Beef and Barley Soup

A really nice, comforting soup for this cold weather is beef and barley soup. I have always loved pearl barley in soup. I also love to make soup! So here is my version of this recipe.

Beef and Barley Soup 

serves:6

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

14 oz. beef chuck roast, I use 28 oz. Keystone beef (I use just half of the can) 

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or 2 cloves of chopped )

2 tablespoons onion powder (or 2 large onions chopped)

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced

6 cups of beef broth 

2 bay leaves

1 cup sliced button mushrooms

3/4 cup pearl barley

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried)

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a large pot, heat the oil add the beef and warm up. Then add the garlic powder and onion powder cook for 1 minute. The add the celery and carrots and cook until slightly soft, about 10 minutes. Pour in beef broth and add the bay leaves, then simmer over low heat for 45 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, pearl barley, and thyme, and cook until the barley is tender about 15-20 minutes. Just before done add the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Adapted from: The City Tavern Cookbook: Recipes from the Birthplace of American Cuisine 

You can easily make this out of a dry food pantry with the ingredients I have used. I keep celery, mushrooms, and parsley frozen too. I just needed to add fresh carrots. Such a nice weeknight meal that cooks up easily, and all you need to add is crusty bread or a grilled cheese.

Enjoy!

In Victory,

Sherry

Quiche Lorraine

It was New Year's Day and one family member requested quiche. I thought that sounded like a good idea, so I made the classic Quiche Lorraine. 

It is a really nice brunch menu idea. I first had Quiche Lorraine at a fancy hotel brunch when I was a teen, and the memory of it stuck with me. I always thought it was an elegant dish.

The other nice thing about quiche is that other than prebaking the pie crust, it is a mix-and-bake dish, so it is very easy.

The results are wonderful. A perfect way to serve your family on a long holiday weekend.

Quiche Lorraine

8 servings

Ingredients:

1 pie crust (can be homemade, frozen, or 1/2 of crust in a ready made crust.)

1/2 lb. thin strips of bacon, cooked and chopped into pieces

1/4 teaspoon onion powder, can use real onion (1/2 yellow, diced)

1 cup shredded cheese (gruyere is the classic, but it can be white or yellow cheddar)

1 3/4 cup half and half (this would be equal parts whole milk and heavy cream)

4 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions:

Prepare the homemade pie crust by thawing out, placing in desired pan. (I used a 9-inch pie plate.)

If using a store-bought pie crust, follow the package instructions for pre-baking. I used the store package instructions and my pie crust was too brown. I would turn the oven to 375°F, prick the bottom of crust with fork, line the pie crust with parchment paper, and then fill the bottom of that with beans or rice and bake for 20 minutes. 

Turn oven to 350°F, after baking the pie shell.

While the crust is baking, cook your bacon and sit aside to cool. 

In a large bowl whisk 4 eggs, half-and-half, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Whisk for a few minutes till fluffy. Stir in the cheese and bacon. 

Then when pre-baked pie crust is ready pour this filling into the pie shell. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. The quiche is ready when a knife inserted comes out clean. The quiche continues to cook after you remove it from the oven, so don't overbake it. Cool slightly and garnish with parsley and then slice and serve.

Enjoy!

Brambly Hedge Winter china by Royal Doulton

In Victory,

Sherry

Sweet Potato and Ginger Soup

 

I decided to try a new way to serve sweet potatoes this year. I made a sweet potato and ginger soup.

The soup was thick because I reduced the liquid a little, but you can make it more liquid by adding the 2 cups of chicken stock. 

The soup was really filling and delicious with a touch of honey added.

Sweet Potato and Ginger Soup (Instant Pot-Easy)

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 1b. sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon powdered garlic

1 3/4 cup of chicken stock (recipe called for 2 cups)

1 tablespoon honey

1 cup of heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

I added sweet potatoes, chicken stock, olive oil, honey, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper to the Instant Pot and cooked 20-25 minutes on manual. Take a immersion blender and puree soup adding the heavy cream and mix to get the consistency you want. Garnish with parsley.

Serve hot.

Recipe adapted from: The Fix It and Forget It Mediterranean Diet Cookbook 

Enjoy! 

In Victory,

Sherry

Beef and Noodles

Beef and noodles is a common dinner here in the Midwest. I moved here over thirty years ago, and when I got here there was much excitement when someone was having beef and noodles. When I first tried it, I was very underwhelmed. I never saw what the big deal was about beef and noodles. Then I, for some reason I am not sure why, just made my own version of it one day, and then everyone that tried it was very excited about my beef and noodles. I still don't see what the big deal is, but it is a comfort food, and comforting it is.

I never saw a recipe just like mine until I came upon this cookbook online. This is The Lily Wallace New American Cookbook printed, in 1944, at the height of World War II. If ever the whole world needed a comfort food, it was then. Lily, in her infinite wisdom, wrote several cookbooks. This one is a jewel. Lily was British and became an American. She brought with her many of the thrifty bits of wisdom that the British came to use on a regular basis during the times they endured during the war. This cookbook uses whatever you have on hand and makes a very adequate meal out of it.  

I won't go into a full cookbook review, but it has menus for a liberal diet (one where you have resources), a moderate-cost adequate diet, a minimum-cost adequate diet, and a restricted diet for emergency use only. The implications of having this knowledge are a really useful way to keep you and your family resilient. It was this information that made me dive into this cookbook, and then I found it: my way of making beef and noodles.

 In this recipe book Lily calls it creamed noodles. It is basically a white sauce poured over noodles.

I make a beef gravy and pour it over the noodles and beef. There are versions of this, often with a can of cream of mushroom soup in it. Mine is just beef gravy, beef, and noodles. One other change I made is that I use fettuccine noodles, because I am not a fan of the Amish-style egg noodles.

Beef and Noodles (Creamed Noodles)

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 ounces of dried fettuccine, cooked and drained 

2 quarts of water, to boil noodles

1 cup or more of shredded beef roast, leftovers will work. 

1/2 can Keystone beef roast is usually how I make it.

Sauce: 

I make a thicker sauce, so I use more butter and flour than a thin sauce.

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

2 cups of beef broth

Method:

Put the fettuccine into a 2 quarts of boiling water to cook. When noodles return to a boil after you have added them to water, cook for 12 minutes. About half way through the cooking (6 minutes) add the beef roast to your noodles, so it can warm and incorporate into the dish.

While noodles are cooking, make your beef gravy sauce.

Use a separate medium saucepan and melt your butter into it. Add the flour and whisk this roux for 2 minutes. Slowly pour in your beef broth. You can add a cup and then later another cup or all at once and it will eventually thicken into your gravy. Stir continuously until you have the desired consistency, I make mine thick.

Drain the water off of the noodles and the shredded roast. Pour the beef gravy sauce into the noodles and stir until all noodles are coated in the gravy.

Serve hot. 

There you have it! Beef and noodles with a WWII spin as creamed noodles. It is my favorite way to make them. I have never written this recipe down; I always make it from memory. All the children I feed love them, and they are easy to make; best of all you can use leftover beef roast. I have even used leftover beef and beef broth from French dips to make this, and it all turns out good.

In Victory,

Sherry

Autumn Spiced Baked Apples

This was described as a casserole of apples. I hadn't thought of making a casserole out of apples, but it was a lovely baked apple dish that I tried and decided to share. I halved the recipe to fit this little dish and my family.

Autumn Spiced Baked Apples 

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

3 large apples (I used Granny Smith.) peeled, cored, and sliced

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup honey

1 1/2 teaspoon butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350° F (190°C). Grease your casserole dish, mine was 8-inches x 5.75-inches, and set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Add the sliced and prepared apples and toss gently with the spice mixture to evenly coat. Fold in the cranberries and nuts. In a small bowl combine the melted butter, lemon juice, honey, and vanilla. Drizzle this over the apples and gently stir to coat. Pour this out into your baking dish and spread it out evenly. 

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the apples are tender and just starting to lightly brown. 

Allow to cool some before serving.

Recipe adapted from: Recipe Dish

Enjoy!

In Victory,

Sherry

Autumn Spiced Chicken Pot Pie

 
I never roast a whole chicken without taking the carcass and making another meal out of it. It could be chicken noodle soup or this chicken pot pie. I got this recipe out of the fall Williams and Sonoma catalog.

So, after I cooked the honey roasted autumn spiced chicken and we had a meal with it. I saved the whole chicken in a container in the fridge. I pulled it out two days later and put it in the Instant Pot for 30 minutes on manual with 2 cups of filtered water. I let that cool till I can handle it and I then salvage all of the chicken meat off of the bone and reserve the broth. I then throw all of the rest of the chicken away.

Autumn Spiced Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry

serves 6

2 cups of cooked chicken meat (from honey roasted autumn spiced chicken recipe) 

4 cups chicken stock in total (half reserved from cooking carcass) 

1 tablespoon chicken bullion

8 tablespoons butter

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 lb. potatoes, peeled, cubed, and parboiled

3/4 cup frozen peas

frozen puff pastry, 1 box set out to thaw

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon water

flaky sea salt

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Chop your leftover chicken from your honey roasted autumn spiced chicken recipe after you have used the instant pot to get it easily falling off the bone as described in the above paragraph and set aside. In a large saucepan (I use an 11-inch sauté pan) melt 8 tablespoons butter. Add in the onion, garlic powder, and season with some salt and pepper. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk till you have a roux paste, cook about one minute. Slowly pour in the warm chicken stock-bullion mixture, stirring to incorporate. stir in the thyme leaves, and 1/4 cup heavy cream, stirring continuously until thickened. (about 2 minutes). Add in chicken, potatoes (make sure you parboiled them), and peas. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep on low while you prepare the baking dishes. I used 4 mini pie pans and one two person pie pan. It was just what I had. You could also make in 6 cocottes or 6 mini pie pans. 

Divide the filling among the 6 dishes. Cut your thawed frozen puff pastry the size of the dishes and place over the dishes crimping the edges. Brush the top of the puff pastry with the beaten egg mixed with the teaspoon of water. Sprinkle the top of the puff pastry with the flaky sea salt. 

Place the baking dishes on a baking sheet and bake about 30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on a cooling rack and then serve. 

Recipe adapted from: Williams and Sonoma Test Kitchen. 

I haven't ever cooked a lot with the puff pastry. It is so pretty after baking. I am smitten with it. 

Enjoy!

In Victory,

Sherry

Honey Roasted Autumn Spiced Chicken

I got the idea to roast a whole chicken with autumn spices. I wasn't the first person to come up with it, but it was a delicious idea. This was the second chicken I made like this in two weeks' time.

This was the first chicken I roasted like this, and when I put the honey on it, it burnt, so this is the back of the chicken, which wasn't burnt. The solution to this was simple: just tent the chicken with foil in the last baking session, and the problem was solved.

Honey Roasted Autumn Spiced Whole Chicken

Ingredients:

6 lb. chicken

2 tablespoons of honey

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

pinch onion powder

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine the salt, and all spices in a small bowl. Rinse the chicken with cool water and pat it dry with a paper towel. Coat the chicken with the honey; both sides, and then rub the spice mixture over the whole chicken and also into the cavity of the chicken. 

Place the chicken into a greased dutch oven and lay the chicken breast-side down. Cover and roast for 45 minutes, then increase the temperature to 400°F, remove the lid , and roast 20 minutes more. Flip the chicken breast-side up and tent the top of the dutch oven with a loose foil layer. Roast 30 minutes longer and it is done when the thickest part of the chicken (thigh) reaches 165°F.

The sides in the meal were:

Cinnamon and honey roasted plums: 

I used what I had which were:

4-5 plums

Cut the plums in half and remove the stone. 

Place in a shallow baking dish with 

2 tablespoons water. 

Drizzle with: 

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon lemon and sprinkle with cinnamon. 

Place in 350°F preheated oven. 

Cover the dish with foil and bake 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, until fork tender but not falling apart. 

The baking dish will naturally make an amazing glaze that can be drizzled on the plums or the chicken.

This recipe will work with peaches, apricots, nectarines or any stone fruit. 

I also served it with my standard mashed potatoes, green beans, and orange wedges.

This is my favorite way to make biscuits, in a cast iron skillet. There is no wasted dough and no extra manipulation of the dough to re-roll out, which takes more time and does not make as nice a biscuit. 

I found a wonderful 2-ingredient recipe that is so simple, and it may now be my favorite.

Two-Ingredient Skillet Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups self-rising flour

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 500°F. 

Prepare a well seasoned cast-iron skillet (I think mine is a nine or ten inch.)

place the flour in a large bowl. Gradually stir in cream and stir until just incorporated. (this will be a sticky dough). Scrape out the biscuit dough onto a lightly floured surface. 

Gently knead the dough and roll out until a 1/2-inch thick and I make it the shape of my cast iron skillet. I place the disc of dough into the skillet and cut into it the square biscuits with a dough cutter/scraper. Place the skillet into the oven and bake 10-12 minutes, until golden brown and serve hot. 

Enjoy!

In Victory,

Sherry

Butternut Cream Soup

It is officially cozy season, and I love to make soup! A soup I make every autumn is butternut bisque. This is a simpler version of this soup that I found, and it was just as popular as the bisque.

Butternut Cream Soup

Serves:6

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

6 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

Method:

In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the butternut squash, onion powder, and cinnamon and cook 10 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook until squash fork tender, about 20 minutes.

Place all in a blender and puree. Pour puree back into sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat once heated through and serve hot.

My bread here is a cranberry-cinnamon skillet biscuit with orange butter. 

Cranberry-Cinnamon Skillet Biscuit

Yield 8

Ingredients:

2 cups self-rising flour

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 500°F. Prepare a well seasoned cast iron skillet, or line baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. 

Mix the flour, cinnamon, cranberries, and sugar till well incorporated. Stir in heavy cream until the dough just comes together, it will be a sticky dough. 

Knead dough gently and roll out onto a floured surface with a rolling pin until 1/2-inch thickness. Right at this stage I shape the dough to the size of my cast iron skillet and place the dough in it and score it with a dough cutter before baking. If cutting into rounds, use a 2-inch biscuit cutter and place on your baking sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes. 

Serve hot with orange butter.

Orange Butter

Yield: approximately 1/4 cup 

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter, softened or room temperature

2 1/2 teaspoon orange marmalade

2 teaspoons honey

Mix all and chill in refrigerator one hour. Serve on hot biscuits.

Butternut cream soup adapted from The Unofficial Poldark Cookbook.

Enjoy! 

In Victory,

Sherry

Pumpkin Streusel Quick Bread

I have made this quick bread for over twenty years. It has always been a fall favorite in our family.

Here is a picture of the bread from when I first posted it on September 21, 2011.

The pumpkin bread has a moist, tender crumb with the perfect cinnamon sugar streusel on top.

Pumpkin Streusel Quick Bread            

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cup sifted all purpose flour (I used 1/2 of this amount whole wheat)

1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping: optional (I added this to make it appeal to teenagers)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 325° degrees F.  Grease and flour 8x 5-inch loaf pan.  Beat sugar with oil till blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Continue beating until light and fluffy.  Then mix in pumpkin on low speed.  Add in dry ingredients on low speed and mix well. Pour into prepared pan.  For streusel topping mix till crumb texture with a pastry cutter.  Then spread topping over entire loaf.  Bake 60 minutes or until 

toothpick comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan and finish cooling.

Enjoy! 

In Victory,

Sherry

Fall in the Cottage

Fall in the cottage this year may include much cooking. I have really gardened a lot this year, and I love spending time outdoors and enjoying nature, but I have been missing the kitchen.

I got started on my baking right away this week with a blueberry muffin recipe out of a vintage cookbook.

I have been tweaking the cottage corner also. I am thinking the more I play around here, I almost have a functioning kitchen.

This recipe book was from 1944, and it is a jewel. The recipes are simple and to the point. You can make almost anything with this cookbook with a working pantry. It was published during WWII, and food rations and nutrition were of key importance. I find that really enjoyable to read; maybe I am kind of weird, but I can read a cookbook like any other book and enjoy it. 

The first recipe I tried out of this cookbook was Blueberry Tea Muffins. 

The recipe was heavy on baking powder because the author wrote cookbooks for Rumford Baking Powder, so the muffins were a little dry. I found that with a few adjustments you could make these similar to some famous blueberry muffin recipe, like the Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffin Recipe, and that would have made them more moist. The techniques for mixing and baking were the same. 

I am going to talk more about this cookbook in a later post. I have my own recipe for beef and noodles, and I found that this cookbook was as close to my recipe as I have ever found. I really value a recipe book that can make a wonderful meal out of such meager ingredients. This type of cooking was really the backbone of the meal times in the 1940s.

In Victory,

Sherry 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

The rhubarb was ready, and I wanted to bake a pie with it. I have grown this rhubarb for 3 years and waited a long time to use it. I understood you don't use it the first year. Then the second year it bloomed, and I couldn't use it that year either. I then moved it, and I cut it in half, and I got two rhubarb plants, so I couldn't use it that year either. This year it was going to be ready! When I saw the blooms, I pulled them out right away. I waited patiently, and finally my rhubarb was ready to pick!  

How beautiful the pie turned out, and the rhubarb is perfect paired with my strawberries! 

I have been trying something new when looking for a recipe. I am typing what I want to make in ChatGPT. I was hesitant at first to use it, but it is really handy. I just typed in, "Give me the best recipe for whatever," and it does a really good job. I may never sort through the online choices again or buy a cookbook. The AI does all of that for you. Have you used it yet? What do you think?

Best Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe

Total Time: 2.5 hours (includes chilling and baking)

Yield: 1 9-inch pie (8 slices)

Ingredients

Crust: use your favorite recipe for a 9-inch double crust pie pastry or a ready made crust.

For the filling:

• 3 cups rhubarb, chopped (about ½-inch pieces)

• 2½ cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• ¼ cup light brown sugar

• ¼ cup cornstarch

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Pinch of salt

For assembly:

• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small bits (for dotting)

• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

• 1 tablespoon coarse sugar (optional, for sprinkling)

Instructions

1. Make the crust:

1. Follow your preferred crust recipe or use a ready-made pie crust and follow manufacturer's directions.

2. Make the filling:

1. In a large bowl, mix rhubarb, strawberries, sugars, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon (if using), and salt.

2. Let sit for 15–20 minutes to let the flavors meld and the cornstarch start absorbing juices.

3. Assemble the pie:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

2. Roll out one disc of dough on a floured surface and fit it into a 9-inch pie dish. Use fork to pierce  the bottom crust before filling. Hold fork at 45-degree angle and gently pierce the bottom of the crust. Make sure to pierce the crust about 1-inch apart and evenly all over. 

3. Pour the filling into the crust. Dot the top with butter.

4. Roll out the second disc and either cover with a full top crust (cut slits) or make a lattice. Crimp edges.

5. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar (if desired).

4. Bake:

1. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, then reduce oven to 350°F (175°C) and bake for 35–45 more minutes, or until crust is golden and filling is bubbling.

2. Tent edges with foil if they brown too quickly.

5. Cool:

Let pie cool completely (3–4 hours) before slicing—this helps the filling set.

Recipe adapted from ChatGPT.

In Victory,
Sherry

My Favorite Way to Roast a Whole Chicken

I have tried roasting a whole chicken many different ways, but until I tried doing it like Jill Winger from The Prairie Homestead Cookbook. I could not get a chicken roasted to perfection. She has a technique of roasting it with the lid on in a dutch oven and then roasting it without the lid. 

I won't give away her recipe, but I did find a lady who shows you the technique of roasting and flipping on this Youtube channel. I am not associated with The Prairie Homestead Cookbook, but it is one of my favorite cookbooks. 

The recipe roasts the chicken to perfection every time! It is very tender and moist. We are dining with Peter Rabbit here and having the roast chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, and sautéed apples with cinnamon. 

Why so much comfort food? Because it is snowing again and, it is a wintery wonderland outside.

In Victory,

Sherry

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