Orzo & Feta Stuffed Peppers

These vegetarian stuffed peppers are one of our favorite summer dinners! Filled with an herbed orzo & kale salad, they're light, healthy & easy to make.

Stuffed peppers are one of my go-to summer dinners. In fact, they’re so easy that when I posted this picture on Instagram last week, I got tons of emails asking for the fully measured recipe. Ask and you shall receive, so here it is: my current favorite recipe for vegetarian stuffed peppers. But don’t let the measurements fool you – feel free to eyeball your ingredients if you don’t feel like breaking out the measuring cups. This vegetarian stuffed peppers recipe is simple and customizable! If you don’t have orzo, use couscous. Gluten-free? Millet or quinoa would also work well in place of the…

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Heirloom Tomato & Mango Pico

I love pico and I love mango salsa, so I’m not sure why it took so long to come up with the delicious idea to combine the two. This is probably the prettiest salsa I’ve ever made, but I also love the flavor and texture variety that each tomato brings to the table bowl. Cherry tomatoes are sweet, green tomatoes are more tart and firm. I always find myself adding a pinch of sugar to my tomato salsa for balance, but that’s not necessary this time because of the sweet juicy mango. Make a big batch, it’ll keep in your fridge for 3-4 days…

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Curried Chickpea Salad Sliders

Three things I am obsessed with: chickpeas, avocado, and all things MINI… mini pizzas, mini tacos, mini pies, mini skillets. I had these cute little pretzel buns last week so that’s how this recipe started. (Although you could use any kind of bun or sliced bread for this recipe). I first thought of making little veggie burgers, but since it’s a whopping 103 degrees(!) outside, I’ve been trying to use my oven as little as possible. Plus this chickpea salad is fast, easy, and cold, which is everything I want in a summer recipe. These would be perfect for a summer picnic except, well, it’s…

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Smoky Sweet Corn Tostadas

Make this easy vegan tostada recipe for a smoky, fun & fresh summer lunch. If you have leftover hummus, store it in the fridge for a quick, healthy snack!

Happy August! I hope corn is in season where you are, because I have a pretty corny tostada recipe today. Let’s just say that I decided to go for the corn trifecta. I started by making some sweet and smoky corn hummus that is a great snack on its own. Then I slathered it onto crispy (baked) corn tortillas. Finally, I topped these with avocado and MORE grilled corn because, well, I was up to my ears in fresh summer corn, and I had to use it somehow. After spending the month of July eating pasta, I feel like a I needed a Texas re-tox.…

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Cucumber Apple Green Gazpacho

Soup is my favorite thing to make regardless of the season – it’s comfy and cozy in the fall and winter, but just because it’s 100 degrees outside now doesn’t mean I don’t crave soup in the summer. Enter: gazpacho. This one is extra healthy (and bikini-season-friendly) because it’s made with green juice as the base. Since working on these recipes, with Evolution Fresh, I’ve been inspired to incorporate more green juices into my cooking. I got this idea by reading the ingredient list for their Sweet Greens and Ginger cold-pressed juice. It’s full of cucumber, apple, and ginger (among other greens), and sounded like the…

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Peach & Plum Caprese Salad

First, thank you all SO much for your Italy foodie suggestions, the other day! They are all so so helpful. I’m writing this from the terrace of our small, yet very awesome, airbnb apartment in Rome. It’s picturesque, I’m not going to lie. What’s less idyllic is this jet lag. I always expect it to get easier, but every trip it seems to hurt a little more… of course, nothing I’m sure a little gelato won’t fix. Before we head out for the day, I wanted to share this simple peach salad I made a few weeks ago with the sweetest Texas peaches &…

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Mix & Match Mini Pizzas

If you’ve been following for long, you know that I have a slight obsession for all things that are mini. Mini skillets, mini pies, mini tacos – but my absolute favorite small food has to be mini pizzas. They’re quick and easy to make and a fun way to try lots of different toppings. These would be great for a summer party – you could even toss these little guys on the grill if you don’t want to heat up your house. The first step to your mini pizza party is mini naan – I buy Stonefire Mini Naan all the time –…

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Peach & Tomato Crostini

Lately I’ve been reading all kinds of summer bucket lists that are floating around the internet. I enjoy them – they inspire me to get away from the computer and do fun things like hang out at pools with popsicles. (which I haven’t actually done, but the idea still lifts my spirit). For me, summer + list-making don’t go hand-in-hand, so I’ll just make one goal and that is to eat ALL of the peaches. I freaking love peaches. Their season is happening here and now in Texas so I’m I making the most of it with things like peach salads, peach salsa, and peach pops, just to…

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Strawberry Basil Avocado Toast

My favorite avocado toast recipe! Creamy avocado, balsamic strawberries, and fresh basil make the perfect fresh toppings for this light spring lunch.

There are some food trends that I wish would end (sorry, oatmeal). There are others that I hope never end – like avocado toast. In my opinion, this one’s not going anywhere simply because avocados are awesome. And I’m totally fine with that. A few months ago, I posted a fall/winter version of my favorite smushed green snack and now here’s my spring take on the classic. I love the sweet/salty/creamy combination of avocado, coarse sea salt and strawberries. These are delightful little appetizer bites (or, for me, lunch), that take 2 minutes to put together. Don’t forget the fresh basil! My Best Tips for Perfect Avocado…

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Toast with Radishes & Dandelion Greens

I’ll never forget the first time I bit into a radish. I was in Sunday school and I was maybe seven or eight. I’m not sure if they ate radishes in Bible times, but for whatever reason that morning’s lesson involved passing around new raw foods to try. I don’t remember much else about that day except the shockingly bitter taste that I couldn’t get out of my mouth until my family picked up Dunkin’ Donuts on the way home. I spent years picking radishes out of salads until I slowly came to love the crunch and slightly bitter bite – especially when thinly sliced,…

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Loaded Sweet Potato Avocado Toast

Loaded Chipotle Sweet Potatoes & Kale with Pickled Radishes are fun, healthy, and filling toppings for classic avocado toast! A perfect vegan snack or main.

I know – avocado toast is SO over, and even if it weren’t, you don’t need a recipe for it. This trend might be on it’s way out, but you’ll still find me (and pretty much everyone else on Instagram) happily smashing & snapping away. I usually keep mine simple – avocado, lemon, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of hemp seeds. It’s a perfect combo that doesn’t need to be messed with, but since this was “dinner toast” for us one night last week, I thought I’d get a little fancier with the toppings. (Also, Jack is still claiming that he…

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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.