It always feels nice to get back into a routine in January to help recover from the holidays. I did a little bit of baking, but a LOT of cooking at home, which is one of my favourite forms of self-care. Here’s what else was going on:

  • My friend Erin and I had a catch-up date at our fave place, Cactus Club, to ease the pain of being back to work in the first week of year. They had the CUTEST mocktail menu for January (“Resolutions on the Rocks”) and mine was so good! It was called the Little Pearl and had kiwi, cucumber, mint, soda and popping passion fruit pearls!
  • Kristine came over for our annual Golden Globes Feast, but I switched it up a bit from our usual menu (still off red meat over here, and going to try making this a permanent change in my life). Instead we had this Creamy Butternut Squash Orzo with a Kale Salad, and then I found this recipe for a mini loaf of focaccia that you make in a loaf pan! Genius! Not that I don’t love focaccia, but didn’t feel the need for a gigantic 9×13″ pan of it. For dessert Kristine dipped into her stash of homemade Peppermint Bark that was part of her Christmas gift (after she wistfully said to me in the Fall “remember when you used to make peppermint bark?!”)
  • Nicole’s mom is moving out of her childhood home, and they hosted a little wine & cheese so all the neighbours could come over and say goodbye. It was really emotional! And so nice to be reunited with all the “kids” from the street. Nicole asked me to make some treats, and after Francis told her her requests were boring (LOL) I made some Lemon Squares and Confetti Cookies. Francis approved!
  • So I was back at Cactus Club for a Book Club meeting with my pals, and I did something I’ve never done: ventured out of the apps side of the menu! And you know what, I’m so happy I did, because I LOVED The Med Bowl, which I now need to recreate at home. Here are all the components: turmeric rice, beet hummus, kale, cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, feta, yogurt, and pickled red cabbage topped with falafel and shawarma chicken. Sort of like this, with a few extra things. Can’t wait to reverse engineer this.
  • Lydia and her whole family, plus our friend Lil, met up at our childhood Swiss Chalet (where Lydia & Andrew met!) for a farewell dinner, after my niece who works there told me it was closing. Well it turns out they’re only closing temporarily for renos (Charlotte conveniently forgot to follow up with that nugget of info!), but we still had a great time, and listening to Lyd and Andrew reminisce about their days working there was so cute.
  • Here’s my regular recipe round-up for the month:
  • Stuff I made from the archives: Kale Caesar, Panko Crusted Baked Sole, Sloppy Janes
  • Some of my favourite go-to dishes: Turkey Meatball Bahn Mi (I have been making this for over a decade and can’t believe I still haven’t documented it here!)
  • New things that I tried and liked: Hasselback Salmon with Cucumber Avocado Salsa, Butternut Squash & Chipotle Chili, West African Peanut Soup (this recipe is in the Cookie + Kate cookbook, but this soup is similar), Gochujang Salmon (recipe lost in the abyss that is TikTok)
  • Homemade Snacks: Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins, Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies

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

  • I took my parents to their first Raptors game!!! Well my Dad has been before, but not since circa1996. We had so much fun and I made them wear some of my championship merch from 2019. They also got lanyards that said “My First Raptors Game”! It was so great!
  • My co-workers are bonkers for this new “romantasy” trend, and against my better judgment I read Fourth Wing to kick off the year. It’s just SO not for me; it’s too long, the main character annoyed me, and the dragons can talk. I also read What Wild Women Do and All Adults Here, which were both enjoyable, but I don’t necessarily recommend then.
  • I started a re-watch of The OC on New Year’s Day and am burning through it! It’s soooooo good! The 2000s nostalgia is REAL and I’m having such a good time. Need to get my hands on this book once I’m done.

Flashback!