The Mezze Platter

At the end of this year, I went all Mediterranean with our food, so the obvious choice for a party platter was the mezze platter. Mezze is a series of small dishes served as appetizers, all originating from the Mediterranean. 

I don't know a lot about this type of food, but, I love to try new things. So, don't consider me very experienced at Mediterranean cuisine, but I have a lot of fun cooking it. The thing I noticed right away is there is more assembling rather than long, complicated recipes and techniques for cooking. I liked that. It is also fresh food and one of the most healthy diets you can eat. 

Here is what we had on our platter, and I will give you the link to the recipes. My sons loved it! I did add an American smoked cheddar cheeseball, which used to be a staple for our holidays, and no one touched it! It was funny; everyone embraced the Mediterranean-style appetizers with eagerness. Here is the link I used to create my own mezze platter. In this picture are marinated olives, crostini, and regular salted mixed nuts.

In this picture is whipped feta spread, but I subbed ricotta instead, and it came out beautifully.

This is regular hummus from the local grocery store topped with marinated chickpeas.

In this picture we have cherry tomato caprese salad. I don't know if you would find this on a true mezze platter, but it was so pretty I couldn't resist.

This is the rest of the marinated chickpeas. 

Homemade pita chips are on this also, but they are not pictured. Here are also sliced raw carrots for dipping, orange slices, and a cluster of grapes. Now I was going to round out the year with my last post in a series I was posting about using the herbs from my garden. I got this idea from the book The Herbal Yearbook. I have posted ideas from this book for the whole year, but the book is from 1994, and I thought doing something more modern would be a great way to end my herb series for this year.

So how did I use my herbs in this new style of cooking? 

The question might be better stated, how didn't I use them? The Mediterraneans are freely using lots of herbs. So, I found all sorts of uses for the herbs I had saved from the garden this year!

I used dried oregano and basil crushed into a powder.

I made bouquet garni and I had them in the freezer. So I used the frozen thyme in place of fresh.

I used some rosemary I had started in an herb propagating post and stripped some leaves of it for this mezze platter. This rosemary has doubled in size too! Just growing in a south window over the winter.

I also chopped down all of my parsley right before our first freeze. I took it off of the stem and used herb scissors, then froze it all. I had a lot of it. I used this to garnish the marinated chickpeas. 

So for 2024 I really found a lot of uses for my herbs. It was a great year of projects and learning. 

I wish everyone a wonderful 2025 and many blessings!!

In Victory,

Sherry

Propagating Herbs

 

It is almost the end of the year in my herbal yearbook. I am doing one more project out of it, and that is propagating herbs.

You can propagate most herbs by simply cutting them before they freeze and putting them in a vase of water. 

This was a November project, although I did this back in September because I was unsure when the first freeze would be.

I just cut all of the herbs I wanted to propagate and put them in mason jars with water in them and set them in a south-facing window in my house.

Here is the list of what herbs I used: basil, cat mint, peppermint, rosemary, sage, thyme, and stevia. They all made it but the stevia. I will have to investigate further to see what that needs to propagate. 

This is the mint. It had been in the water around two weeks, and it did really well. 

The next step, after you have roots, is to plant them.  This was planted on October 11th, and they are all still alive. Herbs are pretty hearty, so hopefully they will make it till next year, and these are some herbs I won't have to buy. 

Have you ever propagated herbs?

In Victory,

Sherry

Herbs de Provence

For the month of October, I am making an herb blend called Herbs de Provence. This is an all-purpose seasoning that originated in the Provence region of France. I have picked my herbs and had them drying for over a month. With the herbs fully dry and crumbly, I can now make my seasoning blend.
 

This is an herb project I found in the book The Herbal Yearbook. All year I have done one project a month out of this book to get more use out of the herbs I grow in the garden.

In September I made a fresh herb basket with this blend of herbs, and this month I will use them.

The herbs have been drying for a month, and I take them off of the drying rack and now crumble them up. Herbs shown here in my blend are: thyme, rosemary, oregano, and sage. The herb blend varies a bit from producer to producer.

They should not have any moisture left in them and be brittle, not pliable.

Here, I am showing a little bag I made years ago to place the herb blend in. 

Originally posted herbs de Provence here in 2010 on the blog.

This post on The Daring Gourmet shows all the versatile ways you can use this herb blend. This book has been a great resource for using and trying out new things with my herbs in the garden. I have thoroughly enjoyed working my way through it this year. 

In Victory,

Sherry

Fresh Herb Basket

It is time again this month to do an herb project from The Herbal Yearbook. For September, I choose to make a fresh herb basket. It is for giving or for using in your own kitchen. 

Pick your herbs and gather your supplies. 

supplies:

basket

3-5 herbs of your choice

damp paper towels

parchment paper

string

recipe card (if giving)

any other items that will go with to give as gift (ex. herb stripper)

I have gathered my herbs: rosemary, marjoram, oregano, thyme, and sage. I am taking the cuttings of my herbs and wrapping the lower stem with the damp paper towel. 

After securely wrapping the stems, I place a square of parchment paper around the end of the herb. I have it folded here down in triangles on each top corner. Just like your making a paper airplane. 

I wrap the parchment paper completely around the damp paper towel and twist the bottom.

Then I flip the twisted part up and behind and then tie with twine.

When finished, it looked like this. My grandmother showed me how to do this when I was small so I could take the flowers I picked home.

The book I am using for the craft idea suggests giving this as a gift. If you have friends that are foodies and like to cook with fresh herbs, this is a great idea. 

This is how my basket looked when finished. I added a card with an idea of making herbs de Provence, herb scissors, and an herb stripper. I am saving my herbs for a project for next month. 

I have really enjoyed making projects from this book to gain more knowledge and practice using my herbs. Do you have herbs you use from your garden?

In Victory,

Sherry

Herb Infused Olive Oil

The herb project I have chosen for August is to make herb-infused infused olive oil. 

I am finding my projects out of this book; I have been working in it all year, The Herbal Yearbook.

I adapted this recipe I found here. I have a supply of rosemary from my own garden that I save every year. 

I wanted the rosemary more chopped up than it was, so I used the mortar and pestle to grind it up. 

I opted for dried ingredients instead of fresh.

I poured the olive oil in and shook it up. I gave it several hours to infuse before I used it. 

While the oil was infusing, I made a fresh batch of pizza dough and made cheese sticks instead of white pizza. 

Herb Infused Olive Oil for White Pizza

amount: 1/4 cup

1/4 olive oil

1/2 teaspoon powdered garlic (I use roasted garlic powder-it has a great flavor.)

1 teaspoon chopped up dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Mix all ingredients into olive oil and shake. Leave two or more hours to infuse and then dip or drizzle onto white pizza or cheese sticks.

Use up right away or store in fridge for up to four days and then discard if not in use.

It works as a dip or a drizzle. It made the pizza taste really nice, and the extra flavors blended nicely with the cheese sticks. The family approved. 

Have you ever infused herbs into olive oil?

In Victory,

Sherry

Making Bouquet Garnis

 
I am off to the garden today, and I am gathering herbs in my basket for making bouquet garnis. 

I have chosen to do this from The Herbal Yearbook for my July project. 

A bouquet garni is just a bundle of herbs tied together to go into your cooking pot and season your food. 

I have chosen to use parsley, thyme, and two bay leaves for my bouquet garni.

I have a spool of butcher's twine that I am tying the herbs together with. That way, the herbs can go right in the pot when used.

Here is a finished bundle.

It is ready for the cooking pot. My favorite recipe to use herbs like this is Instant Pot French Dips.  The combination of herbs for that recipe is bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary. You can use any combination of herbs you wish to complement your dish.

In Victory,

Sherry