I don't think it's loneliness -- I think it's a stark contrast to most of the other major recipe collection sites out there that are visually cluttered.

I think that's a refreshing change for this type of site; You may want to consider a means of allowing users to curate and discuss recipes on sub-domains, some kind of API or some other means of splitting it up? A kind of crisp, clean social platform for food prep ....

I don't seek more flashiness or colors. I actually appreciate the simplicity.

Thoughts on what the feeling could be rooted in:

I Think it would help with more than 3 recipes on the front page. That gives a feeling of emptiness that can be confused with loneliness.

I also think there could be a better choice of image cropping. One that does the trick of making them all one size, but that also lets me see the food and thus inspires me.

Yeah, there's a whole concept of how it may work for collaboration that has yet to be implemented. Thanks for the feedback.

Odd, but I felt the same... it looks nice, its clean, and easy to read... but I didn't get the same excitement to cook as I do with say Serious Eats (example: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2017/05/new-orleans-style...)

I can see that.

But I prefer the pinboard-esque design to a flashier one.

It's utilitarian and snappy - just the way my grandma made 'em.

Agreed. It looks very good, but there needs to be some play with how items flow on the page and a little more contrast.

Some of the white areas can be filled in with some nice text on how to use the product or ideas of what to do next?

This is mainly on the home/list pages. The page for the recipes looks pretty balanced

That's a good way to describe it. Something about it feels empty.

I think the most obvious is the tiny sliver of a picture on each card. It feels like I'm looking though a key hole.

Besides that, the website is great!

This cracks me up. At the same time, it sounds like it's something that should be taken seriously. Thanks for the feedback.