Vegan Almond Shortbread Cookies

A vegan shortbread cookie recipe with Christmas flavor from almond extract. Incredibly easy and fun - delicious with your favorite add-ins on top!

One of my most cherished childhood memories is baking Christmas cookies with my mom. She would pull over two kitchen chairs for my sister and me to stand on so we could reach the countertop and get our hands in the flour. We’d watch her line up all of the ingredients, preheat the oven, and prepare the cookie sheets. She’d flip to the back of the recipe rolodex and pull out three cards that were stained with butter splotches and a dusting of flour. It was holiday tradition that we would start with spritz cookies, a butter/sugar cookie that was made special…

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Vegan Pistachio Coconut Truffles

Vegan truffles are an easy & healthy holiday dessert! A creamy coconut and chocolate base rolled in pistachios makes a yummy, no-bake, gluten-free treat.

Pistachio Coconut Vegan Truffles // Love and Lemons

All you non-bakers out there, this one is for you. So far in this holiday season I haven’t baked one cookie, shopped for one gift… and I have a tree somewhere in a storage unit. So, today, I have the perfect busy-person dessert that’s fast & easy, yet tasty & impressive. And you likely already have these few ingredients in your kitchen. It’s a super basic recipe, but feel free to get creative and make a few variations. Add liqueur into your chocolate if that’s your thing… cinnamon, chiles, orange zest, espresso powder… whatever you like. Your pantry is the…

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Winter Roasted Kale Salad

Learn how to roast kale in this delicious, healthy Winter Roasted Kale Salad recipe! Crispy tempeh, pine nuts, and dried cranberries make this salad a satisfying meal.

I know, I’ve used a lot of kale lately. It’s my vegetable of choice this time of year, especially when the internet (and even my kitchen, a little bit) is full of sugary, buttery foods. With so much indulgence, I feel the need for balance… but tasty balance. Enter: this roasted kale salad. This was going to be a raw kale salad, but I changed my mind at the last minute and made a roasted kale salad because I was craving something warm and cozy. I made my roasted kale in the oven… a method I especially love because it…

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White Bean and Kale Soup

This White Bean and Kale Soup is full of vegetables & herbs and gets plenty of zing from white wine & sherry vinegar. A hearty, healthy winter meal!

I just love making soups. There’s something so cozy and comforting about the whole process. It hasn’t exactly been soup weather around here, so last week when it dipped down into the 60’s, a stay-home, curl-up-on-the-sofa, soup night (and this white bean and kale soup) happened. Why you’ll love this white bean soup It’s hearty, but still kind of light. The beans and kale give this soup plenty of staying power, and it’s satisfying to eat. But at the end of the day, you’re still enjoying a bowl full of veggies. It gets better on the second day. This white…

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Simple Spinach Frittata

This flexible vegetarian spinach frittata recipe makes an easy dinner or crowd-pleasing brunch! Add your favorite spices or cheese to customize it.

Spinach Frittata // Love & Lemons

Here’s another fast, simple, “non-recipe” recipe that I make pretty darn often. What I love about a frittata is that the effort required is similar to making scrambled eggs, but somehow the end result is fancier. (And yes, I make my scrambled eggs with piles of greens and things).  Frittatas are also my go-to dish for brunch entertaining. Because, let’s face it, who wants to get up on a Saturday morning and really cook. Not me. Pop your frittata in the oven and pour the mimosas!

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Kale & White Bean Crostini

A healthy appetizer perfect for holiday gatherings! Toasted baguette is topped with marinated white beans and sautéed kale for a tangy, savory starter.

The season of holiday parties is beginning… I don’t know about you, but I’m still pretty full from Thanksgiving. Not that I’ll be turning down cocktails or sugary treats when they’re offered to me… but somehow I feel less guilty indulging if I’ve had my kale fix. (Kale neutralizes out cookies, right?).  This appetizer is super simple to throw together (or even make ahead of time) and packs a garlicky-lemony-rosemary-ey punch…

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Butternut Squash & Leek Risotto

Our favorite fall date-night dinner. This herb, squash, and leek-filled risotto is a great healthy option for the holidays. Gluten free, vegan option.

Butternut squash risotto / Love & Lemons

A few years ago, Jack and I spent Thanksgiving alone, just the two of us. We had always traveled throughout the holiday season, exhaustingly flying around to visit both families. But this one particular year we decided enough was enough, and we made the bold move to stay home. To buck tradition even further, there was no turkey, no trimmings… instead we made this butternut squash risotto and Jack’s signature seared scallops. “Thanksgiving Risotto” might not have caught on as an annual tradition, but it was delicious and made for a memorable night. That and the half bottle of wine…

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Kale, Egg & Avocado Toast

This avocado toast topped with balsamic-sautéed kale and a fried egg makes a simple and healthy vegetarian lunch or snack.

Avocado, kale & egg toast / Love & Lemons

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend! Ours was filled with family festivities, eating, walking (trying to burn off at least some of the calories consumed), followed by more eating, and of course some drinking in there too. Many of you are probably tired of cooking by now, so today’s recipe is not really a recipe. I realized the other day that I rarely post about the food that I actually eat the most… the simple things I throw together for breakfast or a quick lunch. I eat a version of this at least a few times a week……

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Fall Hazelnut Panzanella

A delicious stuffing/panzanella hybrid, this healthy fall salad full of tangy sautéed mushrooms and crispy kale makes the perfect Thanksgiving side. Vegan.

Panzanella is one of my favorite summertime salads, so I thought, why not make a fall version using some stuffing-esque ingredients? Instead of juicy tomatoes, I sautéed some mushrooms and added tangy dried cranberries. Instead of sweet basil, I used woodsy sage. I normally toss pine nuts in my panzanella, but hazelnuts have been my nut of choice this fall, so I toasted those up instead. I tossed it all with grilled bread and a tangy vinaigrette and served it alongside grilled salmon. Jack’s conclusion (as we devoured the whole bowl) was “well it’s not stuffing, and it’s not panzanella… but it’s…

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Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup

A creamy, Thai-spiced pumpkin soup made with coconut milk and red curry paste. Vegan, gluten free, easy, and warming on fall evenings.

Soup was probably the reason I started cooking… and at first, it was just a Sunday thing. Weekday cooking didn’t stand a chance. After a hectic work day, I wanted nothing but to sit down at a restaurant and have someone bring me food. But on lazy Sunday afternoons, I started to enjoy the peaceful process of chopping and stirring (with a glass of red wine nearby)… and all the warm fuzzy feelings that come with making soup. To me, Sunday soup making became the calm before the storm… a necessary rejuvenating time before a new crazy week would begin. Pumpkin…

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Homemade Cornbread Stuffing

Poblano peppers spice up this sweet & savory homemade cornbread stuffing recipe. Not a fan of spice? Don't worry. It's just as good without them.

Poblano Cornbread Stuffing | Love & Lemons

What are your family’s Thanksgiving traditions? We always have a turkey, of course, along with green beans, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Oh, and there’s always Jello (and not for dessert… it’s “dinner Jello”). But my favorite part is the stuffing. I’m a huge fan of traditional versions made with crusty bread (see here and here), but this year, I’m changing things up by adding this lightly spicy poblano cornbread stuffing to our Thanksgiving table. What’s in This Cornbread Stuffing Recipe? This homemade cornbread stuffing is a delicious mix of classic stuffing ingredients plus a few extras for a spicy…

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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.