January Recipe Roundup

 Here are some things I tried cooking in January!


Biggest hit: Giant Pretzels



I made these big soft pretzels based on the cover recipe of Canadian Living January/February 2022 for New Year's Eve and again just this past weekend! Sooo tasty. I can't find the recipe online unfortunately but this issue is still on newsstands. These were SO GOOD and worth the slightly more lengthy bake/prep time (you have to let the dough rise, etc). 


Cozy (and cheap!) comfort food: Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

I haven't had split pea soup in years as its typically made with ham bone. On one of our especially cold days in January though I suddenly craved it, missing how hearty and comforting this soup is. I nosed around and tried this recipe over at Lord Byron's Kitchen. It was very good and turned out well. It was also very inexpensive to make!

I served this delish soup with some biscuits. I used the Flakey Biscuits recipe from Julie Van Rosendaal's Dirty Food which isn't online, but this one on her blog would be a good one to try!


Birthday treats (Chocolate and more chocolate)

My ex-wife looooves chocolate-based desserts, so for her birthday I made both the Chocolate Cupcakes and Chocolate Cupcake Frosting from Baking Day by Anna Olson. I can't find these recipes online but here is another intriguing chocolate cupcake recipe by Olson: Chocolate Spice Cupcake with Chocolate "Swirl" Frosting.

I was also going to make the delicious-sounding Fudgiest Frosted Brownies from Baking Day as well but honestly we had so many treats we didn't have room for these - next time!


Best discovery - Plant-based Caesar salad dressing



Like all veg folks, I loooove a good veg Caesar salad as classic Caesar dressing contains anchovies. I missed these a lot/always ordered them off the menu when dining out. 

Yes, I have also tried making home made vegan Caesar dressing but it's just not the saaaaame and I don't soak cashews cuz time/money/not that big of a priority for me.

Finally, I just discovered this month- there is a cheap, decently tasty plant-based Caesar salad dressing by Compliments (pictured above), which you can get for like $4 at Safeway or IGA! Woohoo!






More about food & cooking on the yak occidental

Vegetarian Meals We Actually Eat x Cream of Mushroom Soup

2020 Holidays: Vegetarian Meals Recap

Tips for Adding Vegetarianism into your Diet


Read this next:

How Losing Her Sense Of Smell Changed Joshna Maharaj's Relationship With Food over at Chatelaine

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