Pear & Fennel Salad

Crisp fennel, juicy pear, walnuts, feta & fresh mint create the perfect balance of sweet, salty, creamy & crunchy elements in this satisfying winter salad.

Pear & Fennel Salad // loveandlemons.com

Happy New Year! Do you all make resolutions? In the past I haven’t, but this year, I’m going to give it a go. (And I’m thinking if I write them here, maybe I’ll feel some sense of accountability). 1. Learn Italian. So far, I can read most restaurant menus, I can order gelato… I can ask for directions… but I’d love to be able to have an actual conversation. 2. Send back wedding rsvp cards, and mail out baby gifts on time. I’m the worst… I’m the friend that shows up to your baby shower with a printout from Amazon.com of…

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Festive Endive Appetizers

Festive + light holiday appetizers that will leave you with room for dessert! Sesame tuna tartare + lemony white bean puree are delicious on endive leaves.

Endive Appetizers // loveandlemons.com

Endive… the perfect holiday party snack when it’s time to start laying off the bread already. As the holiday season comes to a close, I’m starting to crave foods that are lighter and brighter. I decided to make two of my favorite appetizers (that I love atop toasty crostini)… and serve in crispy endive leaves instead. The first is a super easy sesame tuna tartare. And because parties always need vegetarian options, the second is a lemony white bean puree. But let’s face it, my favorite thing about skipping the bread is that I can endlessly snack away and still…

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Sweet Potato & Pomegranate Salad

This pomegranate salad is winter food at its finest. With nuts, feta & a tangy vinaigrette, it's a yummy jumble of bright, creamy & crunchy components.

Sweet Potato & Pomegranate Salad // loveandlemons.com

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas! Aside from a short Christmas morning trip to the emergency vet (everyone’s fine, false – yet expensive – alarm) we had a pretty relaxing day. We consumed tons of food, wine, cookies, more wine, and a few extra (unnecessary) rounds of dessert. Pomegranate Salad Recipe Ingredients With New Years right around the corner, the indulgences aren’t over yet… but all the more reason to pack in veggies along the way. This winter salad is a variation of the sweet potato salad that I was obsessed with at the beginning of fall. I…

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Pistachio Ice Cream

You only need 6 ingredients to make this creamy pistachio ice cream! Its coconut base is the perfect rich complement to its nutty pistachio flavor.

Pistachio Coconut Ice Cream // Love & Lemons

I’m starting to get the feeling that it’s time to travel again… and this pistachio ice cream recipe takes me right back to Italy. Last year I destroyed myself on gelato (when in Rome, right?). I know everyone has their favorite spots, but I visited Giolitti every single day, and sometimes twice in a day. I somehow convinced myself that lactose intolerance can’t possibly exist in Italy… Though I paid the price for my delusion, I enjoyed every bite nonetheless. My Pistachio Ice Cream Recipe This at-home version turned out super creamy, nutty & delicious. To avoid any dairy side effects,…

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Vegan Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Soup

A healthy but delicious creamy tomato basil soup, made vegan with coconut milk & thickened with pine nuts. Gluten free. A simple recipe for winter dinners.

Creamy (vegan) Tomato Soup // Love & Lemons

This might be my favorite thing I’ve made on this site so far. I know, that’s such a big statement since I usually feel that choosing a favorite recipe is like choosing a favorite child (or in our case, dog). But I have an un-dying love for sun dried tomatoes… not to mention basil, coconut, wine, pine nuts, & balsamic. So what happens when you put 6 of your favorite things all together? In this case, you get a warm & creamy – yet tangy – bowl of deliciousness. Just be happy that I left chocolate out of this mix.

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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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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.