Pickled Jalapeños

Make these pickled jalapeños once, and you'll be hooked. Sweet & spicy, they're great on tacos, burgers & more, or on their own straight from the jar!

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that I’m a huge fan of pickled onions. They’re tangy, they’re sweet, they’re salty – really, they’re just darn good. For the longest time, they’ve been my favorite way to add a bright pop of color and flavor to salads, tacos, sandwiches, and more. But lately, pickled onions have been playing second fiddle to a new quick-pickle favorite: pickled jalapeños! These guys are the perfect blend of spicy, salty, and sweet. And if you’re not a fan of spicy foods, they’re still worth a try. The longer you leave…

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Cilantro Lime Dressing

This tangy cilantro lime dressing is destined for your next taco salad. Enjoy it as a vinaigrette, or add avocado or Greek yogurt to make it creamy!

This cilantro lime dressing is the perfect summer salad dressing – it’s tangy, it’s herbaceous, and it’s so yummy drizzled over summer salads, grilled veggies, and more. The best part about it this dressing? It can be made 3 ways! Once you make the cilantro lime dressing, serve it as-is, add Greek yogurt to make a creamy ranch-like dressing (pictured in the middle above), or add avocado to make a thick, creamy sauce (pictured left above). Let’s get started! Cilantro Lime Dressing Ingredients I make this dressing in the food processor so that the cilantro gets finely chopped and the…

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Coconut Cream

Rich & fluffy, coconut cream is my go-to substitute for dairy whipped cream. Use this easy coconut whipped cream recipe to top your favorite treats!

Whipped coconut cream is my go-to substitute for regular whipped cream. It’s light, it’s fluffy, and it’s naturally dairy-free making it the perfect topping for cakes, pies, crumbles, or any dessert that would benefit from a dollop of whipped cream. What is coconut cream? In most grocery stores, you’ll find 3 canned coconut products: light coconut milk, full-fat coconut milk, and coconut cream. Coconut and water are the primary ingredients in all three, but they each have different concentrations of coconut. Canned coconut cream has the highest coconut percentage, meaning that it also has the highest fat content and the…

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3-Layer Fruit Smoothie

This 3-layer fruit smoothie is the ultimate healthy breakfast! I'll make the whole thing for a special occasion or just one layer for a quick, yummy treat.

Nothing says love like a smoothie, right? 🙂 I love love love Valentine’s Day, but not in the fancy-dinner-prix-fixe dinner sort of way. I love it for of all of the cute things that remind me of being a little kid… tiny paper cards, homemade cupcakes with pink frosting, heart shaped candies… so in the spirit of being crafty, I made this 3-layer fruit smoothie! I always see layered fruit smoothies on Instagram and think, “who the heck has time to make three separate smoothies?” – but here I am doing it. It actually was pretty simple, and while I…

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Home for the Holidays (+ mulled wine!)

A peek at our new home plus a delicious recipe for spiced mulled wine!

I’ve mentioned this before on the blog, but this past year we made a huge move from Austin to Chicago, where I’m originally from. Years and years ago (when I first met Jack who lived in Austin) I was SO excited to leave and to live somewhere warm… forever! I didn’t miss fall, I didn’t miss the seasons, I basked in the sun in December and I loved every minute of it. As far as I knew, I would never be back but, well, life has a way of changing in unexpected ways and here we are! On a warm…

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Vanilla Pecan Milk Chai Lattes

Homemade pecan milk is so delicious and easy to make! This dairy free nut milk creates the perfect fall vegan chai latte.

So, by now you all know that I don’t drink regular milk. I do enjoy cheese occasionally, and I love greek yogurt, but regular milk… no matter if it’s just a little, it’s just not my thing (although, my entire family loves it and I’m totally fine with that – to each their own!). Suffice it to say that I’ve been drinking, baking with, and altogether enjoying non-dairy milk for years, but I had yet to discover how lovely and delicious homemade PECAN milk is until now. This post is in partnership with Pure Leaf Tea Home Brewed Teas because…

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How to Make Matcha

When it comes to food “trends,” I’m usually so late to the game. Chia pudding, smoothie bowls, cauliflower smoothies… I didn’t see any of those foods coming and staying (to be honest the cauliflower smoothie thing still sounds a little gross to me). But matcha… I’ve been loving matcha before it was the cool thing to love. I can’t quite remember the first time I tried matcha. It’s been so long, but it might have been on a swirly soft serve cone in Kyoto. Matcha desserts and matcha lattes are all over the place now, but what I want to…

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Iced Tea with Fancy Herbal & Fruity Ice

A fun, summery, creative way to serve iced tea. Freeze herbs, fruits, citrus, and cucumbers (whatever you want, really) inside ice cubes!

You might not know this little factoid about myself and Jack, but we freaking love iced tea. Black tea, green tea, tea in our cocktails – we’re obsessed, especially now that we’re in the heat of the summer. Although, we’re weirdos that drink iced tea in the winter too, but I digress… Today’s recipe is less of a recipe and more of a really fun, summery way to serve iced tea. What you do is freeze herbs, fruits, citrus, and cucumbers (whatever you want, really) and serve it with yummy iced tea! I think this is such an easy and pretty party…

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Avocado Smoothie

Made with banana and coconut milk, this avocado smoothie recipe is deliciously creamy without any dairy. An easy, refreshing vegan breakfast!

A recent trip to Dallas inspired me to make this creamy avocado smoothie recipe. While we were there, Jack and I went to a popsicle shop that had this dairy-free avocado lime pop that I went crazy for. I’ve wanted to recreate it all summer, and I finally did…in smoothie form! Don’t worry – this avocado smoothie doesn’t taste at all like guacamole. Instead, it’s like a fresh lime sorbet. Thanks to the avocado and banana, it has a delicious creamy texture that makes it a really satisfying breakfast or snack. In fact, it’s so good that I’d even eat…

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Skinny Lemongrass Mojitos

Summer has officially begun this week – and we’re making mojitos! I hope your herb garden is ready because instead of the basic mint mojito, these are made with lemongrass and basil as well. Basically, I like to build cocktails the same way I approach salads – the more fresh herbs and citrus, the better. To make these “skinny,” I skipped the sugar and sweetened these with Truvia Natural Sweetener instead. It has no calories and it’s sweetness comes from the stevia leaf. Personally, I’d rather splurge on a dessert than on a sugary cocktail so I love that these mojitos are…

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Super Fun Summer Smoothies!

Enjoy classic treats in smoothie form! These four fun drinks are inspired by blueberry muffins, PB&J, mint chip ice cream, and peaches & cream.

Every so often, I get on these mean green daily smoothie kicks that, in all honesty, can get a little TOO green over time. The kick starts with delicious well-balanced smoothies, but as the days go on, I start cutting corners. I add too much liquid so that the blender will blend fast, leaving me with a watery smoothie. And speaking of water, that’s what I use when I run out of almond milk. I add ice in the name of “thickness,” and I start skipping all ingredients that actually add flavor. What I (we) are left with to drink first thing in…

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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.