Roasted Carrots & Cilantro

Sweet roasted carrots served with a creamy, tangy cilantro yogurt sauce make a healthy weeknight side or appetizer for spring or summer.

We don’t really like carrots. Ok, I take that back, we like cake made out of carrots, and we like raw carrots, but both Jack and I grew up with a disdain for cooked carrots. Of course, we only knew them as the mushy baby carrot version. Or worse yet, the mushy baby carrots in the pot roast version. We both have memories of our moms smasing the carrots and boiled potatoes together and pouring gravy on top. “But it’s so good this way”, my mom would say… each and every time… as if one day this mush would miraculously…

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Sesame Cucumber Salad

Chilled cucumbers and wakame in a sweet & tangy dressing make a quick & healthy summer condiment or snack. Sesame seeds add crunch. Vegan and gluten free.

This is hands down my favorite hot weather snack. Is it hot where you are? It’s about 95 degrees here and I have about a million cucumbers growing in my garden. Sadly, in this heat, the cucumbers are about all I have growing at the moment. But I’ll take my cucumbers and be happy about them. And make salad. This one is generally in my fridge all summer long because it’s just so quick and easy, and it keeps for days. I also find that it’s a great way to add in sea vegetables. They’re not necessary here: the cucumbers are…

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Grilled Veggies with Romesco Sauce

Sweet, smoky, and tangy romesco sauce served with grilled veggies and ciabatta makes an easy, healthy weeknight summer dinner or appetizer. Vegan.

Thank you to everyone who left well wishes last week about my poor thumb and helpful suggestions for my fighting-dog issue. I’m doing much better now. Since I was one hand down last week my wonderful husband took over and cooked this lovely meal for us. Sunday night, I sat back and drank wine while Jack carefully peeled, chopped, prepped, and grilled. I surely did not make fun of him for how long it could possibly take one to trim a pepper, and I tried hard to keep my “helpful suggestions” to a minimum. And now about the food — romesco…

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Mini Tomato and Herb Bruschettas

These simple balsamic, tomato, and herb bruschettas come together in under 30 minutes for a healthy summer dinner or appetizer. Vegan.

This is simple… maybe too simple. Jack’s been out of town this week, so not a whole lot of cooking has been happening around here. I had hopes – I wouldn’t say high hopes – but I had medium hopes of what I would make for just myself. But so far all I’ve made is coffee… trips to food trucks… dinner plans with friends (hey, it’s good to get out of the kitchen sometimes). But not to worry, I have something really good saved up for tomorrow’s post. So, until then, I’ll leave you with this simple, herby & balsamic…

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BBQ Portobello Sliders

Add some veggies to your next summer cookout with these little sandwiches! BBQ-marinated mushrooms make a delicious meal for meat-eaters and vegans alike.

summer / vegan / grilling

Summer makes me happy… long sunny days, warm nights, flip flops, juicy watermelons, waffle cones, and food with ketchup. Or in this case, BBQ sauce. A few weeks ago, I was drooling over this post. So last weekend, for my dad and Jack, I decided to made a mushroom version. The only change I really made to the sauce was adding dijon mustard. I love ketchup… Jack hates it… so the mustard added a nice kick and kept the overall tomato-y factor in balance.

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Lemon & Chive Ricotta Bruschetta

Creamy, bright lemon & chive ricotta tops crisp toast to make a delightful summer appetizer. Tomato & basil add more flavor & nutrition to this quick snack.

Spring cleaning is happening today at my house, so I’m gonna keep this one short and get back to it. My dad is in town visiting, which I love because he’s the cheapest labor around. As long as I keep the fridge stocked with beer, he’s a happy guy. So I guess you could say this was a fancy beer snack we had yesterday evening. Not a pairing I would recommend, but my dad is not really the “pairing” kind. This ricotta mixture is light and mellow – it’s not a punch of garlic-herby flavor – it’s bright and slightly…

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Veggie Sushi with Sunflower Miso Paste

Raw vegan sushi filled with crisp vegetables, creamy avocado, and a tangy, salty sunflower miso paste. A light gluten free meal for spring or summer.

We eat a lot of sushi… probably similar to the rate normal americans consume pizza. I don’t want to make this blog about weight loss, but sushi is my skinny secret. I don’t crave breads like I used to, I crave nori. Sushi at home might seem intimidating, but once you get the hang of it, it’s really not hard. I’m no Jiro or anything: it just takes a bit of a steady hand and some focus (which gets harder with the more sake you consume)… but honestly, if it comes out a little sloppy looking, it’ll still taste good. Don’t…

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Mango & Black Bean Quesadillas

Chard, mango, and jalapeño make sweet & spicy quesadillas for a fun and healthy spring or summer appetizer, lunch, or weeknight dinner. Vegan option.

I’ve been living in Austin for nine years now, and I find myself continually surprised and in awe of what grows here. Actually, let me start over…. For the first 5 years, all our food grew from restaurants. The next 3 years, it grew from Whole Foods. Now, (much) of our food grows from Rainlily Farm, Springdale Farm, Boggy Creek Farm, and most recently… wait for it… our front yard. In a million years, I never thought I’d get excited about gardening. And growing up where I did (a suburb of Chicago), I’m fascinated by the possibilities of what I can plant…

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Lemon Fennel Toasts

Lemony fennel salad & creamy dill yogurt sauce top toast to make an easy sweet and salty appetizer for spring. Also delicious with smoked salmon or cheese!

Lately, this has been our pre-dinner snack. It seems fancy (fancy for us, anyway) to have an appetizer just for two, but it’s less glamorous than that. When we’re cooking and photographing our meals, nights can get late and snacks have become necessary. Especially fast snacks. This one can be made in about 7 minutes, and if that’s too long for you, the components could even be mixed up (and kept separate) a few hours in advance. If you’re vegetarian, don’t click away yet… yes, this is smoked salmon, but it’s the fennel that is the real star, and this…

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Basil White Bean Puree

An easy creamy vegan spread made with pureed white beans and basil + a collection of vegetarian recipes for toasts topped with spring produce.

This is one of those things that we’ve been eating a lot lately and not writing about because it just seemed too simple for one whole post. But I get really excited when one recipe becomes a 2-fer, so I wanted to share… It started with the leftover basil-parsley dressing from this salad (about 1/4 cup). I tossed it in the food processor with a can of white beans, adjusted just a few seasonings (salt, pepper, squeeze of lemon), and served it on a crostini. I reserved just a bit of the original vinaigrette and drizzled it on top with some…

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Mini Grilled Cheeses

Mini grilled cheese sandwiches make a fun snack or appetizer. Topped with sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, fresh mozzarella, and sautéed mushrooms. Vegetarian.

vegetarian / snacks & dips / cheese

I finally caved… here’s my contribution for this silly thing called National Grilled Cheese month. Grilled cheese is probably Jack’s favorite food, so it was pretty mean of me to keep this “holiday” a secret until this close to the end. Now that I spilled the beans, it’s likely we might see a special contribution from him before the end of April. (although maybe don’t hold your breath for it). The ingredient list below seems really long, but it all comes together pretty quickly. Feel free to skip any of the components you don’t feel like making. And if you’re…

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.