Baked Feta with Honey and Thyme -- an outtake #recipe by @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  I’m sure my blog siblings will agree that choosing the recipes for our books is a lot of fun—and sometimes a challenge. What would our characters want to eat? Can we make it—and make it easy for you to make? With my Spice Shop mysteries, I always want several recipes that use the title ingredient. 

In the first draft of Lavender Lies Bleeding, Pepper is home alone—well, home with the dog, but his meal routine is fairly well set. That afternoon, she’d chatted with Spice Shop customers who love her friend Edgar’s Italian restaurant, Speziato, and had bought her favorite spice, smoked paprika, to make Edgar’s signature appetizer, Baked Paprika Cheese. (It originally appears in The Solace of Bay Leaves; find the recipe here.) 

Lacking the key ingredient, she made a different baked cheese appetizer. Later, I decided I didn’t need the recipe or the paragraphs that describe making it, so out they went. Here’s the original bit, unedited: 

 >>>

         Arf and I locked up and headed home. I fed him, then opened the fridge. Talking about Edgar and Speziato had my mouth watering for his fabulous Baked Paprika Cheese, a deceptively simple appetizer that never fails to please. Alas, no goat cheese on hand. But I had feta, so I pivoted. My mouth wouldn’t mind. I turned on the Mariners game, While the oven heated, I fished a square of feta out of its brine, patted it dry, and placed it in a small baking dish. Drizzled it with oil and popped it in. Popped the cork on a bottle of _____ and poured a glass. So good.

Laurel had sent home a container of blueberry peach salad, left over after Flick Chicks. I sliced up some leftover grilled salmon CHECK – WHAT DID NATE MAKE? and found some pita chips for the feta. When it was finished baking, I drizzled it with honey and stuck it under the broiler until the cheese had browned and begun to bubble. I added a little more honey, sprinkled on some fresh thyme from a pot on the veranda, and finished it with a dash of lemony red sumac.

Edgar would be proud.

<<<

The recipe is simple enough to pull together quickly, as Pepper did. Serve it with pita chips, or toasted pita, naan, or sliced baguette. 

Oh, and if you want to serve it alongside Laurel’s Green Salad with Feta, Peaches, and Blueberries, like Pepper did, here’s the link! 

Lavender Lies Bleeding will be out July 15, in paperback, ebook, and audio. Available for preorder now -- more details below! 

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. 

Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Baked Feta with Honey and Thyme 

8 ounces brick feta, at room temperature, patted dry 

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (the amount you use will depend on the size of your dish)

1 to 2 tablespoons honey 

1-1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, or to taste

smoked paprika or sumac (optional topping) 

For serving: pita chips, or toasted pita, naan, or sliced baguette. 

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush a thin layer of olive oil inside an 8-ounce ramekin, small casserole, or any oven-safe baking pan that is just a little larger than your brick of feta. Place the cheese in the dish and brush top and sides with 2-3 teaspoons olive oil. Bake until the cheese is warm and soft but not melted, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, warm the honey in a microwave for about 10 seconds or in hot water, until it is easily spreadable. 

Remove feta from oven and preheat broiler. Brush the honey evenly over the feta, both top and sides. Broil until the top of the cheese browns, about 5 minutes —don’t worry if the edges char a bit, as that tastes great! Do watch your broiler carefully, as the heat can vary. 

Remove from oven and drizzle with additional honey (1-2 teaspoons) and top with fresh thyme. Sprinkle with smoked paprika or sumac, if you’d like. 

Serve immediately. If your feta firms up too much as it cools, pop it back in the oven for a few minutes to soften. 

Enjoy! 

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

At Seattle Spice Shop, owner Pepper Reece has whipped up the perfect blend of food, friends, and flavor. But the sweet smell of success can be hazardous . . .  

Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender’s culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved—and occasionally maligned—herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz’s greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower’s plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who’s taken to the hills. 

Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there’s one in every pocket. 

Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz’s success, and a local growers’ cooperative. She’s also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf. 

As Pepper’s questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. Watch for Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop Mystery, on July 15, 2025.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.

Around the Kitchen Table: Refreshing Summer Sips + 4-Book Giveaway!

 

MOLLY MACRAE: Happy June and happy National Iced Tea Month! Are you ready for summer sipping?

We’ve already had a few previews of summer heat, between bouts of cool and downright chilly weather, here in central Illinois.

One bright afternoon we used up the last of some fresh strawberries by whirring them up in the blender with homemade lemon-limeade. Sipping it in our screen tent under the trees brought back memories of other refreshing summer drinks.

Black cows (root beer with a scoop of vanilla ice cream), green rivers (bright green lime soda made in Chicago), firecrackers (a grown up, slushy juice drink with a bit of “juice”), and the best sipper of all – rosemary watermelon lemonade (you’ll find the recipe for that here and in Last Wool and Testament, book one in my Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries).

What are your sips of choice and where do you take them to relax?

 

 

 

🍷 🍹 🍺 

LESLIE KARST: You're definitely speaking my language now, with refreshing summer drinks! And since Valerie Corbin, the protagonist of my Orchid Isle Mysteries, is a bartender, I've got a lot up my sleeve. For summer time, I love a drink with fresh fruit juice, and since we have a lot of citrus in our yard here in Santa Cruz (Valencia orange, blood orange, grapefruit, lemon, and lime!), it's easy for me to simply juice some of that fruit and mix it with some kind of liquor (my go-to is gin), then add a splash of soda water and you're ready to go!

Here's the Hilo Sunset, a riff on the Tequila Sunrise, which I came up with as a drink special for Valerie at the Speckled Gecko where she works.

Cin cin!

 🌱 🍹 🌴 

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: Fun topic, Molly -- and it anticipates a pair of my upcoming posts, for drinks, both virgin and spiked, made with lavender!

Looks like most of the drink recipes I've shared here from my books are hot drinks for cold days, but I do love this "Life's-Too-Short-For-Rehearsals" champagne cocktail that Adam's buddy Tanner, entrepreneur by day and bartender by night, created for Adam and Erin's wedding rehearsal dinner in As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles, the 5th Food Lovers' Village Mystery. Perfect whenever you need to celebrate, no matter what the time of year!

And this Tequila-Thyme Lemonade from Killing Thyme, the 3d Spice Shop Mystery, can be made with or without the tequila -- and with or without the Lemon Thyme Shortbread I paired it with!

Take your summer sip out to the deck or porch, or enjoy beside a nice, cool mountain lake and enjoy!!!

🍸 🍑 🍹

VMBURNS: I  like sweet cocktails. My favorite is Sex on the Beach. Vodka, cranberry juice, orange juice, and peach schnapps. I struggle to make the drink so it's pretty, but regardless of the look, it always taste great. 

I wish I could say that I can take this beverage to the beach, but sadly, there aren't any near where I live. So, I like to sit out on my deck and pretend.

My new favorite nonalcoholic sip came from Cleo Coyle (yep, I try my fellow mystery lovers recipes). She described it as air conditioning in a glass. Simply Limeade and Ginger ale. Delicious!

 🌱 🍹 🌴 

MADDIE DAY: I love a gin and tonic on the deck at the end of the day, and it occurs to me that I haven't enjoyed one yet this year (one must wait until after Memorial Day, of course...). This cranberry-based wedding cocktail from Murder in a Cape Cottage would be a great summer drink.

Dot Henderson, my 1926 lady PI from A Case for the Ladies and several short stories, also enjoys a cocktail. She's particularly fond of a refreshing Bee's Knees after an exhausting summer day sleuthing.

Otherwise, a cool glass of white wine on the deck suits me just fine, as long as a good book accompanies it.

🍋 🍷 🐝

PEG COCHRAN/MARGARET LOUDON:  We are still waiting for consistently warm weather here in Michigan!  But when summer arrives, it's time to break out the Aperol for an Aperol Spritz!  We first discovered the drink on vacation in Italy.  It was very hot in Rome so between sightseeing, we'd seek shelter under an umbrella in a cafe and enjoy a spritz.  They are easy to make and pretty to look at.  We love to whip some up and take them out on our deck and watch the sky turn pink and purple as the sun sets.  

 

🍹 🌞 🍈

LIBBY KLEIN: I didn't know there was a National Iced Tea Month. I guess I'm right on time with my new Smith Teamaker's Blackberry Jasmine iced tea. It has butterfly pea flowers in it to give it this beautiful blue color. I sweeten it with Stevia, but if you have blackberry syrup you could really turn the taste up to eleven. (Little Spinal Tap joke there.)

I can't say I love iced tea of the usual variety. It's just something I tend to order in a restaurant because I very rarely drink soda and restaurant water can be icky. But these fancy new iced teas that are hitting the market are right up my alley. I also have a Lime Bramble herbal iced tea from Smith Teamakers, and my favorite summer sip, Harney and Son's Blueberry Green iced tea. All very refreshing with no sugar or caffeine. 

🍒 ☕ 🍈

CLEO COYLE: Tasty topic, Molly! Truth? When it comes to cold, fizzy drinks, an icy Coke Zero on our back porch sends me to my happy place (hey, don’t judge! 😂). For my healthier option, I have been enjoying Ultima Replenisher, a tasty electrolyte drink (with trace minerals) and no sugar, no carbs, no calories, and a natural sweetner (organic stevia). It’s a powdered drink that comes in handy "stickpacks," and lately my favorite flavor is Passionfruit, sweet yet tangy with a note of citrus. Cherry Pomegranate and Watermelon flavors are nice, too, and I'm looking forward to trying their "Mocktini" variety pack, which is supposed to mimic the flavors of Strawberry Margarita, Pina Colada, Peach Bellini, and Cranberry Cosmo. Too good to be true? Maybe. But they sure sound like a vacation in a glass...

So, anyway, electrolyte replenishing drinks aren’t something you can suck down all day long (one serving will do ya after a long walk or workout). Coffee is always my happy drink ☕, and when the heat is on, I’ll do cold brew. Another fizzy favorite (much better for me that Coke Zero all day) is well-chilled San Pellegrino natural mineral water in an icy glass with fresh squeezes of lime and lemon. 🍋🍈 Easy and delicious. Cheers, everyone! ~ Cleo 

GIVEAWAY!

To be entered in this week's drawing

for these terrific mysteries below,

join us in the comments.

What are your summer sips of choice and where do you take them to relax?

Join the

conversation!

Include your email address,

so we can contact the winner!

 

COME SHELL OR HIGH WATER by Molly MacRae 

BULLETPROF BARISTA by Cleo Coyle

ASSAULT & PEPPER by Leslie Budewitz

MURDER AT THE RUSTY ANCHOR by Maddie Day

Comments Open through

Wednesday, June 4

Don't forget to include

your email address.

📚

Parmesan Garlic Chicken Skewers #Recipe Peg Cochran/Margaret Loudon

 

These were so good, I made them two weeks in a row, which is unusual for me since I like to switch things up!  They are very easy to make.  I opted for skinless, boneless chicken thighs since those are generally more tender. To make things easier, I cut the thighs in strips and threaded them onto the skewers rather than cutting them in cubes.  Rolling them in the panko is optional but added a delightful crunch.  These are delicious as is but can be dipped in ranch dressing or dip of your choice.  The recipe was adapted from Beth's Quick Bites.

1 pound chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Wooden or metal skewers (if wooden, soak in water for 20 minutes to prevent burning)

Panko (Optional but worth it)

 

Combine olive oil, grated Parmesan, garlic, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper in a bowl. 

 

Add chicken and marinate, covered, in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to four hours.

 

Remove chicken from marinade and put on skewers.   

Roll skewers in panko if desired.

 

Heat gas grill to medium high (around 400 degrees) and grill skewers, turning once, until chicken is done. Timing depends on whether you are using breasts or thighs. Check with an instant read thermometer to be sure chicken has reached 165 degrees.  

 

 

 

To air fry:  pre-heat air fryer to 400 degrees.  Place skewers in a single layer.  Air fry for approximately 10 to 12 minutes, turning halfway through.

 

 

 

Galvanized Pasta #recipe from Molly MacRae

 

To galvanize something is (according to Merriam Webster) to subject it to “the action of an electric current especially for the purpose of stimulating physiologically.” Cooking a dish on an electric stove isn’t exactly the same thing, but a current is involved and a good dish does stimulate the partakers physiologically (in a good way).

I found this recipe in A Gothic Cookbook: Hauntingly Delicious Recipes Inspired by 13 Classic Tales, by Ella Buchan and illustrated by Lee Henry. Buchan ingeniously pairs 60 original recipes with her chosen classic tales. Galvanized pasta (called galvanized vermicelli in the book) is one of the recipes paired with Frankenstein – fitting because Dr. Frankenstein brought his monster to life by galvanizing him.

If you make this heady mix of LOTS of garlic, two jalapenos, and handfuls of fresh herbs, plus capers and lime juice, you’ll feel galvanized, too.

 

Galvanized Pasta

Adapted from A Gothic Cookbook: Hauntingly Delicious Recipes Inspired by 13 Classic Tales

 

Ingredients

1 pound pasta (I used rotini, because that’s what we had. Next time I’ll try the vermicelli the original recipe called for.)

1 1/3 cup peas, fresh or frozen

Large handful each fresh mint, basil, and flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (I forgot the parsley!)

6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/4 cup capers

Juice from 4 limes

2 jalapeños (include ribs and seeds for a more galvanized flavor), roughly chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese to serve

 

Directions

Cook the pasta according to the package.

While the pasta cooks, add all the rest of the ingredients, except the Parmesan, to a food processor and blitz to create a smooth, silky sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into a saucepan and warm over medium heat.

Drain the pasta, return to the pot, and add the warmed sauce. Toss well so each strand is nicely coated. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

 

Coming in June 2025!

There’ll be Shell to Pay

Haunted Shell Shop book 2

 

When she’s not selling seashells by the North Carolina seashore from her shell shop, Maureen Nash is a crime-solving sleuth with a ghost pirate for a supernatural sidekick . . .

Maureen is still getting used to life on Ocracoke Island, learning how to play the “shell game” of her business—and ghost whispering with the spirit of Emrys Lloyd, the eighteenth-century Welsh pirate who haunts her shop, The Moon Shell. The spectral buccaneer has unburied a treasure hidden in the shop’s attic that turns out to be antique shell art stolen from Maureen’s late husband’s family years ago.

Victor “Shelly” Sullivan and his wife Lenrose visit the shop and specifically inquire about these rare items. Not only is it suspicious that this shell collector should arrive around the time Maureen found the art, but Emrys insists that Sullivan’s wife is an imposter because Lenrose is dead. A woman’s corpse the police have been unable to identify was discovered by the Fig Ladies, a group who formed an online fig appreciation society. They’re meeting on Ocracoke for the first time in person and count Lenrose among their number, so the woman can’t possibly be dead.

But Lenrose’s behavior doesn’t quite match the person the Fig Ladies interacted with online. Now, Maureen and Emrys—with assistance from the Fig Ladies—must prove the real Lenrose is dead and unmask her mysterious pretender before a desperate murderer strikes again . . .

 

Writing as Margaret Welch

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Instagram or Bluesky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smashed Potatoes @LucyBurdette

 

LUCY BURDETTE: in my last post which featured an asparagus and white bean salad, I mentioned that I had served that dish with a roast chicken and smashed potatoes. After I wrote it, I remembered that I’d done a similar potato recipe 12 years ago! But that was a fancier version made by a professional cook in Topped Chef. It was loaded with cheese and scallions, and you can find that here.

But meanwhile, the new version is easy while still being delicious.

Ingredients

New potatoes, any color, 3 to 4 per person

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

Handful of fresh chives

Salt.

Preheat the oven to 390

Wash the potatoes and cut out any bad patches. Simmer the potatoes in boiling water that has been salted until just soft, 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size.

Drain the potatoes and let them dry.

Transfer them to a baking sheet covered by parchment paper. Spread the potatoes out and mash them with a potato masher. Paint each potato with the mixture of butter and oil and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake the tray of potatoes until they are starting to get brown and crispy, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and fresh chives. Serve with a bowl of sour cream and watch them disappear!

Next time I might try adding in some shredded cheddar for the last five minutes or so of the baking.

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including USA Today bestselling A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS.

Book 15 in the Key West series, THE MANGO MURDERS, will be in bookstores on August 12!

And the new trade paperback edition of A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS is out now!