Fresh fruits of cucumber, mango and watermelon are dressed with a zingy Asian dressing of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and ginger, with a kick of spice from jalapeño.
In This Post
Since 2011, we’ve been head over heels for the blog Love & Lemons. Run by Austin-based husband and wife duo Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Matthews, Love & Lemons is brimming with fresh, seasonal, healthy recipes, and bright, colorful photography.
Their little nook of the food blogosphere is one of our favorite spots to spend some time. It’s where we turn for inspiration when we’ve been in an unhealthy eating rut, or feel the need to meet our mostly vegetarian ways.
Jeanine and Jack just published their first cookbook, The Love & Lemons Cookbook: An Apple-to-Zucchini Celebration of Impromptu Cooking, and it’s a new favorite addition to our kitchens.
The book features 100 vegetarian recipes (never before seen on the blog), including vegan and gluten-free options.
The cookbook is categorized by vegetable rather than the traditional appetizer, side dish or dessert categories and is reflective of Jeanine’s approach to cooking.
Her method? Finding “star” ingredients at the farmers market and using them with ingredients she already has on-hand.
“Since this is really the way I learned how to get inspired by cooking, I thought it would be helpful to write a book organized by vegetable rather than by meal type,” she explains. “I want to inspire people to check out their local farmers markets and not to be intimidated to cook with gorgeous fresh vegetables.”
Besides the amazing recipes, the most unique aspect of Jeanine and Jack’s book is its aesthetic.
Flipping through its stylish pages is enough to make a graphic designer or typography nerd swoon. Jeanine is a graphic designer herself, so she was able to be a part of the design process and help set the initial look, theme and style.
She collaborated with her former business partner Trina Bentley, who designed the book’s final layout and gorgeous cover. “Trina and I have worked together for years and we share the same visual language, so it was amazing to be able to work together on this project,” says Jeanine. We spent countless hours fine tuning every last detail, so I was pretty involved from soup to nuts!”
One of our favorite things about the book is there’s a picture for every recipe, and there are over 300 photos throughout.
And while Jeanine has a knack for the recipe creation, design and aesthetic of the blog and book, it’s her husband Jack who’s the man behind the camera, capturing the vivid hue of the fruits, veggies, and herbs she uses, and making them pop right off the page and into our mouths.
Healthy eating never looked so good, in recipes like Jeanine’s Crispy Baked Eggplant (her healthier take on eggplant parm) where the breading is made with hemp and ground sunflower seeds, as well as panko breadcrumbs, and the dish isn’t smothered in an afghan of cheese. Or Crispy Shiitake BLT and Roasted Cauliflower Tacos with Chipotle Cream.
They’re all proof positive that vegetarian cooking is not only good for you, but totally sexy too.
And now, my list of 10 Q’s for Jeanine’s A’s
1. Describe your blog in 3 words:
Fresh, clean, bright.
2. If you could be one blogger other than yourself, who would you be?
Heidi Swanson – I think everything she creates is perfection.
3. Which 3 blogs do you follow/are obsessed with/can’t live a day without?
Right now, I’m also really loving Faring Well and Will Frolic for Food. But I love so many that this is really an unfair question.
4. What is the one kitchen tool you could never give up?
Aside from a great knife – my Vitamix blender.
5. What dish are you obsessed with mastering that you just can’t get quite right?
I don’t have a current obsession, but the one that eluded me for the longest time (literally years) was vegan brownies. Replacing eggs usually results in cakey brownies, but I like my brownies to have that crispy edge and a fudgy middle. I think I’ve finally figured it out (with the help of my mom), but I’m going to save that one for the blog after I work it out a bit more. ;)
6. What did you have for dinner last night?
This Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowl.
7. What’s one secret talent outside of the kitchen nobody knows about you?
I can juggle. Literally and figuratively :)
8. You’re happiest when cooking/eating?
Soup. It doesn’t matter what kind, I find the process makes me feel both calm and creative at the same time.
9. The one ingredient to your success is?
Obsessing over details that probably no one but me will notice.
10. You and your husband worked on this book together. What were some of the good aspects about working together, and what were some of the challenging ones?
The good – we’re still together (ha!). We work on our blog photography together so we have a system that works.
The challenge with the book is that we just had so many MORE photos to shoot, all while keeping up with the blog. Jack took about 6 months off from his day job to help out with the book, to which I will be forever grateful.
And we are grateful for the two of you! Thank you Jeanine and Jack for being one of our favorite foodie crushes.
And now, let’s dig into a recipe from their cookbook.
Cucumber Basil and Watermelon Salad
This recipe jumped out of the gorgeous pages of The Love and Lemons Cookbook because it features two of my husband’s very favorite foods: Watermelon and cucumbers.
And then to boot, it has one of our other favorite international flavors, an Asian dressing. You may think these might be an odd flavor combo but I’m here to tell you it totally works.
It was a no brainer that this is the recipe I had to share.
The salad’s base is all about the fresh fruit. Watermelon, cucumbers and mango.
When choosing how you cut your fruit, I prefer to make them all look the same or all look different. I cut my watermelon with my baller, the cucumber in piece of pie shapes and the mango in thinner, smaller triangle shapes.
I like varying the shapes because it suits my eyeballs. But of course it all tastes the same.
Just about the only change I made to the recipe was using soy sauce instead of tamari since I had no need for this recipe to be gluten-free.
The lime and rice vinegar is punched up with garlic and ginger. It’s just so good and a shining example that vegetables and fruits are far from limiting or boring when it comes to creative ways to showcase them.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats and #loveandlemonscookbook.
Cucumber Basil and Watermelon Salad with Love and Lemons
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce , or tamari to make this salad gluten-free
- 1 small garlic clove , minced
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger
- 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 3 cups watermelon , deseeded and cut into cubes or melon balls
- 1 English cucumber , chopped into ¼-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
- 1 ripe mango ,skin removed and chopped into ½-inch pieces
- ½ serrano pepper , thinly sliced
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup sliced basil
- ¼ cup salted peanuts , crushed and toasted
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce or tamari, garlic, ginger, lime juice, and rice vinegar.
- Add the watermelon, cucumber, mango, serrano pepper, cilantro, and basil. Chill for 30 minutes. Drain the excess liquid before serving.
- Serve with the crushed peanuts on top of the salad.
- Reprinted with permission from The Love & Lemons Cookbook: An Apple-to-Zucchini Celebration of Impromptu Cooking
Visit Jeanine and her blog at Love & Lemons.
Purchase her book The Love & Lemons Cookbook: An Apple-to-Zucchini Celebration of Impromptu Cooking here.
This post was compiled by Heidi and FoodieCrush contributor Hayley Putnam. Follow Hayley and her foodie tastes and other flights of fancy on Pinterest and Instagram.
As always, thank you for reading and for supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. All opinions are always my own.
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Betsy
I’m planning on making this for a covered dish carry in. I have just a few questions that I’m hopeful someone can help me with.
1. About how many servings is this recipe?
2. How far ahead do you think I can make it? (I’m considering chopping my produce the night before and combining the day of. I just want to make sure that I don’t need to let it all mingle starting the day before)
Hayley
Hi Betsy! This makes 4 servings and we think you could make it a few hours ahead of time but wouldn’t really advise making it a full day ahead as it might start to get watery since watermelon and cucumber contain so much water. We hope this helps!
Cynthia
Can this be made a day ahead?
Hayley
Hi Cynthia! We don’t really recommend that because the salad will likely get pretty soggy since those fruits are water-heavy.
Danny Ratga
It looks yummy!
will definitely try.
Thanks for sharing
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Let me know what you think!
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Colette Millstone
I made this tonight and it is delicious but next time I will definitely leave the Serrano chilli out. Way too much heat and I am from Arizona so I love spice but it took over the whole dish.
Sue
Can you suggest a different dressing for this salad? Not Asian flavored…
Thank you!
Dianne
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Queenie
For me, I am now only consume organic fruit and vegetables whatever I can. I like watermelon and green apple very much. I love to mix them for my salad recipe. I have tried having mint inserted into the salad that have the mixture or watermelon and green apple and the tasted just superb.
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I like cucumber and watermelon very much. Cucumber is a natural vegetable that I used and it is available in all seasons. I definitely try it out. Thanks for sharing this recipe here.
Ambera
Made the watermelon cucumber basil salad tonight and it was yum! The Serrano pepper had more kick than I expected! I might use less next time. I didn’t have peanuts so I subbed silvered roasted almonds instead. It was light, refreshing and a new twist for me on salad and watermelon. Perfect for summer! I’ll be making it again soon!
Thank you for circling back and letting me know Ambera. I like your substitution of almonds. It’s important to use what we have on hand for recipes like these. XO
Eva
Oh dear, watermelon in my salad! So much goodness in one plate. Gotto try this very soon. I needed desperate inspiration for a salad. xx
Sandy @ ReluctantEntertainer
Awh, Heidi, this is one of my favorite summer salads!
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Hey i’m also like salad very much .
Lori @ RecipeGirl
I have always loved this blog too… such fresh and beautiful food and great photography. Gonna have to check out their cookbook. This salad looks fabulous!!
Deborah
I definitely need to add this book to my collection. That salad is simply stunning!
The book is simply stunning, I bet you’d love it.
Sommer @aspicyperspective
Just gorgeous! I can’t wait to take a peek at all the beautiful recipes in this cookbook!
Erin@WellPlated
I love the way the book is organized! It’s unusual but makes SO MUCH SENSE. I’m now craving all things fresh and bright :)
Lauren @ Climbing Grier Mountain
I hear so many wonderful things about her cookbook! Definitely need to get my mitts on it! Gorgeous photos!
Jessica - The Novice Chef
I just ordered the cookbook and placed this recipe on my weekend lunch to make list! Looks so beautiful!
Amy Johnson
What a bowl of loveliness! And the cookbook looks gorgeous too!
Laura | Tutti Dolci
So pretty and fresh, I could live on this salad all summer long!
Molly @ Spices in My DNA
Love how summery and fresh this is! Need to go get my copy of the book..I love her blog.
Rachel @ Rachel Cooks
I love the concept of this book and need to get my hands on it asap! This salad looks divine.
Jessie Snyder | Faring Well
This is absolutely gorgeous and I love how much praise you give this glorious book here girl! Totally blushing about that Q&A (Jeanine!? Really!?) XO
renee (will frolic for food)
this. is. GORGEOUS. I can’t wait to make it. Also the fact the Jeanine likes my blog kind of just made my brain explode. I like you too, Jeanine. <3
Jeanine
Your salad looks SO gorgeous!! THANK YOU so much for the beautiful post!! xoxo
Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps
I’ve been meaning to get this book! I need more simple, healthy recipe ideas for my every day life. Beautiful!
Lauren | Wicked Spatula
This is such a gorgeous salad for summer! I’ve always loved the Love & Lemons blog so I bet the book is just fantastic.
Jenny Flake
This really is so beautiful! What a fantastic book too!
Becky Winkler (A Calculated Whisk)
This salad is gorgeous and sounds like such a refreshing combination of flavors! Loved hearing a bit of the story behind the book, too.
Vivian | stayaliveandcooking
Ohhh my god that book… Woah! And this salad looks so delicious, I’ve got to get myself one of these ice cream scoop thingies to make the pretty salads.