Vegan Soft Baked Pretzels

Vegan Soft Baked Pretzels are a fun homemade appetizer or game day snack! Made with under 10 ingredients, they're cute & delicious dipped in mustard.

Jack here with my second recipe on the Love and Lemons blog. This recipe is one near and dear to my heart – big, doughy, German-style pretzels! Now, while Germans tend to dip their Laugenbrezel in butter, that’s not how I do it. I dip them in spicy brown mustard. And when we started working with Sir Kensington’s, the first thing I said when I opened up the sample package of Ketchup and Mayonnaise was “Where is the mustard?” Sir Kensington himself has heard my call, and here is the mustard. And its best friend – pretzels. The traditional recipe…

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Vegan Carrot Cake

I make this vegan carrot cake recipe for Jack's birthday each year. Moist, cinnamon-spiced, and slathered in frosting, it's perfect for celebrations.

This vegan carrot cake recipe is a riff on my mom’s traditional recipe. That cake is Jack’s all-time favorite dessert, so she makes it whenever she comes to visit. Then, I make it again for Jack’s birthday. This year, instead of making her recipe as written, I adapted it to make a vegan carrot cake instead! My mom’s recipe calls for applesauce, which makes her cake super moist and light. Using applesauce, you can actually veganize carrot cake relatively easily. Along with the shredded carrots, it adds enough moisture to eliminate the need for flax eggs or other unconventional ingredients.…

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Spicy Kohlrabi Noodles

An easy vegan weeknight recipe made with ginger-lime marinated kohlrabi, fresh herbs, and rice noodles. A great make-ahead lunch! Healthy & gluten-free.

Oh, kohlrabi… I first learned of this alien vegetable years ago when I received my very first CSA box. At the time, I wasn’t adventurous with vegetables, so I had no clue what it was and no clue what to do with it. Kohlrabi has seemed to gain some popularity since then – I often see it on restaurant menus – but back then it was barely google-able. Fast forward to now – it’s one of my favorites. People say it’s similar to broccoli stems, but I think it’s closer to daikon or even jicama. Slice it up into sticks,…

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Dukkah Spiced Yogurt Dip

Learn how to make dukkah with this simple recipe! It's a delicious way to spice up a yogurt dip, hummus, toast, and more!

My Dukkah Recipe Inspiration I recently contributed this dukkah recipe to Food 52’s Small Batch series. When they first suggested it, I had to look up how to (authentically) make it. It turns out — there’s no one way. The word dukkah literally means “to pound” and it generally consists of hazelnuts, sesame seeds, and a few whole dried spices. To me, this was the perfect opportunity to use up the nuts and spices I had just cleaned out of my pantry shelves. (Specifically, the ones that didn’t fit when I transferred them from little bags to little jars). Along with the…

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Hazelnut Tahini Pasta

I keep a pretty full pantry (to say the least). I love to have a variety of oils, vinegars, grains & nuts on hand… but every now and then “on hand” becomes completely out of hand. This little sauce came about one day when I was cleaning out my shelves and found five separate stashes of hazelnuts. Some were newly purchased, some were tucked waaay in the back. Also, back beyond my immediate reach was a still-pretty-new-yet-forgotten-about jar of tahini. I had pasta noodles to use up, but this would be great as a dressing drizzled over a farro salad, or over…

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Aloo Gobi

Aloo gobi is one of my favorite things to order at Indian restaurants. This recipe adds fresh peas & greens to the classic cauliflower & potato curry.

I can’t claim that I cook Indian food authentically, but what I can do is cook Indian-ish food that tastes pretty good. Aloo Gobi is one of my favorites, and this is my at-home version. The basic components are all here: potato (aloo) & cauliflower (gobi). The rest is a bit of a riff… it’s a little lighter and a lot greener. Also, these ingredients should be easy to find. I think this aloo gobi recipe makes the perfect “it’s still winter but almost spring” meal. It’s warm and hearty, but it has bright pops of peas and a few…

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Matcha Latte

Learn how to make a matcha latte with this easy, 3-ingredient matcha latte recipe! It's creamy, cozy, and filled with antioxidants - perfect for cool days.

Ever since our first trip to Japan, I’ve been obsessed with matcha. Matcha ice cream, matcha doughnuts, matcha smoothies… I love them all, but my favorite way to enjoy matcha is in a creamy matcha latte. The slightly bitter matcha flavor mixes with (in this case) coconut milk to create a perfect creamy flavor balance. Often times, coffee shop matcha lattes are too sweet, which is why I prefer to make my matcha latte at home! What is matcha? Matcha powder is made from ground green tea leaves. Unlike when you drink steeped green tea, you consume the entire tea…

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Shiitake & Napa Cabbage Gyoza

These days, our idea of a “date night” rarely involves restaurant reservations. First, we never think ahead to actually make reservations, and then (way too often) we find ourselves waiting 2 hours on a Friday night for a meal. Some people might be ok with that, but this girl gets hungry. Gyoza (Japanese dumplings) are one of our favorite things to make together at home. They’re not difficult but they take a little time – the assembly is definitely quicker if you have 4 hands and a bottle of sake on the side. We often eat these as a light…

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Baked Parsnip Fries

Swap potatoes for parsnips to make these healthy baked parsnip fries! Great with your favorite burger, they're irresistibly crispy, sweet & salty.

Happy Fri-day! (pun intended, I’m so sorry). What I’m not sorry about are these parsnip fries – they’re awesome and super simple to make. I recommend making extra because you (or your significant other – I’m not naming any names here), will likely eat most of them right off the baking sheet, and you’re going to want a few left to enjoy with your burger. Not only are these parsnip fries healthier than traditional fries (they have much more fiber), but they have a unique flavor. If you’ve cooked with parsnips before, you know that they’re slightly sweet. As a result, these…

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Quinoa Burger

Say goodbye to mushy, bland veggie burgers forever! This quinoa burger is tangy and spicy, with a delicious hearty texture and perfect crispy edges.

I’m not sure where to begin with this quinoa burger recipe. It has a wonderful meaty texture with lightly crisp edges, a spicy, tangy flavor, and a gorgeous red color. Plus, it’s totally vegan and gluten-free! What’s not to love? I’m looking forward to making this quinoa burger for cookouts all summer long, and I hope you are too. On the off-chance that you have leftovers, pop them in the freezer! They reheat perfectly for quick weeknight dinners down the road. Quinoa Burger Recipe Ingredients I set some strict veggie burger criteria for this recipe: no eggs, no cheese, no…

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Raspberry Crumble Bars

Warning: these are highly addictive and way too easy to make. I’ve been meaning to post these for awhile… the problem is that every time I’ve made them we just eat them. There’s a lot of restraint involved in taking pictures of food. These are inspired by one of my favorite treats – those raspberry bars at Whole Foods (the super delicious buttery ones). My version here uses coconut oil and walnuts which makes them a tad healthier although they’re still pretty indulgent. A perfect little 3 o’clock snack. You likely have all of these ingredients in your pantry already.…

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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.