Pickle Relish

This homemade pickle relish takes veggie burgers and hot dogs to a whole new level! It's crunchy, sweet, and tangy - the perfect summer condiment.

It’s official: I’m never buying pickle relish at the store again. This homemade version is tangier, crunchier, and more savory and complex. The recipe also makes a very reasonable amount – right around a cup – so it’s actually possible to polish it off within a couple of weeks. (Looking at you, every massive jar of store-bought relish I’ve never managed to finish.) The next time you want to jazz up a veggie burger, hot dog, or whatever you’re grilling, I highly recommend you give it a try! Pickle Relish Recipe Ingredients Here’s what you’ll need to make this sweet pickle…

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Homemade Lemonade

This homemade lemonade recipe is just the thing for a hot summer day. Made with 3 simple ingredients, it's sweet, refreshing, and deliciously tart.

We’re way overdue for a homemade lemonade recipe on Love & Lemons, don’t ya think? I can’t tell you how it happened that I never thought to post one until now, but I can tell you that this recipe was 100% worth the wait. The freshly squeezed lemonade is easy to make with just 3 ingredients, and it’s sweet, refreshing, and deliciously tart. Served over ice, it’s everything I crave on a hot summer day. This lemonade recipe makes a big batch, so it’d be a great refreshment for your next cookout or BBQ. However, you can easily scale it…

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Tomato Salad

This tomato salad recipe is the ULTIMATE summer side dish! Full of juicy, ripe tomatoes and fresh herbs, it's simple, flavorful, and refreshing.

You can’t beat this tomato salad recipe in the summertime. It’s super simple—it calls for 8 ingredients and comes together in under 10 minutes—but it’ll still impress anyone you serve it to. Thick wedges of heirloom tomatoes mingle with crisp red onion, fruity olive oil, tangy red wine vinegar, and fresh herbs. It’s light, refreshing, and incredibly flavorful, largely because summer tomatoes are just so good. Enjoy this tomato salad with crisp white wine and crusty bread for sopping up any tomatoey juices left on your plate. Happy summer, friends! Tomato Salad Recipe Ingredients Here’s what you’ll need to make…

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Gremolata

Gremolata is an Italian condiment made of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest. Sprinkle it over pasta, veggies, and more for a burst of fresh, bright flavor!

A sprinkle of parsley is one of my favorite ways to finish a dish, adding freshness and an appealing fleck of green. But if I really want to kick that same dish up a notch, I’ll sprinkle it with gremolata instead. What Is Gremolata? Gremolata might sound fancy, but really, it’s incredibly simple. An Italian condiment, it consists of chopped parsley mixed with lemon zest and garlic. The combination is zippy, bright, and fresh, making gremolata an easy way to liven up almost any dish. How to Make Gremolata Making gremolata is as simple as it sounds: all you have…

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Mushroom Tacos

Avocado salsa and grilled portobello mushrooms fill these mushroom tacos with bold, fresh flavor. They're an easy and delicious plant-based dinner!

It’s Tuesday – let’s make mushroom tacos! Of all the plant-based taco fillings out there, mushrooms are one of the best. Meaty, juicy, and savory, they make a taco incredibly flavorful and satisfying to eat. I’ve shared a few recipes for mushroom tacos in the past, but if you ask me, you can never have too many taco recipes in your back pocket. We’ve been making this one a TON lately, and it’s become one of our new favorites. I think you’re going to love it too! The great thing about these mushroom tacos is that they’re so simple. They…

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Grilled Mushrooms

These grilled mushrooms are an easy, delicious summer side dish! Seasoned with tamari and balsamic vinegar, they're meaty, juicy, and SO flavorful.

If you have a grill or grill pan, this grilled mushrooms recipe is one that you need in your back pocket. And if you don’t have a grill or grill pan, well, it might be worth getting one just to try this recipe. It’s insanely easy to make (we’re talking 6 ingredients and 15 minutes), and the flavor is out of this world. As the mushrooms cook on the grill, they become charred on the outside and juicy in the middle, and their savory, umami flavor intensifies. You can serve them as a knockout side dish with almost any summer…

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Avocado Salsa

This avocado salsa recipe is fresh, flavorful, and SO easy to make! Serve it with tortilla chips for a zesty summer appetizer, or add it to tacos and more.

This avocado salsa recipe is kinda like a mashup of two of my favorite things: mango salsa and guac. So naturally, I’m obsessed with it. It’s a super simple recipe – you can make it in all of 10 minutes! – but it still packs in a ton of contrasting textures and flavors. Creamy avocado plays off sweet, juicy mango, which in turn accents spicy chiles, crisp red onion, and cilantro. A big squeeze of lime juice adds the perfect zesty pop. I love to serve it as a fun, fresh appetizer with tortilla chips, but this avocado salsa is…

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Vegan Fajita Ranch Tacos

Fire up the grill! These tacos are packed with charred tofu, fajita veggies, and a zesty vegan ranch. They're a fun, simple meal for a summer night.

This post is in partnership with JewelOsco®. In the summer, I like my meals to be as simple as possible. I don’t want to waste time going from store to store in search of a special ingredient. I don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen fretting over a fussy recipe. It’s just too beautiful not to be outside. The weather is warm and sunny, and I want to soak up every minute of it. To be clear – when I say simple, I don’t mean boring. While I love recipes with easy prep, I still want them to be packed…

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Grilled Tofu

Looking for an easy plant-based main dish to throw on the grill? Try this grilled tofu recipe! It's satisfying, flavorful, and simple to make.

Have you tried grilled tofu yet? If not, you have to bookmark this recipe! I’ll give you two reasons why: It’s SUPER simple. Ever made homemade veggie burgers? They’re delicious, but they can be fairly involved to make. This grilled tofu is also very tasty (see #2 below), but the prep is way simpler. Press it, season it, and toss it on the grill. It’s the easiest plant-based main dish for a summer cookout. It’s delicious! On the outside, this grilled tofu is lightly crisp and perfectly charred, while on the inside, it stays tender and juicy. Seasonings like chili powder, curry…

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Coconut Rice Stuffed Peppers

These stuffed peppers are such a fun summer meal! Filled with coconut rice, mango, and tons of fresh herbs, they're bright, vibrant, and delicious.

This post is in partnership with Lundberg Family Farms. Here’s how I make dinner in the summer: First, I open the fridge to see what produce I have. (We also have fresh herbs growing on our back deck, and I love to use those as much as possible, too.) Next, I take stock of what I have in my pantry. Sometimes, there’s a can of coconut milk or tomatoes. Often, there are legumes like chickpeas or lentils, and always, there are grains like Lundberg Family Farms rice and quinoa. I love to use Lundberg’s products because the company has a longstanding…

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Coconut Rice

Learn how to make coconut rice with 2 simple ingredients! It's rich, fragrant, and filled with buttery coconut flavor. A delicious side dish for any meal!

In my first cookbook, I shared a recipe for Coconut Rice with Brussels Sprouts. It was an instant hit after the book came out, and it’s remained a reader-favorite recipe to this day. As much as people love Brussels sprouts, I suspect that the recipe’s popularity isn’t really because of the veggies. It’s because of the coconut rice. I mean, how could it not be? Coconut rice is rich and fragrant, with a sweet, buttery coconut flavor. It’s fantastic in bowls and as a side dish, but it tastes so good that I could eat forkful after forkful straight from…

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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.