Sage Advice

I love the color of sage; I actually just painted my kitchen a lovely shade of sage green. But I can’t say that I have always loved some of the foods that I have had that have been made using sage. Prime example; “Stuffing”, this thanksgiving the stuffing mix purchased from the store that was used to fill our holiday bird was actually medicinal. I’m not sure how much sage they put into those bread cubes but I can guarantee you that it was way too much.
My grandmother gave me a little sage advice on the usage of the powerful herb. My grandmother would say; “always use about a quarter less sage than what the recipe calls for and the taste should be perfect”. I have actually taken her advice and she was right. If a particular recipe calls for a teaspoon of sage I will cut that back to 3/4’s of a teaspoon. When it comes to using sage in a recipe less truly is more.

Sage Buttermilk Corn Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of butter, melted
3 tablespoons of minced fresh sage or 1 tablespoon of dried sage or my grandmother’s way….2 -3/4 tablespoons fresh or 3/4 of a tablespoon dried.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Make a hole in center. Mix buttermilk, eggs, butter and sage; add to dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened. Spoon into greased muffin pans and bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Yield 1 1/2 dozen.