Love & Lemons Cookbook Club

June 14, 2025

This month’s cookbook club pick was Love and Lemons Simple Feel Good Food: 125 Plant-Focused Meals to Enjoy Now or Make Ahead. It’s from the vegetarian blog Love & Lemons, and I was especially excited because I recently made her 🥗 Italian Chopped Salad with my mom, and we were super fans.

So far this year, I’ve made 11 recipes from Love & Lemons, and I had already made six before that—bringing my total to 17 recipes.

This time around, I only cooked one recipe for the cookbook before the event, but I got to try 18 different recipes at the cookbook club. I’ve been to three of these events before, and this one was hands down my favorite—most of the recipes were good.

My top picks from the event were the 🍫 Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread and the 🥑 No-Bake Avocado Tart—both vegan and going in my back pocket for future vegan-friendly celebrations.

I also felt a little brave this round and made veggie burgers for the first time 🍔—Sweet Potato Paneer Burgers packed with spices. I was nervous (I didn’t even taste them until the event), but they turned out great. A bunch of people enjoyed them—including me! I’ll be making them again for both my vegetarian and non-vegetarian friends. As one of my fellow cookbook club members said, “This is not your average veggie burger.” 💥

Here are a few other ValeCooks-approved recipes I’ve made from Love & Lemons in the past:

Most of Love & Lemons’ recipes are reliable and straightforward—a great starting point if you’re looking to add more veggie-forward meals to your rotation.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads and father figures this weekend! 💙

Recipes Made So Far This Year:

Goal: To try seven new recipes each week 🗓️, aiming for 365 this year!

Number of Recipes Made This Week: 14

Number of New Recipes Tested as of 6/8: 329

Weeks Achieving Seven or More New Recipes: 23 out of 23

This Week’s Recipe Test Summary

Impress Someone🌟

One Skillet Crispy Chicken Thighs & Creamy Lemon Garlic Orzo – Brocc Your Body 🍗
It’s always tricky to decide what belongs in the “Impress Someone” category. This might not be a mind-blowing dish, but I was surprised by how much I loved it. It’s a simple, one-pot meal with basic ingredients that somehow tastes like a creamy risotto. H even asked for seconds, and we had already finished the entire thing.

Would Make Again 👍

Brown Butter Upside Down Sticky Banana Date Cake – good mood food 🍌
Then there are recipes like this one, which probably should be in the “Impress Someone” category. My sister loved it, and it’s a more “advanced” bake with multiple steps. She shared it with her friends, and they were fans too. My mom even just called to ask if we can make it together…and I will be making it for my dad tomorrow ❤️. A winner!

Creamed Spinach Pasta – Back Pocket Pasta: Inspired Dinners to Cook on the Fly by Colu Henry 🧀
I’ve cooked so many recipes from cookbooks, and this cookbook is one of my favorites. This is a creamy ricotta and spinach pasta that I topped with extra Parmesan. Both H and I loved it. Perfect for a quick and satisfying lunch.

Sweet Potato Paneer Burgers – Love and Lemons Simple Feel Good Food by Jeanine Donofrio 🍠
I can’t wait to make these again. There were no leftovers, and you can prep them ahead of time.

Would Not Make Again 👎

These didn’t hit the mark for me, but recipe testing is super subjective. Some were just okay, some were good but not memorable, and a few I didn’t enjoy at all. Rather than breaking each one down, I’m just listing them here.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, or any recipe requests you might have. Just respond directly to this email.

See you next week. Keep cooking! 👋 

Vale from ValeCooks

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