Favorite cookbooks, by region

holiday / cookbook / gift guide

It goes without saying that I collect a lot of cookbooks. Here are some of my favorites, organized by place: Italy: Amalfi Coast Recipes Franny’s: Simple Seasonal Italian La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy France: Lunch in Provence Little Paris Kitchen: 120 Simple but Classic French Recipes The French Market Cookbook: Vegetarian Recipes from My Parisian Kitchen UK: Leon: Ingredients & Recipes (also looking forward to: Fast Vegetarian) River Cottage Veg: 200 Inspired Vegetable Recipes Tender: A Cook and His Vegetable Patch Japan: Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art Kansha: Celebrating Japan’s Vegan & Vegetarian Traditions Japanese Farm Food Korea &…

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Moonshine Sweet Tea giveaway

holiday / giveaway

Today we’re giving away a sweet little taste of Texas: Moonshine Sweet Tea. There are so many budding local food companies here in Austin… good people that are making great things with the best of the best ingredients. So when the folks at Moonshine Sweet Tea approached me, I was over the moon (bad pun, sorry), because this is exactly the kind of business I am excited to support… Family owned: check, locally made: check, good typography: check check. The recipe has been passed down for 4 generations. It’s handmade in small batches using real organic tea leaves. The sweet…

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Sweet Potato (vegan) Alfredo

winter / vegan

Less really is more… it’s a lesson I don’t think I’ll ever fully learn. For example, I often get flustered about what to make to post here. I’ll change my mind on my way to the grocery store and then change it another few times on my way home. This is a ridiculous (& expensive) habit because I end up buying way too much so I have options on hand to suit my indecisiveness. (Although, it all does get eaten eventually). Every now and then I come up with something out of nothing, and those almost always end up being…

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Avocado & Pomegranate Crostini

Avocado, pomegranate and feta make a pretty holiday appetizer crostini.

holiday / appetizers

‘Tis the season for sugary, buttery treats… but as you may know, I’m not big on butter. I’m also not particularly good at holiday traditions… Maybe it’s the Austin influence, but I love anything with avocado. I made this glorified guacamole and I think the little pomegranate gems make it especially festive. Only thing missing in this picture is a merry Christmas margarita. For a healthier version, this would be delicious on endive spears. For a less healthy (but gluten free) version, feel free to break out the tortilla chips.

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Whole Foods $75 giveaway

giveaway / whole foods

Here’s a gift everyone could probably use – a $75 gift card to Whole Foods! Go stock up on fancy mushrooms (or whatever you want)… leave a comment below and tell me your favorite way to cook with mushrooms. And if you don’t like mushrooms, well then you’re not eligible (kidding!!). Not sure what to make with mushrooms? Try one of these: Walnut-mushroom veggie burgers (from us) Rosemary mushroom chickpea ragout (The First Mess) Mushroom & chard bruschetta (Whole Foods) Mushroom millet leek frittatas (Sprouted Kitchen) Roasted king oyster mushrooms (Food & Wine) Mixed mushroom soup (Whole Foods) Cheesy brussels sprouts (& mushroom) lasagna (How…

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Homemade Ponzu

japan / how-to

If I had to pick two condiments to take to a desert island with me, my choices just might be rice vinegar and ponzu. Sriracha is a close third, and the Kewpie baby might be my number four. But back to the ponzu—it’s so versatile. I love it over noodles, and as a dipping sauce… it’s citrusey salty-soy goodness is perfect for quick, bright meals. Since the bottled version is often made with tons of additives, I set out to make my own. Turns out, it’s surprisingly easy. After a number of experiments, I figured out that meyer lemon replicates the…

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A White Kitchen Gift Guide

Dreaming of a beautiful, clean, white kitchen? This gift guide is for you, and I even bought most of the stuff on it!

kitchen gift guide / holiday 2013

Black friday… I’m just not into it. Malls freak me out and I’m not into stuff for the sake of stuff. But I do appreciate a few nicely made things. So I thought what better way to celebrate this awful “holiday” than with an all white-themed gift guide. I don’t know if you can tell by looking at this blog, but I kind of like white. As I was laying out these items on my computer screen, Jack looked over my shoulder and snarkily said “so you’re making your Christmas list there?” Before I could react with a snappy comeback,…

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Maple Cornbread Muffins

Rosemary & maple make these easy cornbread muffins lightly sweet & cozy-tasting. I love to serve them at Thanksgiving or with a big bowl of chili.

fall / vegan / almond breeze

Move over, dinner rolls, and make way for… cornbread muffins! Maybe it’s my Midwestern background, but I love corn, especially in this sweet & savory corn muffin recipe. My Cornbread Muffin Recipe Ingredients In my opinion, good cornbread should be golden & crumbly and walk the line between sweet and savory. These corn muffins do just that. Here’s what I use to make them healthy & delicious: Maple syrup sweetens them naturally and adds depth of flavor to this corn muffin recipe. Rosemary flecks them with green and brings its cozy, fresh wintry taste. Canola oil or olive oil is…

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Stuffed Acorn Squash w/ Kale & Creminis

The best side/vegetarian main at Thanksgiving! Acorn squash is stuffed with millet, mushrooms, kale, sage, pecans & cranberries in this healthy fall dish.

fall / gluten free / thanksgiving

Over the years we’ve had more than a few untraditional Thanksgivings… the ones where we didn’t make it to the family feast because flying during the holiday weekend is the biggest. hassle. ever. We’ve had a slew of friendsgivings, well before they were the cool hipster thing to do… One year, Jack and I spent a nice evening alone over a romantic dinner of butternut squash risotto… And I’ll never forget the year I didn’t fly home from college and I ate a can of tuna and frozen green beans. I know, so sad. But I had schoolwork to catch…

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Veggie Thanksgiving Recipes

fall / entertaining / thanksgiving

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week?! Neither can I… although we’ve been cooking up a storm of comfort foods in order to post recipes here before the holiday. By this time next week I’m sure I’ll be craving sushi rather than stuffing. But until then… here’s a bunch of recipe inspiration in case you’re in need of T-day ideas: pictured above: Roasted Squash with Apple Salsa  /  Roasted Cauliflower & Leek Soup Poblano Cornbread Stuffing  /  Roasted Beet Pear & Walnut Salad Butternut Squash & Leek Risotto  /  Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash Apple Spice Cocktails  /  Mini Vegan Pumpkin…

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Coconut Creamed Spinach

Learn how to make the best creamed spinach with this easy 10-ingredient recipe! It's a healthy, delicious side dish you'll make again & again.

thanksgiving / vegan / gluten free

What are your favorite Thanksgiving foods? When Jack was growing up, his mom would always make her famous creamed spinach, so this year, I wanted to make a riff on her traditional recipe. My new creamed spinach recipe is totally dairy-free – I use coconut milk instead of cream – and it’s filled with savory umami flavor and tons of fresh greens. It requires just 10 ingredients and less than 30 minutes to make…are you thinking what I’m thinking? Yup, creamed spinach is a new Thanksgiving tradition around here. Best Creamed Spinach Recipe Ingredients To make my spin on creamed…

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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.

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