Herb Garden Zucchini Pizza

This zucchini pizza is the ultimate summer dinner! Quick & easy to make, it's packed with flavor from raw and roasted zucchini, pesto, and herbs.

Last week, I wrote all about our beautiful, flourishing herb garden. Over the next 2 days, it poured down rain, our big basil plant got overwatered, and now it’s sort of falling over on itself. It’s a good thing we planted two! It’s also a good thing that we’re not farmers because we can barely keep a few deck plants alive 🙂 We went to the farmers market last to get produce from ACTUAL farmers on Saturday, and I brought home these cute mini zucchini and tiny pattypan squashes. It inspired me to make a big green zucchini pizza to…

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Avocado Summer Rolls

These fresh vegetable summer rolls make a fantastic healthy snack or light meal. Serve with creamy vegan coconut basil sauce for dipping!

All of the fresh herbs that we have growing on our little deck inspired this recipe for summer rolls. We have a ton of basil and some very fragrant Thai basil, among other plants like Thai chiles, tomatoes, peppers, and even figs. We’re very proud of our little plant escape, and when I say “we” I mean that I’m very proud that Jack has been lovingly watering everything up to twice a day to keep it all going. This might be the longest that we’ve actually kept plants alive. Dipping Sauce for Summer Rolls Since I know many of you…

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Farmers Market Breakfast Bowl

This breakfast bowl recipe is meant for days when you have an abundance of fresh veggies. A delicious garlic & herb yogurt sauce ties it all together.

Lately, my fridge has been overloaded with vegetables! We’ve been hitting one, if not two, farmers markets each week. After a long winter, I’m still in awe that we’re able to leave the house, enjoy the fresh air, and peruse rows and rows of glorious vegetables. I want to buy them all! It’s hard for me to hold back, even though I’m mindful of what we’ll actually be able to eat in a week. Another thing that’s hard to hold – my heavy veggie bags as Jack runs off to find the nearest cheese sandwich vendor. With all of this…

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Yogurt Pound Cake

This simple pound cake recipe is moist, lightly sweet & nicely spiced. It's a divine afternoon treat, especially with dollops of yogurt & in-season fruit.

I hope you’re all having a great weekend! Ours has been pretty chill – we went to the farmers market, Jack played video games, and I did some baking. I’m excited to share this lovely little pound cake recipe with you because I think it’s the perfect Sunday afternoon treat. It’s lightly sweet and nicely spiced. Yogurt makes it tangy while giving it a nice puffed up look. It’s moist with that perfect cake-y crumb that you want in a quick bread. My Pound Cake Recipe To be fair, I’m stretching the term “pound cake” a little here. It’s traditionally…

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Ultimate Crudité Platter

Move over, grocery store veggie tray - here's the ultimate crudité platter for any party! Full of sweet & savory components, it's a delicious appetizer.

I love a good crudité platter. I feel like they get a bad rap because the grocery store versions with the sad celery, raw cauliflower, and grubby carrots are never the most exciting appetizer at a party, but this board fixes that by being bright, fun, and delicious! It’s a yummy mix of fresh things, salty/savory bites, and even a sweet element from the delectable Tart Cherry Thyme Compound Butter. Each little recipe is made up of super simple combinations of creative ingredients that, together, make a really unique crudité platter! I brought this board to my family’s Father’s Day…

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Strawberry Rhubarb Bars

These easy strawberry rhubarb bars are an addictive summer treat! Made with almond flour & walnuts, they have a lightly sweet, nutty flavor.

By popular request: Strawberry Rhubarb Bars! I did a poll on Instagram last week asking which strawberry rhubarb dessert I should make. If you were one of the many that voted for crumble bars – you win! Well, actually, I win too, because these strawberry rhubarb bars are super yummy. They’re nutty, oat-y, and crisp, with that irresistible sweet/tart strawberry rhubarb flavor. Of course, they’re a delicious dessert, but they’re also pretty healthy, so I wouldn’t blame you for eating one (or more) for breakfast either. How to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Bars This strawberry rhubarb bars recipe is super easy because…

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Vegan Pasta Salad

This vegan pasta salad recipe is perfect for picnics! A creamy, no-mayo tahini dressing coats curly noodles, summer veggies, and briny artichokes.

This vegan pasta salad is basically a big bowl of sunshine! It’s full of colorful produce, like cherry tomatoes, yellow squash, and green beans, and artichokes and olives add delicious briny flavor. To tie it all together, I make a tangy, creamy tahini dressing. Because this dressing is totally mayo-free, it travels extremely well. As a result, this vegan pasta salad is a perfect dish to bring to a cookout or picnic. It’s so fresh, vibrant, and fun that I’m planning to make it all summer long. Once you try it, you will be, too! Vegan Pasta Salad Recipe Ingredients…

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Vegan Sugar Cookies

These vegan sugar cookies are fun to make & fun to eat! Puffy & soft, they have a light lemon flavor that's especially good under a sweet cashew glaze.

You’re going to love these soft vegan sugar cookies! They’re the perfect fun summer treat to make with your kids. Or, if you’re like me (without kids), they’re a fun crafty cookie baking project to make while pretending to be a kid on summer break. They’d also be the perfect addition to a holiday cookie plate in the winter. They just happen to be vegan, and they’re oh so delicious. This vegan sugar cookie recipe is a little different from one for normal cookies. As you’ll see in the recipe instructions, the dough is more like pastry dough, and I…

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Four Simple Summer Snacks

Four easy, healthy, delicious snack ideas that are easy to make - perfect for busy weekdays or fun weekend bites.

On social media, everyone always talks about the concept of “not a sad desk lunch”… but what about “not-a-sad desk snack?” For me, snacks can get SO boring. Often, at 3pm when my stomach is growling, I reach for a handful of plain raw almonds because that’s all I’ve got (when I’ve already eaten through the roasted ones). And then I’m kind of bummed that I didn’t have something a little more flavorful and that I just wasted a perfectly good snack opportunity. So today – better snacks! Whether you work at a desk or you’re constantly on the go,…

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Spicy Mango, Black Bean & Avocado Tacos

What's more fun and more simple than mango tacos? Almost nothing. Serve these sweet & spicy little guys for a crowd-pleasing weeknight dinner.

I don’t care if it’s taco Tuesday, taco Wednesday, or taco Friday… to me, any day is a good day to stuff things into tortillas! Some people buy a loaf of bread every week as a grocery staple – I buy tortillas. So naturally, my on-hand tortillas came in handy as part 3 of this week’s meal plan. Here are the ingredients that I started with: from the Mango Black Bean Ginger Rice Bowls: – a chunk of green cabbage (always trying to find a use for leftover cabbage!) – black beans – mango – avocado from the Cucumber Nori…

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Nori Wraps

If you love sushi but don't love rolling it at home, these easy nori wraps are for you. They taste just as good, especially with spicy mayo drizzled on top!

Meal #2 this week: Nori wraps!  If you missed Monday’s post, I made these Mango Black Bean Ginger Rice Bowls as part of this week’s three meal series showing how ingredients from one meal can work into the next, and then again into one more. I did a similar five part plan a few months ago, and many of you wrote to tell me how helpful it was… so here we are again! At the end of the week, I’ll recap it all with a full grocery list. For this recipe, I started with these ingredients that I had on hand…

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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.