Donofrio - Love and Lemons Every Day: More Than 100 Bright, Plant-forward Recipes for Every Meal

Back then, that was considered an odd thing given that most people didnt know what a blog was. Our friends wondered why we had camera equipment all over the kitchen, my family wondered why I had largely quit my day job to follow this crazy cooking passion, and our dogs were thrilled that more food than ever before was falling on the floor. I think my dad summed up our new hobby bestsome people pray before they eat their dinner, you guys take pictures of it. In our first cookbook, I told the story of Why Love & Lemons, which involved a long blissful walk in Capri and a dog passing us with a lemon in its mouth. It was about a moment in time, just after we had gotten engaged, when we were first inspired to cook with the freshest available locally grown produce. But as all good love stories go, theres also the other sidethe part where we were lost and sunburnt by the end of that idyllic Italian hike, where cooking in the kitchen is just plain messy, and when trying to take pictures of it all (with your spouse!) sometimes ends in a giant argument.

During the week we launched our blog, a tray full of naan almost burned our house down, our shiny new camera took a tumble, and food was wilting on the plate before we could manage to get the final shot. These days our process is a bit more streamlined, and if weve learned anything from spending countless hours in the kitchen with each other, its how to actually work well together. Ive stopped getting mad when Jack spills flour all over the floor because his homemade focaccia is so delicious, and Jack is happy to jump on my healthy cooking bandwagon because I regularly use the things he loves like mushrooms, mustard, and anything pickled. He also no longer complains about pitching in and cleaning up... especially when cleaning up means eating the poached eggs that still taste perfect but arent photo perfect.

He loves to eat cheese samples from the local vendors, and I love to plan my meals by scoping out what gorgeous, unique vegetables are awaiting me that day. When we lived in Austin, we did this every weekend, year-round. Now that weve relocated to Chicago, our sunny Sunday market strolls are more seasonally limited. Our first cookbook was based on those market visits, which is why its organized by vegetable from A to Z. Its meant to inspire meal ideas depending on what seasonal vegetable you just brought home. Thats my favorite way to cook when the markets are overflowing.

But when the ground is covered in three feet of snow, we still have to eat. And we still want to eat something delicious and nutritious. (Most likely the .) This book is packed with a number of season-specific recipes for your farmers market finds as well as recipes using vegetables and fruits that you can find at pretty much any well-stocked regular grocery store. Of course, I encourage you to seek out local produce whenever possible and to always wait until summer to eat a peachbut know that each and every recipe here was made with things I found near my new home here in the Midwest.

EVERYDAY COOKING, A LITTLE BIT ELEVATED

During a busy week, my daily meals start to look like this: a green smoothie for breakfast, avocado toast for lunch, and takeout pho for dinner. While thats all well and good, I truly believe that variety is the spice of life and that it