Asparagus Ribbon, Mint & Pea Pesto Toasts

Have you ever tried peeling asparagus into ribbons? Lightly crisp, fresh & delicious, they're just the thing to top these yummy spring-themed toasts.

If you love asparagus, but the people you’re living with don’t, this post is for you. Even if you’re just blasé about asparagus, like I used to be, give it a chance by ribboning it! The thin, raw ribbons tossed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper are so fresh and delicious that you’ll completely avoid the unpleasant fibrous, stringy experience that asparagus sometimes causes. You can toss them in salads, put them on pizza… last weekend we ate them on fancy toast because these happened to be the ingredients that I had on hand. To make the ribbons, you…

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Strawberry Tart

You won't find any dairy or gluten in this delicious strawberry tart recipe! Instead, it has a bright coconut cream filling and a nutty almond crust.

This strawberry tart recipe comes from the Sweet Laurel cookbook by Laurel Gallucci and Claire Thomas. I know you will absolutely love this book – there are SO many amazing allergen-free baking recipes (many are vegan as well). In addition to this simple strawberry tart, there are cakes, cookies, bars, pies, muffins, quick breads, and pop tarts. Each recipe is more decadent than the one before it, yet they all have short ingredient lists and simple instructions. I can’t wait to try the Apple Pie Bars and Double Chocolate Muffins in the fall, but right now, I’m obsessed with this…

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Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This chocolate zucchini cake recipe is the ULTIMATE summertime treat! It's moist, fudgy, and decadent, with a rich dark chocolate flavor.

When your garden (or your fridge) is overflowing with zucchini, there’s no better way to use it than by making this chocolate zucchini cake. It’s a recipe I make every summer, when I’ve already had zucchini noodles, zucchini chips, and zucchini salad, and something really decadent sounds like it would hit the spot. This chocolate zucchini cake is moist and delicious, with a rich chocolate flavor that I can’t get enough of. It’s wonderful on its own, but I like it best with a thick layer of frosting on top. If you want to lean into the green theme, you…

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Vegan Seven Layer Dip

This healthy recipe for seven layer dip is a guaranteed party hit! Refried beans, guac, spiced quinoa, cashew cream & fresh veggies load it with flavor.

I have a huge weakness for seven layer dip. Growing up, my mom made it for SO many holidays and gatherings. I’d be sure to grab a seat at the table right next to it so that I could gobble it up, chip after chip after chip after chip. In my family, this was (and still is) called Tex Mex dip. When Jack and I were first dating, he thought this was hilarious, and once I moved down to Texas with him I learned why – this dip is neither Tex nor Mex. In the intervening years, I also learned…

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Kale Guacamole

This kale guacamole has classic guac's addictive zesty flavor & creamy texture, but steamed kale leaves makes it extra green (and extra healthy)!

This recipe was inspired by a kale guacamole that started showing up at Whole Foods last summer :). Yes, that’s right, I don’t always make my own guacamole. If I’m heading to someone’s house, sometimes it’s just easier to pick it up on the way. That delicious kale guacamole inspired me to make my own version at home. Not only is it healthy, but also adding in the kale bulks it up a bit without taking away any of the flavor. Plus, I somehow found a way to make guacamole *more* green! Who doesn’t love that? This recipe is easy as…

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Loaded Potato Skins

You'll love these loaded potato skins with black bean salad, sunflower sour cream, and crispy coconut bacon. Great for parties!

I wanted to share this fun healthi(er) “game day” recipe before the Super Bowl even though, admittedly, we’re not big football fans. And by “we,” I mostly mean me. Jack will socially watch a game at a party, but my relationship with football didn’t exactly start off on the right… foot. Beginning in 1st grade, every year in gym class, we started the year with a football written test. Way to get kids interested in sports, right? The teacher would hand out worksheets to bring home and study (which I never did) and every year I’d bring home a failing…

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Cranberry Cookies

These cranberry cookies are soft, chewy, and warmly spiced. They're perfect for the holiday season, but they're so delicious that I make them year-round!

These cranberry cookies are a more festive version of my favorite thing to bake: chocolate chip cookies! With Christmas just one week away, I wanted to share a fun holiday cookie recipe, but I wasn’t in the mood for sugar cookies or gingerbread. Nope, true to form, I wanted soft, chewy cookies that were generously studded with chocolate chips. I didn’t think that classic chocolate chip cookies really counted as a holiday treat, so I jazzed them up to make these cranberry cookies instead. I have to say, I’m thrilled with how they came out! I spiced them with cinnamon…

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Butternut Hummus with Feta & Pomegranates

A healthy fall or winter appetizer - great for Thanksgiving, the holidays, or just for snacking! Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

I hope you need a last-minute Thanksgiving appetizer because this butternut squash hummus dip is so insanely good! While I was making it, I couldn’t stop eating it. Now that the leftovers are in the fridge, I can’t walk by the kitchen without grabbing a cracker for a quick swipe. It’s easy to make, especially if you’re roasting butternut squash for another recipe – just roast an extra cup of cubed squash and swirl this hummus together in no time. It’s thick, creamy, tangy, and nicely spiced from the cumin, coriander, and a bit of cayenne. Now the important part…

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Apple Crumble Pie

Shhh! This apple crumble pie recipe is vegan, but you'd never guess it from the sweet apple filling and rich, cinnamon-spiced crumble topping.

This apple crumble pie recipe was the first pie that Jack and I made together. Even though we spent countless Thanksgivings together in Austin, we never baked pie. We’d either stay home and skip it, opting for a simple crumble or crisp instead, or we’d be head to a Friendsgiving, where someone else would supply the pie that year. But this year, we finally decided to take on the challenge! As Jack says, I have a “soft spot for soft apples,” so we knew that apple pie would be our pick. I also can’t get enough of baked fruit under…

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Apple Oatmeal Cookies

These apple oatmeal cookies are perfect for fall! Packed with apples, walnuts, cinnamon, and raisins, they're a healthy, cozy autumn treat.

Baking these soft, chewy apple oatmeal cookies allowed me to cross off #1 on my fall checklist: fall baking! Now that we’ve moved back to Chicago and are experiencing fall to its fullest, I have all sorts of fall activities I want to do. I can’t wait to go apple picking, to carve pumpkins, and more! If you’re also someone who loves fall activities and getting in the fall spirit, I highly recommend making these apple oatmeal cookies as soon as you can. Packed with oats, raisins, apples, and walnuts, they’re basically fall in a cookie. 🙂 Apple Oatmeal Cookies…

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Mini Frittata Muffins

Are you a savory breakfast person looking for make-ahead options? Mini frittata muffins are just what you need! They're easy, healthy, and delicious.

These frittata muffins are my solution to a longstanding problem: all the best grab-and-go breakfasts are sweet. Don’t get me wrong, banana bread, scones, chia pudding, and breakfast cookies are all delicious. But if you’re anything like me, sometimes, you’re craving a savory breakfast, and you don’t have time to cook eggs. You wish that there was a tasty, protein-packed option that you could take with you as you headed out the door. Enter: this frittata muffin recipe. Packed with fresh veggies and eggs, these mini frittata muffins have become my favorite meal prep breakfast recipe. They’re great straight from…

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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.