Vegan Poke Bowl

This vegan poke bowl recipe swaps cubed watermelon for raw fish. Its pink color mimics the fish perfectly, and it makes these bowls refreshing & fun!

There’s a new poke bowl shop in town called Poke Poke, and we’re just a little obsessed. Jack and I have eaten there at least 2x per week since it opened. In fact, we’ve just returned from eating lunch there. We might be late to jump on the poke trend, but there’s something so crave-able about these sort of deconstructed sushi bowls. Please tell me that we’re not the only ones that get hooked on the same type of food for weeks on end? What is a poke bowl? The easiest way for me to describe a poke bowl is…

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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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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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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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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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Rainbow Bowls w/ Almond-Ginger Dressing

Heathy vegan & gluten free noodle bowls packed with cucumber, cabbage, kale, carrots & tomatoes. Tossed with a creamy almond-ginger dressing

This is one of those “it’s good to be home” meals. I love vacation, and I love eating out, but after traveling for awhile, I just can’t wait to get home and get back to my regular healthy eating routine. You know, the one that includes a morning smoothie instead of a croissant, and light vegetable-packed dinners like this one instead of multi-course dinners with wine pairings. Not that I’m complaining AT ALL, btw… but it’s time to get back on track and I’m doing that by eating the rainbow: We’re partnering with Almond Breeze as part of their Serve Up Your Best campaign.…

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Grilled Corn Salad

I'm head over heels for this fresh corn salad! Filled with crispy, crunchy, sweet & spicy components, it's a delicious side you'll make again & again.

According to my Instagram feed, you all celebrated this past holiday weekend by eating watermelon, making pie, or grilling up corn on the cob. If you were part of the third group, this corn salad is a super easy, super delicious recipe you can toss together if you happen to have leftover grilled corn. And if you don’t…. well, it’s still easy nonetheless and it’ll become your favorite summer corn salad. Corn Salad Recipe Ingredients This summer corn salad brings together my favorite summer ingredients to create a refreshingly sweet, crispy, crunchy, creamy combo that I will most definitely be eating all summer long.…

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Chili Lime Corn

Grilled corn on the cob is my idea of summer heaven. Learn how to make it with this easy recipe, and enjoy it with chile-lime sauce or butter & salt!

Happy almost-fourth of July! After traveling through Europe for nearly a month, Jack and I are ready to celebrate the USA by, well, sleeping and probably sleeping some more. We don’t have any big weekend plans, but we’ll probably be firing up the grill at least once or twice, especially to make this creamy & spicy grilled corn on the cob. Corn isn’t exactly a… featured ingredient in France, Norway, or Denmark. It’s good to be home. How to Grill Corn on the Cob Making grilled corn on the cob is easy, especially if you already have your grill going for burgers or…

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Broccoli Pasta Salad

This bright broccoli pasta salad recipe is chock full of fresh veggies and coated with a tangy no-mayo tahini dressing. Perfect for summer picnics!

This is not your regular pasta salad. In fact, Jack (who is not the biggest fan of traditional pasta salad) said “Omg, this is the best pasta salad!” It’s healthy and packed with lots of veggies, and unlike a lot of pasta salads, it’s light on the mayonnaise – in that it has none. With Memorial Day coming up, I figure you may need a packable potluck salad that won’t spoil if it sits out for a little while. This one, made with a creamy tahini dressing, is just right for that. How to Make Pasta Salad – the Healthy Way! Bring on the veggies! This broccoli pasta…

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Red Curry Lemongrass Soup

A healthy Thai red curry soup made with ginger, mushrooms, tomatoes, and bok choy. We love this healing vegan & gluten-free soup.

We’re nearing the end of soup season here, but I just had to get this one in before we break into summer recipes. Or at least, before we break into cold summer soup recipes and before I go ga ga for gazpacho (ugh, I’m so sorry). This is a warm and spicy soup for the soul. I first started making it a few months ago when my mom was in town visiting while I was sick. All I craved was soup, so we made tons of soups together. Well, cookies and soups, to be exact. I’m not calling this Thai, because…

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Avocado Cucumber Sushi Roll

Learn how to make sushi with this easy sushi recipe! Filled with mango, avocado & cucumber, it makes a healthy, delicious sushi roll.

We love sushi. We love it so much that we rarely make it at home, well, because Uchi is just down the street. But this homemade sushi recipe is a fun kitchen project to do with your significant other when you’re looking for something new to do together in a Friday night. Plus, making this sushi roll is way less expensive than ordering sushi at a restaurant. Sushi Roll-Making Tips! First things first – don’t be scared! The only thing required for “sushi date night” is a bamboo mat and a positive attitude. You need to be in the kind of…

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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.