I am months behind on reading the food magazines but am working my way backwards. I love the content towards the beginning of the year because it's the lighter, vegetable focused stuff that is nowhere to be found in all the holiday issues. I was obsessed with this piece in the March issue of Food + Wine about the "new healthy" kinds of foods - which, surprise, is just real food. It was shot by a favorite food photographer and stylist and if you can grab an issue, it's worth it. I will likely try each of the recipes but this one struck me first as I desperately need some new life in my breakfast routine. With the whipped egg white situation and the 20ish minute baking time, this may be more of a weekend thing, but I love it. The original recipe is written with whole milk but I tried a coconut milk version to keep it dairy free (operation baby gas issues over here, you use what you prefer). The texture is lighter with the souffle element, making it a perfect dish for a brunch or part of a buffet of other breakfast goods. I also felt like the bit of extra protein made this breakfast stay with me longer, if only in my head, and Curran liked it too, so there's that. Breakfast can become a "short order" meal and I'm not always up for that. In the Southern California area, fresh berries are available, not great ones, but available. You could use some sauteed apples or pears or pomegranate and persimmons if that is what tastes fresh near you.

OATMEAL SOUFFLE // Serves 4-6

Recipe lightly adapted from Food + Wine magazine

I opted for a dairy free version here which while it works, tastes a little cloudy as coconut milk can. Replace the liquid with 3 cups whole milk if you'd rather. To get ahead, you could do the oat and milk cooking step in advance and loosen that up with a bit more milk when you are ready to complete the recipe. You'll want to enjoy it fairly soon after baking.

1 cup thick cut rolled oats
1 14 oz. can coconut milk
1 cup almond milk
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. turbinado sugar
seeds of half a vanilla bean
3 large eggs, separated
zest of one lemon
2 cups mixed berries, fresh or frozen, chopped
pure maple syrup, to finish
toasted coconut, hemp seeds, granola etc., for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350' and grease a 2 qt. baking dish (or comprable smaller dishes).

In a large saucepan, combine the oats, coconut milk, almond milk, salt, sugar and vanilla bean. Bring it to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15 minutes until the oats soften and the mixture begins to thicken. Remove the pot from the heat.

Separate the eggs. Once the oats have cooled slightly, mix in the yolks completely. With a stand or electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites and lemon zest into the oat mixture until incorporated but not over mixed. Fold in a handful of the berries.

Pour the mixture into your prepared pan(s) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is just puffed and golden.

Pour a bit of maple on top (I liberally brushed some on) and garnish the top with fresh berries, toasted coconut or goodies of choice.

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Dessert, gluten free

ROASTED BANANA COCONUT ICE CREAM

Sara Forte · July 23, 2015

I've stalled halfway through Brene Brown's book, Daring Greatly, a week after my book club already met about the book. It would have been helpful to finish it prior to the get together but I just didn't. I kept meaning to but such is life. I intend to finish the book eventually. Anyway, she tells this story about her daughter being in grade school and a girlfriend telling one of her secrets in class and how embarrassed and disappointed she was. The metaphor Brene uses to speak with her daughter is comparing friends to a marble jar; like the sort teachers keep in class that they add marbles to when the class is good or take marbles out of when kids misbehave - encouraging good behavior with a reward to be had if the marble jar becomes full. Friends can be people who we trust while some others say hurtful things at times, but they live on somewhat of an invisible marble system in our heads. You can think of the friends who have earned lots of marbles, the ones who listen and respect your secrets in this case, and those are the friends who it is most safe to be honest and vulnerable with. I just keep thinking about that image, of being a person who earns marbles for and from people I care deeply about, and I feel incredibly accountable for my actions and words in a good way. I understand that is not the big picture of the book but halfway through, I keep thinking about being a marble friend.

I have been slowly paging through Anna's book, A Modern Way to Eat, because so much of her style is what I want to cook. She has just the right amount of Nigel Slater-ness where measurements and directions are sometimes left to the cook and I love that sort of responsibility. I know some folks think it is vague recipe writing but I enjoy it. I had great luck with one of her pancake recipes, am anxious to try the California Wraps and will absolutely make this ice cream again. It has no dairy, a very subtle, natural sweetness, and still feels like a treat. I've been having a thing with McConnell's Eureka Lemon and Marionberry Ice Cream (you guys, if you're a lemon person you MUST try) and this feels necessarily less decadent. My chocolate shavings addition here is because I couldn't imagine it otherwise but perhaps you're more virtuous than I. Her next book, A Modern Way to Cook, is out in the UK if you're that direction and I can't wait to see that beauty as well.

Also! We are heading back to Seattle in October to host a photography workshop with the lovely Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle et Vanille at her beautiful studio. It was such a nice group of people last visit and I felt like I came out of the weekend more inspired than I went in so we're excited to go back. There are more details on her site and a few more spots if you're interested.

I hope your weekend involves ice cream in some capacity. xo

ROASTED BANANA COCONUT ICE CREAM // Makes 1 pint

Recipe adapted from A Modern Way to Eat by Anna Jones

3 medium, ripe bananas
honey (I used about 3 Tbsp.)
1 can full fat coconut milk
juice of half a lemon
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3 ounces grated dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350'.

Slice the bananas into 1/2 - 3/4 inch pieces and toss them with the honey on a parchment lined baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once during baking, until the bananas are browned and cooked through. Scrape the bananas and any syrup into a blender or food processor. Add the coconut milk, lemon juice, pinch of salt and vanilla and puree until smooth.

Chill the mixture in the fridge until cool. Process the mixture in your ice cream maker, scraping down the sides as needed. In the last minutes, pour in the grated chocolate and give it one more churn to incorporate. Transfer it to a container and stir occasionally until frozen. If you like it softer, serve it after only an hour in the freezer, if you want it firmer, let it sit overnight. It will be scoopable after sitting at room temperature for a few minutes.

Garnish the ice cream with some chopped pistachios, toasted coconut or more grate chocolate.

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Side, Gluten Free, Spring, Summer

ROASTED SWEET POTATO WEDGES WITH AVOCADO CHIMICHURRI

Sara Forte · April 20, 2015

Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges . Bowl & Spoon Launch party

I ordered a diet coke on the plane ride home and Hugh gave me a wide-eyed side glance when he heard me ask the stewardess. It was a silent understanding that I was needing my routine back. I'm not a soda drinker so Hugh knows when I order one, I'm not particularly feeling myself. One could think of a few worse vices, no? I had a just barely sleeping, teething baby on my chest and I was so tired. So tired from not sleeping well and stressing about the book and hosting a workshop and talking in front of people and being super social that I was one more night away from a melt down. I ordered a diet coke because there was really no other way to rebel against my own self in that moment. I love being away but being away and working with a baby is just...different. Different as in I needed wine but took the free diet coke instead and called it even.

I had the sweetest time at the book signings meeting a handful of you. This space feels real and communal for me but there is nothing like some good ol' fashioned face time. I hope there is more of it to come, cross your fingers. We taught a photography workshop while in Seattle at Aran's dreamy studio and I felt the spark to be cooking more. I have a bundle of new cookbooks and I'm just going to surrender to other peoples' instructions to coax me back into cooking. I do it for work and because I need to feed my family, but it has lost a bit of its romance as of late. It was so refreshing to talk about what we/I do with other people. I think I felt outside of it for a season, if that makes any sense. So it goes with the value of community, I needed other like-minded people to get my wheels turning. How one can feel so depleted and filled up in a given week is beyond me but that is life and I'm still learning.

I have been doing some recipe development for Electrolux as they build a pretty neat food blog for prospective customers and curious home cooks. There are a few more springy dishes coming up next week as well if you remember to pop over. I know there are a grip of sweet potato recipes that I've shared here, but I need to add this one to the list because I love having them with a solid dipping sauce. Also, the leftovers in a tortilla with a handful of fresh greens - instant lunch. Think guacamole with an extra bit of heat and generous amount of herbs. I leave mine pretty chunky but you could mash it more smooth and perhaps thin it with more lime juice or olive oil. I hope you don't mind one click over - the site is worth a peruse aside from these tasty potatoes anyway.

ROASTED SWEET POTATO WEDGES WITH AVOCADO CHIMICHURRI // Serves 4

The recipe can be found at the Electrolux blog Live.Love.Lux

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