Top Recipes of 2018!

We cooked up a storm in 2018, and these recipes stuck out as your (and my) favorites. Here's to new year of great healthy vegetarian food!

Where did the time go?! It feels like just yesterday that I was sitting here writing about last year’s top recipes, and here we are again. 2018 was a busy one… we settled into our Chicago home and cooked up a storm of yummy food. We have some exciting things happening in 2019, but before we get there, here are the greatest hits of this past year. I think it’s fun to check our analytics to see which of your favorite recipes were also my favorite recipes… and this list really aligns. So without further ado… (Click on the titles…

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Roasted Cauliflower Salad

Dried apricots, olives, and toasted nuts fill this cauliflower salad with contrasting textures and flavors. A delicious side dish or make-ahead lunch!

This roasted cauliflower salad will brighten up any winter day! At least, that’s what I tell myself as I seriously consider getting one of those vitamin D lamps. Have any of you ever tried one? These 4:30 Chicago sunsets really take some getting used to. Anyway, back to the cauliflower salad! I was going to save this recipe to post in January. You know, once everyone wants to get healthy and eat vegetables again… but then I realized that you’re all here because you love vegetables, holidays or not! This hearty cauliflower salad could double as a holiday side dish…

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Roasted Red Pepper Soup

I love making this colorful roasted red pepper soup on cold winter days. With simple steps and nourishing flavor, it's a weeknight go-to.

This roasted red pepper soup recipe is light and nourishing, yet creamy and delicious – just the thing if you ate too many cookies this weekend. Plus, I think the red pepper soup and green herbs look so festive! If you haven’t gotten around to decorating a tree this year (or if you’re tired of decorating cookies), you can decorate your soup! 🙂 Roasted Red Pepper Soup Recipe Ingredients Because red bell peppers aren’t in season, I use jarred roasted red peppers, which are a super convenient pantry ingredient. If you’re making this soup in the summer or fall, though,…

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Baked Cheesy Cauliflower Dip

Your guests will never guess that there's a whole head of cauliflower hidden in this creamy, tangy, and totally addictive party dip.

Every holiday party needs a great dip, and this baked cheesy cauliflower dip is sure to be a hit at yours! We’ve made this dip so many times over the past few weeks perfecting the recipe. I have to tell you that it’s been such a joy because it’s FREEZING outside and there is truly no greater comfort in life than having a hot skillet of creamy, cheesy goodness bubbling and baking away in the oven. Ordinarily, I’d give “party dip” a bit of a sideways glance – I’m not a huge fan of the who-knows-what ingredients plus a brick…

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Tahini Cookies

It's impossible to eat one of these tahini cookies without reaching for a second. They're lightly sweet, chewy, and filled with spiced, nutty flavor.

These tahini cookies have become one of my favorite afternoon treats. They’re soft and chewy, with a lightly sweet, spiced flavor. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be reaching for a second before you’ve even finished the first. Luckily, there’s no need to hold back here, as these tahini cookies are actually on the healthy side. They’re vegan, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened, and the pomegranates on top add a pop of antioxidants! I mean…why not have three? Tahini Cookies Ingredients These vegan tahini cookies are SO easy to make, and they only require a handful of ingredients. Here’s what you’ll…

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Orange Shortbread Cookies

Orange zest gives these classic shortbread cookies a little citrus flair. Enjoy them at the holidays or anytime you're craving a sweet treat.

I don’t do crafty baking very often, but I had so much fun making and decorating these orange shortbread cookies! This orange shortbread cookie recipe is based on the lemon shortbread cookies that I made last year. That recipe is a fan favorite, so I thought I’d do a more festive version of it for Christmas. This time, I cut the cookies into stars and decorated them with orange zest and these cute Supernatural white sequin sprinkles. How to Make Orange Shortbread Want to learn how to make these cookies? Here’s what you need to do: First, cream together the…

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Sun Dried Tomato Pasta with Kale

Fennel, sage, and white wine are an A+ flavor combination in this sun dried tomato pasta. You'll love this hearty, comforting, and easy dish!

Happy December! Today we’re celebrating with this bright red & green sun dried tomato pasta. I have a confession to make. I’m really terrible at decorating for the holidays. Some years it happens, others it doesn’t… and then some years we end up with a Valentine’s Day tree because we lose track of time and the work of taking down decorations is far less fun than putting them up. So here’s my version of holiday greenery for you – sun dried tomato pasta! It’s, of course, edible, and the clean up is minimal. 🙂 Aside from boiling the pasta, this…

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Lemon Cookies

These yummy lemon cookies have delicious chewy middles, crisp edges, and a sweet citrus flavor. I love them with tea for an afternoon treat!

These lemon cookies are my new favorite treat! They have that bakery-perfect chewy middle with a lightly crisp edge and a lovely balance of light and bright citrus flavor. I’ll be making them on repeat throughout the holiday season, but honestly, these lemon cookies are so delicious that I would happily take one any day of the year. This lemon cookie recipe comes from my friend Melissa Coleman’s book The Minimalist Kitchen. You may know of her blog, The Faux Martha. If you don’t, go check it out – you’ll absolutely love her. She has wonderfully approachable mealtime recipes, highly…

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Kitchen Gift Guide + Our (New!) Shop Section

Everything that I use and love in the kitchen! Browse by cookware, kitchen tools, prep/storage, tabletop items, and more!

Happy post-Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a great meal and a relaxing long weekend. Me? I’ve been a busy bee putting the finishing touches on this new “Shop” section of our website so that we could launch it before Black Sunday or Cyber Monday or whatever-the-heck these gift-crazy days are called. I typically write some sort of gift guide post around this time of year, but this time I’m doing things a little bit differently. Here’s why! I get tons and tons of emails about my recommendations for cookware, kitchen tools, storage containers, pretty dishes, what camera we use,…

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Wild Rice Soup

Craving something that's comforting, but healthy? Make this creamy wild rice soup! Autumn veggies and herbs pack it with rich, savory flavor.

The next time you have a day when all you want to do is pull on your biggest sweater and curl up on the couch, make this creamy wild rice soup. If you ask me, it’s the best kind of comfort food. It’s creamy and cozy, but it’s nourishing too. Colorful autumn veggies like carrots, celery, and mushrooms fleck its surface, and nutty wild rice and white beans make it nice and hearty. And as for that creamy broth? Well, there’s actually no heavy cream or dairy hiding inside it. Instead, it’s a wholesome, flavorful blend of white beans, cashews,…

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Roasted Delicata Squash & Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce

Delicata is my favorite winter squash, and this tangy/funky vegetarian side shows why. The squash is sweet, meaty, and, best of all, requires no peeling!

Happy Saturday! I’m popping in today to share one more fall squash recipe that would make for a tasty Thanksgiving side dish (or a tasty any-dinner side dish if you don’t celebrate T-giving!). This one is a little bit different for me because I haven’t been a big fan of blue cheese. That is, until a few weeks ago, when Jack and I shared a squash dish with blue cheese at the Publican (here in Chicago) that I was completely enamored with. The pairing of sweet roasted squash with tangy cabbage, pops of sweet currants, and a base of a…

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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.