Behind the Scenes: The Mess & The Cleanup

On shoot days, we seem to dirty every dish in the kitchen. Read on for more about our photography process, how we make a mess & how we clean up!

I get a lot of questions about what the behind-the-scenes of running a food blog looks like. People ask if we eat everything (we do!), how I decide what to make (what sounds good/what’s in season!), and what kind of equipment we use (more on that later). But we have one well-kept secret: what a mess we make while testing, re-testing, and shooting recipes. We typically shoot two to three recipes twice a week, and by the time a shoot is over, the kitchen is filled with dirty dishes. It’s not glamorous, but cleanup one of the biggest parts of…

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Healthy No Bake Cookies

These healthy no bake cookies are vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free, made with wholesome ingredients like oats, peanut butter, and maple syrup.

I love classic no bake cookies…but I might love these healthy no bake cookies even more. Filled with chocolate and peanut butter flavor, they’re just as chewy, fudgy, and delicious, but they’re made with healthier ingredients like natural peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and whole rolled oats. I almost always have everything I need to make them in my pantry, so out of all the cookie recipes I’ve shared, these healthy no bake cookies might be the ones I make most often. I hope you love them as much as I do! Healthy No Bake Cookies Ingredients These cookies come…

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Linguine with Lemon & Tomatoes

With a punch of savory flavor from roasted tomatoes, this simple, yet elevated, linguine pasta recipe is perfect for late summer evenings.

summer / dinner

So, you roasted a bunch of tomatoes after Monday’s post. Now what do you do with them? Make linguine pasta, of course! This linguine recipe has been one of our favorite dinners this summer. Along with finely diced roasted lemon, the tomatoes infuse the tangles of linguine noodles with rich, savory flavor. These little guys pack such a punch that all you need is a little cheese, a handful of herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil to perfect this simple, yet elevated, linguine recipe. If you roast the tomatoes ahead of time, this one is super easy to toss together. So pour…

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Roasted Tomatoes

Want to punch up the flavor in your next pizza or pasta? Try adding roasted tomatoes! They're deliciously chewy & tart with an irresistible umami flavor.

summer / vegetarian

Have you ever tried roasted tomatoes? If you haven’t, I’m here to tell you that you have to make this roasted tomato recipe before summer ends. While I love using juicy fresh tomatoes in recipes like pico de gallo, Caprese salad, and panzanella, roasted tomatoes transform into something totally different. As they roast, they lose moisture, and their flavor intensifies. They come out of the oven chewy & tart, with a super-concentrated, intense umami flavor. These little guys are totally irresistible! Make sure you roast a big batch – you’ll find endless ways to use them. Around here, we can’t get…

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Classic Caprese Salad

Grab a ball of fresh mozzarella, a handful of basil, and the best tomatoes you can find, and make this Caprese salad recipe before summer slips away!

summer / salads

I’ve posted a few Caprese salad recipes over the years. If you look through the recipe index, you’ll find one with strawberries, one with plums, one with a drizzle of mint pesto, and even cute little Caprese skewers! What you won’t find, though, is this: a classic Caprese salad with soft, creamy fresh mozzarella, juicy seasonal tomatoes, and a generous amount of basil leaves. It’s a salad that’s been near and dear to my heart ever since we visited the island of Capri, years ago, just after Jack proposed. It was a magical trip where we ate Caprese salads every day…

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Vegan Peach Cobbler

This vegan peach cobbler is easy to make with 10 ingredients! It stars juicy peaches and a crisp, buttery topping. I love it with vegan ice cream on top!

This vegan peach cobbler recipe is perfect for peach season. Though you could use frozen peaches here, it’s really meant to be a fresh peach celebration. I don’t sweeten them, simmer them, or peel them. Instead, I just drizzle them with a little lemon juice for brightness. Then, I top them with a quick, buttery topping and bake them until they’re tender and juicy. Naturally sweet and brimming with peachy flavor, this one’s an essential late summer treat. And I haven’t even told you the best part—this vegan peach cobbler is easy to make with 10 ingredients! It comes together in under an…

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Grilled Zucchini with Lemon Yogurt, Feta & Mint

This simple grilled zucchini recipe is an essential summer side dish! I serve the veggies over a bright, lemony yogurt with a shower of feta & mint on top.

vegetarian / side dishes

If your fridge is stuffed with zucchini but it’s too hot to make zucchini bread, crispy baked summer squash, or stuffed zucchini boats, what should you cook? Grilled zucchini, of course! A lot of the time, I grill zucchini along with a mix of other rainbow veggies, but lately, we’ve had so much of it on hand that I’ve been grilling it up on its own. Luckily for us, it’s a delicious summer side dish. While a lot of grilled zucchini recipes call for slicing the squash into thin slabs, I like to cut it into wedges. This way, the…

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Burrata with Heirloom Tomatoes

If you've never had burrata, you have to try this easy recipe! The rich cheese pairs perfectly with fresh tomatoes, peaches & a vibrant lemon-thyme oil.

summer / appetizers

Over the years, I’ve written a lot about how the best summer recipes are simple ones (see here, here, or here). Because summer fruits, veggies, and herbs are such powerhouse ingredients, it only takes a little something extra – maybe a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt – to make an insanely delicious dish. Lately, I’ve seen burrata popping up all over restaurant menus in Chicago. Because the creamy cheese is such a simple, rich accent for summer produce, I couldn’t resist making a burrata recipe of my own. The final result is one of our new favorites…

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Gourmet Grilled Cheese

A gourmet grilled cheese sandwich is only as good as what's inside it! Melty havarti cheese and spicy green harissa make this one something special.

summer / vegetarian

This green harissa gourmet grilled cheese recipe is what I make when nothing but a grilled cheese will do. It has all the essentials of a good grilled cheese sandwich – crunchy, toasty bread and gooey cheese – but a handful of spinach and a slather of green harissa add an extra dimension of freshness and flavor. It’s lightly spicy and totally delicious – hands down the best grilled cheese I’ve had! The green harissa is really the star of the show here. Made with charred peppers, garlic, lemon, spices, cilantro, pepitas, and olive oil, it has a similar texture…

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Panzanella Salad with Peaches and Corn

This panzanella salad recipe is the ultimate showcase for late summer bounty. A tangy dressing perfectly accents fresh tomatoes, peaches & corn.

summer / salads / vegan

If I had to choose one ingredient that best represents summer, it would have to be the tomato! Everyone loves perfect bright, juicy summer tomatoes, and in my opinion, there’s no better way to celebrate them than with panzanella! This recipe has been a fan favorite (and one of our favorites) for awhile, so I thought I’d share it again now that all of these ingredients are in peak season. If you look closely, you’ll see that there are more than just tomatoes in this panzanella. I call this one my “everything summer” panzanella because I took the liberty of…

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Grilled Vegetables

Learn how to make the best grilled vegetables! Serve them as a side dish at your next cookout, or top them with a yummy sauce and call them dinner.

summer / vegetarian

Once July rolls around, we make this grilled vegetables recipe just about every week. It’s perfect for mid-late summer, when all sorts of veggies are coming into season, and it’s too hot to turn on the oven. In my opinion, peppers, summer squash, onions, mushrooms, and corn are the best vegetables to grill. Cut into similar-sized pieces and skewered, they all cook at about the same rate. And when you slide them off the skewer, you get a mouthwatering mix of textures and flavors – the mushrooms are meaty, the corn is crisp, the squash is soft, and the peppers…

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.