Gwen’s Healing Garden

The #1 Web Site Gardening For The Soil Gardening For The Soul

Did You Know | Environmentally Friendly Gardening Products | Non-toxic Cleaning Products | Indoor Gardening With Foliage Plants

Subscribe to the FREE monthly GHG Newsletter and receive free the E-book A Book Of Quotes: Subscribe here

Blue Food Energy: Sage (Salvia officinalis)

By Gwen Nyhus Stewart

Baked Miniature Pumpkin

1 miniature pumpkin or sweet dumpling squash

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

1 to 2 tablespoons (15 – 30 mL) cream, milk, or marscarpone cheese

1 fresh or dried sage leaf

Grated Fontina or Gruyere cheese

Slice off the top 1/2-inch of the pumpkin, scoop out the seeds, and rub salt and pepper into the cavity. Pour in the cream, add the sage leaf and the Fontina or Gruyere cheese, replace the lid, and bake in a pan until tender, 35 to 45 minutes.
Take care not to overcook the squash or it might split and collapse in the oven.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash, 4 pounds (1.82 kg)

1 medium yellow onion

1 tablespoon (15 mL) unsalted butter or olive oil

1 tablespoon (15 mL) honey

6 sage leaves

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

4 cups (900 mL) chicken stock

1 cup (250 mL) Crème fraîche

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Prick the squash with a fork and place it whole on a sheet pan. Roast for 45 minutes in the oven until the squash has softened. Cool the squash, then cut it in half and remove the seeds. Peel the halves and cut into 2-inch chunks. Reserve.
Peel, trim, and coarsely chop the onion. Reserve.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the butter starts to brown, add the onion and saute until it is translucent and starts to brown, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the honey to the onions and cook until it bubbles. Add the squash chunks and sage. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the chicken stock and enough water to cover the squash by an inch. Bring the soup to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook the soup until the onions and squash are very tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add more liquid if necessary to keep the squash submerged.
Remove the pan from the heat and cool for 15 minutes.
Purée the soup in a blender. Do not fill the blender more than two-thirds full or you risk having the contents explode. Allow the steam to escape by removing the center plug in the lid and covering the hole with a thick towel to protect your hand. Hold the lid securely down and lift the towel slightly to allow the pressurized air to escape as you blend.
Strain through a coarse strainer if you want a smoother soup or return it directly to the pan; season it with salt and pepper to taste. Bring the finished soup back to a boil.
Ladle it into bowls and serve with a spiral of Crème fraîche, about 1 tablespoon (15 mL) per bowl.

Butternut Squash Soup with Sage

1 tablespoon (15 mL) vegetable oil

2 1/2 pounds (1.15 kg) butternut squash, peeled and seeded and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes

2 medium Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon (15 mL) sugar

1 teaspoon (5 mL) ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) cayenne pepper

3 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon (15 mL) butter

12 fresh sage leaves

Heat oil in saucepot over medium heat. Add squash, apples, and onion and cook until almost tender. Stir in sugar, coriander, and red pepper. Cook and stir 2 minutes.

Add broth. Heat to a boil. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until squash is tender.

Place cooked squash mixture in food processor, using a slotted spoon. Cover and blend until smooth, adding enough cooking liquid to make soup of desired consistency.

Heat butter in small skillet. Add sage and cook until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Reserve butter in skillet. Divide soup among 4 bowls. Drizzle each with sage butter and garnish with fried sage leaves.

Creamed Onions and Sage

24 small onions

10 fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 tablespoons (60 mL) butter

2 tablespoons (30 mL) all-purpose flour

2 cups (500 mL) half and half or whole milk

1 teaspoon (5 mL) sea salt

2 teaspoons (10 mL) dried sage

2 teaspoons (10 mL) lemon zest

2 teaspoons (10 mL) lemon juice

4 tablespoons (60 mL) chopped fresh parsley

2 pinches paprika

Peel onions and trim slightly at the top and bottom. Boil the onions gently in salted water until tender (about 30 minutes).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter one shallow baking dish.

Sauté the sliced mushrooms in the butter. Stir in the flour. Stir in the half and half or milk, sea salt, sage, 1/2 of the lemon peel and all of the lemon juice. Cook, stirring over medium heat until sauce thickens.

Place the cooked onions in the prepared baking dish and pour the mushroom sauce over them.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the top with the chopped parsley, remaining lemon peel and paprika to taste.

Fettuccini in Creamy Mushroom and Sage Sauce

8 ounces (250 g) spinach fettuccine pasta

1 tablespoon (15 mL) extra virgin olive oil

1 shallot, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

4 ounces (125 g) chopped fresh oyster mushrooms

1/2 cup (125 mL) heavy cream

1 tablespoon (15 mL) chopped fresh sage

sea salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.

Heat olive oil a medium saucepan over medium heat, and cook shallots and garlic until transparent. Stir in mushrooms, and cook until tender. Mix in heavy cream and sage. Cook and stir until thickened.

Toss sauce with cooked fettuccini, and season with salt and pepper to serve.

See Blue Coloured Foods in the Plants, Food Colours, & Recipes section of this web site, http://www.gwenshealinggarden.ca/Herbs.Rosemary.htm and http://www.gwenshealinggarden.ca/Recipes.htm for additional information about the healing properties of blue, phytonutrients, and recipes.

(See The Healing Garden: A Place Of Peace Chapter 7, Colour and Healing Energy, page 63 for more information about what the colour blue means and Chapter 8, Colour Energy, Plants, and Recipes pages 80 – 83 for information about using blue in the garden and recipes.)

This article can be added to your website for free: learn more

Home | Top

For more information or questions about material on this site contact www.gwenshealinggarden.ca/Contact_Form.htm