Panzanella Salad with Peaches and Corn

This panzanella salad recipe is the ultimate showcase for late summer bounty. A tangy dressing perfectly accents fresh tomatoes, peaches & corn.

If I had to choose one ingredient that best represents summer, it would have to be the tomato! Everyone loves perfect bright, juicy summer tomatoes, and in my opinion, there’s no better way to celebrate them than with panzanella! This recipe has been a fan favorite (and one of our favorites) for awhile, so I thought I’d share it again now that all of these ingredients are in peak season. If you look closely, you’ll see that there are more than just tomatoes in this panzanella. I call this one my “everything summer” panzanella because I took the liberty of…

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Grilled Vegetables

Learn how to make the best grilled vegetables! Serve them as a side dish at your next cookout, or top them with a yummy sauce and call them dinner.

Once July rolls around, we make this grilled vegetables recipe just about every week. It’s perfect for mid-late summer, when all sorts of veggies are coming into season, and it’s too hot to turn on the oven. In my opinion, peppers, summer squash, onions, mushrooms, and corn are the best vegetables to grill. Cut into similar-sized pieces and skewered, they all cook at about the same rate. And when you slide them off the skewer, you get a mouthwatering mix of textures and flavors – the mushrooms are meaty, the corn is crisp, the squash is soft, and the peppers…

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Greek Salad Dressing

Say goodbye to sad salads forever! This Greek salad dressing recipe is zingy and bright, and you likely have all the ingredients in your pantry already.

I first made this Greek salad dressing recipe to toss with a traditional Greek Salad, but once I had it on hand, I discovered that it tastes fantastic on so much more! It’s zingy, tangy, and bright – perfect for livening up side salads or making roasted veggies more exciting. The recipe calls for a handful of simple ingredients, so it’s easy to whip up at a moment’s notice. And once you’ve made it, it keeps for up to 5 days in the fridge! If you ask me, everyone should have this Greek salad dressing recipe in their back pocket.…

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Basil Pesto Recipe

Pesto is one of my favorite condiments to keep on hand. Try these easy, fun pesto recipe variations to brighten pasta, salads, roasted veggies & more!

One of my favorite things about summer is the bounty of fresh herbs that are just outside my doorstep. Fresh herbs make any meal instantly more flavorful and beautiful. My favorite thing to do with all of those fresh herbs (aside from sprinkle them on everything) is to make pesto! It’s especially great for lazy summertime cooking. I like to dollop it on grilled vegetables, pasta, spaghetti squash, salads, eggs, toasted bread, pizza, sandwiches… you get the idea. With just a few easy steps, it makes anything an instant tasty meal, whether you feel like cooking or not. What is…

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Crostini Appetizers

Make a big, beautiful tray of easy crostini appetizers for your next gathering! With 6 flavor pairings, you'll have something for everyone.

Now that the 4th of July has come and gone, summer is in full swing. Not only are we (finally) seeing sunny skies and warm weather, but we’ve also had a lot of visitors in the last few weeks. Jack’s sister was in town for the 4th, and his parents were in a week earlier. We’ve had friends visiting as well! With company in the house, I always like to have a few good appetizer ideas up my sleeve. Different people like to eat at different times, and I never want guests to starve while they wait for dinner to…

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Pineapple Salsa

Move over, tomatoes! This fresh, easy pineapple salsa recipe adds the perfect sweet & spicy finish to tacos, salads, burritos, and more.

When I moved to Austin, I discovered how fantastic fresh salsa could be. Whether made with tomatoes, tomatillos, chiles, or fruit, fresh salsas were always tangier, juicier, and more flavorful than their jarred counterparts. Of course, it wasn’t long before I started making my own at home, and this easy pineapple salsa recipe is one of my favorites. With just 7 ingredients, it couldn’t be simpler to make. Delectably sweet, spicy & juicy, it’s the perfect topping for grilled veggies (or grilled meats, if you’re not vegetarian) and all sorts of Mexican-inspired dishes. I hope you love it as much…

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Vegan Tacos

Jerk-spiced jackfruit and mango avocado salsa pack these vegan tacos with a big punch of flavor! They're bright, fresh, and fun to eat.

When I flipped through the Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook by Nisha Vora, these jerk-spiced vegan tacos caught my attention right away. Combining jerk seasoning with ginger, tamari, and meaty jackfruit isn’t something I would have thought of myself. But wow, wow, wow, were these delicious! In the past, I’ve made vegan taco recipes with roasted sweet potato, black beans, a ground beef-like mushroom taco “meat,” and more, but this jackfruit filling is one of my new favorites. It has a fantastic hearty texture and bold, spicy flavor that’s perfectly accented by a sweet and juicy mango avocado salsa. I’m obsessed with…

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Fajita Veggies

Celebrate summer with these rainbow fajita veggies! Incredibly easy and insanely flavorful, this veggie fajita recipe is perfect for entertaining.

After you try these rainbow fajita veggies, you’ll never need to visit Chipotle again. These guys are super fresh and colorful, tangy, smoky, and perfectly charred. They’d be a great addition to a burrito or bowl, but for my money, they make a great main dish too. Served alongside tortillas and fresh fixings like guac and salsa, this veggie fajita recipe is a delicious quick and easy dinner. These fajita veggies would make a great weeknight dinner, but they’re perfect for parties, too! Not only can you make them in under 30 minutes, but they’re also ideal for serving a…

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Pickled Jalapeños

Make these pickled jalapeños once, and you'll be hooked. Sweet & spicy, they're great on tacos, burgers & more, or on their own straight from the jar!

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that I’m a huge fan of pickled onions. They’re tangy, they’re sweet, they’re salty – really, they’re just darn good. For the longest time, they’ve been my favorite way to add a bright pop of color and flavor to salads, tacos, sandwiches, and more. But lately, pickled onions have been playing second fiddle to a new quick-pickle favorite: pickled jalapeños! These guys are the perfect blend of spicy, salty, and sweet. And if you’re not a fan of spicy foods, they’re still worth a try. The longer you leave…

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Healthy Taco Salad

Nothing beats this healthy taco salad recipe in the summertime. Crisp veggies, creamy dressing & crunchy tortilla strips make it fresh & fun to eat.

As much as I love tacos, I really love taco salads. In fact, any time I make tacos for dinner, I usually have a taco salad for lunch the next day to use up any leftover ingredients. But today’s healthy taco salad recipe isn’t just any kitchen sink salad. What’s special about this taco salad is a yummy veggie “taco meat.” Finely chopped sautéed shiitake mushrooms and ground walnuts take on a similar texture to ground beef or ground turkey, and tamari, chili powder, and a touch of balsamic vinegar give them a savory/spiced flavor. Combined with romaine lettuce, juicy…

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Cilantro Lime Dressing

This tangy cilantro lime dressing is destined for your next taco salad. Enjoy it as a vinaigrette, or add avocado or Greek yogurt to make it creamy!

This cilantro lime dressing is the perfect summer salad dressing – it’s tangy, it’s herbaceous, and it’s so yummy drizzled over summer salads, grilled veggies, and more. The best part about it this dressing? It can be made 3 ways! Once you make the cilantro lime dressing, serve it as-is, add Greek yogurt to make a creamy ranch-like dressing (pictured in the middle above), or add avocado to make a thick, creamy sauce (pictured left above). Let’s get started! Cilantro Lime Dressing Ingredients I make this dressing in the food processor so that the cilantro gets finely chopped and the…

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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.