Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Make a batch of these chewy and moist gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, and they'll be gone in no time. One of our favorite treats!

I’ll be honest, most things I bake don’t make it to the blog. For starters, I don’t bake very often. Our household (not including the dogs), is just 2 of us. And if 12 cookies are made one day, 12 cookies will be gone the next day. When I do bake, I’d call it experimental more than anything else. I can’t bring myself to follow a recipe all the way through without changing at least a few things, sometimes as an attempt to healthify things. Other times, I’m just too lazy to go out and get the exact ingredients. You…

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Coconut Loaf

Toasted coconut and a coconut milk glaze top this moist, coconut-filled healthy breakfast bread from the book Sprouted Kitchen. Great for dessert, too!

breakfast / snacks & dips / sprouted kitchen

I’ve been reading Sara & Hugh’s blog Sprouted Kitchen for about as long as I’ve been reading 101 Cookbooks. Which is food blog code for: a long time. I’ve had their book pre-ordered for months, but was excited (flattered, really) when Sara sent me one. Now, everyone reading my blog is, I’m sure, already familiar with Sprouted Kitchen. I probably don’t need to go on about how gorgeous Hugh’s photography is. Or about how many “I wish I thought of that” moments I’ve had over Sara’s inspiring and creative recipe ideas (Shiitake Taco’s anyone?). So I’ll just get to why I like…

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Tomato Coconut Shrimp Curry

Tomato coconut shrimp curry makes a healthy, spicy, and warming meal for winter weeknights. Gluten and dairy free with a vegan option.

I feel funny posting this one because I know a decent amount of you readers are from London. I’ll let you know that the last time I was in London I ate my weight in curries. And when I came home from that trip I didn’t step foot into an Indian restaurant for at least a year. I knew that the local places I once frequented just wouldn’t compare. (This kind of all-or-nothing behavior drives Jack absolutely up the wall). However, I did take to making more Indian-inspired dishes at home. A few nights ago I had some leftover coconut…

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Peanut Soba Noodles with Kale

This soba noodle bowl loaded with green veggies, herbs, and zesty, sweet, and spicy peanut sauce makes a healthy 30-minute weeknight dinner. Gluten-free.

I admit, this picture is minimal, even for us. I mean, is there even a bowl here? Modern art was not exactly what we were going for… we were just hungry. Sometimes we spend a lot of time on our photos, other times, it’s “Got it? Look good? Is it clear? Yes. Great, let’s eat…” In front of my computer the next morning is when I sit alone shaking my head and go, “If only we woulda… Next time we should really…” and then I take a break and enviously pin other people’s photos. But really, I’d rather spend time figuring…

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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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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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Kale, Mushroom & White Bean Stew

Filled with kale, mushrooms & white beans, this healthy vegetarian stew is perfect for warming up in winter. Wine and balsamic vinegar add depth of flavor.

It’s Food Matters Project Monday, and this one might be a stretch. This week’s pick was coq au vin, and while I’m surely on board with the vin part, chicken isn’t my thing, and I wasn’t all that inspired to try a vegetarian version of it. Jack and I were out at dinner on Friday night, and he just so happened to order coq au vin (what are the odds?). Never having tried the dish before I became vegetarian, I was surprised to see that it looked just like a rustic mushroom stew. So I took some Tuscan inspiration and decided…

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Baked Tomato Cheese & Bread Soup

A grilled cheese and tomato soup all in one, this layered cheese and bread baked tomato soup is comfort food perfect for a cold winter day.

This isn’t a typical meal in our house. Cheese around here is a sometimes food because I just can’t have that much of it. But “sometimes” has to happen… sometime. When I was in Rome, I ate gelato twice a day (you can’t be lactose intolarant in Italy, right? wrong…) and when my mom was here last week cooking us this melty, cheesy, bread-y, crusty tomato soup I couldn’t stop myself at one bowl. The idea to make this came up after a discussion about the beet salad post. We were talking about foods (there aren’t many) that Jack doesn’t like. He and…

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Veggie Curry with Cardamom Yogurt

A richly-spiced vegan curry made with tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, and peas is served with a creamy, zippy cardamom yogurt.

Ok family, here’s the post you’ve all been waiting for. Last night was the night we almost burned the house down. All of the pieces were there. It was late, we were tired, and dinner was just about ready. I gave Jack the “five minute warning” to get the camera and computer set up, and he decided right then to do a bunch of software updates on the computer because he must always do this at the most inopportune moments possible. What’s this have to do with a fire? Between being annoyed 20 minutes later at the “5 minute” update,…

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.