Zucchini Noodles & Avocado-Miso Sauce

Toss your summer zucchini with a gingery avocado sauce, mango, edamame, and toasted almonds to make this light 30-minute dinner. Vegan and gluten free!

I was on a raw (well raw-ish) kick last week. Lately, I’ve been trying to eat lighter, and a bit healthier… less heavy starches, that sort of thing. I’ve been feeling really low-energy, so I’m trying to eat more veggie-focused meals and to incorporate healing foods like miso, hemp seed, and ginger. I love zucchini noodles because they really trick the senses and make you feel like you’re eating more than a bowl full of raw vegetables. Don’t get me wrong – they’re not pasta, but they have a nice tender bite that I find to be reminiscent of an al…

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Fig & Arugula Wheat Berry Salad

This hearty grain & greens salad makes a healthy side or main in fall or late summer. Packed with fresh veggies & herbs, it can be made vegan & gluten-free!

This is actually the third time I set out to make farro. And for one reason or another, a farro post is still yet to happen. Thanks to my superior pantry labeling system (a million unlabeled bags), I happened to grab these wheat berries instead. Turns out, pre-cooked wheat berries and pre-cooked farro look remarkably similar to each other. Not that it matters… in these salads, any grain will do. The formula is simple: grain + green + nut + chopped fresh herbs + a tangy cheese (optional) + a seasonal special guest. Today’s seasonal guest is figs. But unlike my other…

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Grilled Peach Salad & Mint Pesto

This 30-minute salad makes a bright, sweet side on any summer table. Juicy peaches, creamy mozzarella & herbs will please vegetarians & meat eaters alike!

This one has moved to the top of my list for favorite summertime dishes. Sweet grilled peaches, spicy arugula, creamy fresh mozzarella, crunchy pine nuts, and herb-y pesto… It’s simple enough to put together for a light weeknight meal, but fancy enough to serve as a starter at your next dinner party.

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Grilled Panzanella with Poached Egg

Crispy bread cubes tossed with tomatoes, basil, and ricotta make an easy, healthy, and elegant summer dinner or side. Add a poached egg for extra protein!

I love charred bread, but I haven’t always. When I was younger, my dad ate all the family reject burnt food. Overdone toast, accidentally burnt pancakes, cookies we left in the oven too long… my sister and I had a preference toward underdone and doughy food, so whatever we messed up and overcooked, we’d pile on a plate for my dad. And he’d always say “this is the best kind.” The first time I put burnt toast on a plate for Jack, he looked at me and said “what’s this, am I your dad now?” I had just always assumed…

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Quinoa Taco Salad

Enjoy this salad for a summer lunch or weeknight dinner. Corn, poblanos, cilantro, and plenty of lime give this hearty vegan salad crunch and zest.

I eat a lot of tacos. Here in Austin, you can’t walk 10 feet without tripping over another taco truck or Mexican restaurant. But my favorite thing is actually the taco in its deconstructed form: the taco salad. You can take this in as many different directions as there are taco fillings, but I especially like this with red quinoa (although if you had non-red quinoa it would taste pretty much the same). The chewy little red kernels sort of take on the essence of taco meat. The rest of the ingredients came together from what I happened to have on…

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Strawberry Quinoa & Feta Salad

Strawberries, feta, greens, and mint make a bright, sweet, and salty spring or summer salad. A healthy gluten free & vegetarian weekday lunch or dinner!

I’m excited to be guest posting at Anthology Magazine this month with a 4-part summer salad series! If you can’t tell by now, I live on salads all summer long, so I’m excited to share some of my favorites. First up, today, is this savory-with-a punch-of-sweet strawberry & feta quinoa salad.  

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Green Bean, Potato & Corn Salad

This Mediterranean summer salad is brightened with a lemon-Dijon vinaigrette & fresh herbs. Serve as a vegan main dish or as a side for your next cookout.

These kinds of salads have been on our table a lot lately. I’ve been craving vegetables with Dijon dressing and capers… mediterranean sorts of flavors with vegetables I happen to have around. Bonus points if I don’t have to go to the store! That’s the kind of lazy summer we’ve been having. So I’m going to keep this short. Get off the internet, go do something fun outside (or not if you live where I do and it’s way too hot). And make salad.

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Thai Coconut Cucumber Salad

Chilled crunchy summer veggies are tossed with herbs and a spicy, tangy curry coconut dressing. Serve it for a vegan weeknight dinner as a main or side.

I could eat coconut all day in the summertime. Cold, crunchy, spicy salads like this one with a side of coconut iced tea, followed by coconut ice cream for dessert. I ask you, who needs so much dairy when the coconut exists? (Ok, don’t answer that, I know you cheese-lovers are a passionate bunch). I’m calling this one a “Thai-inspired” dish. Jack and I are talking about taking a trip to Thailand next spring (!)… so until then, I bring you “Thai-ish.” Coconut milk, lime, and red curry are flavors that I am crazy about… and here they create a delicious…

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Orzo & Arugula Lemon Thyme Salad

This 30-minute salad filled with veggies, mozzarella & orzo and tossed with a bright lemon vinaigrette is perfect for a spring or summer weeknight dinner.

In case it isn’t obvious… I love lemons. Ending a dish with a squeeze of lemon or a bit of zest, to me, makes the whole world seem just bit brighter. And now I’m revealing my newest lemon-y obsession… lemon thyme. I have a bunch of it growing in my garden, and it just smells so amazing. Sweet, bright, fragrant… move over basil. (Ok, not really). My first thought was that this lemon thyme needs to be in a cake. But I’m not exactly Jeanine the baker, so my second thought was to make a bright summery salad with lots of…

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Sesame Cucumber Salad

Chilled cucumbers and wakame in a sweet & tangy dressing make a quick & healthy summer condiment or snack. Sesame seeds add crunch. Vegan and gluten free.

This is hands down my favorite hot weather snack. Is it hot where you are? It’s about 95 degrees here and I have about a million cucumbers growing in my garden. Sadly, in this heat, the cucumbers are about all I have growing at the moment. But I’ll take my cucumbers and be happy about them. And make salad. This one is generally in my fridge all summer long because it’s just so quick and easy, and it keeps for days. I also find that it’s a great way to add in sea vegetables. They’re not necessary here: the cucumbers are…

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Chickpea Nicoise Salad

Tossed with an herby lemon dressing, this vegetarian take on the classic Nicoise salad makes a healthy weeknight meal for spring or summer. Gluten free.

We were on vacation in Nice around this time last year, and I think I ate a nicoise salad for lunch every day of that trip. Or as Jack has coined it, the “Nizzan” salad, because the Italians call Nice “Nizza” (pronounced like pizza). We learned this as were running through the Rome airport (we are always running), and the airport desk workers were yelling out “Nizza! Nizza! last call for Nizza!” So that’s what we call it now. The city and the salad. This is one of my favorite main course salads because it’s so filling yet light and…

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A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.