Veggie Sushi with Sunflower Miso Paste

Raw vegan sushi filled with crisp vegetables, creamy avocado, and a tangy, salty sunflower miso paste. A light gluten free meal for spring or summer.

We eat a lot of sushi… probably similar to the rate normal americans consume pizza. I don’t want to make this blog about weight loss, but sushi is my skinny secret. I don’t crave breads like I used to, I crave nori. Sushi at home might seem intimidating, but once you get the hang of it, it’s really not hard. I’m no Jiro or anything: it just takes a bit of a steady hand and some focus (which gets harder with the more sake you consume)… but honestly, if it comes out a little sloppy looking, it’ll still taste good. Don’t…

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Spring Green Lemon & Basil Pasta

This is the pasta we made for my sister and her husband on this unintentionally-late-cooking night. We actually handmade these pasta noodles, which I’ll have to show in another post. Between messy flour, sticky noodles, and it being 11pm… we failed to get photographs of any part of that process. Despite starting this meal way too late, it comes together super fast. The lemon and olive oil highlight the crunchy spring vegetables in a bright but simple way. And especially if you’re using homemade pasta, the flavors don’t overwhelm the taste of the fresh noodles. I was pleasantly surprised that this…

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Poblano “Crema” Enchiladas

Healthy, veggie-packed green enchiladas make a delicious spring or summer weekend dinner. Vegan & gluten-free with tomatillo sauce & poblano cashew crema.

summer / vegan / tomatillo

Nothing like a five o’clock Friday post the day before Cinco de Mayo… I’m sure everyone’s off on a patio with a margarita in hand by now, but I just had to get this one last recipe out before I go pour my first happy hour drink. We made this last night (hence the late post). I’ve posted cashew cream before, but I have to say that this roasted poblano version really takes the cake. If you make only one component here, make that. It’s a wonderful creamy sauce on these vegan enchiladas, but it would be delicious dolloped onto…

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Mango & Black Bean Quesadillas

Chard, mango, and jalapeño make sweet & spicy quesadillas for a fun and healthy spring or summer appetizer, lunch, or weeknight dinner. Vegan option.

I’ve been living in Austin for nine years now, and I find myself continually surprised and in awe of what grows here. Actually, let me start over…. For the first 5 years, all our food grew from restaurants. The next 3 years, it grew from Whole Foods. Now, (much) of our food grows from Rainlily Farm, Springdale Farm, Boggy Creek Farm, and most recently… wait for it… our front yard. In a million years, I never thought I’d get excited about gardening. And growing up where I did (a suburb of Chicago), I’m fascinated by the possibilities of what I can plant…

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Green Garbanzo & Leek Soup

Herbs & leeks make a bright, zippy chilled soup for hot summer days. This easy vegan soup is filled with protein from garbanzos and a lemon yogurt sauce.

We really should have called this site The Basil Blog. I just realized that the last 7 of 8 savory recipes I’ve posted all include basil. And even as I was reflecting on that, the most prominent thought that came to mind was wondering how delicious a basil brownie might be. (Strawberry basil sauce – yes?) So I make no apologies… it’s one of my favorite things, especially when my basil plant is flourishing like it is. This is my attempt at contributing to The Food Matters project today. It’s white bean and asparagus soup day. However, it’s been in…

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Crab Cakes with Avocado-Wasabi Sauce

Healthy baked crab cakes made with Asian flavors: lime, ginger, and coconut. This 30-minute meal is served with a creamy vegan wasabi sauce. Dairy free.

appetizers / entertaining

I don’t post about it a lot, but seafood is actually a staple part of our diet. The only reason I haven’t featured more of it is that I can’t cook a good-looking piece of fish to save my life. I can make it taste good, but I’ve either poked the holy heck out of it, or it comes off the pan broken… and I just can’t get seem to get a picturesque sear when it counts. But crabcakes covered in panko and baked (my preferred foolproof method so they won’t fall apart), I can do. Now, this flavor combo could…

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Lemon Risotto with Asparagus & Peas

A healthy weekend meal that's spring on a plate: tender, yet crunchy, green vegetables over bright, creamy lemon rice. Gluten-free. Vegan option.

spring / vegetarian / gluten free

This dish to me is spring on a plate: tender yet crunchy green vegetables with bright, creamy lemon rice. The part you don’t see in this tidy photo is the arguing and bickering that went on behind the scenes. Jack isn’t (yet) the biggest fan of asparagus or peas, and he threw a mini tantrum when I quickly tossed in handfuls of both of these vegetables near the end of his risotto-stirring duty. I can’t recall exactly how it went because it was a fight about nothing (the good ones always are) but some of the remarks that flew around…

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Cauliflower Crust Pizza, Part 2

Lighten up your pizza with this healthier version of pizza crust made with cauliflower, almond flour, and eggs. Top as desired! Gluten and dairy free.

This is part two of the cauliflower crust pizza post from the other day. I had wanted to try this again as a vegan version using flax in the crust instead of eggs (and figure out how to make it not fall apart). I haven’t gotten around to that yet (I’ll report back when I do), but this version is entirely dairy-free. I topped it with leftover kale pesto that I had stored away in my freezer along with some sautéed broccolini, roasted tomatoes, and pine nuts. I could have posted these two pizzas as “his and hers” versions. To Jack’s benefit,…

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Cauliflower Crust Pizza, Part 1

Lighten up your pizza with this healthier version of pizza crust made with cauliflower, almond flour, and eggs. Top as desired! Gluten-free.

In an odd set of circumstances, I was once in a hospital waiting room in Rome talking to an Italian guy, and the topic of Chicago (where I’m from) came up. We had a long debate about Chicago pizza, and he left me with this quote – “Well it’s not pizza, but it’s good.” Not that this recipe has anything to do with deep-dish pizza – there’s no butter crust, no sausage, no brick of cheese. This “pizza”, made out of ground cauliflower and almonds, is healthy, light, and gluten-free. I couldn’t wait to give this a try but I had…

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Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers

Crisp on the outside and moist in the middle, this sweet potato burger has a wonderful earthy flavor from rosemary & paprika.

I couldn’t wait to make this sweet potato burger after seeing this recipe. I made a few alterations based on the ingredients I had (or rather, didn’t have) in my kitchen. I ended up making them with tofu instead of beans, which worked out great. I flavored them with rosemary and paprika, which was a nice earthy balance to the maple syrup. Sometimes veggie burgers can be too starchy and brick-heavy, but this one was moist in the center and crispy on the edges. Because there are just 2 of us, I made half the recipe that I listed below.…

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Avocado & Chickpea Salad Sandwich

My go-to healthy lunch is this Avocado Chickpea Salad Sandwich! With green onion, cilantro & lime, it's ideal for quick & easy vegan sandwiches.

This is my new favorite lunch. I saw this recipe on Two Peas & Their Pod a couple of weeks ago and made it right away. And then I made it again the next day… and then the next day after that… As creative as I like to get at dinnertime, there’s something comforting (and probably a little OCD) about eating the same thing for lunch day in and day out. Beyond the sandwich, I’ve also been eating scoopfuls of this over mixed greens with chopped cucumbers and other veggies. And this summer, I’ll likely be serving it poolside with chips…

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.