Tapenade Seasoning Mix

I am a toast girl and so is my daughter. When she sees the bread coming out she yells 'toooooooast!' We spread all sorts of things on it- butter, jam, nut butters, avocado, cream cheese. We make brushetta, or melt cheese and top it with things like olives, tomatoes or cucumbers. Toast is our favorite breakfast food... and snack!

I wanted something new to put on our toast and since we like olives I thought it might be good to make some...

Tapenade Seasoning Mix (single use)

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic flakes
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

What else you'll need

2 cups pitted olives (I used one green, one black)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine mix, olives, oil and lemon juice and blend. I got a magic bullet for Valentine's Day so I used that. Some women want flowers and diamonds, I'll take kitchen gadgets any day!

Don't over blend. I made mine a bit too smooth but I realize now that it could have done with a few more chunks in it. The best way to do this is not to blend it all at once. Add some, blend it smooth, then add more and don't fully blend it.

We ate it on toast like we planned, but it's a great thing to serve with crackers at a party. You can use it as a sandwich spread or a pasta sauce or as a dip.

We will certainly be adding this one to the toast topping rotation!