Zucchini Carpaccio Salad

This summer salad bursts with flavor from a basil-parsley vinaigrette. Quick enough for weeknights or busy weekends, this gluten-free dish is a must-try.

Growing up in the midwest, I thought it was just a cruel joke that spring and summer clothes would show up at the mall in February. Bright colors, shorts, flip flops…when there was still snow and slush on the ground. It didn’t occur to me until I moved away that spring was actually starting to happen in other parts of the country. Now that I’m trying to eat more seasonally, I’m realizing that our season in food is also ahead of the game. We had kale before everyone had kale, and now the first of our zucchini’s have arrived. So…

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Carrot & Oat Cranberry Cookies

Healthy carrot cookies made with almond flour, coconut oil & maple syrup. Loaded with chocolate, cranberries, and nuts of your choice! Vegan & gluten free.

Warning: these are super addictive. A great healthy snack… but if you work from home like I do, they will call to you more often than a nagging client. They call me at breakfast time for a sweet pick me up with my morning coffee. Around 2pm for a post-lunch treat. Maybe again around 4pm for a post-post lunch treat… And since you’ll have eaten them all day long, you might want a change of pace for dessert that night. Warm one (or two) of them and crumble over your ice cream.

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Roasted Broccoli & Cranberry Salad

A delicious 30-minute salad for healthy weeknight dinners in fall or spring. Tossed with a bright Apple Cider and Honey Vinaigrette. Gluten free.

This is my perfect weeknight salad. I like to start the week off on the lighter side… less bread, less starch. It often goes downhill from there… by Thursday it could be all cakes & cocktails, but come Monday it’s time to get it back together. Which still doesn’t mean eating bland food! I love this salad for its balance of bright flavors and variety of textures: the salty ricotta salata, a pop of tartness from the dried cranberries, a meaty bite from the roasted broccoli, crunch from the pine nuts. It’s brought together with a simple sweet & mellow apple cider…

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Avocado & Chickpea Salad Sandwich

My go-to healthy lunch is this Avocado Chickpea Salad Sandwich! With green onion, cilantro & lime, it's ideal for quick & easy vegan sandwiches.

This is my new favorite lunch. I saw this recipe on Two Peas & Their Pod a couple of weeks ago and made it right away. And then I made it again the next day… and then the next day after that… As creative as I like to get at dinnertime, there’s something comforting (and probably a little OCD) about eating the same thing for lunch day in and day out. Beyond the sandwich, I’ve also been eating scoopfuls of this over mixed greens with chopped cucumbers and other veggies. And this summer, I’ll likely be serving it poolside with chips…

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Individual Mixed Berry Oat Crisps

Mini berry crisps are topped with oat & nut crumble to make a divine spring or summer dessert. Use any in-season fruit and make this crisp all year!

This is another treat my mom made for us while she was visiting. Jack has been working crazy hours lately, so it was really fun that week to have the extra company in the kitchen. I love these little mini skillets (I love anything mini), but you could bake this in any oven-safe dish you happen to have. You could also sub in any fruit you like (fresh or frozen).

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Kale, Mushroom & White Bean Stew

Filled with kale, mushrooms & white beans, this healthy vegetarian stew is perfect for warming up in winter. Wine and balsamic vinegar add depth of flavor.

It’s Food Matters Project Monday, and this one might be a stretch. This week’s pick was coq au vin, and while I’m surely on board with the vin part, chicken isn’t my thing, and I wasn’t all that inspired to try a vegetarian version of it. Jack and I were out at dinner on Friday night, and he just so happened to order coq au vin (what are the odds?). Never having tried the dish before I became vegetarian, I was surprised to see that it looked just like a rustic mushroom stew. So I took some Tuscan inspiration and decided…

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Veggie Curry with Cardamom Yogurt

A richly-spiced vegan curry made with tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, and peas is served with a creamy, zippy cardamom yogurt.

Ok family, here’s the post you’ve all been waiting for. Last night was the night we almost burned the house down. All of the pieces were there. It was late, we were tired, and dinner was just about ready. I gave Jack the “five minute warning” to get the camera and computer set up, and he decided right then to do a bunch of software updates on the computer because he must always do this at the most inopportune moments possible. What’s this have to do with a fire? Between being annoyed 20 minutes later at the “5 minute” update,…

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Poached Eggs, Greens & Couscous

A light, 30-minute vegetarian dinner for spring weeknights. Poached eggs top sautéed greens & Israeli couscous. Brightened with a squeeze of lemon.

I think I might make a new category on the side bar over there to the right. In addition to “savory” and “sweet”, I could soon fill an entire category called “things with eggs.” I eat them almost every morning in the form of a scramble, omelette or a breakfast taco… but I especially love runny, yolky eggs for dinner. A poached egg instantly turns something incredibly simple into a fancy meal. (Or nature’s perfect sauce, as Jack calls it). I had never actually poached an egg before this. I have one of those cheater egg-poaching pans… but a dome…

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Black Rice & Spring Vegetable Pilaf

Asparagus, broccolini & edamame are mixed with a black rice pilaf to make a healthy spring entree. Herbs & a lemon yogurt sauce top this gluten-free dish.

I love foods when they’re bright in flavor and in color. This recipe starts with a spiced wild rice pilaf and is mixed with fresh asparagus, broccolini and edamame, but feel free to use the vegetables you love most. I’ve been using black wild rice more and more lately (which is actually a grass and not a rice). It makes for a gorgeous presentation, and has the added benefit of being higher in protein than other rices. The warm nutty rice gets flavored with garlic, cardamom, cinnamon, and cumin. In the end the pilaf is topped with a bright pop…

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Roasted Cauliflower, Raisins & Capers

This roasted cauliflower dish has to be one of my favorite vegetarian sides. It's sweet, salty, bright & tangy. Serve it over quinoa to make a full meal!

I’ve had cauliflower on the brain lately. Over the last few weeks while everyone was craving chocolate-covered Valentine’s treats, I couldn’t get enough of this salty, sweet roasted goodness. I first had a similar version alongside a salmon dish at Mulberry, a restaurant/wine bar that we frequent. However, since this has been on the menu, we’ve been “frequenting” a little too much. When you go back again and again for the same twenty-seven dollar dish, I figure it’s time to learn how to make it yourself. This is so simple and it makes for such an elegant side dish. I…

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Red Pepper White Bean Spread

This healthy riff on hummus takes under 10 minutes to make. Packed with flavor from red peppers, white beans, lemon, and basil, it's vegan & gluten free.

I added this spread to sandwiches as my contribution to The Food Matters Project this week. It’s a hummus-like spread that I slathered over little toasts and topped with arugula, cucumbers, and scallions. We ate these for lunch yesterday… and then the leftover spread, well, that just got eaten by the spoonful. I love pestos and spreads like this because they’re so versatile. If we didn’t devour the whole batch in one sitting (I made a half batch – big mistake) I would have kept the extra around all week to put on my eggs, spread over roasted veggies, or snack on…

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.