Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Made with Yukon gold potatoes and lots of roasted garlic, these garlic mashed potatoes are creamy, rich, and flavorful. An easy, delicious side dish!

The first time I made these garlic mashed potatoes, I didn’t know what my husband Jack would think of them. See, Jack grew up eating his Uncle Billy’s mashed potatoes, and he still reminisces about them. They were creamy, fluffy, and rich with (lots of) melted butter and (lots of) sour cream.  These garlic mashed potatoes aren’t exactly like Uncle Billy’s. Instead of dairy, olive oil and starchy potato cooking water give them an amazing creamy texture, and roasted garlic fills them with rich, nutty depth of flavor. When I tried them, I thought they were delicious, but Jack’s opinion would…

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Creamed Spinach

This creamed spinach recipe is a perfect easy side dish for holidays and weeknights alike. It's fresh, delicious, and ready in 15 minutes!

Creamed spinach is a classic steakhouse side dish, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t be making it at home. My recipe comes together in 15 minutes, and it delivers rich flavor with just a few basic ingredients! I used Jack’s mom’s creamed spinach as a starting point for this recipe. She made it for Thanksgiving every year when Jack was growing up, and he still raves about it. In developing this recipe, I wanted to capture the luxurious flavor and silky texture of her creamed spinach while putting the fresh greens front and center. Many creamed spinach recipes use frozen…

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Sweet Potato Casserole

Without question, this is the best sweet potato casserole recipe I've tried! Smooth and creamy sweet potatoes are topped with a savory pecan crumble.

This sweet potato casserole recipe is one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. I haven’t always been such a sweet potato casserole fan. When I was growing up, my family had sweet potato casserole with marshmallows every year, and I never loved it. For me, sweet potatoes plus sweet marshmallows is just too much sweet. But this sweet potato casserole recipe won me over. I swap out the mini marshmallows for a pecan crumble topping. It’s savory and crunchy—the perfect complement to the creamy sweet potatoes underneath. Make this recipe for a holiday meal, and I promise it will be…

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How to Cook Tofu

Silken or extra-firm? To press or not to press? This easy baked tofu recipe + my best tips and tricks will teach you how to cook tofu like a pro!

Everyone has an opinion on tofu, and here’s mine: I absolutely love it…when it’s prepared the right way. If you’ve never worked with it before, cooking tofu can be daunting. But once you learn a little about it, it couldn’t be easier to prepare tofu well. Below, you’ll find my best tips and tricks for how to cook tofu like a pro, plus my go-to sriracha baked tofu recipe! What is tofu, anyway? Tofu is a soy-based food that’s made from curdling soy milk and forming it into a solid block. It’s a good source of plant-based protein that can…

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Brussels Sprouts, Many Ways

Roasted Brussels sprouts are the perfect fall side dish. Have fun playing around with these 4 fun & flavorful Brussels sprouts recipes!

Earlier this fall, I started making a list of my potential Thanksgiving blog recipes. One of the items on that list was called “Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe TBD.” As every other recipe got named, resolved, tested, and put in the works, “Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe TBD” remained on the list just like that. I love love love Brussels sprouts at this time of year, but I just couldn’t settle on one idea or flavor combination. Then it hit me – just like I did with sweet potatoes and overnight oats, I’ll post many ideas! And you can choose! Any of…

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How to Cook Farro

Learn how to cook farro with this step-by-step guide! Plus, find my favorite farro recipes, along with more serving suggestions for this delicious grain.

Do you have a favorite whole grain? I love everything from millet to quinoa, but if I had to choose one, I think it would be farro. It’s hearty and wholesome, with an amazing chewy texture and nutty flavor. I enjoy it all year long, but it really becomes one of my kitchen staples in the fall. Its toasty flavor is delicious with fall produce like squash, apples, and kale, and cozy herbs like sage, rosemary, and thyme are its natural companions. If you’ve never tried it before, now is the perfect time – toss it into salads, add it…

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No Bake Cookies

These no bake cookies are quick and easy to make—no oven required! Made with chocolate, peanut butter, and oats, they're rich, chewy, and delicious.

No bake cookies! If you’re not already making these irresistible, EASY treats, head to the kitchen and make yourself a batch. You’re going to love this recipe! No bake cookies were one of my favorite childhood desserts, and I still love them to this day. Made with simple ingredients like peanut butter, cocoa powder, and oats, they have a rich chocolate peanut butter flavor and amazing chewy texture. Given their name, you’ve probably guessed that these no bake cookies don’t bake in the oven. Instead, the dough comes together on the stovetop and sets up in the fridge. The process…

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Roasted Butternut Squash

Learn how to cook butternut squash perfectly every time! Enjoy roasted butternut squash as a simple side dish, or add it to fall soups, pastas & more.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve already made a few batches of butternut squash soup by the time mid-October rolls around. But while butternut squash soup is hands down one of my favorite fall foods, my love for butternut doesn’t end there. When I’m not making soup, I like to simply roast butternut squash. Golden brown, caramelized, and seasoned with salt and pepper, it has a delectable sweet and salty taste and buttery texture. If you’ve never roasted butternut squash before, you have to try it this fall! Today, I’m sharing my go-to roasted butternut squash recipe. It’s super easy…

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Vegetarian Chili

Meet the best vegetarian chili recipe I've tasted! It's thick, hearty, and comforting, filled with flavorful veggies and two types of beans.

This vegetarian chili is the ultimate cold weather comfort food. Once the temperature starts dropping, I start craving all sorts of cozy recipes. Lasagna, mac and cheese, eggplant Parmesan, you name it. But while I love all of those things, some nights I want to get my comfort food fix with as little work as possible. That’s where this easy vegetarian chili recipe comes in. Like any good veggie chili, it’s hearty, warming, smoky, and spicy. Made with a short list of pantry ingredients, it packs in a hefty amount of veggies, but it’s so yummy that even a meat lover will…

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How to Make Pumpkin Puree

This fall, skip the canned pumpkin and learn how to make pumpkin puree at home with fresh pumpkin (or squash)! It's delicious, easy, and fun to make.

There are plenty of great reasons to know how to make pumpkin puree at home, even if you can find it in a can. Why make homemade pumpkin puree? You live in a country where pumpkin puree is not available in cans but you still want to partake in all of the yummy fall pumpkin recipes that are all around the internet and Instagram. You got overzealous at the farmers market because the pumpkin was so cute and fall looking, and you didn’t realize you’d have at least 20 pounds/9 kilos of squash to deal with. (pictured below) You got…

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Butternut Squash Soup

Served piping hot with a hunk of crusty bread, this creamy, nourishing butternut squash soup recipe is fall comfort food at its best.

My favorite fall tradition is making butternut squash soup on Sunday afternoons. On a brisk day, there’s nothing more soothing than chopping and simmering vegetables over a warm stove. As you cook, the kitchen fills with the cozy scent of sage, rosemary, and butternut squash, and when you’re finished, steaming bowls of butternut squash soup (that will last all week!) reward you for your work. In the past, my go-to butternut squash soup recipe has included coconut milk and curry spices, but this fall, I found myself craving one that was a bit more traditional. When I say traditional, I…

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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.