Kale Guacamole

This kale guacamole has classic guac's addictive zesty flavor & creamy texture, but steamed kale leaves makes it extra green (and extra healthy)!

This recipe was inspired by a kale guacamole that started showing up at Whole Foods last summer :). Yes, that’s right, I don’t always make my own guacamole. If I’m heading to someone’s house, sometimes it’s just easier to pick it up on the way. That delicious kale guacamole inspired me to make my own version at home. Not only is it healthy, but also adding in the kale bulks it up a bit without taking away any of the flavor. Plus, I somehow found a way to make guacamole *more* green! Who doesn’t love that? This recipe is easy as…

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Loaded Potato Skins

You'll love these loaded potato skins with black bean salad, sunflower sour cream, and crispy coconut bacon. Great for parties!

I wanted to share this fun healthi(er) “game day” recipe before the Super Bowl even though, admittedly, we’re not big football fans. And by “we,” I mostly mean me. Jack will socially watch a game at a party, but my relationship with football didn’t exactly start off on the right… foot. Beginning in 1st grade, every year in gym class, we started the year with a football written test. Way to get kids interested in sports, right? The teacher would hand out worksheets to bring home and study (which I never did) and every year I’d bring home a failing…

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Butternut Hummus with Feta & Pomegranates

A healthy fall or winter appetizer - great for Thanksgiving, the holidays, or just for snacking! Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

I hope you need a last-minute Thanksgiving appetizer because this butternut squash hummus dip is so insanely good! While I was making it, I couldn’t stop eating it. Now that the leftovers are in the fridge, I can’t walk by the kitchen without grabbing a cracker for a quick swipe. It’s easy to make, especially if you’re roasting butternut squash for another recipe – just roast an extra cup of cubed squash and swirl this hummus together in no time. It’s thick, creamy, tangy, and nicely spiced from the cumin, coriander, and a bit of cayenne. Now the important part…

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Roasted Beets

Learn how to roast beets perfectly every time! My recipe is easy to make, and the roasted beets are always tender and flavorful. A delicious side dish!

This roasted beets recipe is one of my go-to side dishes in the fall and winter. It’s delicious—the beets come out perfectly tender with a concentrated sweet and earthy flavor. It’s also really easy to make. Just wrap the beets in foil with a drizzle of olive oil, and roast until soft! The roasted beets are wonderful on their own, seasoned simply with salt and pepper, or dressed up more with citrus juice, herbs, or balsamic vinegar. Serve them with any weeknight dinner, or add them to a holiday meal. These oven roasted beets keep well for days in the…

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Butternut Squash Salad

This butternut squash salad is a must-try fall recipe! It's filled with spiced squash, pomegranates, goat cheese & a delicious cumin-date dressing.

Do you do Friendsgiving or Thanksgiving? Or both? We’re celebrating both this year, so I created this crowd-pleasing butternut squash salad recipe because I know both friends AND family members will love it. It’s the kind of salad that will convert anyone to being a salad lover, because it’s filled with spiced roasted butternut squash, pomegranates, goat cheese, and pistachios. It’s a roasty, spicy, creamy, tangy combo that Jack and I are pretty obsessed with. Butternut Squash Salad Recipe Ingredients This salad packs a huge punch of flavor, thanks to 6 essential components: Spiced roasted butternut squash. I toss the…

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Harvest Haven Salad & a trip to Madison

A seasonal fall harvest salad with greens, turnips, radishes, tomatoes, aged goat cheese in an apple cider vinaigrette. So pretty for Thanksgiving.

The other day, we were having dinner with the family and my mom said “so, do you want to host Thanksgiving this year?” My first instinct was – heck no, that sounds like a lot of work! Of course, what came out of my mouth was a noncommittal “ok, sure? I guess?” Later that night, as the idea settled in my mind, I thought of the beautiful fall harvest-y type dishes I could make and I started to get excited. I got warm and fuzzy feelings picturing my family gathered around the kitchen in our new home, drinking wine and…

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Spicy Chipotle Cornbread

Learn how to make cornbread with this easy cornbread recipe! Sweet, spicy & absolutely delicious, it's meant to be served with a hot bowl of soup.

It’s fall and yes, I’m still crazy about the corn BUT hear me out – this cozy cornbread recipe is the perfect accompaniment to your favorite bowl of chili (two of my favorites are here and here). Chili and cornbread are, in my humble opinion, what fall dreams are made of. It’s the perfect dinner to cuddle up with on the couch. I have a few cornbread recipes here on the blog, but this spicy chipotle version is my new favorite. To the (vegan) cornbread base, I add chopped chipotle peppers, scallions, and kernels of fresh corn (although frozen is…

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Mini Frittata Muffins

Are you a savory breakfast person looking for make-ahead options? Mini frittata muffins are just what you need! They're easy, healthy, and delicious.

These frittata muffins are my solution to a longstanding problem: all the best grab-and-go breakfasts are sweet. Don’t get me wrong, banana bread, scones, chia pudding, and breakfast cookies are all delicious. But if you’re anything like me, sometimes, you’re craving a savory breakfast, and you don’t have time to cook eggs. You wish that there was a tasty, protein-packed option that you could take with you as you headed out the door. Enter: this frittata muffin recipe. Packed with fresh veggies and eggs, these mini frittata muffins have become my favorite meal prep breakfast recipe. They’re great straight from…

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Spinach Hummus Wrap

This bright hummus wrap is layered with crisp fresh veggies, hemp seeds, and a light spinach hummus - perfect for packing for a healthy lunch!

This month, we have a ton of airplane travel coming up. Not to complain, but travel is one of those things where I LOVE the destination(s) but don’t love the journey… especially the food that’s available during the journey, a.k.a airport food. It’s become my habit to bring my own food on the plane, and with 12+ hours to France(!) on Friday, I’m making a tasty to-go hummus wrap. These wraps would be great for school lunch boxes as well! This recipe is inspired by the hummus wraps that I picked up at Whole Foods in Union Square when we were…

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Sweet Corn Gazpacho

The summer is great for two things - sweet corn and gazpacho. This chilled soup is easy - blend corn, tomatoes, peppers, oil, vinegar, salt, and cucumber!

I know, I know, I’m still going with the sweet corn... The other day, Jack was driving out to the suburbs to pick up a few things at my parent’s house and I asked him to stop at The Farm on his way home. The Farm is a little farm stand in Darien, IL where, in my opinion, the best sweet corn is grown. Growing up, my mom brought home dozens of ears of corn at a time and we’d all sit on the back stoop and shuck it. It took forever and we made a silky mess, peeling back one…

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How to Make Quesadillas

Learn how to make quesadillas with this fun mix & match quesadilla recipe! Perfect for quick meals, they're flavorful, healthy & easy to make.

We’ve been overloaded with decisions lately. “Where to live?” has been the question of the year, but I’m happy to say that we’re finally in the process of buying a new home (more on that later!). Now the decisions at hand are things like “which barstools match the new countertop? which sofas are free of VOC’s?” and “is a white sofa a really bad idea?” Suffice it to say, when I got around to this quesadilla recipe, I couldn’t make up my mind on just one option so… Mix & Match quesadillas it is! A no-brainer. Hallelujah. How to Make Quesadillas…

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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.