Starting Off the Year With Cooking Ideas

It's hard for me to believe we are nine days into 2011 and I'm just now on the blog. It's been chaotic to say the least. I've had two kids home sick, and my husband, but at least they waited to catch those nasty germs until after the holidays. I've been cleaning this weekend, and looking through recipes trying to find a few new recipes that might please everyone, not just one or two of us. Also, one of the things I received for Christmas was a revolving spice rack, and I've been looking over my notes with herb blend recipes and suggestions. I'll share a few of those, but first I had a couple of emails to answer from readers, and to share.

CORRECTION

I posted a waffle recipe in December and left off the amount of pancake mix, but I did fix it later. The post is here: http://oldtips.blogspot.com/2010/12/holiday-entertaining-breakfast-brunch.html Sorry about that:)

READER'S TIP
One of our readers, Jacqui, sent me this suggestion after seeing a salad recipe I shared. Thanks:)

Another salad that is great for Christmas--and especially if these ingredients are available-- is a spinach salad or green salad topped with tangerine pieces, avocados and any kind of nuts that you like. I like to dress it with a nut oil like walnut oil, avocado oil, hazelnut oil and an orange vinaigrette. Cuisine Perel makes a wonderful blood orange vinegar but it is pricey at $8.99 a bottle. It lasts and lasts but it is expensive. For a less expensive and equally good dressing I use either fig or pomegranate vinegar on this salad. It is absolutely wonderful. Thanks for such a great year round newsletter ! Jacqui in Monterey, CA

HERB BLENDS
Below are a few herb/spice blends to try this winter, using dried herbs.

Cajun Style Seasoning Mix

1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
Optional: 1/4 tsp. cumin

Combine and store in a glass jar.

Lemon and Herb Seasoning

2 tbsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dill
2 tbsp. onion powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried lemon peel (grind if it's too large)
Optional: 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper

You can use more dill, I just don't like it to overwhelm the other flavors. The salt and pepper is completely optional-- or use just one of them if you wish. This recipe doesn't have garlic powder, but you could add a small amount of that too. Combine the ingredients and store in a glass jar.

Italian Style Blend

1/2 cup dried oregano
1/2 cup dried basil
2 tbsp. dried sage
1 tbsp. dried thyme
2 tbsp. garlic powder (not salt)
1 tbsp. lemon pepper
1 tbsp. garlic pepper
2 tbsp. salt

This is a larger quantity but can be used with so many things that it should be used fairly quickly. I love flavored peppers instead of salt so I tend to have them on hand. If you don't, then you could substitute black pepper, and garlic powder. The lemon is nice, but it would taste fine without it.

On OFL I have some tips on using chili powder:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/chilipowder.html