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Friday Favorite: Sage

February 24th, 2012

When it comes to herbs my favorite has to be sage. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I love it’s wonderfully complex flavor.

Maybe it’s the fact that stuffing is my favorite Thanksgiving side dish (as long as it’s got a good amount of sage). Maybe it’s how it tastes perfect with poultry or sausage. Or perhaps it’s how it perfectly flavors a big pot of bean soup. To me sage tastes like pure comfort.

As a result of my love of sage, I have an abundance of it in the gardens of Chiot’s Run. I have a few different varieties and I plan on adding as many of the varieties that Richter’s carries that I can (at least of the edible kinds). Coming in second to sage has to be thyme as my next favorite culinary herb.

What’s your favorite herb and which is your favorite dish to make with it?

16 Comments to “Friday Favorite: Sage”
  1. Andrea Duke on February 24, 2012 at 6:33 am

    I started some sage seeds the other day for the first time and will just hope for the best. I have been reading they are really slow to germinate and has a low success rate. We’ll see!!

    My favorite herbs are rosemary (with potatoes) and basil (with tomatoes).

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  2. gabe on February 24, 2012 at 8:22 am

    Sage is a stalwart in the garden, but I think my favorites have to be thyme (for cooler-weather dishes) and basil (in the summer), since it goes so well with fresh, sun-warmed tomatoes. Sometimes I’ll just pick some basil leaves and a couple cherry tomatoes, wrap a leaf around each tomato, and snack while I’m walking around the rest of the gardens.

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  3. Songbirdtiff on February 24, 2012 at 8:36 am

    Sage is one of my favorite flavors and it’s one that I forgot to grow last year! This year I have a spot planned for it in the garden.

    Reply to Songbirdtiff's comment

  4. Rhonda on February 24, 2012 at 8:45 am

    Rosemary for its fragrance and basil for it’s flavor.

    Reply to Rhonda's comment

  5. Marcia on February 24, 2012 at 11:31 am

    Oh my, to pick just one! I love fresh dill and that first taste in a salad in early summer is always such a treat. But I think my favorite is fennel. It`s great with fish and I love fennel seeds in glazed carrots. Although I love fresh parsley pesto too!

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  6. Sincerely, Emily on February 24, 2012 at 11:50 am

    I love sage for a few reasons. It has great flavor, I can cut it and put it in a vase and it is pretty. It has beautiful lavender flowers in the spring and it can handle the extreme heat and drought in S. TX! I have several that are growing and just adding 4 more this past summer because they do so well here. Also have 3 Jerusalem Sage plants growing that do super well in our climate. Not an edible, but nice. It is hard to pick a favorite herb. Basil is right up there and rosemary too. I have a thyme that I love the fragrance of – Providence or Provencal I think is it called, but I enjoy smelling ti so much, I haven’t cooked with it yet. ha

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  7. Leanne on February 24, 2012 at 12:56 pm

    Basil, hands down. Summer is fresh bread, melted cheese, thick slices of tomato, salt, pepper and a big handful of basil on top! Mmmmm…
    Second would be rosemary. I havent had much experience with sage, I’ll have to make some room for it this year.

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  8. Karen on February 24, 2012 at 1:14 pm

    Dill! For sure it’s my favorite! I love to put it in my potatoes or on sliced carrots with butter when I bake them. Mmmmm!

    Reply to Karen's comment

  9. Brittany P. on February 24, 2012 at 1:23 pm

    My favorite herb is dill, followed by parsley and chives. My family of southerners have a cow if I use strong flavored herbs in cooking so when I use sage and the like, I have to chop it very very small so they can’t see it. ;o)

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  10. Domestic Executive on February 24, 2012 at 2:19 pm

    Picking would be like choosing which of your children is favourite. For me all herbs are wonderful each with their own characteristic and purpose. Parsley is the one we use the most along with cilantro, mint, basil, thyme, rosemary….you see my problem!

    Reply to Domestic Executive's comment

    • Susy on February 25, 2012 at 4:41 pm

      It is so hard to pick isn’t it as herbs are all so wonderful and have so many distinct characteristics that make them each wonderful in their own way!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  11. KimH on February 24, 2012 at 5:15 pm

    I agree with DE.. that is a toughie.. I have 2 big ol sage plants that just keep going & going.. they’re happy campers.

    My favorite herb is really a spice and that is cumin.. and next to that is cilantro & garlic.. My favorite dish is anything those 3 are in. ;)
    Tacos, salsas, roasts, chicken…

    I also really love rosemary & thyme too.. marjoram is another favorite as well.. sigh.. as are the mints.. I have issues. ;)

    Reply to KimH's comment

  12. Kathi Cook on February 24, 2012 at 10:53 pm

    I love them all! Brown butter with cripsy sage over pumpkin ravioli is my favorite autumn meal.I also grow fresh mint to put in my lemonade,iced tea, and in a warm tomato viniagrette that I put over lamb. I love how easy it is to grow fresh herbs.

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  13. Vonnie on February 25, 2012 at 1:51 pm

    I adore sage and use it in many ways but my favourite use is a mix of sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme and garlic all roughly chopped and mixed with coarse sea salt, cracked black pepper and a little extra virgin olive oil. This is great as a rub for belly of pork and placed under the joint as a bed of fresh herbs during cooking. A long, slow cook results in fall apart meat and dark, crispy skin. If the skin’s not crispy enough, you can remove it with a sharp knife and brown it under the broiler whilst the meat is resting – result the most delicous pork with crackling – perfect with a sauce made from apples cooked in cider. Yummy!

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  14. Chef Debbi on February 25, 2012 at 3:42 pm

    I love sage, thyme, Italian parsley but I love anything lemon so even though it’s really a shrub or bush, lemon verbena is considered an herb. It’s great in all kinds of dishes but I love it when it flowers, little lacy white blossoms, I use it in flower arrangements around the house and it makes an exceptional tea.

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    • Susy on February 25, 2012 at 3:52 pm

      So many good ones right – so hard to choose one favorite!

      Reply to Susy's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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