Caprese Sandwich

I love to make this Caprese sandwich recipe for summer picnics. Stuffed with basil, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella cheese, it's simple and delicious.

I could eat this Caprese sandwich for lunch every day in the summer. It’s essentially a classic Caprese salad between bread. I layer on juicy tomatoes, creamy mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil leaves. The combination is super simple, but in the summer, you can’t beat it. Tomatoes and basil are both at their best, and they fill this Caprese sandwich with flavor. The tomatoes are sweet, tangy, and juicy. The basil is fresh and fragrant, with a hint of spice. Add rich mozzarella and a drizzle of fruity olive oil to the mix, and you have a perfect (especially picnic-perfect!)…

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Radish Salad

If you like radishes, you'll LOVE this radish salad recipe! It uses them two ways - roasted and raw - and has a bright radish green pesto on top.

I immediately thought, “Radish salad!”, when I opened our CSA box a few weeks ago and found a heap of gorgeous radishes inside. Often, radishes play second fiddle in green salads and noodle bowls, but at this time of year, when they’re extra-crisp, piquant, and even a little sweet, they deserve to be the star of the show. This radish salad recipe puts them front and center. I use the roots two ways – roasted and raw – and dollop a bright, nutty radish green pesto on top. Instead of adding a bed of greens, I bulk this salad up…

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Best Veggie Burger

If you make one veggie burger recipe, it has to be this one. These burgers have a wonderful savory flavor and hearty texture. They're grillable, too!

Say hello to the BEST veggie burger recipe! Of course, that’s just my opinion, but once you try it, I think you’ll agree. For one, these patties are grill-able! And if you’d rather be spending time in the sun than in the kitchen, you can even make them a day or two in advance. But that’s not all. This veggie burger has an amazing meaty texture and savory, smoky flavor. It’ll keep its shape when it’s stuffed inside a bun, and it’s delicious with fancy fixings or with good old ketchup and mustard. Unlike many packaged veggie burgers, its incredible…

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Italian Chopped Salad

This chopped salad recipe is exactly what I want to eat in spring and summer. It may be light and healthy, but it's still packed with bold flavor.

Who else loves chopped salad? I’m a huge fan of all salads, but chopped salad has to be one of my favorites. Because the ingredients are, well, chopped, you can get a little bit of everything in each bite, so it’s extra-flavorful and fun to eat! Speaking of fun, this chopped salad recipe comes from my friend Gaby’s new book What’s Gaby Cooking: Eat What You Want. If you’re not already familiar with Gaby’s blog and Instagram, you absolutely should be. Her recipes aren’t entirely vegetarian, but her California-style cooking is always packed with fresh produce. Her new book is…

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Bright Spring Salad

I'll be making this spring salad recipe all season long! Simple, bright, and delicious, it's the perfect way to showcase the season's best produce.

When the weather warms up in the spring, there’s nothing I crave more than this spring salad. Light, bright, and packed with spring’s best produce, it’s a perfect example of why eating seasonally is so exciting. This spring salad recipe is almost entirely veggies, but because each one is at its snappiest, sweetest, or softest right now, you don’t have to do much to turn them into a tasty dish. Toss them with a zesty dressing, sprinkle on a little cheese, and add a handful of nuts for crunch. With just a few minutes of effort, you’ll have made a…

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Homemade Bagel Recipe

Just thinking about this homemade bagel recipe makes my mouth water. It's super easy to make, and it yields delicious, chewy bagels every time.

This homemade bagel recipe is Jack’s new favorite thing to bake, and I couldn’t be happier! Like many of you, he’s been baking up a storm lately, churning out crusty loaves of sourdough filled with dried fruit, nuts, or roasted garlic. I love all of it, but I’m especially excited whenever he starts a new batch of bagels. These may be homemade, but they have all the essential qualities of a good bagel: a shiny exterior, a lightly sweet and salty flavor, and a perfect chewy bite. To take them over the top, we coat them generously in crunchy, garlicky…

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Vegan Carrot Lox

You won't miss the fish in this smoky, savory vegan carrot lox recipe! Piled onto bagels with all the classic fixings, it's just as good as the real thing.

I have to admit, I was skeptical when I first tried this carrot lox recipe last spring. At this point, we’re all used to the idea of vegan burgers, meatballs, and taco meat, but vegan smoked salmon still seemed like a stretch. I loved the idea of creating a vibrant veggie version of traditional lox, but would it really work? Well, fast forward a year, and this carrot lox is now my go-to bagel topping! Thanks to a tangy, smoky marinade and a long roast with plenty of salt, the carrot lox is surprisingly similar to smoked salmon. It’s tender…

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11 Best Vegetarian Tacos

Looking for a fun dinner? Make vegetarian tacos! Read on to find some of my favorite veggie taco recipes, as well as a guide to making your own.

When I’m in the mood for a fun dinner, I make vegetarian tacos. Jack mixes up margaritas, I set out a taco bar for two, and we each fill our tortillas just the way we like them. The process is quick and easy, and at the end, we get to dig in to flavorful veggie tacos. To me, it’s a pretty perfect night. In case you’re looking for a fun way to change up your dinner routine, I’m sharing 11 of my favorite vegetarian taco recipes below. They’d be perfect for Cinco de Mayo this week, but honestly, we make…

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Tagliatelle with Asparagus & Peas

I could eat this tagliatelle pasta recipe every night in spring! Filled with tender veggies, herbs, and chewy pasta ribbons, it's fresh and fun to eat.

This tagliatelle recipe is ideal for this time of year, when spears of asparagus are slim and tender and cool days are still mixed in with the warm ones. The chewy tagliatelle pasta ribbons and a light cashew cream sauce make it hearty and comforting, while spring veggies, lemon, and an abundance of herbs make it super fresh and bright. We usually make this recipe with dried tagliatelle pasta, and the wide, al dente egg noodles are fantastic with the tangy sauce and tender veggies. But lately, Jack and I have been on a bit of a homemade pasta kick,…

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Homemade Pasta

Learn how to make pasta at home! This 4-ingredient homemade pasta recipe is easy to make, and it yields chewy, delicious noodles every time.

This homemade pasta recipe is our new favorite cooking project! Lately, Jack and I have been spending even more time than usual in the kitchen, experimenting with bread, baked goods, and even okonomiyaki. But we keep coming back to homemade pasta. It’s super fun to make together, and it only requires a handful of basic ingredients. Of course, the fact that it’s absolutely delicious doesn’t hurt either. 🙂 My homemade pasta recipe refers to the pasta maker attachment for the KitchenAid Stand Mixer, which is how we roll out our fresh pasta at home. If you don’t have a KitchenAid,…

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Okonomiyaki

This okonomiyaki recipe proves that weeknight dinners don't have to be boring! It cooks in a flash, and it's healthy, delicious, and super fun to make.

When you think of pantry recipes, okonomiyaki might not be the first thing that comes to mind. It certainly wasn’t for Jack and me. Over the last few weeks, we cooked our way through a whole slew of bean recipes, rice recipes, and pasta recipes before it dawned on us that we had everything we needed to make this popular Japanese street food right in our kitchen! Jack and I first tried okonomiyaki on a trip to Japan nearly ten years ago, and we’ve loved it ever since. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s sort of a frittata-like Japanese…

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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.