise in it that I thought was great here – you could use a bit of cardamom, nutmeg or cinnamon as an alternative. Boyce doesn’t mention any spice at all – so up to you.
1. Sift all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, making sure everything is evenly distributed.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk/milk, and butter until combined. If you don’t have buttermilk, all milk will be just fine.
3. Peel the pears, and grate them in the large holes of a box grater. Add the pears and their juices to the buttermilk mixture.
4. Gently add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir ’til just combined. It should be fairly thick – Boyce recommends letting it sit for a little while, or overnight in the fridge. If you let it rest, you will need to thin it out with milk, 1 Tbsp. at a time. Adjust to your pancake thickness preference.
5. Melt the honey and 2oz. of butter together, and keep warm to pour over the pancakes later.
6. Heat a cast iron pan, or griddle over medium heat. Add batter in 1/4 cup mounds to the pan, once the tops start to bubble, check that the bottoms are golden brown and flip to the other side. Cook about 5 minutes total.
7. Wipe the pan between batches, and rub a little butter in between.
Serve the pancakes hot from the skillet, with a splash of honey butter on top.
Hi, it’s Hugh. Sara had a big week, so here I am with the second of three things I can do in the kitchen :)
Here’s the thing: as much as this post is about coffee, it’s also about simple things. I love simple things. Honest, effective, beautiful. All qualities of well executed simplicity. Coffee is simple. There are only two ingredients, but the degree to which you can either finesse or mutilate the drink is massive. The neat part is that it’s not too difficult to do it right. All you need is clean water, some well roasted beans, and an eye on the details.
(Hold on. Stepping out of my own narrative here… I just had to erase a ton of nonsense because I think I lapsed into coffee snobbery. So I’m going to stick with the whole “simplicity, not coffee” idea and get to the point.)
In general, I like to do things deliberately. Sometimes to a fault. I love researching, quantifying, dialing things in. It can be the spoke tension on my bike wheel, the lines in a picture, or in this case, the brewing parameters for our morning beverage. Luckily, Sara handles most of the cooking, otherwise, meals would be few and far between.
This is a simple idea, but it’s a delicate process. And I like that.  
What you need:
1. Filtered water.
2. Coffee. Preferably good coffee, recently roasted (inside of a week is good, but the fresher, the better). Whole bean is a must. You want to grind the coffee just before you brew. The flavors in a cup of coffee come largely from the oils inside the beans. If you grind your coffee the night before, or days before, or buy ground coffee, your missing out on the majority of those oils. For this post, I used Brazil Bob-O-Link beans, roasted yesterday, at a local roaster called Portola Coffee. If you don’t have a local option, there are some great places to get super fresh beans online. Try Paradise Roasters.
3. A French Press. A great coffee tool: inexpensive, easy cleanup, lots of flavor potential. If you don’t already have one, it’s totally worth it.
4. A Kettle
What you kind of need:
Thermometer
Timer
Food Scale
Spoon
A decent burr grinder. I use a Capresso Infinity. It’s a a pretty solid grinder for the money. A step up gets pricey, a step down’s not worth it. 
The Method:
There are four major variables in this method: water temperature, water:coffee ratio, coarseness of grind, brew duration. The following method is what I’ve found to yield a cup that both Sara and I really like. If you want something a little different, tweak one or more of those variables until you find what your looking for.
Prep:
1. Start your filtered water in the kettle. The target temperature is just a touch over 200°. It’s a good idea to preheat the French Press using hot water, otherwise, it will rob a significant amount of heat from your water when you begin to brew, resulting in under extracted coffee.
2. Measure out the beans. I use a 15:1::water:bean ratio for a French Press. I brew 825g of coffee for Sara and I, so it’s 55g of beans.
3. Grind the beans. You want it about the coarseness of sea salt. This is where the quality of your grinder comes into play. Most grinders are going to do a decent job with the coarse grind level used for a French Press, but any fines in there are going to over extract (more surface area in contact with the water), and they’ll squeeze through the mesh filter into your cup. Gritty :/
4. Put the press on the food scale, add the coffee grounds, and zero out the scale.
Brew
5. Start the timer and add 200g of 200° water. Use the spoon to agitate the water-coffee mixture as little as possible while ensuring all the grounds are fully saturated. If you’re using fresh beans you’ll see the mixture “bloom.”
6. At 0:40 on the timer, use the spoon to deflate the bloom, still agitating as little as possible. Add an additional 625g of water, gently stir, and place the lid on the press.
7. At 4:00, press and pour. Don’t fully empty the press into your cup. Nobody likes the dregs. I don’t think.
And in case that didn’t make any sense, here’s a different kind of visualization (with music by my buddy Drew).
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