I’ve been keeping a secret for a couple of weeks now and it’s been so hard not to share! But today I finely can. The lovely people at Martha Stewart have asked me to contribute to their Whole Livingblog for a Meatless Monday column that started this month. I grew up surrounded by Martha Stewart magazines that my mom had lying around. They always provided me with afternoons of crafting and tons of baking inspiration, but never would I have thought I’d someday be contributing.

Speaking of meatless Mondays, I think it’s so awesome that there even is a day recognized as meatless. I sure could have used that day ten years ago when I was navigating the halls of high school as one of the very few vegetarians. It gets me all excited about food even more because it opens the doors for vegetarians and vegans and shows many that you can have a filling and delicious meal without meat. But now back to the actual recipe. My first post is for a Smoky Spicy Black Bean and Quinoa Soup. I don’t know about you, but this bowl full of red and all kinds of smoky, spicy is pure love. Perfect for a Valentine’s dinner for two, but easily feeds the crowd of people you love too. I recommend either option.