A Valentine’s Date Night In

3 Valentine's Date Night Ideas for signature cocktails, homemade pasta dinner recipes, and romantic desserts.

valentines day

For years, Jack and I have been celebrating Valentine’s Day at home in lieu of long waits for dinners at fancy restaurants. Tackling a new kitchen project together – even if you mess it up – is always tons of fun. Here are 3 date night ideas… each with a Love & Lemons spin, of course! #1: CREATE A SIGNATURE COCKTAIL prep ahead: 1. Make fancy ice in the shape of hearts or x’s and o’s – how cute?! 2. Think about some fun memories you’ve shared over drinks. It can be as extravagant as the Caipirinhas you sipped on your honeymoon in Rio or…

TO THE POST >>>>

Pre-order The Love & Lemons Cookbook!

cookbooks / vegetarian

It’s so surreal to be sitting here writing this post. When we first started talking about this book (nearly 2 years ago!), the year 2016 felt like a lifetime away. It’s no joke, the process of publishing a book is LONG! But here we are – 120 recipes, roughly 300 photos and 1 broken dishwasher later – and it’s now available for preorder and will be out March 29th! So what’s the book about? Simple, beautiful cooking with fresh seasonal ingredients. The recipe chapters are organized by vegetable so that your cooking inspiration can start where mine does – the farmer’s…

TO THE POST >>>>

10 Healthy Soups and Stews

10 of my favorite soups and stews to keep you warm on cold winter evenings.

winter / healthy

A few weeks ago, we flew out of Chicago just before the snow started falling and the temps dropped below zero. This year, unlike most winters, we got lucky. If you’re in the midwest (or another frigid location) – my heart goes out to you. I don’t know how you do it, but here are ten of of my favorite healthy soup recipes that will hopefully help warm & nourish the soul. I make these all the time, but I want to know – what are you favorite soups? Pictured above: Butternut Squash Soup Curried Red Lentil Sweet Potato Stew…

TO THE POST >>>>

Hemp Seed & Kale Pesto

An easy 5-ingredient homemade Kale Pesto. Great for fall and winter, this recipe is vegan, gluten-, nut- & dairy-free. Serve on pasta or your favorite dish!

vegan / gluten free

I freaking love pesto. I make it all the time – usually with any herbs, greens, nuts, or seeds I have around. I like to swirl it into my soups, top it onto my eggs, or dollop it onto big salad-ey grain bowls. While there are one or two (or twelve) pesto recipes on this site already, I really love this version, so I think there’s room for one more. Before I started the blog, I would have never imagined just how many people are allergic to nuts. So in the spirit of the healthy new year, this tasty pesto is dairy-free, gluten-free (obviously), and nut-free…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Top 10 Recipes of 2015

recipes / reader favorites

Happy new year! I hope you’re all having a lovely holiday weekend. I have some exciting things planned for 2016 (like our book! more on that soon). But first, I thought it would be fun to share what all of your favorite recipes were over the past year. These 10 recipes topped the analytics, but also ranked high in “I made this and loved it!” comments that were either made here on the blog, in social media, or told to me in person. And always – let me know if there’s anything you would especially like to see in 2016! #1: Spaghetti Squash with Kale…

TO THE POST >>>>

Edible DIY Gift Ideas (+ printables!)

holiday 2015 / vegan / gluten free

I have to say that my favorite part about Christmas is wrapping the gifts. When I was in college in Chicago, I had a part time job wrapping gifts at the infamous Marshall Fields on State Street. Their gift wrap room was full of rolls of beautiful wrap, ribbon, and bows – it was a small haven from the holiday chaos that was happening everywhere else outside in the city. So recently, when I was given the opportunity to go through The Container Store’s “Gift Wrap Wonderland,” I was positively giddy. Of course they have gift wrap galore, but they also adorable jars, tags,…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Kitchen Gift Guide – Our favorite things

gift guide / holiday 2015

Are you done with your holiday shopping? I didn’t think so. Today, I’m here to help cross a few people off your list (and maybe add a few things onto your own list). Here are some of my absolute favorite kitchen items. These are things I personally have, love, and I hope you (and your friends & family) love them too. Staub Mini Cocottes (Graphite Grey) or Cherry Red Staub 4 Quart Round Cocotte / 7 Quart Maple Kitchen Tools Lodge Mini Skillet Aiya Organic Matcha / Matcha Whisk Glass Teapot (ok, this one is on my list – hint, hint, Jack) Le Parfait Jars (I use these for…

TO THE POST >>>>

Healthier Holiday Recipes

entertaining / holiday 2015

I don’t know how it happened. Just yesterday it was July and here we are, it’s almost Christmas. In the spirit of the holidays, I thought I’d share a few healthy-but-not-too-healthy recipe ideas. These are some cheery favorites, organized into 3 simple menus for various types of holiday gatherings: Party Food (pictured above): Vegan Kale & Artichoke Dip  Minty Pomegranate Spritzer (my go-to holiday cocktail!) Curried Avocado Chickpea Salad Sliders Cranberry Pistachio Chocolate Bark A Cozy Christmas Morning: Strawberry Vegan Waffles Mini Spinach & Sun dried Tomato Frittatas Apple Mimosas Almond Milk Chai Lattes Dinner Party: Ginger Kombucha Cocktails Minty Millet Pomegranate Salad Sweet…

TO THE POST >>>>

You’re invited! A Homemade Gift Workshop

holiday 2015 / events / The-Container-Store

Hi friends! If you’re going to be in Austin on December 12th (next Saturday), mark your calendars! I’m hosting a super fun event at the Container Store. I’ll be cooking up yummy treats and showing you how to turn them into simple & pretty gifts using all of my favorite jars, tags, ribbons & more from the Gift Wrap Wonderland at the Container Store. Hope to see you there! It’s a free event, but click here to RSVP! The Details: Saturday, December 12th 11:00am – 1:00pm The Container Store 9629 Research Blvd. Austin, Texas RSVP here

TO THE POST >>>>

A Trip to Sonoma

The ultimate trip to Sonoma. A visit to the original WIlliams Sonoma, handmade pasta from Flour+Water, and wine at Silver Oaks Winery.

travel / Fortessa / Williams Sonoma

I love my job more than anything, but working from home can sometimes get a little isolating. So when opportunities like this come my way, I’m all in! Last month, I spent an amazing few days with Williams Sonoma, Fortessa, The Fairmont, and a group of lovely bloggers in Sonoma. We were wined and dined and wined some more… Here’s just a quick recap! I’m a sucker for kitchen gear so it was fun to visit the original Williams Sonoma store. It just reopened this year – many of the charming details were replicated from the store that Chuck Williams first opened in 1956. If you’re in Sonoma,…

TO THE POST >>>>

2015 Cookbook Gift Guide

Cookbooks make the best holiday gifts. Here are some of my top picks of 2015!

cookbooks / holiday 2015

I say this every year – but I think cookbooks make the greatest gifts. Here is a collection of some of my favorites that have come out this year. (If I’ve missed any good ones – let me know in the comments below!). Also – be sure to glance over at last year’s gift guide because there are some goodies on that list too! Travel Inspired: Rosewater & Orange Blossoms by Maureen Abood Near & Far by Heidi Swanson Mexico the Cookbook, by Margarita Carrillo Arronte (*see note) Books from restaurants we’ve loved: Nopi by Yotam Ottolenghi Gjelina by Travis Lett Flour + Water: Pasta by Thomas McNaughton Veggie Forward:…

TO THE POST >>>>
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.

Click here to view our privacy policy.
Copyright © 2025 Love and Lemons, LLC. All rights reserved.