Part of any great blog is the 2 way conversation that comes with it.  To inspire more conversation Knickerbocker Glory will host a blog series called “Food Moments and Other Takeout”.  This series will include stories from our readers and other contributors.

The following post was written by Maggie Frey. Maggie is a mother of three living as an American expat in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She is inspired by her young boys love to create delicious food!

Snow-Covered Sage 

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I am a big fan of food.  Eating food, making food and sometimes growing food. As of six months ago I was a full time mom and professional outside the home. Because of that and the fact I am completely intimidated by my “Master Gardener” Mother, green thumb aunts and 93 year old grandfather gardener, I generally stick to growing herbs.  Herbs are easy.  Herbs are safe.  And I can find herbs at any grocery store to replace those that I might have killed before my mother comes to visit!

I used to grow herbs in my cute little herb garden made for me on Mothers Day five years ago.  The garden went through a relocation, two expansions and had an ongoing battle with an ant colony. It was very special to me. My little children would help me water the plants, weed and relocate the ants. I had cute signs proudly announcing the herbs growing underneath (these signs are very helpful when your husband is tasked to grab chives). It was just enough garden for our busy life. I grew the basics: Rosemary, chives, parsley, thyme, oregano, basil, dill, coriander, lavender and my favorite sage.

There is an old saying “He that would live for aye should eat Sage in May“.  I don’t know about May but when the fall rolls in I am all about cooking with Sage.  As we know sage holds up to strong meats like pork but it is also suggested to pair sage with cheese.  I love to make sage risotto. The herb holds up to the salty, strong flavor of parmesan and richness of the butter.  It makes the dish burst with flavor! My trick is to fry the sage making crispy “flavor flakes” to sprinkle over the top.

Sage can hold her own and stands up to the winter weather.  If ‘Rosy the Riveter’ was an Herb she would be sage.  I will never forget Thanksgiving 2009.  My son Collin was just born and we were having a quiet Thanksgiving dinner with my mother and in-laws.  The moms were in the kitchen cooking away and I snuck out to get the herbs for the filling and turkey.  It had just snowed and my little garden was covered in a soft white blanket.  Peaking out of the snow was the furry green leaves of sage.  My little sage plant didn’t droop or sulk in the snow.  She proudly poked her leaves through the soft snow, standing up to the elements.

Nothing against the other herbs but sage holds the most memories for me.  Sure I have other herb memories… my great grandmother who seemed to eat parsley at least three times a day (parsley tea, parsley sandwich and always parsley in our salads – don’t knock it – she lived to be 103!)… how my grandfather always puts dill in with his lettuce when sharing his bounty… but none match the feeling of love and warmth that sage gives me.

For those of you that dream to grow your own garden, I suggest starting with a little herb garden.  That garden will take it easy on you and reward you with so much flavor you’ll want to take on more!  So go ahead and plan out a little herb garden this spring and don’t forget the sage!

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