Vanilla Matcha Smoothie

Banana, vanilla & almond milk make the sweet, creamy base of this matcha smoothie. It's a healthy, antioxidant-filled breakfast or afternoon snack!

Matcha treats – I can hardly remember my life without them. Since we’ve been in Japan, matcha ice cream, matcha doughnuts, and matcha cakes have become daily afternoon snacks. This matcha smoothie, I promise, is a much healthier treat than any of those. Sure matcha is healthy, but a doughnut is still a doughnut after all. At home, this is how we enjoy matcha. I use my go-to smoothie base – almond milk and bananas – and add matcha powder along with a bit of vanilla bean. If you’re new to matcha, it’s very finely ground, high quality green tea…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Spicy Jalapeño Margaritas

Happy weekend! I just wanted to pop in for a minute and share this easy recipe for the spicy margaritas we served at our margarita party a few weeks ago. They were such a big hit –  tart, smooth, not too sweet, and most importantly – spicy. The perfect refreshing cocktail for one last summer party! photos #1 and #3 by Chris Perez of Citygram Magazine

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Whole Grain Flax Waffles

Admittedly, I’m not the best at baby showers. I forget that the point of a baby shower is the gift-showering part, and I usually show up with an amazon print-out of what I purchased off the registry that morning. (really, I mean well). So this is my kind of baby shower… the virtual kind where I make and eat waffles and snap a photo. No pink bows required. Melissa (of The Faux Martha) is a dear friend I’ve met through the blogosphere. Her beautiful blog is filled with delectable sweet treats and her waffle recipe is one of her signatures. When…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Grilled Veggies with Basil Miso

The “summer’s not over yet” recipe theme continues. Right now Jack and I are in Seattle for a few days before we head to Japan. I feel inclined to write about how we spent the last few weekends at home savoring the last of our local late-summer produce… But seriously, it was 104 degrees when we left so I’m sure there will be plenty of summer (and it’s veggies) waiting for us when we get back. With Japan on the brain, I’ve been in the mood for miso. Although, I realize nothing else about this recipe is remotely Japanese… the…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Mango Sesame Avocado Salsa

This wasn’t originally going to be a post, but of course that’s how so many of these things start out. I was making dinner one night last week… the mango salsa I usually make, on top of seared tuna. (thanks to my Aunt Judi for the suggestion!). I started preparing my tuna the way I usually do – marinated in soy sauce and maybe some ginger… pressed in sesame seeds, with a drizzle of sesame oil at the very end. That’s when I had the “ah-ha moment” that those asian-inspired ingredients would make for a nice spin on the salsa itself. So…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Stuffed Peppers w/ Chipotle “Cream”

Hands down, our most popular post has been this enchilada recipe with creamy cashew poblano sauce. I posted it over a year ago and I’m still receiving emails about it. So today I’m really excited to share this new twist: cashew cream meets chipotles. A happy marriage, especially if you like spicy food. You could top it on just about anything. At the risk of posting too many taco recipes, we did stuffed peppers this time. I roasted mild poblanos and these cute little anaheims… stuffed them with a smoky quinoa & black bean filling and topped them with dollops…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Serrano & Corn Salsa

This recipe started as an idea for a salad. My salad “testing” often happens during lunch – I experiment with a variety of veggies, usually a concoction of whatever I happen to have around. When I come across an especially good combo, I save the idea and make it again later to shoot for a post. The afternoon I sat down to eat the salad-version of this, I was sure it would be a winner. Corn, peppers, cucumber, tons of lime… an easy recipe to use up tons of late summer produce. Well it turned out to have a little…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Blueberry Banana Pancakes

Vegan banana pancakes - perfect for a light, healthy breakfast or brunch.

This is my very first pancake post. I either feel late to the game, or like I’m earning some right of blog passage. The truth is, I’d gone the last few years not eating pancakes. Let me back up. I spent a lot of years eating a LOT of pancakes… pancakes for dinner, late nights at Denny’s, the whole bit. This all added up to a number of post-college pancake pounds, and the easiest thing for me to do was cut out the temptation altogether. But that’s all behind us now. I mean, you won’t find me eating pancakes at…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Grilled Potato & Arugula Salad

I might be from the land of meat and potatoes, but you all know how that my heart lies with the green stuff. I rarely eat potatoes, but I just couldn’t pass up these little cuties. And since it’s summer, I felt I needed to share a true picnic/cookout side dish. These little ones grill up so well – they cook through without having to boil them first, and they get that nice charred edge. Off the grill, I drizzled them with a lemony dijon dressing. I let that soak in for a bit and then tossed them peppery arugula,…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Zucchini Coconut Noodles

This is my perfect cooking scenario: I walk into the farmers market with an open mind and no preconceived recipe idea. I take a quick scan and an idea instantly pops into my mind. I grab zucchini, tomatoes, cilantro, basil, these gorgeous amaranth greens, and we head home. (Ok, we stop at the doughnut stand, and then head home). Later that night, I start chopping, mincing and simmering. Jack works on the computer upstairs and instead of being mad that he’s working yet another weekend, I go to my zen place of carefully balancing flavors over the stove. Lemongrass, coconut and lime zest…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Tequila Lime Fish Tacos

We’re switching things up today – this one is all about love for limes. (our alter-ego blog). The great thing about this recipe is that once you gather all the ingredients for the tacos, you’ll conveniently have everything you need to make margaritas to go with them. It’s like one of those “cook once, eat twice meals.” Only with drinking. Which is even better, right? Just be sure to get tons of extra limes. Cheers to a happy weekend!

TO THE RECIPE >>>>
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.