There exists, also, a belief among Piedmontese girls that in every Sage-leaf is concealed a little toad...
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In the past few years, Clary Sage has become one of my most cherished plants in the garden. In the early Summer, the flowers stand tall & delicate & have a beautiful, unimaginable purple hue. To me, the blossoms resemble little talons & they truly enchant my eye.
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This year, I have begun to experiment with adding Clary Sage leaves & flowers into my cooking. It is absolutely delicious. It all began one day in June, when I had remembered that once a long while ago, I stumbled upon a recipe for a Clary Sage Omelet (maybe it was from Susun Weed? If you have seen it, I would love to know its origins!). Regardless, Clary Sage Omelets became my go-to lunch over the summer. Soon the leaves & flowers were finding their way into other recipes & stirfry & breads.
There are still some leaves of Clary Sage in the garden & I recently harvested some to incorporate into an Apple Butter. Slather this spread on toast, in oatmeal, rye porridge, or atop of pancakes... you will not regret it.
This is a slowly cooked kind of preparation. I recommend a crockpot for this venture ~
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Apple Clary Spread
You will need:
-- 3 pounds of fresh apples, peeled, cored, & diced
-- 1 cups of turbinado sugar
-- 1 cinnamon stick
-- a goodly handful of Clary Sage leaves
-- 1/4 tsp. salt
-- a good dash of vanilla extract
-- 1-3 drops of your favorite flower, stone, or environmental essence
-- a slow-cooker or crockpot
To make:
-- In a bowl, combine your sugar & salt
-- Place your apples in the crockpot, sprinkling them with the sugar/salt mix, & stir
-- Add the cinnamon stick & clary sage, stirring to combine
-- Set your crockpot to the low setting for 8 hours
-- In about 8 hours, check on your apples (they should be broken down & juicy)
-- Remove the clary sage leaves & cinnamon stick - add the clary sage to your compost, but keep the cinnamon stick
-- Use an immersion blender (or regular blender) to puree the apple butter. In regular blender, give yourself enough space in the blender so it doesn't overflow (you may have to do stages of blending)
-- Spoon your blend back in the slow cooker
-- Add your vanilla, flower essence, & cinnamon stick, stirring well
-- Cook for another two hours on high until your butter looks dark brown & thick (you can cook longer for thicker apple butter)
-- At your desired thickness, remove the cinnamon stick & add it to your compost
-- Cool your butter & store in jars --- it should keep for up to 3 weeks if refrigerated