Sign Up For My Newsletter

MY DARLING LEMON THYME

Inspire me: Sara Forte from The Sprouted Kitchen


When I wrote my post recently on food blogging I mentioned a bunch of bloggers who inspire me. Whether it’s through their words, their recipes or their stunning photographs they each inspire me in different ways. I’m super excited to introduce a few of them to you over the coming months in my new blog series Inspire me.

Up first is one of the two people behind the ever popular blog The Sprouted Kitchen, whose work I’ve long admired from afar. When I first stumbled across Sara and Hugh’s blog I knew I couldn’t go to bed until I’d trawled through their entire archives list. Stretching back way over a year at that stage, I stayed up well into the night reading post after post until I’d got my fix. I’m sure many of you are already familiar with Sara’s inventive wholefood recipes and beautiful honest writing, sitting alongside hubby Hughs awe-inspiring photography, but I thought it might be quite nice to hear a little more about what makes them tick. I was lucky enough to sneak a little bit of Sara’s time recently to answer a couple of questions, read on for her answers below…

Image | Hugh Forte

What is your blog
about and when did you first push publish?
 
The blog is a journal of the foods I
am experimenting with at home. It was started as an outlet for Hugh and I to
work together – him work on his photography and me learn to cook better. I wanted
a place to write my thoughts and share recipes with people who wanted produce
focused recipes. Hugh makes it all beautiful and that’s what draws people in.
It started in May of 2009 as a gift for my 25th birthday. 

Tell us your cooking philosophy in three words:
Wholesome. Simple. Colourful.

What’s your favourite season?
I am an end of summer
girl. In Southern CA, that is September and early Oct. The heat wave has passed
and it is a comfortable warm. You can go to the beach without crowds and the
light lingers a bit after work. I am not a fan of tomatoes but this is the one
time of year I make an exception because they are simply not to be missed.
Incredibly sweet end of season stone fruits, there are still zucchini and
crisp bell peppers. The produce is doing a cross over so there is tons of it
and I love it!

Sweet or savoury? 
Oh I’m going with sweet. I eat very healthy until it comes
to sweets then I loose all will power. 

What’s your favourite cuisine? 
Mediterranean I’d guess? I prefer lots of
vegetables, fresh preparations, grilled items, citrus, olive oil etc.
 

Who are your food heros? And which food bloggers inspire you? 
I think people
like Alice Waters and Michael Pollan, who have made an influence in the food
world in regards to taking better care of ourselves and our planets
sustainability are never to be overlooked. They are doing great things. I am
always inspired by the unpretentious work of Heidi Swanson at 101cookbooks,
Kelsey at Happy Yolks, Tara at Seven Spoons, Ashley at Not Without Salt, Caitlin
at Roost. I read a lot of blogs for writing, some for recipes and others for
photos. My list would be pretty lengthy if I got into them all!



Do you come from a family of good cooks?
Ha, not necessarily. I come from a family who likes to eat, but I don’t know I’d call them cooks. When I hear my grandma talk about cooking, it was more about following recipes from books and magazines, but not something she felt a liberty with. I feel like this is my medium to be creative – I like to make my own rules. 


What’s your favourite food indulgence?
Ice Cream. No question. 

Tell us something about yourself that we wouldn’t necessarily know from reading your blog…
I have bent pinky fingers. They don’t straighten like my other fingers. I am a terrible sleeper. I hate olives and most things pickled. I wish I had the guts to move abroad for a few months with my love. Love fresh white flowers and swimming in the ocean. 

Your cookbook, The Sprouted Kitchen: A Tastier Taste on Whole Foods has just been released and oh my, what an inspiring book. What is one of your favourite recipes from it? 
Thank you! So glad you like it. I can’t pick one! I love the cocoa nib cookies, the flourless chocolate banana cakes, breakfast tostadas, squash sformato, papaya and red quinoa salad…that narrows it to a few 😉

Thanks so much Sara and Hugh, all the best with the book sales and book tour! xx




My cookbooks

Sponsors

14 Responses

  1. When I read your Food Blogging post, I spent ages going through all your favourites and found some new favourites for me too and this was one of them. It's great to read a bit more about them here.

    1. You won't be disappointed! It's one beautiful book. I was super lucky that my best mate from back home in NZ surprised me with a copy for my birthday recently.