Soft Pretzels 2.0

I usually spend February in hibernation mode baking Valentine’s treats, but things didn’t go according to plan this year. Your girl had her gallbladder removed unexpectedly at the beginning of the month!  I wasn’t eating much while I recovered, and was sticking to a pretty bland diet of high fibre/low fat foods, but as I started to feel better, I began to cook more, and here are some highlights:

  • I made a couple of soups, specifically an oldie from the archives (Carrot Ginger Soup), plus this new Golden Soup from Pinch of Yum. It’s a cauliflower soup with turmeric, plus some cashews thrown in, which make the soup creamy (without cream) when you blend it up.
  • My go-to summer dinner of Heaped Hummus came back into high rotation. I basically throw a pita into the oven, and while it warms up, I make a little salad of chopped cucumber and cherry tomatoes, dressed with salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. I dollop some hummus in the bottom of bowl, pile the salad on top, and scoop it up with toasted pita wedges. Simple and delicious.
  • My co-worker Nat C. (not to be confused with Nat L.) recommended this Moroccan Eggplant and Tomato Stew to me, and it is outstanding! It’s one of those dishes that just gets better the longer it sits in the fridge. I ate it throughout the week in a few different ways: over rice, alongside a fresh green salad, and just with some toasted pita wedges. I never got sick of it! It’s a winner.
  • I didn’t really feel up to hosting my usual Oscars feast this year, but I still wanted to make myself something special. I made this Butternut Squash Risotto (sans butter, cheese and fried sage, but still delicious) with my house salad.
  • These Banana Bread Muffin Tops were a perfect high fibre snack, but still felt like I was eating a treat (I left out the chocolate chips though).
  • I cannot count the number of peanut butter sandwiches I consumed this month (made with whole wheat bread and natural, no sugar peanut butter), but it kind of reminded me that this is actually a quick and cheap lunch option to tuck into my backpack when there’s no dinner leftovers to pack up.
  • I attempted Soft Pretzels again, and while my shaping skills have improved since 2012, I still wasn’t blown away by the taste. Or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that they weren’t dunked in butter and covered in a cinnamon sugar?

Other non-foodie things I was obsessed with this month:

  • When I was home recovering, I wanted something fun and light to binge on and decided to re-watch Friends from the beginning. It totally holds up and still makes me laugh so hard! I’m about halfway through, and will power through the rest. I have this book on hold at the library and I can’t wait to read it.
  • I only read one book this month, but it was a super cute one: What If It’s Us. You know I love some YA love stories.
  • The Bachelor also kept me entertained this month, but when is Colton going to jump over this fence already???

Flashback!