Best Shakshuka

This shakshuka recipe is satisfying and delicious for any meal of the day! An easy one-pan dish, it features eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce.

Shakshuka is one of my favorite breakfasts…and lunches…and dinners. Though this Middle Eastern and North African dish is traditionally eaten for breakfast, it’s so easy, filling, and flavorful that it’s a great option for any meal of the day. Below, I’m sharing my go-to shakshuka recipe, which features gently poached eggs cooked in a fragrant bell pepper and tomato sauce. It’s flecked with spinach and spiced with paprika, cumin, cayenne, and harissa. If you like simple meals that go BIG on flavor, you’ll love this. How to Make Shakshuka This shakshuka recipe is easy to make! It only requires a handful…

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How to Make Oatmeal

Want to learn how to make oatmeal? You're in the right place. Read on to learn about cooking different types of oats & find fun oatmeal topping ideas!

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that oatmeal has never been my thing. But this fall, after I tried Amy Chaplin’s whole oat porridge recipe, I started to come around to it. See, in the past, I always had plain instant oats, which I thought were bland and mushy. But as I started experimenting with other types of oats, I discovered that, cooked the right way, oatmeal becomes a rich, creamy porridge that’s a fantastic canvas for seasonal toppings. Lately, I’ve been hooked on two topping combinations, and you’ll find them in the recipe below.…

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Whole Oat Porridge

This whole oat porridge recipe transformed me from an oatmeal skeptic to a devoted fan! Creamy, hearty, and warming, it can be made sweet or savory.

It’s no secret that I haven’t been a huge fan of oatmeal. See, every morning in college, I cooked instant oats for breakfast. They were cheap, quick, and they filled me up, but after years of eating them day after day, I got sick of their mushy texture and bland taste. I thought that nothing could convince me to try oatmeal again, until I saw the Porridge section of Amy Chaplin’s new book, Whole Food Cooking Every Day. I’ve been a fan of Amy for years – she’s the former executive chef of Angelica Kitchen (the NYC restaurant that first…

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51 Best Brunch Recipes

Looking for new brunch ideas? Try one of our 51 best brunch recipes! With plenty of sweet and savory options, we've got something for everyone.

Brunch might be the most popular meal there is, and for good reason! It’s the perfect combination of breakfast and lunch—you can opt for savory fare like chilaquiles or a slice of quiche or satisfy your sweet tooth with cinnamon rolls or a stack of pancakes. At the brunch table, anything goes. I’m sharing 51 of my best brunch ideas below. Filled with easy, doable, and delicious recipes, this list includes sweet brunch ideas, savory brunch ideas, and our best brunch drinks. Whether you’re looking for inspiration for a big holiday brunch or a lazy weekend meal for two, you’re sure…

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Blueberry Oatmeal Casserole

This blueberry oatmeal casserole recipe is a healthy and delicious breakfast! For a twist, replace the blueberries with your favorite seasonal fruit.

This blueberry oatmeal casserole was the first recipe that convinced me that maybe, just maybe, I could enjoy oats for breakfast. For years, I hesitated to make oatmeal because I didn’t like its mushy texture. I’ve come around since then, but back when I was at the beginning of my oat journey, this oatmeal casserole was the perfect solution for me. The top layer becomes crisp and toasty in the oven, creating a delicious crunchy topping for the soft middle. I count this as a brunch recipe, but it’s also good for dessert with a scoop of ice cream. 🙂…

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Tamago Kake Gohan

This Japanese rice bowl is the perfect healthy breakfast or dinner! Piping hot brown rice cooks an egg, making a creamy, risotto-like texture.

Jack and I ate tamago kake gohan (or tamago gohan, for short) over and over again during our trips to Japan. Its name translates to “egg rice,” and that’s basically what it is – a raw egg mixed into piping hot rice. Don’t be scared – the hot rice cooks the egg as you stir it in. The result is Japanese comfort food at its best – the most creamy, delicious bowl of rice you’ve ever had. It’s almost like risotto, but without so much stirring! It’s traditional to top tamago kake gohan with furikake and Japanese pickles… but of…

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Strawberry Banana Smoothie

This refreshing strawberry banana smoothie recipe is the perfect healthy breakfast! It's lightly sweet, a little creamy, and totally satisfying.

“I walked outside and felt like I was swimming,” is what Jack said the other day as I picked him up from the airport, fresh off a flight from LA. It’s humid here, to say the least, and the air is thick. It’s the kind of heat that sort of takes your breath away as soon as you walk out the door. But I’m not complaining, it always takes just a few weeks for the body to acclimate to our summer temps. Hydration is the key. Eight glasses of water (don’t know who recommended that) is just not enough, so I’ve…

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How to Make a Frittata

Learn how to make a frittata with this simple guide + 5 recipe variations! Perfect for any meal from brunch to dinner, they're easy and delicious.

A frittata is my #1 favorite brunch item to make at home. It’s easy and versatile, so I thought with Easter coming up this weekend, you may like a frittata recipe idea… or five! I usually make my frittatas with whatever vegetables I have on hand, which means that I’ve tried a whole bunch of various combinations over the years. Below are a few of my favorites along with some tips. First things first though, you may be asking… what is a frittata? Some call a frittata a crustless quiche (although, I call a quiche a crust-full frittata). It’s an…

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Matcha Baked Doughnuts

These doughnuts are a fun naturally green treat for St. Paddy's Day! They're both baked and decorated with matcha green tea.

With St. Paddy’s day coming up this weekend, I got in the mood to make green-colored treats…. and there’s no better way to naturally color things green than with matcha! Last year, I made zucchini cake with matcha frosting, and this year I thought it would be fun to make (and eat) doughnuts! If you’re new to matcha – it’s a powder made from Japanese green tea leaves. Because the whole leaf is ground (vs. steeping the tea leaves), matcha is packed with antioxidants. Which almost makes these doughnuts count as a health treat 🙂 You can mix matcha with hot…

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Vegan Banana Pancakes

If you like banana bread, then you'll love these vegan banana pancakes! They're lightly sweet, thick, fluffy, and filled with yummy banana flavor.

This stack of vegan banana pancakes pretty much sums up my ideal Saturday morning. Except, well, I don’t eat 7 pancakes on my individual plate, but Jack would if I put them in front of him. Portion control aside, if you have ripe bananas hanging around, give these vegan banana pancakes a try! They’re easy to make in one bowl, and they’re thick, fluffy, and full of yummy banana flavor. I think you’re going to love them! Vegan Banana Pancakes Ingredients These vegan banana pancakes aren’t just delicious – they’re good for you, too! Here’s what’s in them: Bananas, of…

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Vegan Lemon Muffins

These Vegan Lemon Muffins are great to bake for a weekend breakfast. Freeze extras for busy mornings or quick snacks!

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a fantastic celebration. Us? Well, we had a nice dinner and then slept through the new year for (I think) the second year in a row. The thing is – I’ve become a morning person. It wasn’t intentional – it just happened. On weekdays, I find that I get my best work done first thing in the morning. On weekends and holidays, I like to get up, pour coffee, and bake something for breakfast. So here are some yummy lemon muffins that I’ve been baking lately! This post is in partnership with…

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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.