Chipotle Apple Sweet Potato Salad

Chipotle Apple Sweet Potato Salad - an easy fall favorite. This sweet & spicy salad is SO filling with apples, corn, roasted tomatoes, and chipotle.

This is my new favorite salad… and I don’t throw words like “favorite” or “best ever” around lightly. You may have noticed that I love roasted sweet potatoes in just about any salad (as evident here, here, and here) but this combination – with roasted tomatoes, roasted apples, corn, and a tangy/smoky chipotle dressing – was so good that I made it for dinner two nights in a row. The first night, I made this as a lazy-girl dinner. Jack was out of town so for an easy “by myself” dinner I decided to roast the things (pictured above) that had just arrived in my Farmhouse Delivery…

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Curried Chickpea Salad Sliders

Three things I am obsessed with: chickpeas, avocado, and all things MINI… mini pizzas, mini tacos, mini pies, mini skillets. I had these cute little pretzel buns last week so that’s how this recipe started. (Although you could use any kind of bun or sliced bread for this recipe). I first thought of making little veggie burgers, but since it’s a whopping 103 degrees(!) outside, I’ve been trying to use my oven as little as possible. Plus this chickpea salad is fast, easy, and cold, which is everything I want in a summer recipe. These would be perfect for a summer picnic except, well, it’s…

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Smoky Sweet Corn Tostadas

Make this easy vegan tostada recipe for a smoky, fun & fresh summer lunch. If you have leftover hummus, store it in the fridge for a quick, healthy snack!

Happy August! I hope corn is in season where you are, because I have a pretty corny tostada recipe today. Let’s just say that I decided to go for the corn trifecta. I started by making some sweet and smoky corn hummus that is a great snack on its own. Then I slathered it onto crispy (baked) corn tortillas. Finally, I topped these with avocado and MORE grilled corn because, well, I was up to my ears in fresh summer corn, and I had to use it somehow. After spending the month of July eating pasta, I feel like a I needed a Texas re-tox.…

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Erin’s Adobo Eggplant Quesadillas

Ciao from Italia! At the moment, our life is all about pizza, pasta and tomatoes. It’s amazing but every time I travel, the things I miss most are tacos and mexican-ish food. We made these quesadillas a few weeks ago but I could totally go for one right now! I often get questions about how to cook eggplant. My favorite and most foolproof method for non-spongy eggplant is to grill it. (If you don’t have an outdoor grill, you can use a grill pan on your stove). I grill mine simply with olive oil, salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lemon or drizzle…

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Vegan Spinach Mac & Cheese

A creamy vegan mac & cheese made with cashews, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, balsamic, and cayenne. A healthy & delicious weeknight dinner.

Jack here, writing for the blog today while Jeanine writes for the book… I have something to admit that I’m having a hard time with. I’m starting to prefer vegan “mac and cheese” to actual mac and cheese. Now, this is a hard one for me. You see, I love cheese. Almost every time we go to Whole Foods, I raid the “under $3 cheese” bin to find crazy new cheeses that I can barely pronounce. And a great grilled cheese is work of art. But these vegan “mac and cheese” recipes Jeanine comes up with pretty much hit everything I…

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Vegan Corn Chowder

This easy vegan corn chowder recipe is one of our all-time favorite soups! Smoky, sweet & creamy, it's destined for your regular meal rotation.

It’s hard for me to pick favorites, but I’ll come out and say it: this vegan corn chowder recipe is one of my favorite soups on the blog. I don’t care what temperature it might be outside – I could eat a bowl of this creamy, smoky corn chowder anytime. Vegan Corn Chowder Recipe Ingredients This vegan corn chowder recipe uses veggies and spices to get a delicious creamy texture and smoky flavor without any meat or dairy. Here’s what’s in it: Onion, garlic, and celery make up its aromatic base. Sweet corn is the star of the show! It…

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Almond Milk Chai Latte

This grab-and-go almond milk latte is SO simple and is made up of ingredients from your spice drawer - cinnamon, star anise, and cardamom.

For years, I had a very routine “breakfast” that I would pick up on my way to work: a double tall soy latte at 110 degrees. (I know, I was one of those coffee-orderers). These days, I’ve swapped my beverage breakfast for a real one, my expensive coffee for tea, and my soy milk for almond milk. Although I now work from home, I still love to get a quick start in the morning. Which is why I’m so excited about this recipe – this latte is SO simple and is made up of ingredients from my spice drawer which makes me wonder how I ever…

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Butternut Squash, Kale & Quinoa Stew

This spiced fall stew is full of butternut squash, kale, quinoa & tomatoes. It's one of our favorite healthy dinners, and it's great to pack for lunch!

And soup season continues! It might not be snowing here, but the fact that it’s been 80 degrees outside doesn’t stop me from craving big pots of stewy vegetables. Plus I just love having the leftovers around for lunch all week. They get better on the second day, and even better on the third day. This stew has pretty much all of my favorites: hearty butternut squash, quinoa & kale. It all gets simmered in a stewy tomato broth. It’s a pretty simple recipe that you should spice up as much as you like. I used cumin, coriander & smoked paprika, but…

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Saffron Couscous & Spinach Stew

Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be all about fancy cooking and elaborate meals. If pasta making sounds too stressful, try this cozy one-pot stew that’s perfect for two. (With maybe a little leftover, if you eat less than we do). It doesn’t get much easier than this – sauté leeks and mushrooms in an oven-safe pot or this adorable heart shaped one. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, couscous and – the fancy part – a few pinches of saffron. Yes, saffron is expensive but a little goes a long way. Plus, it’s Valentine’s Day so let’s live a little. Pop it in the oven and bake…

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Pistachio Cranberry Cookies

I made a half batch of these cookies, which was clearly a mistake. I ate the last one for breakfast this morning and I could really go for another one right about now. Chewy, oaty, nutty… slightly sweet and warmly spiced… it’s the kind of cookie that’s just healthy enough to get by as breakfast but would be even more perfect as a 2pm snack. If only… This recipe is just slightly adapted from Amy Chaplin’s book At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen, which is hands down one of the most beautiful cookbooks I’ve ever held. I’ve been a fan of Amy’s for the…

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Seasons & Spice Pairings: Winter

I can hardly believe it’s November already. Of course that’s because generally it’s warm and sunny here in Austin. Just last week I was trying to explain to my mom (in Chicago) how 80 degrees can indeed feel like fall to us. While we might not have extreme season changes, winter produce is slowly starting to show up. Pears, Pomegranates… I’ll take them all. Today, I’m sharing a few more of my favorite easy ideas for pairing fresh produce with McCormick’s Gourmet Spices. Mushrooms: To me, nothing is more comforting (yet healthy) in the wintertime than mushrooms. We just love cremini mushrooms in hearty soups. I make a version…

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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.