Sage is the Rage
You don't have to wait until fall to enjoy this herb.
We bought a house in the Hudson Valley three years ago. The main house was in great condition, but the adjoining in-law apartment was a complete disaster. The sink in the kitchen had a hole at the bottom and a bucket underneath, the bathroom was rotting, the whole place smelled- and someone was living there! Local friends helped us in our home search, and my friend Sara immediately brought over sage to burn once we closed. She had prepared dried sage and lit the end to make it smoke. We recited both the Catholic and the Native American prayers to cover our bases. I have to say, the vibe completely changed when we were done. I don’t care if it was psycho-somatic. Sage has long been used for medicinal and spiritual purposes.
I planted my herb garden in the shade of the one tree in our new yard- a Japanese maple. I do not rake the leaves under it, so I have amazing, natural compost there. I planted a small sage bush there soon after moving in, and it is now huge. I cut it back every spring and still have enough to spare for cooking and cocktails. For the longest time, I only used sage in the late summer/fall when pumpkins and butternut squash were in season, but I have since discovered more culinary uses.
This past weekend I hosted some friends for Memorial Day. I made the sage and gorgonzola flatbread below, and earlier in the week, I made a sage clementine tequila smash, also featured below. My friends LOVED the flatbread. For the crust, I used this recipe in my bread machine, but I’m sure you could also mix it in a Kitchen Aid and let it rise in the bowl. I don’t always allow it to rise in the bread machine. If I am pressed for time, I do the dough cycle and roll it out. I always pre-bake for 5 minutes in the oven, and then add toppings.
My cocktails often involve what’s growing in the garden and what fruit I have lying around. We have a constant supply of clementines in the house, so they often make their way into my cocktails. Since I am not much of a fruit grower, except for short-lived strawberries, I rely on the Misfit Market or the farmer’s market to source my fruit.
Clementine-Sage Tequila Smash (makes one cocktail)
Ingredients
1 clementine or 1/2 a navel orange
4-5 leaves fresh sage
2 oz tequila blanco
orange bitters
agave nectar or honey, to taste
In a cocktail shaker, muddle orange and sage leaves until the orange is juiced. Add the remaining ingredients and ice. Shake for 30 seconds then pour over ice in glass. Garnish with more sage leaves or flowers.
Sage-Gorgonzola Flatbread
Pizza dough
4 oz gorgonzola
1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced
pear, cored and sliced
a handful of sage leaves, chopped
Heat oven to 425. Roll out crust and prebake in oven for 5 minutes. Remove, and add gorgonzola, onion, pear and sage love the crust. Place back in oven for 10 minutes, and enjoy!