holiday sage

 

What is a holiday table without generous helpings of delicious, sage-infused food?

Good thing too, because sage is great for the winter season and one of the herbs that I do not travel without during the cold and flu season.

The amount you use in cooking is not a medicinal dose, so a helping of stuffing won’t cure your cold – and no, this is not permission to eat the whole crock of stuffing – but you may get some small benefit from the culinary dose, so dig in.

Sage is antiseptic and one of my favorite medicines for swollen glands. The tea by itself tastes acrid but with honey it has a lovely taste. I will even gargle with it when I know my glands and immunity needs some extra love.

I think of sage as a ‘drier-upper’ which helps with that miserable head cold where you can’t seem to stop blowing your nose.

Sage also helps with hot flashes during menopause and also can help move a fever through its natural course.

Sage is super easy to grow! It was one of the first things I planted when I started an herb garden, so it really feels like an old friend to me.

I harvest sage regularly and dry it for both my personal medicine chest and culinary pursuits.