Pickled Chard Quinoa Bowls

Lately, our weekends have been filled with some pretty extravagant eats. After a few weeks in a row of food & wine fests, gelato fests (oh, yes), and dinners out with friends, I’ve been feeling a little over-indulged, to say the least. Quinoa to the rescue! Nothing helps me feel more grounded than a bowl of quinoa piled with veggies. This bowl is pretty simple if you’ve prepped a few of these items in advance. I like to make a big batch of quinoa and keep it in the fridge all week. Same with pesto… and this week I happened…

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Pickled Chard Stems

Eat the rainbow, (and no I’m not talking about Skittles). I just love chard and I love it’s crunchy colorful stems. Although, very often, I end up with a lot of extra stem pieces. They’re way too pretty to toss so I’ve started pickling them. Don’t worry, this isn’t a Sunday afternoon project, these are super quick refrigerator pickles. (i.e. the kind I have patience for). You could slice yours into long spears, but I chop mine up (they pickle quicker that way), and them I eat them Japanese Tsukemono style – as a simple condiment with rice (or any grain),…

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Sweet Curried Almonds

As a food blogger, I use my stove nearly every day without thinking much about it. It’s easy to take things like multiple burners and good ventilation for granted. (Well, except when Jack cooks – we have to frantically open every window to keep the fire department from showing up). In other areas of the world, women are cooking over a small fires in enclosed spaces that lack light and ventilation. Their kitchens are filled with smoke, making it difficult (not to mention unsafe) to prepare meals for their families. This Mother’s Day, Equal Exchange is working to donate energy-efficient…

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Sambal Salsa & Black Bean Tacos

I’m a little bit behind. I realize – today is Ocho de Mayo and I’m late to the game with a salsa & taco recipe. But the way I see it – every day can be taco day. Aside from avocado smashed on toast, “stuff in a tortilla,” is my next go-to meal. I came up with this recipe a little bit by accident. A few weeks ago, I was in Chicago visiting my family, cooking with whatever was around my mom’s kitchen. On that particular day: a few tomatoes, an avocado, some onions, etc… Halfway through chopping all of…

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Almond-ella Spread

Here's a delicious, healthy version of nutella made with almonds. It's vegan, dairy-free, gluten free, and only three ingredients!

Everyone loves nutella right? I love it as much as the next person, but I don’t love all of the unhealthy ingredients that are in it. This almond chocolate spread, (almond-ella is what I’m calling it), is just as creamy and delicious. It’s super easy and just 3 ingredients: almond butter, chocolate, and (the secret to it’s smooth texture), coconut oil. Melt everything together, pour it into a jar. It’ll firm up and set as it cools, (if you can wait that long). Slather it on toasted bread and top it with your favorite fruit. Many of you have asked me to recommend gluten…

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Cinco de Mayo recipes

Happy (almost) Cinco De Mayo! Here in Austin, we never need an excuse to eat Mexican food – but if you do, here are just a few of our favorites: (pictured above) Spicy Serrano Corn Salsa  /  Jalapeño Margaritas Veggie Cevice Tacos  /  Tequila Lime Fish Tacos Mexican Street Corn Salad  /  Chilaquiles Poblano “Crema” Enchiladas  /  Spicy Black Bean Soup I’m off to go pour the margaritas!

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Vegan Carrot Cake

I make this vegan carrot cake recipe for Jack's birthday each year. Moist, cinnamon-spiced, and slathered in frosting, it's perfect for celebrations.

This vegan carrot cake recipe is a riff on my mom’s traditional recipe. That cake is Jack’s all-time favorite dessert, so she makes it whenever she comes to visit. Then, I make it again for Jack’s birthday. This year, instead of making her recipe as written, I adapted it to make a vegan carrot cake instead! My mom’s recipe calls for applesauce, which makes her cake super moist and light. Using applesauce, you can actually veganize carrot cake relatively easily. Along with the shredded carrots, it adds enough moisture to eliminate the need for flax eggs or other unconventional ingredients.…

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Austin Food & Wine: Jodi Elliott

Here's a little interview I did with Bribery's Jodi Elliott. In 2013, she was named Food & Wine's People's Best New Pastry Chef.

By the end of this weekend I’ll be craving a big kale salad, but for now – the Austin Food & Wine Festival continues. Here’s a little interview I did with pastry chef Jodi Elliott. Last year, she was named Food & Wine’s People’s Best New Pastry Chef. This year, she’s opening a bakery & dessert bar called Bribery – I can hardly wait!  Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Let’s see – I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. I went to the CIA in Hyde Park, NY when I was 19 yrs. old!…

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Spicy Kohlrabi Noodles

An easy vegan weeknight recipe made with ginger-lime marinated kohlrabi, fresh herbs, and rice noodles. A great make-ahead lunch! Healthy & gluten-free.

Oh, kohlrabi… I first learned of this alien vegetable years ago when I received my very first CSA box. At the time, I wasn’t adventurous with vegetables, so I had no clue what it was and no clue what to do with it. Kohlrabi has seemed to gain some popularity since then – I often see it on restaurant menus – but back then it was barely google-able. Fast forward to now – it’s one of my favorites. People say it’s similar to broccoli stems, but I think it’s closer to daikon or even jicama. Slice it up into sticks,…

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Dukkah Spiced Yogurt Dip

Learn how to make dukkah with this simple recipe! It's a delicious way to spice up a yogurt dip, hummus, toast, and more!

My Dukkah Recipe Inspiration I recently contributed this dukkah recipe to Food 52’s Small Batch series. When they first suggested it, I had to look up how to (authentically) make it. It turns out — there’s no one way. The word dukkah literally means “to pound” and it generally consists of hazelnuts, sesame seeds, and a few whole dried spices. To me, this was the perfect opportunity to use up the nuts and spices I had just cleaned out of my pantry shelves. (Specifically, the ones that didn’t fit when I transferred them from little bags to little jars). Along with the…

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Romanesco & Chickpea Salad

Two things happened on Monday: It was Jack’s birthday and also we won the Saveur Reader’s Choice Best Cooking Blog award! Thank you, thank you, thank you, to all of you who voted for us! As someone who’s not used to winning things, I really didn’t see this coming. I’m shocked and just so flattered. I realize — I probably should be posting cocktails and cake, but it’s been a heck of a busy week, so today I bring you: Celebration Salad. (Although, stay tuned, I have some yummy birthday carrot cake coming up next week). But for now, this…

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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.