Crispy sage with oil and spices
A lady who grows sage invites good luck, and no wonder. Sage purifies, clears negative emotional energy, and nurtures beauty and long life.
Raw sage leaves are leathery, but dry them with a bit of spice and oil, and you will be tempted to add these lovelies to everything. This summer we added Crispy sage to Squash blossoms with potato-nut cheese filling, and used them on these season these other recipes.
To make Crisp sage chips with oil and spices :
• Gather tips of sage bushes and small tender leaves, wipe with damp towel
• Soak leaves in a bowl of good vinegar for 30 minutes; I use rice vinegar, but apple cider and white wine would also be good. Save the vinegar for another use.
• Pat leaves dry and rub with olive oil on all sides
• Arrange on parchment and sprinkle with cumin powder and a little salt, and other seasonings as desired. The salt flavor will intensify as leaves dry.
• Fold the parchment to keep the sage leaves flat, and dry between two screens in a commercial dryer, OR dehydrate for in a warm oven until crispy.
Squash blossoms with potato-nut cheese filling and Sage crisps
The starchy potato purée blended with sweet cashews tastes similar to cottage cheese, with just a hint of celery-like crunch. Make Potato-nut cheese a day in advance because it needs to drain overnight in a yogurt strainer:
Ingredients
1 cup of potato-nut cheese filling
4 squash or pumpkin blossoms
Seasonings, I used 1 Tbs. garlic oil and a little minced fresh garlic , plus 1/2 tsp. dried sage
Green leaves and mints to garnish
Olive oil
Red pepper flakes
Taste potato-nut cheese and adjust seasoning with dried herbs, garlic oil and garlic. Divide the filling between the four blossoms and fill using spoons. Arrange filled blossoms with mint and green leaves, drizzling with oil and red pepper before serving. Try with eggplant bacon chips.
I like to fill my flowers while they are still on the vine in the garden, wide open in the morning . Take with you a plate, scissors, spoons, and your filling. Fill an open blossom, cut about one inch down the stem, stack on a plate. Keep cool until meal time.
Blossoms are also sometimes available fresh at farmer's markets. You may be able to get them to open more if you put the stems in cool water.
Potato-nut cheese filling, makes about one cup
1 cup cashews, soaked for 2-3 hours
1 raw Russet potato peeled and chopped
3/4 cup water
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. salt
Puree chopped potato and cashews with 1/2 cup of water in a food processor. Add the pureed ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth with the remaining 1/4 cup of water. Stir in salt and any other desired seasonings. Drain overnight in a yogurt strainer or cheese cloth suspended over a bowl. Best served within 24 hours after draining because the cheese will darken a little after that, although the taste is still good.
More uses for dried-spiced sage crisps:
• with poached eggs
• with raw tuna and lemon tamari
• on sweet potato cakes or with roasted sweet potatoes
• top butternut or carrot soup
• as a garnish to white bean or hummus recipes
Medicinal sage
• Avoid eating large amounts of sage, especially if you are pregnant, because it can have a hallucinogenic effect or otherwise effect your nerves.
• Sage is astringent and has a bleaching agent. The raw leaves rubbed on teeth will whiten them, the juice will strengthen the gums. I found this really works, so I always plant sage near a doorway in case I'm inspired to do some natural tooth-whitening.
• A tea of sage is said to darken hair and also keep it from falling out, but being light haired, I've decided not to try this!
