Skinny Caipirinhas

With the Rio Olympics coming to a close, it’s time to celebrate with Brazil’s national drink – Caipirinhas! Jack and I have some fond Caipirinha memories – we actually spent our honeymoon in South America and our first stop was Rio. On our first night we had dinner at a great restaurant in Ipanema, the name of which I can’t remember (before the blog I was terrible at taking travel notes). The waiter insisted that we have the “national drink of Brazil.” He explained to us what Cachaça was and we felt like we were experiencing a truly special exotic…

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No-Bake Sweet Pea Enchiladas

If you're hosting a dinner party, make these crowd-pleasing vegetarian enchiladas! They're a flavorful, creative main dish that's sure to be a hit.

I know you love cookbooks as much as I do, so I’m excited to share this recipe from Kristen Donnely’s new book, Modern Potluck. I met Kristin about a year ago while she was an editor at Food & Wine Magazine. When she told me about the concept of her book, I knew I’d want to share it with you I love this… In her intro, she talks about the perfect dinner parties (with perfect hosts) that they would feature in the magazine, and how she’d always felt embarrassed that she didn’t grow up knowing how to throw a “proper” dinner party.…

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Peach Tostadas & a Saveur Nomination(!)

First off, I wanted to say a big THANK YOU for nominating us in this year’s Saveur Blog Awards! I’m so flattered and thrilled that you find our little corner of the internet to be an inspiring place. It’s times like these that I really don’t know what else to say besides thank you, thank you, thank you! If you have a second, it would mean the world to me if you could click here and go vote. Scroll down a tad to the “Most Inspired Weeknight Dinners” category. You can vote every day until August 31st. I owe you big 🙂 Speaking of weeknight dinners,…

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Chocolate Pudding Pops

Cool off with this yummy pudding pop recipe! Creamy from avocado & almond butter, these healthy treats are perfect on hot summer days.

Today I’m sharing my new favorite summer treat: chocolate pudding pops! I got the idea to make a healthier version of the classic pudding pop from memories of hot summer days when I was growing up. When my sister and I were younger, our goal in life was to catch the ice cream truck. We’d play outside in the yard with our neighbor friends all day until one of us yelled “sshhhhhhhh!!!!” and then we’d all run to opposite ends of the yard to figure out which direction that whimsical sound of The Entertainer was coming from. When we would close in on the…

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Watermelon Gazpacho

This watermelon gazpacho recipe SO refreshing on hot summer days! The watermelon's subtle sweetness perfectly balances this cool, savory soup.

This watermelon gazpacho recipe is the perfect dish for hot summer days. In the past few weeks, I’ve gone from hot Austin to hot New York to hot Chicago. Now that I’m visiting my parents in Chicago’s west suburbs, I’m making this recipe as much as I can. I can’t think of anything as refreshing and hydrating as watermelon, so this cold soup really hits the spot. If it’s warm where you are, try it ASAP! And just a heads up, this recipe makes a lot of watermelon gazpacho. It gets better as it chills, so I love to keep…

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6 steps to prep for a healthy week

My strategy for easy & healthy make-ahead meals.

Here’s a little guide to how I like to plan for meals throughout the week. I don’t do a bunch of heavy weekend batch cooking, but I DO like to prep just a few basics that can be worked into versatile meals throughout the week. If I spend just a little time, I find that I can set myself up for a healthy week ahead. And because chopping vegetables in silence is no fun, I’m partnering with Audible to share a few of my favorite foodie “reads” that I like to listen to while I work. I love how easy their app…

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Tomato, Basil & Artichoke Picnic Sandwich

Last week, I was in New York speaking at a Random House event with (one of my favorite bloggers ever), Jenny from Dinner a Love Story. We chatted about our shared love for the simple tomato sandwich and how you shouldn’t complicate things that are as beautiful as summer tomatoes. I forgot that I had this post in the queue – because I absolutely LOVE this slightly fancier tomato-with-other-things sandwich. This reminds me of a juicy caprese sandwich except, well, there’s no cheese here. Instead, there’s a good slathering of this edamame spread that I’m still obsessed with. This time I made it…

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Mix & Match Crostini

Learn how to make crostini with this simple recipe! Crispy, delicious, and easy to make, they're the perfect customizable party appetizer.

Tell me, who doesn’t love a variety of yummy mix & match toppings on little pieces of grilled bread? Here’s a party idea that you can easily pull off this weekend: grill some bread to make a big batch of crostini, chill some rosé, gather a bunch of toppings (and a bunch of friends)… and you have a fun, casual crostini party! How to Make Crostini Crostini may seem fancy, but making them is actually simple. If you’re not familiar with them, they’re thin slices of grilled or toasted baguette that are great for serving with a variety of toppings. To make…

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Tart Cherry Tabbouleh

This creative tabbouleh recipe uses dried tart cherries in place of tomatoes! They add a sweet/tart pop of flavor that's delicious with herbs & lemon.

If you’re the salad-bringer in your family or circle of friends – this one’s for you. It’s super easy and also really bright & flavorful. It goes great with whatever you’re grilling and packs up well for picnics. You can make it in advance which, in my opinion, is a key element to summer salad-ing. My Tabbouleh Recipe Twist This is not a traditional tabbouleh recipe because, as you see, I’m using dried tart cherries (which are also sometimes called sour cherries) in lieu of tomatoes. I just love the pop of sweet bright flavor they bring here – it contrasts so nicely…

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Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

This creamy pumpkin pasta sauce is the ULTIMATE fall comfort food! Roasted garlic, onion, and sage fill it with cozy, complex autumn flavor.

This creamy pumpkin pasta sauce recipe comes from my first cookbook. Even though I developed it years ago now, it’s still one of my favorite fall and winter recipes. Fresh pumpkin puree (or kabocha or butternut squash) blends with cashews to create a super creamy, super comforting sauce. Yes, it looks like mac and cheese, but this surprising pumpkin pasta sauce is something else entirely. Roasted garlic, onion, and fresh sage give it a nutty, complex autumn flavor. Personally, I think it’d be a fantastic option for a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner, but it’s so simple and cozy that you’ll want…

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Stuffed Poblano Peppers

These stuffed poblano peppers are the ultimate healthy dinner! They're fresh and light, easy to make, and filled with bold, zesty flavor.

This stuffed poblano peppers recipe might be my new favorite summertime dinner. It has all the best parts of stuffed bell peppers – a fresh, flavorful filling, fun garnishes, and juicy roasted peppers – but the poblanos add an extra layer of heat. The whole thing is super fresh, super flavorful, and really darn fun to eat. If you’ve never cooked with poblano peppers before, they’re a chili pepper with a mild to medium heat level. On the Scoville scale, which measures how spicy peppers are, they range from 1,000 to 2,000 Scoville heat units. For context, bell peppers score…

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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.