Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Make a batch of these chewy and moist gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, and they'll be gone in no time. One of our favorite treats!

I’ll be honest, most things I bake don’t make it to the blog. For starters, I don’t bake very often. Our household (not including the dogs), is just 2 of us. And if 12 cookies are made one day, 12 cookies will be gone the next day. When I do bake, I’d call it experimental more than anything else. I can’t bring myself to follow a recipe all the way through without changing at least a few things, sometimes as an attempt to healthify things. Other times, I’m just too lazy to go out and get the exact ingredients. You…

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Green Papaya Salad

Green papaya ribbons tossed with a bright Asian-inspired herb, lime, and lemongrass dressing make a unique and healthy vegetarian meal.

I’ve been dreaming of making a green papaya salad for a while now… I just don’t see them (the unripe not-sweet green kind) around too often. A few weekends ago Jack and I ventured out to the MT Supermarket, a ridiculously huge asian market that we’d somehow never been to. If you live here in Austin, have you been there? The only way I can describe it is that it’s maybe the Asian grocery equivalent to IKEA. Super overwhelming… fun but probably only because it was our first time… and make sure you are highly caffeinated before you go. Among other treasures, I came…

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Couscous Stuffed Red Peppers

A fresh late-summer dinner. Red peppers are stuffed with a delicious mix of lemony kale, mint, pine nuts, and cilantro. Vegan, gluten free option.

I’m not always good at simple. Looking back at some of recipes I’ve posted recently, I realized that I heavily rely on my Vitamix and my food processor. To me, these things are not a hassle, but “old me”, (in a previous life, I never used to cook), would completely skip over a recipe if it asked me to drag out my food processor. Even if i could find all of the pieces for it, I wasn’t interested in the mess and the cleanup. So the other night, I set out to make something that didn’t require fancy ingredients or any…

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Coconut Loaf

Toasted coconut and a coconut milk glaze top this moist, coconut-filled healthy breakfast bread from the book Sprouted Kitchen. Great for dessert, too!

I’ve been reading Sara & Hugh’s blog Sprouted Kitchen for about as long as I’ve been reading 101 Cookbooks. Which is food blog code for: a long time. I’ve had their book pre-ordered for months, but was excited (flattered, really) when Sara sent me one. Now, everyone reading my blog is, I’m sure, already familiar with Sprouted Kitchen. I probably don’t need to go on about how gorgeous Hugh’s photography is. Or about how many “I wish I thought of that” moments I’ve had over Sara’s inspiring and creative recipe ideas (Shiitake Taco’s anyone?). So I’ll just get to why I like…

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Zucchini Noodles & Avocado-Miso Sauce

Toss your summer zucchini with a gingery avocado sauce, mango, edamame, and toasted almonds to make this light 30-minute dinner. Vegan and gluten free!

I was on a raw (well raw-ish) kick last week. Lately, I’ve been trying to eat lighter, and a bit healthier… less heavy starches, that sort of thing. I’ve been feeling really low-energy, so I’m trying to eat more veggie-focused meals and to incorporate healing foods like miso, hemp seed, and ginger. I love zucchini noodles because they really trick the senses and make you feel like you’re eating more than a bowl full of raw vegetables. Don’t get me wrong – they’re not pasta, but they have a nice tender bite that I find to be reminiscent of an al…

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Peach & Pesto Crostini

Serve these crostini as a summer vegetarian appetizer. Sweet grilled peaches atop crisp bread & fresh mint pesto will have everyone going back for seconds.

I feel fall suddenly coming on. We went for a walk last night after dinner and Jack made fun of me for putting a sweater on. But really, after living here so long, I think I can consider 75 degrees a “cold front.” While the break from the heat is a welcomed one, I can’t say that I’m quite ready for summer to end. I see sweet potatoes and butternut squashes starting to come in… there will be time for those… but for now I’m savoring the last of the good summer produce. This was probably my favorite salad of…

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Fig & Arugula Wheat Berry Salad

This hearty grain & greens salad makes a healthy side or main in fall or late summer. Packed with fresh veggies & herbs, it can be made vegan & gluten-free!

This is actually the third time I set out to make farro. And for one reason or another, a farro post is still yet to happen. Thanks to my superior pantry labeling system (a million unlabeled bags), I happened to grab these wheat berries instead. Turns out, pre-cooked wheat berries and pre-cooked farro look remarkably similar to each other. Not that it matters… in these salads, any grain will do. The formula is simple: grain + green + nut + chopped fresh herbs + a tangy cheese (optional) + a seasonal special guest. Today’s seasonal guest is figs. But unlike my other…

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Grilled Tofu Tacos with Avocado Cashew Cream

The stars of these tofu tacos are the sauces: a smoky chipotle marinade coats the grilled tofu, and a tangy avocado cashew cream tops them off.

Who doesn’t love a fish taco? Now that I’m a vegetarian, I love veggie-filled vegetarian tacos, but I miss ones filled with flaky fish. My solution? These delicious tofu tacos! To spice up my tofu, I made a chipotle/paprika/lime marinade, which lends a nice smoky balance to the other elements of these tofu tacos: tangy avocado sauce and crisp cabbage slaw. Yes, I know, I’m really into the nut sauces… cashew cream, pestos, romesco. I can tolerate very little dairy, and people give me such sad looks when I tell them that. But really folks… I’m not missing out. You’ll love…

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Summer Squash & Corn Orzo

Use up your summer zucchini squash haul with this light pasta recipe. Pine nuts & corn add crunch to this healthy 30-minute dish. vegan & gluten-free option

I brought these little cuties home from the farmers market last weekend. If you’ve been following, you might have noticed that I have a little obsesssion for all things mini, so I just couldn’t resist the these teeny tiny patty pan squashes. I’m going to chalk it up to the heat, but I’ve been spacey lately. When I was ready to start cooking, I stood in my kitchen and realized the only thing I had intentionally planned to go with my sautée of mini squashes were some chives. I mean, there’s something to be said for turning vegetarian “sides” into…

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Fig & Arugula Flatbread

Topped with fresh figs, pine nuts, arugula & creamy almond-lemon spread, this healthy flatbread makes a sweet & savory late summer appetizer or entree.

I was really excited to see figs pop out at our farmers market. I feel like fig season is so short… I can never show up at the store expecting figs to be there on any given day, so I just snatch them up when I see them. That night I put together this simple flatbread… a no-fuss, no-oven, casual Saturday dinner that we shared with nice summery white wine. Oh, and by the way, we’re becoming old people this summer. We’re the old married couple that strolls to the farmers market early on Saturday mornings. The old married couple…

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Roasted Shishito Peppers

Serve these spicy roasted shishito peppers as a fun & healthy appetizer for your next summer cookout! Peanut and miso dipping sauces up the fun & flavor.

Before this year, I don’t think we even knew shishito peppers existed. Now we can’t get enough of them. They seem to be on the menu of nearly every restaurant we frequent and we’ve ordered them countless times… finally, I started making them at home. And I’ll tell you, they are just as good. And as with any simple vegetable preparation, the goodness is likely due to the fact that we’ve had really amazing ones available to us all summer long at our farmers markets. The fun thing about eating these mildly sweet peppers is the fearful anticipation that you’ll…

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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.