Kale Smoothie

This energizing kale smoothie recipe is a great morning pick-me-up! Banana, peaches, and fresh ginger make it creamy, sweet, and refreshing.

This kale smoothie recipe is such an energizing way to start the day! Now that the weather’s warming up in Chicago, it’s made its way into my breakfast rotation of freezer burritos, muffins, and avocado toast. Refreshing and nutritious, it’s what I crave on mornings when the sun is shining, the air smells sweet, and it really feels like spring is on its way. The magic of this kale smoothie recipe is that it doesn’t actually taste like kale. Don’t get me wrong, kale’s flavor has its time and place. It’s irresistible in a kale salad or pasta, but in…

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Pear Salad with Balsamic and Walnuts

Sweet, juicy pears balance a tangy balsamic vinaigrette in this pear salad recipe. Simple, elegant, and delicious, it's a perfect autumn side dish.

fall / salads

This pear salad recipe celebrates some of the fall produce that we don’t talk about often enough. For just a moment, we’re all going to forget about apples and squash. This is the season of crisp fennel, tender greens, and sweet, juicy pears that just beg you to eat them. Together, these three fall ingredients create a salad that’s simple, flavorful, and gorgeous. It’s elegant enough for a special occasion meal, but it’s so easy to make that you’ll toss it together for everyday dinners and lunches too. Chopped pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts add rich, nutty flavor and crunch to…

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Oscar Party Appetizers & Wine Pairings

Vegetarian appetizer recipes and wine pairings for your Oscar party! Red Pepper Soup Shooters, Best Dressed Endive Spears, and Mini Pizzas.

entertaining / appetizers / vegetarian

The Academy Awards are this weekend – have you seen all of the movies? We’ve binge-watched only a few of them, but so far my favorite is the Grand Budapest Hotel. Does anyone know where I can get Jack a hat that says “Lobby Boy?” Whether or not you’re into the glitz and glam of it all, we love any excuse to gather over food and wine. We’ve partnered with Dark Horse Wine to create 3 fun Oscar-themed appetizers along with some unexpected wine pairings. To make things easy, most of this menu can be prepared in advance, and all of these Dark Horse wines are under $10…

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Pear & Arugula Chickpea Salad

Meet this salad: your new favorite winter lunch. Just 7 ingredients, sweet, tangy, fresh, and hearty, yet healthy. You'll love this one.

winter / salads / gluten free

I realize this post might not be the most timely. If you’re snowed in, chances are you’re not reaching for a cold salad – BUT it’s not snowing here and nothing will ever stop me from craving big bright salads for lunch. (If you need something hot today, click here, here, or here). My lunch salads are what I would call “kitchen sink” style. I toss whatever veggies I happen to have into a bowl… often with chickpeas and a bit of feta cheese or a scoop of hummus. For crunch, I add toasted nuts and/or hemp seeds. And to bring it all together…

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Pear Crisp

This pear crisp recipe is such an easy, delicious fall dessert! The sweet, soft fruit and nutty crumble are fantastic with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

vegan / gluten free

I love to think of this pear crisp recipe as a “pair crisp.” With quotation marks. Because this is a dessert for 2. Get it? Jack is sitting next to me right now shaking his head, but honestly, I love desserts that are easy to make in small portions. See, if I made a pear crisp recipe large enough to serve 4, it would still serve just the two of us. Just one more bite after one more bite, and it would all be over. We have no control, especially around sweet, cinnamon-spiced fall desserts like this one. (And pssst!…

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Pear Pizza with Fried Sage

fall / favorite

Pumpkins and sweet potatoes seem to get all of the fall love. Rightfully so, but lately I’ve been having a mini obsession with pears. One day last week, pear pizza sounded like a good idea to me. No, I mean, literally, I just liked the way it sounded… with the two p’s. I love a sweet component to savory foods, so I knew this would be good – I didn’t know this combo would be ridiculously good. While we were snapping photos, I let Jack have that missing slice. I knew we had a winner when he took a bite and…

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Pear & Fennel Salad

Crisp fennel, juicy pear, walnuts, feta & fresh mint create the perfect balance of sweet, salty, creamy & crunchy elements in this satisfying winter salad.

winter / gluten free / favorite

Happy New Year! Do you all make resolutions? In the past I haven’t, but this year, I’m going to give it a go. (And I’m thinking if I write them here, maybe I’ll feel some sense of accountability). 1. Learn Italian. So far, I can read most restaurant menus, I can order gelato… I can ask for directions… but I’d love to be able to have an actual conversation. 2. Send back wedding rsvp cards, and mail out baby gifts on time. I’m the worst… I’m the friend that shows up to your baby shower with a printout from Amazon.com of…

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Roasted Beet Salad with Pears and Walnuts

This roasted beet salad gets a pop from tangy feta and balsamic dressing. We love it as a fall starter or packed up for a weekday lunch!

fall / salads / gluten free

Let’s talk about beets, shall we? A hearty root vegetable, they’re available pretty much all year round, but they’re best June through October. I picked up some gorgeous ones at our farmers market last week and decided they would go perfectly with some ripening pears that were sitting on my countertop in this roasted beet salad recipe. To balance all of the sweetness, I added some tangy feta and toasty walnuts. Beet Salad Recipe Tips This sweet & savory fall salad is a delicious starter or meal, but if you’ve never worked with beets before, there are a few things you…

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Sweet Potato & Pear Soup with Sage

Enjoy this healthy one-pot soup in fall or winter. Full of sweet potato, sage, pear, and curry spices, it is perfect for holidays and vegan & gluten free.

fall / soups

My favorite thing about cooking is when things come out of nothing. After the holidays, we had an empty fridge, empty countertops… contents of a meal (or even a snack) nowhere in sight. I had a pear that was on the verge of way-too-ripe, half an onion… and then I noticed a sweet potato that I never remembered buying. I’ve seen recipes for butternut squash soup with pears, so I figured this would work just as well. I foraged through the back of the fridge and pantry for the rest of the ingredients. Then I remembered I had this delicious…

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