Roasted Delicata Squash Kale Salad

It’s Monday, which for me often means: salad day! This past weekend was full of food, wine, friends, and fun – but I’m definitely a little tired today and ready for a healthy eating reset. Not that this is rabbit food by any stretch – it’s full of roasted vegetables, nutty farro, roasted chickpeas, diced apples, cranberries… basically everything I love about fall in one hearty bowl. This one starts by roasting delicata squash and red onion wedges (btw, how pretty is this color combination?). To get the most out of my oven’s heat, I roasted chickpeas as well. Roast them…

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Jenny’s Broccolini Chickpea Pizza

These mini pizzas don't skimp on flavor. They're loaded with lemon zest, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and a hint of garlic powder.

It’s fall, which really means 2 things. It’s not only pumpkin season, but it’s also cookbook season! Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing recipes from some of my favorite new cookbooks. Today’s recipe comes from How to Celebrate Everything, by Jenny Rosenstrach of Dinner a Love Story. I’ve been reading her blog for years and I had the pleasure of meeting her (and having a total fan-girl moment) a few months ago. I have to say – I love this book because it’s one of those cookbooks that you want to snuggle up with and read from cover to…

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Chickpea Flour Pizza with Asparagus

This chickpea flour pizza has the best gluten-free crust around! Top it with your go-to pizza toppings, or use this beautiful hummus & asparagus combo.

Move over cauliflower crust pizza, we’ve got chickpea flour pizza! Whenever I announce that we’re having “pizza night!” Jack gets excited. But when I follow it with “gluten free pizza night!,” he knows that he’s about to work with overly sticky dough that he can’t toss in the air. Air-tossing aside, this chickpea flour dough was easy to work with, and we both enjoyed making (and eating) this pizza, which comes from the book Chickpea Flour Does it All, by Lindsey Love. Lindsey is also the creator of one of my absolute favorite food blogs – Dolly and Oatmeal. I’m sure…

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Roasted Cauliflower Steaks

This roasted cauliflower steaks recipe is a showstopping main dish! I serve them over creamy romesco sauce & top them with lemon zest & pine nuts.

Cauliflower is one mighty veggie – it’s can transform into rice, a creamy dip or queso, and even mashed potatoes! But sometimes, I crave it made simply. This caramelized cauliflower steak recipe is what I make on those days. Golden brown, tender, and savory, these roasted cauliflower steaks have become one of my favorite vegetarian main dishes. They’re not a side salad trying to be a meal, and there’s no fake meat. Who knew a slab of cauliflower could be so satisfying? How to Make Roasted Cauliflower Steaks Making a cauliflower steak isn’t difficult, but you do have to be…

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Chickpea & Cauliflower Tomato Stew

A hearty & healthy vegetable minestrone stew topped with kale pesto. Perfect for cold winter nights or make ahead lunches. Vegan and gluten free.

We’re en route to snowy Chicago today and I’m trying to think warm thoughts. Yes, I grew up there, but I’m such a baby about winter. Scraping car windows, not being able feel my fingers & toes – I did it for years & it’s just not my thing. BUT I’m excited to spend a little time with my family, eat some good food, and probably cook a little. On the menu, obviously, will be warm food like this hot & hearty vegetable-packed soup. This is my take on minestrone although it’s a little less than traditional – it’s in between…

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Tahini Noodle Salad with Carrots & Chickpeas

This healthy noodle salad is one of my favorite lunch recipes. Tossed in a tangy, nutty sauce, it's filled with crispy chickpeas & lots of veggies.

Today, I’m taking a break from soup season (although I do have some good ones in the works!), because it’s been about 95 degrees lately and a big, cold noodle salad just sounded good to me. This bowl is full of whole grain noodles and crunchy veggies that are all tossed in a deliciously creamy, nutty tahini sauce. In an effort to feel some “fall spirit,” I roasted chickpeas and carrots and tossed those in too. Cooked carrots haven’t always been our thing – the trick is to roast them until they’re slightly tender but still have some bite (just don’t let them get mushy!). If…

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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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Eggplant and Roasted Tomato Salad

A trip to Italy inspired this delicious, 10-ingredient salad recipe. Packed with roasted tomatoes, eggplant, and basil, it's a perfect summer dish.

I keep a food journal when we travel. It’s nothing fancy, just a little book that isn’t my iPhone. There are no pictures or charming doodles… there aren’t really even sentences, just scribbles of ingredients and descriptions of what we ate and where. Some dishes, I’ll try to recreate at home, but not all of them. The chosen few that make it into my kitchen come down to a few criteria: how badly I crave something, the ability to decipher my chicken-scratch handwriting, and the availability of similar ingredients. This eggplant and tomato salad (a take-away lunch I ate one day at Roscioli) easily checked all…

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Curried Chickpea Salad Sliders

Three things I am obsessed with: chickpeas, avocado, and all things MINI… mini pizzas, mini tacos, mini pies, mini skillets. I had these cute little pretzel buns last week so that’s how this recipe started. (Although you could use any kind of bun or sliced bread for this recipe). I first thought of making little veggie burgers, but since it’s a whopping 103 degrees(!) outside, I’ve been trying to use my oven as little as possible. Plus this chickpea salad is fast, easy, and cold, which is everything I want in a summer recipe. These would be perfect for a summer picnic except, well, it’s…

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Smoky Sweet Corn Tostadas

Make this easy vegan tostada recipe for a smoky, fun & fresh summer lunch. If you have leftover hummus, store it in the fridge for a quick, healthy snack!

Happy August! I hope corn is in season where you are, because I have a pretty corny tostada recipe today. Let’s just say that I decided to go for the corn trifecta. I started by making some sweet and smoky corn hummus that is a great snack on its own. Then I slathered it onto crispy (baked) corn tortillas. Finally, I topped these with avocado and MORE grilled corn because, well, I was up to my ears in fresh summer corn, and I had to use it somehow. After spending the month of July eating pasta, I feel like a I needed a Texas re-tox.…

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Green Bean & Purple Potato Salad

If you’re at a picnic, do you go for the potato salad or the cole slaw? I’m a cole slaw person always – the really sweet mayonnaise-y kind. But potatoes smothered in mayo? No thanks. Why is cabbage in mayo better than potatoes in mayo? No clue. But while I don’t go for “potato salad,” I do like a potato salad. Of course, what I mean is that this is a salad… with potatoes (and green beans and yellow wax beans and some other things). Instead of mayo, it’s dressed with everything that I think goes best with potatoes: olive oil, good dijon…

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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.