Happy Birthday, Pepper! Celebrating with spice blends and a giveaway!

** Giveaway closed **

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: Happy Birthday to Pepper Reece, the star of my Spice Shop mysteries! I've long known her birthday is June 2 -- by no small coincidence, the birthday of my BFF. Why that day? Why not? 

Series readers tell me how much they like Pepper, for her smarts, her loyalty, and her determination to use her skills to make the world a better place, by solving crime -- and by serving up tasty spices and blends. So today, I thought I'd share a few of her favorite blends, each of them my variation on a classic. Each has appeared in a book and on the blog, so you can follow the links to favorite recipes using the blends.

Two lucky winners will receive a $10 gift card to Bookshop. org. Talk to me in the comments for a chance to win -- tell me your favorite herb blend, a recipe you've tried from the series, or something you like about Pepper. Or guess her age! (Be sure to leave your email address.)

Reader Tracie took A&P to the Market!

I shared my Herbes de Provence recipe, inspired by a delicious trip to France, in my very first post for Mystery Lovers' Kitchen as a member of the crew, which talks about my love for Seattle's Pike Place Market, where the Spice Shop series is set, and shares a recipe for Potato and Broccoli Frittata. which originally appeared in Assault and Pepper, the first Spice Shop Mystery. (I'd been a guest before that.) The blend remains a household staple, especially good on potatoes and eggs, but in other dishes, too. I also love it in these Salted Olive Crisps. 

Herbes de Provence

A savory touch, to transport your taste buds.

2½ tablespoons dried oregano
2½ tablespoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried savory
2 tablespoons dried crushed lavender flowers
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried sage

Mix spices in a small bowl. Store in a jar with a tightly fitting lid. Makes just over half a cup.
As with all herb blends, experiment with your own touches. Let your taste be your guide. Other frequent additions: rosemary, sweet marjoram, or fennel seed. (Marjoram and oregano are distinct herbs but closely related and can be substituted for each other in some recipes.) Try a blend with whatever combination of the suggested herbs you have on hand. Then, next summer, grow a pot of lavender on your deck or in a sunny window!

Herbes de Provence are spectacular sprinkled on sautéed potatoes, rubbed on chicken before grilling, or best of all, in roast chicken and potatoes. Add them to a lamb or a vegetable stew—think eggplant, tomatoes, and zucchini, maybe some cannellini (white beans). Use them to season homemade croutons or tomato sauce.

Wrap a teaspoon of Herbes de Provence in cheese cloth and tie with kitchen string to make an herb bouquet, also called a bouquet garni. Drop it into a small jar of olive oil for a few days to make an infusion for salads or sautées.

Pepper’s Italian Herb Blend 

Jerry finds Killing Thyme a tasty treat!

Next up, Pepper's Italian herb blend. I first shared this in KILLING THYME, the 3d Spice Shop Mystery, in which Pepper investigates when an old friend of her mother's---a woman long thought to be dead---returns to Seattle and sets up shop in Pike Place Market.  

This is a good basic blend that you can adjust for your own taste. Remember that blends take a few hours for the flavors to meld; because of the mildness of these herbs, you can use the blend generously right away, and taste how the flavors improve over time.

3 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoons dried thyme
4 teaspoons dried marjoram
4 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried sage
2 teaspoons dried garlic flakes or garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried rosemary (break the needles with a mortar and pestle or in a small bowl with the back of a sturdy spoon)

Mix herbs in a small bowl. Yield: about 10 tablespoons, just over ½ cup.

A few recipe suggestions: This Herbed Black Bean and Pasta Recipe from Killing Thyme is---well, killer! (If you've read the book, you may remember what I mean!) As your summer garden comes on, , try it in this Late Summer Veggie Saute. And I used it recently in this Tomato Lovers' Minestrone, inspired by a bowl of soup in an airport restaurant!

Herbed Black Bean Pasta

Pumpkin Spice Blend is a perennial favorite at the Spice Shop. To be honest, I first created it for Butter Off Dead, the third book in my Food Lovers' Village mysteries, set in fictional Jewel Bay, Montana, based on the town where Mr. Right and I live. Erin Murphy is the star of the series, with her mother Francesca, aka Fresca, a hit with readers, too. And while Fresca is a bit of a food snob, she adores this blend Erin gave her for her morning coffee---and adds it to cookies, pound cake, and other treats as well. So when I created the Spice Shop mysteries, it was obvious that Pepper and her staff and customers would love it as much as Erin, Francesca, and I do! 

Fresca’s Pumpkin Spice Coffee Blend 

from Butter Off Dead by Leslie Budewitz

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1-1/2 teaspoons ground allspice or cloves, or a blend

dash of ground cardamom

1 teaspoon dried orange or lemon peel

Mix together in a small bowl and store in a jar or tin with a tight lid. For a pot of drip coffee, add ½ to 1 full teaspoon of the spice blend to the ground coffee. For a single cup of espresso, drip coffee, or French press coffee, use 1/4 teaspoon to start, until you know how much tastes just right to you. 

Turbinado sugar is a good sweetener with this blend; add it to your cup or the blend. Feel free to experiment with the amounts and other spices, such as a vanilla bean. Trust your own taste buds, and have fun! 

Thanks for taking this journey with Pepper and me. Food, flavor, and friends---what could be better? Leave a comment (with your email address; US mailing addresses only, please) for a chance to win a gift card to Bookshop.org. And remember, stories are the spice of life. 

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. 

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.

Late Summer Veggie Saute #recipe from @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE B:  Impossible to say which are more delish, the first local veggies of the season or the last. Happily, we’re not at the end of the season yet, not even here in Northwest Montana. I wasn’t much of a gardener this year, but I succumbed to the beauty at the local farm stand and found myself with too many unplanned vegetables. (I’m sure you know exactly what I mean!) This turned out to be the perfect combo, using some of my surprise harvest. We served it as a side with leftover grilled chicken. It would also pair well with beef, fish, or pork, and go beautifully over pasta, with a little Parmesan or Romano.

I used a classic Italian seasoning – here's the recipe for my Italian herb blend, from Killing Thyme, the third Spice Shop mystery.

Vary the flavor any way you’d like. I didn’t add garlic, instead using a glug of garlic-infused olive oil along with the EVOO. Coriander, red pepper flakes, even sumac would be fun, too.

Enjoy!

Late Summer Veggie Saute

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, more or less
2-3 small to medium yellow squash, sliced
1 ½ cups green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 ½ cups grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in halves (or quarters if large)
1-1/2 tablespoons Italian herb blend
½ teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste 

Prepare all the vegetables. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the squash and green beans and cook, stirring frequently with a slotted spatula until slightly softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, herb blend, and salt, and continue cooking and stirring until tomatoes have softened, about 5 minutes.

From the cover of THE SOLACE OF BAY LEAVES, Spice Shop Mystery #5, out now in e-book and audio, in paperback October 20, 2020 (Seventh St. Books and Tantor Audio) : 

Pepper Reece never expected to find solace in bay leaves. 

But when her life fell apart at forty and she bought the venerable-but-rundown Spice Shop in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, her days took a tasty turn. Now she’s savoring the prospect of a flavorful fall and a busy holiday cooking season, until danger bubbles to the surface ... 

Between managing her shop, worrying about her staff, and navigating a delicious new relationship, Pepper’s firing on all burners. But when her childhood friend Maddie is shot and gravely wounded, the incident is quickly tied to an unsolved murder that left another close friend a widow. 

Convinced that the secret to both crimes lies in the history of a once-beloved building, Pepper uses her local-girl contacts and her talent for asking questions to unearth startling links between the past and present—links that suggest her childhood friend may not have been the Golden Girl she appeared to be. Pepper is forced to face her own regrets and unsavory emotions, if she wants to save Maddie’s life—and her own. 

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries, and the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories. Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village Mystery, won Best First Novel in 2013, following her 2011 win in Best Nonfiction. Her first historical short story, "All God's Sparrows," won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. Watch for her first standalone suspense novel, Bitterroot Lake, in April 2021 from Crooked Lane Books.

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

Swing by my website and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook where I announce lots of giveaways from my cozy writer friends.

Baked Spinach and Zucchini Pasta -- Leslie Budewitz serves up dinner

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  A few weeks ago, I shared our version of Skillet Lasagna from the winter issue of Country Living Magazine. 

We found another good pasta bake in the same issue, and I’m sharing it now. I made some changes—I usually do—that made it easier, especially for smaller households.

The original called for ziti, smooth tubes, 2-3" long. We had penne, similar but ridged, to grab the sauce, and they worked beautifully. Your choice. 

Canned crushed tomatoes are proof that the gods love us. Use your favorite Italian herb blend, which might be mine, from Killing Thyme, the third Spice Shop mystery.

You’ll see from the photos that the saucepan I used to cook the vegetables got a little crowded. I added the spinach in batches, and it wilted, as spinach does, when I stirred it in to the hot tomato mixture, so all turned out well. Next time, though, I’ll cook the pasta while I’m prepping the vegetables and use the stockpot to cook them, adding the pasta and cheese mixture, and I’ve written the recipe that way. 

Smaller household tip: Instead of using the 13X9" pan originally called for, I used two smaller baking dishes, one 8X8 and the other 6X8. The smaller pan has a lid that seals well, so we froze it, unbaked. When the time comes, I’ll thaw it and bake as usual. 

Incidentally, turns out things bake better if you don’t accidentally turn off the oven while setting the timer. Not that you would do such a thing. 

By the time the oven error was discovered and the dish baked, I was really hungry, so the photos don’t show the salad, crispy bread, and glass of vino—but you won’t forget those either, I’m sure. 

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

Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Baked Spinach and Zucchini Pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil 

1 pound ziti or penne

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 - 15 ounce cans or 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

4 cups baby spinach, stemmed (chop the leaves if they’re big babies)

3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped, plus more for garnish

1 cup ricotta

2 ounces grated Parmesan (about ½ cup), divided

1 - 2 teaspoons Italian herb blend

2 medium zucchini, cut into half-moons

8 ounces low-moisture mozzarella, grated (about 2 cups)

additional parsley and basil for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil or spray a 9X13 baking dish or 2 smaller baking dishes and set aside. 

In a stock pot, cook pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain.

Using the same stock pot, heat oil over medium-low. Add onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Saute, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender, 5-6 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, spinach, parsley, and basil. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until spinach is wilted, 4 to 6 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and herb blend. 

When the tomato mixture is cooked, add the pasta, cheese mixture, and zucchini. Stir well to fully mix. Taste and adjust seasonings. 

Spoon half the tomato-pasta mixture into your prepared baking dishes. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella. Top with remaining tomatoes and pasta, mozzarella, and 1/4 cup Parmesan. 

Bake until bubbling and cheese on top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Garnish with parsley and basil and serve.

If you are freezing one dish, do not bake. Allow to fully cool before covering and freezing. To bake, thaw and bake at 350 degrees, 30-35 minutes or until bubbly with a golden-brown top. 

Buon appetivo!

💕 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. 

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.

#bookclub Herbed Black Bean Pasta Salad

 LESLIE BUDEWITZ: Oh, how I love book clubs! I’ve belonged to two, in different communities, each for about eight years, and that once-a-month gathering was such a treat. People—men and women in the first, women only in the second—who loved books as much as I did, who cherished time reading and discussing, and who introduced me to their faves and welcomed the chance to meet mine. That is true friendship.

Wine and food help, too.

As an author, I enjoy visiting book clubs. Readers ask great questions! Even readers who don’t read a lot of mysteries dive in, finding themes and symbols, relating to the characters and their problems as if they knew them. And that satisfies me deeply, because one of my goals as a storyteller is to illuminate a bit of life. Maybe we haven’t found a dead body on the doorstep, thank goodness, but we’ve all faced loss and grief, dealt with secrets and betrayal, and felt the ache of love and loneliness. If my characters’ responses help a reader make a little sense of some aspect of this human experience, I’m beyond happy.

This salad, from KILLING THYME (out October 4), is great for bookclubs where a light dinner is served, or for a potluck, because it’s hearty without being heavy, easy to transport, and doesn’t need to be served hot. It’s also colorful and a little unusual, always a plus! At home, it’s terrific by itself or as a side dish, especially with chicken or salmon. Whole-grain pasta and beans make it an excellent source of protein for vegetarians—something Laurel keeps in mind when stocking Ripe’s deli case. (Or she would, if she lived anywhere but on the page!)

You’ll love the color the turmeric and fresh herbs add—and the combination of fresh herbs in the salad and the dried herbs in the dressing gives an extra punch of flavor.

Leave a comment below for a chance to win a signed copy of KILLING THYME, out October 4! TWO winners will be chosen!

Herbed Black Bean and Pasta Salad

For the salad:
1 pound regular or whole-grain penne pasta
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 to 3 carrots, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow or green bell pepper, chopped
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
¼ to ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

For the dressing:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon Italian herb blend blend (below)
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and rinse in cool water to stop the cooking. Meanwhile, drain and rinse the beans and chop the vegetables and fresh herbs. Place the beans, veggies, and herbs in a large bowl. Add the pasta and stir to mix.

To make the dressing, place all the ingredients in a blender or a small food processor, or use an immersion blender, and mix until smooth. Add the dressing to the salad mixture and toss gently until well combined. (You may fear not having enough dressing, but don’t worry—it will surprise you!)

Serve warm or chilled, by itself or over a bed of chilled hearty greens, such as a mixture of spinach, arugula, romaine, or other sturdy lettuces.

Serves 8 to 10.

Pepper’s Italian Herb Blend 

This is a good basic blend that you can adjust for your own taste. Remember that blends take a few hours for the flavors to meld; because of the mildness of these herbs, you can use the blend generously right away, and taste how the flavors improve over time.

3 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoons dried thyme
4 teaspoons dried marjoram
4 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried sage
2 teaspoons dried garlic flakes or garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried rosemary (break the needles with a mortar and pestle or in a small bowl with the back of a sturdy spoon)

Mix herbs in a small bowl. Yield: about 10 tablespoons, just over ½ cup.

Discussion Questions for KILLING THYME 

KILLING THYME releases October 4. I hope this recipe and these questions make it the perfect choice for your next book club meeting! (Find discussion questions for my other books on the For Book Clubs page of my website.)

1. Pepper’s had her challenges hiring staff for the Spice Shop, but she’s back to a full crew now. Do Matt and Cayenne seem like good additions?

2. Lena, Pepper’s mother, makes her first appearance in the series in KILLING THYME. Oh, mothers and daughters! Discuss.

3. Lena says of Bonnie, once called Peggy, that she craves home and community, but repeatedly makes choices that keep her from getting what says she wants. Do you know anyone like that?

4. In this book, Pepper experiences tensions with both Kristen, her life-long best friend, and Sandra, her key employee. Do you think she handles them well?

5. Mr. Adams is both sweet and crotchety, pained by some changes in his neighborhood and pleased with others. How has your neighborhood changed, and how do you feel about those changes?

6. Pepper’s new bridal registry could give the Spice Shop’s bottom line a nice boost. But at what cost? Discuss weddings and the Bridezilla-Momzilla phenomenon! What’s the most unusual wedding gift you received?

7. Pepper’s relationship with Tag reaches an unexpected place of peace in this book. Should they get back together, or not?

8. Do you have a favorite use for thyme?

9. Did you identify the killer? Who did you suspect?

10. What’s your favorite recipe from the book?

Leave a comment below for a chance to win a signed copy of KILLING THYME. TWO winners will be chosen, on Thurs, Sept. 23. The discussion questions may prompt some comments, even though you haven't read the book yet! 

From the cover of KILLING THYME. coming October 4 and available for pre-order now: 

At Seattle Spice in the Pike Place Market, owner Pepper Reece is savoring her business success, but soon finds her plans disrupted by a killer…

Pepper Reece’s to-do list is longer than the shopping list for a five-course dinner, as she conjures up spice blends bursting with seasonal flavor, soothes nervous brides fretting over the gift registry, and crosses her fingers for a rave review from a sharp-tongued food critic. Add to the mix a welcome visit from her mother, Lena, and she’s got the perfect recipe for a busy summer garnished with a dash of fun. 

While browsing in the artists’ stalls, Pepper and Lena drool over stunning pottery made by a Market newcomer. But when Lena recognizes the potter, Bonnie Clay, as an old friend who disappeared years ago, the afternoon turns sour. To Pepper’s surprise, Bonnie seems intimately connected to her family’s past. When Bonnie is murdered only days later, Pepper is determined to uncover the truth. 

But when Pepper roots out long-buried secrets, will she be digging her own grave?

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries—and the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. The president of Sisters in Crime, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat Ruff, a cover model and avid bird-watcher.

Swing by my website  and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook, where I often share news of new books and giveaways from my cozy writer friends.

Savory Palmiers -- a festive appetizer for any occasion!

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  Here at the Kitchen, we decided ages ago that using commercial puff pastry is not “cheating.” If you’ve ever tried making your own, you know how hard it is. And the ready-made pastry (the grumpy word lover in me refuses to say pre-made, because how can you make something before you make it?) is perfectly fine, as well as tasty.

And who doesn’t love a little puff pastry treat at a holiday party – even if it’s just a party for one or two at home by the fire? 

In my first mystery, Death al Dente: A Food Lovers’ Village Mystery (2013, winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel), Erin Murphy, my main character, cooks up a Festa di Pasta as a summer kickoff in her hometown of Jewel Bay, Montana. One of the desserts served, even though they’re not Italian, are Palmiers, aka French sugar cookies, made with puff pastry and sugar. (The recipe is in the book – I wasn’t part of the Kitchen then, and haven’t shared the recipe here.) They’ve become a family favorite.

So when I saw a recipe for Savory Palmiers, I was all in! I’ve adapted the recipe a fair bit from the original, but it’s still full of buttery flavor and Italian herbs. (Here's my Italian herb blend recipe; scroll down a bit!) 

Cheese cookies, as Mr. Right calls them, are the perfect appetizers with a holiday cocktail or mocktail, and also go beautifully alongside tomato soup or even an omelet. (Shown with my Tomato-Orange Soup, another household fave.) 

And you’ve got to love an appetizer that looks more difficult than it is – bringing us back to the magic of puff pastry! 

These can be prepared in advance and frozen, in logs, then sliced and baked like – well, like cookies! If you’ve got a bottle of herbed olive oil, this is a great opportunity to use it, although regular EVOO works just fine. The palmiers can be served warm or at room temperature, making them an easy treat for a potluck as well as at home. 

Wishing you all the joys of the holiday season!

One lucky reader will win an e-book short story, "The Christmas Stranger: A Food Lovers' Village Mystery," in which Erin does a small good deed for a mysterious stranger, who repays her in surprising ways. Scroll down for details.

That's the real bridge in my hometown, the model for Jewel Bay, and the site of a pivotal scene in "The Christmas Stranger." (Thanks to the Bigfork, Montana Chamber of Commerce for permission to use the photo!)

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

Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

SAVORY PALMIERS 

1 package puff pastry

olive oil 

4 tablespoons Italian herb blend 

pinch of salt

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, preferably sharp, shredded

1 egg

1/2 cup grated Parmesan 

Thaw the puff pastry sheets on a large cutting board, lightly floured. (Typically about 20 minutes.) Roll each sheet to a rectangle roughly 12X14 inches. 

Brush each sheet with oil. In a small bowl, mix the herbs and salt. Sprinkle each sheet with half the Italian herbs (2 tablespoons each) and half the cheddar (1/4 cup each). 

Working from the long side, roll the pastry to the center. Rotate your cutting board and roll from the other side. Repeat with second sheet. Place on a plate or baking tray topped with parchment paper and freeze for 10 minutes. (If you’re making the palmiers in advance, wrap well and leave in freezer.) 

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Remove logs from the freezer. The ends of your logs may be uneven; trim if needed. Cut into slices, about 1/3" thick. (Each log will make 18 palmiers.) Place on the prepared baking sheet. Whisk the egg with one tablespoon water and brush the tops of each palmier. Sprinkle with Parmesan. 

Bake until the pastry begins to puff and the tops begin to turn golden, about 6-8 minutes. Flip and bake until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes more.

Makes 36. (Trust me, that’s not too many.) 

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

Are there treats -- sweet or savory -- that you save for holidays or other festive occasions? For me, it's a bowl of salted, roasted mixed nuts and a pan full of homemade fudge, but these savory palmiers are joining the list! 

One reader will win an e-copy of "The Christmas Stranger: A Food Lovers' Village Short Story. When Erin does a small favor for a mysterious man, lives change in unlikely -- and miraculous -- ways. 

Leave your email address to be entered; the winner will be announced Thursday, December 18. (The story was originally published in Carried to the Grave and Other Stories, so if you have the collection, you've already got the story.)

And if all this talk of Christmas treats and books whets your appetite for more, take a look at As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles: A Food Lovers' Village Mystery and Peppermint Barked: A Spice Shop Mystery. Both are available in paperback, ebook, and audio. And remember, books fit perfectly in any holiday stocking! 

Have you read the latest Spice Shop mystery, Lavender Lies Bleeding?

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. 

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.