Apple Cake

This easy apple cake recipe is the perfect fall treat! Moist, tender, and warmly spiced, it's a wonderful dessert, breakfast, or afternoon snack.

This easy apple cake recipe is simple and delicious—the perfect treat for a crisp fall day. The batter comes together in one bowl, and it bakes up into a moist, tender cake that’s delicious for dessert, breakfast, or an afternoon snack. It’s packed with fresh apples, and brown sugar and cinnamon fill it with rich, spiced flavor. On a gray afternoon, nothing lifts my spirits like a slice of this apple cake. The recipe comes from Yossy Arefi’s cookbook Snacking Cakes: Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings, a gorgeous collection of 50 snacking cake recipes that are easy to make and acceptable to…

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Almond Flour Pancakes

These almond flour pancakes are light, fluffy, and filled with delicious nutty flavor. They're an easy, satisfying gluten-free breakfast or brunch!

If you like pancakes that are light, fluffy, moist, and flavorful (who doesn’t?!), you’re going to LOVE these almond flour pancakes! I had the idea to make them last spring, when Jack and I were saving our limited supply of regular flour for baking projects like pita, bagels, and no-knead bread. All-purpose flour is easier to come by now, but in our house, these almond flour pancakes are sticking around for good. This almond flour pancake recipe is totally grain and gluten-free, but it’s just as good as any traditional pancake recipe I’ve tried. The pancakes are soft and tender,…

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Gluten Free Banana Bread

This gluten free banana bread recipe is moist, tender, and filled with spiced banana flavor. It's everything banana bread should be, gluten-free or not!

I’ve gotten so many requests for a gluten free banana bread recipe over the years, and I couldn’t be more excited to share this one with you! Tasting this gluten free banana bread, you’d never guess that it wasn’t made with wheat flour. It’s moist, tender, and filled with spiced banana flavor. In fact, if I did a side-by-side comparison with my regular Healthy Banana Bread, I wouldn’t be able to choose a favorite! We’re getting some sunshine in Chicago today, but for the last week, it’s been cool and rainy. I love starting gray, chilly mornings like these with a thick…

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Austin-Style Migas

When I miss Austin, I make this migas recipe for breakfast. Made with a handful of basic ingredients, it's fun, flavorful, and easy to make!

Looking back now, I can’t believe that there was a time when I hadn’t heard of migas. Growing up in the Midwest, I ate muffins for breakfast every morning. When I went to college, I started each day with a bowl of oatmeal. If you asked me where to find great migas, I would have looked at you like you were crazy. But in Austin, migas are everywhere. Go out to brunch, and they’ll be on the menu. Stop at a taco truck in the morning, and everyone there will be getting migas breakfast tacos. It didn’t take me long to…

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Homemade Peanut Butter

Learn how to make AMAZING homemade peanut butter! It's super smooth, creamy, and flavorful - you won't be able to stop eating it by the spoonful.

I start drooling just looking at the pictures of this homemade peanut butter! Jack and I have been all about cooking projects lately, churning out homemade bagels, pasta, tortillas, and more. We’ve loved all of them, but this homemade peanut butter recipe reminded us that cooking projects don’t have to be ambitious to be fun. This peanut butter recipe calls for just 1 or 2 ingredients, and it comes together in under 10 minutes. Still, making it is a blast! You get to watch whole peanuts transform into the smoothest, creamiest nut butter you’ve ever seen. Its oozy texture beats…

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Homemade Bagel Recipe

Just thinking about this homemade bagel recipe makes my mouth water. It's super easy to make, and it yields delicious, chewy bagels every time.

This homemade bagel recipe is Jack’s new favorite thing to bake, and I couldn’t be happier! Like many of you, he’s been baking up a storm lately, churning out crusty loaves of sourdough filled with dried fruit, nuts, or roasted garlic. I love all of it, but I’m especially excited whenever he starts a new batch of bagels. These may be homemade, but they have all the essential qualities of a good bagel: a shiny exterior, a lightly sweet and salty flavor, and a perfect chewy bite. To take them over the top, we coat them generously in crunchy, garlicky…

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Vegan Carrot Lox

You won't miss the fish in this smoky, savory vegan carrot lox recipe! Piled onto bagels with all the classic fixings, it's just as good as the real thing.

I have to admit, I was skeptical when I first tried this carrot lox recipe last spring. At this point, we’re all used to the idea of vegan burgers, meatballs, and taco meat, but vegan smoked salmon still seemed like a stretch. I loved the idea of creating a vibrant veggie version of traditional lox, but would it really work? Well, fast forward a year, and this carrot lox is now my go-to bagel topping! Thanks to a tangy, smoky marinade and a long roast with plenty of salt, the carrot lox is surprisingly similar to smoked salmon. It’s tender…

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Matcha 101 – What It Is and How to Use It

I love starting my day with a steaming cup of matcha green tea. Read on to learn how to make this energizing, antioxidant-packed drink at home!

A few years ago, matcha started popping up everywhere – in lattes, ice cream, smoothies, icing, and more. While I’ll never say no to a matcha doughnut, today I want to focus on the simplest way to enjoy it: by whisking it into hot water to create a frothy, nourishing tea. I’ve loved drinking matcha this way since Jack and I took our first trip to Japan years ago, and I still make myself a cup almost every morning. To me, it’s the perfect way to start the day. It’s energizing and calming both at once, and above all else,…

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Healthy Banana Muffins

When I have these healthy banana muffins on hand, I always go back for seconds. They're moist, fluffy, and filled with spiced banana flavor.

For years, these healthy banana muffins have been one of my favorite breakfasts. But in the last few weeks, I think I’ve made them more times than I ever have before. Like many of you, Jack and I have been going to the store less often lately. I grab a big bunch of bananas every time we go, but we never finish them all before they become soft, speckled, and far too ripe to eat on their own. My solution? Banana muffins, of course! They’re moist, fluffy, and filled with spiced banana flavor. Made with whole wheat flour and maple…

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How to Make Sunny Side Up Eggs

Learn how to make perfect sunny side up eggs every time! Enjoy them for breakfast, or top them onto bowls, burgers, avocado toast, and more.

Sunny side up eggs have to be one of the simplest foods to cook. Nevertheless, we’ve all had ones that are scorched on the bottom and raw on top, rubbery, or just plain greasy. So today, I’m sharing my tried-and-true method for how to cook sunny side up eggs. It’s quick and easy, and it doesn’t require any fancy equipment or special ingredients. All you’ll need is olive oil, eggs, and a good nonstick skillet! Still, the eggs come out perfectly every time, with tender, just-set whites and runny yolks. Make a few for breakfast, or add one to any…

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No-Knead Bread

This no-knead bread recipe will make any novice baker look like a pro! 5 minutes of work yield a crusty, golden loaf with a perfect soft interior.

If you’re curious about bread-making, no-knead bread is a fantastic place to start. This method was made famous by Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery in New York. It’s wildly popular, and for good reason. Unlike many bread recipes, it requires no special equipment (aside from a Dutch oven) or finicky ingredients, and it takes just a few minutes of hands-on prep. Still, thanks to a long, slow rise, the bread comes out perfect every time, with a gorgeous golden brown crust and chewy interior. I make a few tweaks to Jim’s recipe, swapping bread flour for all-purpose and…

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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.