Sage

Botanically it is Salvia officinalis. Emotionally it is stuffing in the Thanksgiving turkey. Medicinally it has been used for thousands of years.

This interesting woody stemmed plant with its slightly fuzzy, gray-green leaves is native to the Mediterranean region but it has made its way into most of the cuisines of the world. Ancient Romans considered it part of the official pharmacopoeia, Charlemagne ordered it planted on the German Imperial Farms, and modern studies have found it can aid digestion and memory function.

Of course it is an ingredient in my heirloom recipe for turkey stuffing as well as the key ingredient in seasoned ground pork that is forced into casings and called sausage. My great-aunt Sophia used it in vegetable soup. I like to use it fresh in rolls with parsley, rosemary, and thyme as the song suggests.

One of my favorite recipes starring sage is one that fits my simple and fresh criteria. The sage leaves infuse the chicken with flavor then get sautéed in the olive oil and butter until they are crispy.

Lemon Sage Chicken

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves weighing about 6 ounces each

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 Tablespoons olive oil

28 fresh whole sage leaves

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Put the chicken breasts in a shallow glass or stainless bowl or a zip lock bag. Add the lemon juice, oil and sage leaves. Turn the chicken to coat evenly and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. This is an important step in browning the chicken. Strain the marinade into a small bowl. Remove the sage leaves and press the liquid that clings to them into the marinade. Reserve the leaves.

In a large nonreactive skillet with lots of room for the chicken and the leaves, melt the butter and the olive oil over moderately high heat until hot and bubbly. Place the chicken breasts in the skillet smooth side down and cook until nicely browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Add the sage leaves and cook until the chicken is browned on the bottom and the sage leaves are crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and remove the chicken and sage to a warm plate and cover. Pour the remaining oil from the pan then reheat the skillet until hot. Pour in the reserved marinade and stir with a wooden spoon scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. As soon as the sauce becomes a brown glaze—less than a minute—pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Eight Ball

It’s certainly not a measure of cocaine, and definitely not a pool ball. It’s a type of zucchini that grows in a globe form rather than the traditional shape. Because the traditional green and yellow summer squash are so easy to find at the market I like to plant squash that have different forms. In addition to eight ball, I like the yellow scallop, sunburst and ones called flying saucer that are star shaped. I love super fresh summer squash. It has delicate skin and mild creamy flesh that is so full of moisture that it literally squeaks when I bite into it.




















Squash is native to South America. Columbus took the native seeds back to Spain and from there squash spread across Europe. The Italians are credited for developing zucchini. Zucchini is one of the easiest garden plants to grow. Put a few seeds in the soil, keep them watered and you will have squash. It is also one of the most prolific plants. The fruit can grow inches in one day. The largest zucchini is on record at being 5’9” long and weighing 65 pounds! I have a relative who tells me that one summer his garden produced so many zucchini that after he gave them to family, friends, and acquaintances he still had many more than he could use. Then a devious idea hit him. He put all of his extra squash in his car and drove to the nearest large parking lot. Then he patrolled the lot for unlocked cars and when he found one deposited a few zucchinis in the front seat. Imagine the poor driver’s surprise when he got back to the car after his shopping trip!

I solve the problem of having too many huge squash that are woody and filled with hard seeds by harvesting them when they are small. With eight ball they are ready when they are anywhere from golf ball size with the blossom still attached to tennis ball size. Simple preparation with fresh ingredients is the best way to enjoy summer veggies. I like to lightly steam these little zuchs and toss them with butter, salt, and pepper. Sometimes I want a zucchini dish with a little more depth of flavor so I prepare the following:





















Sautéed Zucchini

2 Tablespoons salted butter

One medium to small sweet red or white onion, sliced

One medium sized zucchini, sliced
or two to three small zucchinis, sliced
or six to eight whole baby zucchini with the blossoms attached


Four fresh large mushrooms, sliced

One medium homegrown tomato, chopped

Six fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (sliced)

About a Tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, chopped

1 teaspoon salt—more or less to your taste

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper—more or less to your taste

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until they are softened slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, mushrooms, and tomato. Sauté a few minutes then cover the pan and steam just until the zucchini are cooked to your liking. I like mine a little firm so I only steam them a minute or two. At this point you should have a lovely pink sauce in the bottom of the pan from the tomato, zucchini, and mushroom juices. Add the basil, oregano, salt, and pepper and toss to blend. I serve this with pasta, rice, or bread so you can soak up the sauce. You can add or substitute other fresh veggies like green pepper, sugar snap peas, beans, or whatever sounds good to you. This makes four generous servings.

Lovely Lettuce

Eating dinner outside is one of the greatest gifts of spring. When dinner is a large salad with fresh garden lettuce it’s even better. After dinner, if your husband happens to snap a photo of you smelling the wisteria and it looks like a Maxfield Parrish print … that’s the whipped cream on dessert.


Every January I order at least one package of my favorite lettuce seeds, the spring mix from The Cooks Garden. By late winter the thought of plucking those delicate green leaves from my garden and tossing them into the world’s freshest salad captivates me. Every March I hold the package in my hand and read the planting instructions on the front of the envelope.

“Lettuce can be planted as soon as the soil is workable in early spring” it says.

I know that lettuce is a cool weather crop and that seeds will germinate in soil as cold as 40 degrees. It’s the as soon as the soil is workable part that gives me problems. It seems that my soil and the weather work against me. If the soil isn’t frozen then it is usually far too wet to plant in late March. But this year there was a three day window where conditions were perfect and I got those lettuce seeds in the dirt!




















We have been enjoying our fresh garden lettuce for the past few weeks and if my second planting of more heat tolerant varieties does as well as the first we will be in lettuce at least another month. So how do I dress this lovely bowl of delicate leaves? Usually simple balsamic vinaigrette is an honest highlight to a salad but when I crave more verdant intensity I turn to Green Goddess.

The legend has it that Green Goddess dressing was invented at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in 1923 for a banquet in honor of stage actor George Arlis who was staring in the hit play Green Goddess. I think the dressing is a hit but I tend to ad lib with the original ingredients.



Green Goddess Dressing

¾ cup fresh parsley sprigs, packed

1/3 cup light but REAL mayonnaise

3 Tablespoons light sour cream

3 Tablespoons plain yogurt

2 Tablespoons sliced green onion

1 Tablespoon cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil

2 teaspoons anchovy paste

1 clove garlic, halved or quartered


I play fast and loose with the ¾ cup parsley. I add most every green I have in the herb garden. Parsley is still the major element but I have been known to add fresh dill, cilantro, sage, oregano, and tarragon in varying amounts depending upon the food it will accompany.





















Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor, cover and process until smooth. There will be tiny flecks of dark green in the light green dressing. This will be enough for four main course salads.

I usually add shrimp and/or crab to the lettuce when I serve this. This dressing makes great seafood dip and is also great for pasta salad.