Peach Salsa with Mint

Make this sweet, tangy, and spicy peach & mint salsa as an appetizer for your summer party! Also delicious on tacos, grilled fish, or in a summer salad.

I’ve been binge eating peaches lately. Usually I’m pretty disciplined about buying only a few peaches at a time. I’ll even stagger my peach buying… 2 one day, 2 a few days later, so that every few days (during peach season) I have a manageable amount of peaches to consume on that one day when they’re perfectly ripe. So when my bi-weekly Farmhouse Delivery started sending me 12 peaches at a time (for the last 3 bushels in a row) my summer “peach system” was, needless to say, wrecked. (I know, it’s rough… my life… they’re really awesome peaches too).…

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Thai Coconut Cucumber Salad

Chilled crunchy summer veggies are tossed with herbs and a spicy, tangy curry coconut dressing. Serve it for a vegan weeknight dinner as a main or side.

summer / vegan / gluten free

I could eat coconut all day in the summertime. Cold, crunchy, spicy salads like this one with a side of coconut iced tea, followed by coconut ice cream for dessert. I ask you, who needs so much dairy when the coconut exists? (Ok, don’t answer that, I know you cheese-lovers are a passionate bunch). I’m calling this one a “Thai-inspired” dish. Jack and I are talking about taking a trip to Thailand next spring (!)… so until then, I bring you “Thai-ish.” Coconut milk, lime, and red curry are flavors that I am crazy about… and here they create a delicious…

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Romesco Grilled Veggie Sandwich

Slather homemade romesco sauce on a roll and top with your favorite grilled veggies & arugula for a delicious & healthy summer lunch or dinner. Vegan!

So this isn’t really a new recipe, but I just couldn’t resist snapping a photo of this sandwich the day after we grilled these veggies with romesco sauce. They were just as good (maybe better) the next day. Jack has to work this afternoon, so I’m thinking of attempting to make that lemon-thyme cake that was on my mind the other day. I’m not much of a baker, so we’ll see how it goes… (no promises of it being photo-worthy). If you have a recipe or a suggestion, please let me know! So far I’m thinking olive oil cake. I want to get…

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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.

spring / gluten free / vegan-optional

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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Orzo & Arugula Lemon Thyme Salad

This 30-minute salad filled with veggies, mozzarella & orzo and tossed with a bright lemon vinaigrette is perfect for a spring or summer weeknight dinner.

In case it isn’t obvious… I love lemons. Ending a dish with a squeeze of lemon or a bit of zest, to me, makes the whole world seem just bit brighter. And now I’m revealing my newest lemon-y obsession… lemon thyme. I have a bunch of it growing in my garden, and it just smells so amazing. Sweet, bright, fragrant… move over basil. (Ok, not really). My first thought was that this lemon thyme needs to be in a cake. But I’m not exactly Jeanine the baker, so my second thought was to make a bright summery salad with lots of…

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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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Leek Almond Chickpea Tart

Sautéed leeks and lemony, herb-filled creamy almond spread are layered over socca to create a unique, healthy spring or summer dinner. Vegan & gluten free.

This is so not my week. I’m going to keep this very short because I badly injured my thumb last night, and you don’t want to know how long it just took me to type out the recipe at the end of this post… Jack and I made this last Saturday night for dinner. I got the inspiration from this photo of a leek tart that I pinned. Leeks aside, my recipe is entirely different. I decided to try socca (a chickpea flour pancake/dough) as a healthier alternative to puff pastry… not that it’s equivalent to a flaky puff pastry, it’s…

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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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Chickpea Nicoise Salad

Tossed with an herby lemon dressing, this vegetarian take on the classic Nicoise salad makes a healthy weeknight meal for spring or summer. Gluten free.

We were on vacation in Nice around this time last year, and I think I ate a nicoise salad for lunch every day of that trip. Or as Jack has coined it, the “Nizzan” salad, because the Italians call Nice “Nizza” (pronounced like pizza). We learned this as were running through the Rome airport (we are always running), and the airport desk workers were yelling out “Nizza! Nizza! last call for Nizza!” So that’s what we call it now. The city and the salad. This is one of my favorite main course salads because it’s so filling yet light and…

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Red Curry & Miso Veggie Bowl

Your favorite veggies are roasted with a spicy miso glaze to make this easy vegan & gluten free veggie bowl. Perfect for a healthy weeknight dinner.

“Quick and easy weeknight cooking” hasn’t been something I’ve focused on much here. If something I’ve made happened to be quick, it was by accident more than anything else. I enjoy the process of cooking, and when I’m inspired, hours can fly by. (Although I’ll add the disclaimer that recipes on this site should, by no means, take “hours”). After a particularly stressful day last week, inspiration ran out. I was tired and preoccupied. I had a plethora of vegetables lying around the kitchen begging me not to abandon them for a restaurant. But my jumbled mind couldn’t figure out…

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.