Roasted Shishito Peppers

I’ve posted these little guys before, but they’re one of my favorite summertime snacks, so I couldn’t help myself from sharing them again this year. Nearly every weekend I pick them up from JBG at the farmers market. If you’ve never had shishitos (or padrones), they’re mild… but they say 1 out of every 10 is a spicy one. Sometimes I roast them simply – with just some soy sauce and sesame oil. This time I made a few dipping sauce options. These sauce recipes will make more than you will need for the peppers. The leftover basil yogurt was…

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Berries & Coconut Cream

A simple spring & summer dessert when berries are in peak season! Made with vegan coconut cream.

Our 4th of July ended up being a quiet day, just the two of us. Jack grilled up some stuffed mushrooms & poblanos and then whipped together this juicy little dessert. We have a new annual tradition – which is not the 4th of July – but rather the annual “Jack cooks because Jeanine’s hand is all busted up from trying to break up yet another dog fight.” Yes, this has happened before, and no, I’ll never learn. Everyone’s fine, by the way, but lets just say our little Annie is looking much more disheveled than this guy. But back…

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Chile-lime Grilled Veggie Skewers

Chile-lime Grilled Veggie Skewers - mango, zucchini and red pepper are SO good on the grill. Serve them on skewers or wrap them in tortillas with tomatillo salsa. Perfect for memorial day or 4th of July cookouts.

Cookouts are not always a vegetarian’s best friend. Over the years, I’ve eaten more dry cardboard-flavored Boca burgers than I care to remember. And for no good reason other than I suppose most of the parties we used to go to were single-dude cookouts. You know the kind: burgers, buns, and beer. Done. Since my younger veggie days, I’ve learned a few things: #1: Veggies are (of course) amazing on the grill. and #2: Make foodie friends and life will be a lot tastier. Vegetarian or not, these would make a delicious addition to any summer bbq.

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Grilled Peach & Walnut Crumble

It’s going to be 106 degrees here today, so needless to say, summer is on. If you’re cooking out this weekend, I have the perfect simple dessert for you. No baking is required, just toss some peaches onto your already-hot grill and you’re nearly done. I, myself, will be having a “cook-in,” making this on my grill pan in my temperature controlled kitchen. A note about this walnut crumble topping – it’s become my go-to lately for quick desserts. Top it on any kind of fruit, add a scoop of ice cream & dig in.

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Mango Lime Pops

Mango pops. These two words just feel happy together… and even happier between a couple of cute little fat asterisks. To be honest, I’ve been in a slight bit of a funk lately, but as I sit here to write this post, I’m realizing that there are so many things to be happy about. I don’t want to turn this into a big “be grateful for your life” post (although, be grateful for your life, it’s a good thing). But maybe take a second to think about the tiny things that make your world go ’round. For example mine, right…

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Cold Cucumber Soba

A healthier noodle dish that uses spiralized cucumber in place of half of the noodles. Fresh, healthy, vegan and gluten free.

I guest posted the other day at Turntable Kitchen. Kasey and Matt are in Japan, which is one of the places Jack and I loved the most. We spent a week in Kyoto and one of the first things we set out to find was soba. It’s served in teeny tiny hundred-year-old restaurants. The noodles are handmade, and cold soba is served plain with a dipping sauce. Just dip and slurp. The louder the better. Since the soba I make at home comes from a box I, of course, add stuff. But I try to keep it simple. We’ve been…

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Shrimp Po’ Boy with Mango

I’m sure fried food is exactly what you thought you’d see here today. But, you know, we’re only human and sometimes we fry things. Well, to be clear, Jack fries things. I sit back with a glass of wine and watch. It’s a hard job, but someone’s gotta make sure he doesn’t burn the house down. Pictured is shrimp, but he also made a tofu version using the same method. I mixed up a tangy sauce by pureeing mango with kewpie mayo. (You could use regular mayo or even vegenaise if mayo isn’t your thing). We ate these with sliced mango,…

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Spring Salad & Arugula Hummus

Lately, we’ve been getting back into our ritual saturday morning walks to the farmers market. In the cooler months, we struggle to leave the house by noon. But the summer heat is starting to set in so we have some added incentive to get up and out a little bit earlier. (That and the vegan Red Rabbit doughnuts waiting for us when we get there). After we’ve had out fill of doughnuts, breakfast tacos, and coffee, I pick up whatever veggies look the best that day and we head home. A few weekends ago, I came back with this assortment……

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Mango Pesto

Admittedly, I have a pesto obsession (see here, here & here). Adding mango wasn’t something that ever occurred to me, but I’ve been trying to think of simple creative ways to use mango. (And no this isn’t another Arrested Development post, if you know what I mean. If you don’t, you can google it)… But mango pesto – so delicious, who knew? I just love this lighter and brighter twist, especially for summer. You can be healthy, like we were, and eat it as a snack with sliced cucumbers. Or you can do what we did with the leftovers – scoop it on…

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Frozen Chocolate Bananas

This is Jack – the “and” in Love and Lemons – and this is my first post. For awhile now, Jeanine has been mentioning that I should make some posts. But I didn’t want to tread on her writing territory, and I’m used to the “video gamer” view of the internet, where people are mean and petty. This “food blog internet” where people are sweet and polite is frighting and confusing to me. As the one year anniversary of the blog has come and gone, my apprehension went from “what do I say” to “what do I make?” I can…

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Fried Egg & Mango Salsa Waffle

Happy Friday! This one makes me so happy that the weekend is just about here… This is part 1 of a fun project I’ve been working on with the Mango Board as part of their “Mangover” campaign. (makeover + mangoes, get it?) It’s about simply adding mango to ordinary food for an unexpected pop of color & tangy sweetness. Once a week they’re asking their facebook fans for meal ideas they would like to see made over with mango. This week (breakfast week), the choice was waffles and eggs. So I made a quick mango salsa with avocado, smoked paprika and a pinch…

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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.