Apple Sage Grilled Cheese

A fancy fall grilled cheese that's sweet and savory. Delicious for a quick weeknight dinner.

Of course you don’t need a recipe for grilled cheese, but I just HAVE to share this simple combo because it’s so so delicious. This is the sort of thing that I love to make when I don’t feel like spending time in the kitchen but I also don’t feel like leaving the house. Sweet, soft apples, savory sage, red onion, and a good slather of grainy mustard – all between melty cheese (or vegan cheese) and bread. I think this might be my favorite sandwich assembly to date, I just love the sweet and salty mix. Make these with a…

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No-Bake Sweet Pea Enchiladas

If you're hosting a dinner party, make these crowd-pleasing vegetarian enchiladas! They're a flavorful, creative main dish that's sure to be a hit.

I know you love cookbooks as much as I do, so I’m excited to share this recipe from Kristen Donnely’s new book, Modern Potluck. I met Kristin about a year ago while she was an editor at Food & Wine Magazine. When she told me about the concept of her book, I knew I’d want to share it with you I love this… In her intro, she talks about the perfect dinner parties (with perfect hosts) that they would feature in the magazine, and how she’d always felt embarrassed that she didn’t grow up knowing how to throw a “proper” dinner party.…

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Mix & Match Crostini

Learn how to make crostini with this simple recipe! Crispy, delicious, and easy to make, they're the perfect customizable party appetizer.

Tell me, who doesn’t love a variety of yummy mix & match toppings on little pieces of grilled bread? Here’s a party idea that you can easily pull off this weekend: grill some bread to make a big batch of crostini, chill some rosé, gather a bunch of toppings (and a bunch of friends)… and you have a fun, casual crostini party! How to Make Crostini Crostini may seem fancy, but making them is actually simple. If you’re not familiar with them, they’re thin slices of grilled or toasted baguette that are great for serving with a variety of toppings. To make…

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Simple Sweet Potato Bowl

Meet one of my favorite combos: sweet potatoes + feta. In this recipe, they're the perfect hearty, tangy topping for grains, greens, and nuts.

This easy bowl is what I make for dinner most often when no one is looking. It’s my go-to meal when I’m not working on new recipes, when I’m tired after a long day, and when I’ve definitely had too much take-out pho for one week. It’s not a 30-minute meal because roasting a sweet potato takes at least that long, but the rest is so darn simple. Plus, nothing actually calms me more than the wafting aroma of sweet potatoes roasting in my kitchen. There’s no fancy sauce in this recipe. You won’t even dirty an extra bowl to…

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Broccoli Pesto Mac & Cheese

The ultimate mac & cheese mix in - broccoli pesto! A yummy way to get your kids to eat more veggies.

Some exiting news – the book is done(!) and off to print this week. I’ll share some sneak peaks a little later but suffice it to say – I’m tired. I never thought I would say this but after shooting, testing, retesting, checking and rechecking so many recipes – I became a little “cooked” out. Over the last few weeks, while working through final copy and design edits, there’s been a lot of takeout around here and more than a few boxes of macaroni and cheese. But no one is complaining – especially not my mac & cheese-loving husband Jack. He would be more than thrilled…

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Fig, Feta & Mint Crostini

This fig, feta & mint crostini is a delicious healthy snack or party appetizer! With just 7 ingredients, it's easy to make. Vegan option included.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like figs – they’re so sweet and unassuming – but I avoided them for years due to my childhood dislike of Fig Newtons. I was just never a fan of that packaged fig flavor. Later, I came to realize (of course!) that fresh figs are amazing. They’re in season now, and their season is short, so you should go find some. When I have fresh figs, they only seem to last a day (maybe two) so I usually make something really simple with them. Figs, feta, and mint are a delicious combination, so I love them in these little sweet &…

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Summer Panzanella with Squash

Though pattypan squash is my top choice, you can use any summer squash you have on hand to make this bright, bold late summer panzanella.

Hold your pumpkin bread – I have one last super summery recipe before this season really ends. You can use any summer squash you like here (zucchini or yellow squash are both great), but I found pattypan squash at the farmers market and had to try it! I considered making a totally different pattypan squash recipe by stuffing and baking it, but I didn’t want to turn the oven on. Then I noticed that I had some really stale bread, so this hearty, delicious pattypan squash panzanella was an obvious choice. I’m a HUGE fan of panzanellas, or Italian bread salads (see…

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Orzo & Feta Stuffed Peppers

These vegetarian stuffed peppers are one of our favorite summer dinners! Filled with an herbed orzo & kale salad, they're light, healthy & easy to make.

Stuffed peppers are one of my go-to summer dinners. In fact, they’re so easy that when I posted this picture on Instagram last week, I got tons of emails asking for the fully measured recipe. Ask and you shall receive, so here it is: my current favorite recipe for vegetarian stuffed peppers. But don’t let the measurements fool you – feel free to eyeball your ingredients if you don’t feel like breaking out the measuring cups. This vegetarian stuffed peppers recipe is simple and customizable! If you don’t have orzo, use couscous. Gluten-free? Millet or quinoa would also work well in place of the…

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Quinoa Veggie Wrap

A veggie wrap is the epitome of flavor + convenience. These pesto & quinoa salad-stuffed veggie wraps are bright, fresh & perfect for taking on the go.

In my opinion, the world cannot have too many quinoa salads. Don’t get me wrong, I love the other grains too – farro, millet, and wheatberries are all lovely – but my real go-to grain is quinoa. I love to make a big batch and keep it on hand, as it’s the perfect catch-all for the vegetables, nuts, and cheeses that I usually have around. Of course, since this salad was destined for a picnic without any silverware, I decided to have my cake (salad?) and eat it too by stuffing it in a veggie wrap. My Veggie Wrap Filling The hearty, fresh…

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Peach & Plum Caprese Salad

First, thank you all SO much for your Italy foodie suggestions, the other day! They are all so so helpful. I’m writing this from the terrace of our small, yet very awesome, airbnb apartment in Rome. It’s picturesque, I’m not going to lie. What’s less idyllic is this jet lag. I always expect it to get easier, but every trip it seems to hurt a little more… of course, nothing I’m sure a little gelato won’t fix. Before we head out for the day, I wanted to share this simple peach salad I made a few weeks ago with the sweetest Texas peaches &…

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Tart Cherry Cheesecake Parfaits

The other day, I had this intense craving for cheesecake. The timing was a little out of the blue since I eat cheesecake exactly once a year when my mom makes it at christmas time. She makes a family recipe – my Grandma Kissel’s infamous recipe – and no one but her and my Aunt Kathy have it. It’s amazingly creamy and light and perfect and it won’t be getting passed down to me anytime soon. I wasn’t going to attempt to make sub-par cheesecake to satisfy my craving, so I made a lighter and altogether easier no-bake version. I’m not going to exactly call this…

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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.