Lavender French 75

The French 75 is hands down my favorite cocktail, and this lavender version is just so lovely for spring. I snipped these little lavender flowers from my garden and simmered them down into a simple syrup. Which sounds sort of romantic except that this lavender plant was swarming with scary bees. I held a pair of scissors at arms length and carefully tried to clip a few without getting too close. (oh, the things I do for this blog!)  The lavender flavor is subtle, but I just love the unexpected herbal hint. I hope you all have a great weekend…

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Irish Ale Cocktail

irish ale cocktail / loveandlemons.com

Happy St. Paddy’s day! This one came about all because of these silly little shamrock glasses that I was determined to use this year (last year, I forgot). Awhile back, I went through a glassware thrifting phase. I didn’t notice until I got home that these had little shamrocks on them. Bummed about why someone would put shamrocks on such otherwise-cute glasses, I stuck them up on a high high shelf. So last night we celebrate with this simple little cocktail in the once-a-year celebratory glasses. I have to say – I’m not usually the whiskey person in the family, but…

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Blood Orange & Bourbon

A simple & delicious cocktail with oranges, bourbon and angostura bitters.

Blood orange & bourbon / loveandlemons.com

This one’s for Jack. He’s a trooper with this whole blog thing. A typical night in our kitchen looks like this: He walks in the door as I’m chopping, cooking, and setting up for our photo-session. Before he has a chance to sit down, I’m barking orders politely explaining the plan for the night. I hand him a sorry excuse for a cocktail (usually bourbon + ice) and we get to work. If I’m feeling kind, I add a splash of honey or maple syrup. If I can tell he’s had a stressful day (and he’s going to be a moody photographer) I make…

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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.