By I closed on a beautiful home in Hyde Park this week. The buyers — a young couple, first-timers — looked at the keys the way I looked at my real estate license in 2012: like they were holding the future in their hands.
Sunday dinner at Mama's was the usual controlled chaos. Mama made roasted chicken and it was, as always, extraordinary. The table held fourteen people. The arguments held more opinions than the chairs held bodies. This is how Greek families communicate: loudly, with food, over each other.
Some weeks are ordinary. This was an ordinary week. I sold houses. I cooked dinner. I called Mama. I drove to Tarpon Springs on Sunday. The extraordinary thing about ordinary weeks is that they are the ones you miss most when they are gone.
I made moussaka because winter demands layers — eggplant, meat sauce, bechamel — each one building on the last like a warm blanket. The kitchen smelled like cinnamon and the Gulf breeze and I thought: this is what survives. Not the money or the stress or the arguments about phyllo. The food survives. The recipes survive. The love baked into every dish survives.
The house was quiet this evening. I sat at the kitchen table with a glass of wine and the remains of dinner and I thought about all the tables I have sat at — Mama's table in Tarpon Springs, the table in the South Tampa house I lost, the table in the apartment where I started over, this table where I have fed my children for years. Every table is a different chapter. The food connects them all.
When people ask me how my moussaka tastes the way it does, I tell them it starts before the eggplant hits the pan — it starts with the seasoning. This Greek seasoning blend is what I reach for every single time, whether I’m building a full moussaka on a cold winter Sunday or just dusting roasted vegetables before a weeknight dinner. After a week like this one, closing a deal and sitting at my kitchen table with the last of the wine and the smell of cinnamon still in the air, I wanted to share the one recipe that quietly holds everything else together.
Greek Seasoning
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 24 (approximately 1/2 teaspoon per serving)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
- 1/4 teaspoon dried minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine. Measure all herbs and spices into a small bowl and stir together until evenly blended.
- Store. Transfer to a small glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Label with the date and store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
- Use. Add to ground lamb or beef for moussaka, sprinkle over roasted vegetables, stir into olive oil for dipping bread, or use as a rub for roasted chicken. Start with 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons per pound of meat and adjust to taste.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 2 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 0g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 25mg