Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does your Garden Grow?

My friend Marianne's curbside garden behind her picturesque apartment.

I was over there the other day, sewing in her immaculate craft room and she gave me some fresh herbs from her garden. Not one to say no to any gift or opportunity, I took her up on her offer and she presented me with a huge bundle of sage.
"Thanks!" I thought, "but what in the heck am I going to do with all of these herbs?"

After I googled some recipes and found a winner, I prepared for a celebratory feast, only to discover she had included some fresh basil too! Hoo-ray!


Insalata Capres con pane

Bocconcini (bite size) with cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella balls. It's very important that one uses mozzarella packed in water.

So, what did I make with the sage? After cooking some chicken with sage for C's dog, I used what was leftover in a Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter, recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis on FoodNetwork.com, Click here for the full recipe inlcuding an easy how to for Sweet Potato Gnocchi. I skipped the gnocchi due to time, deadlines, and the fact that I had packages of butternut squash tortellini and ravioli already in the freezer. 

And the result?

Fantastico! Molto buono!
(new Italian words I learned last night.)

It was so good in fact, I forgot to take a pic before we dug in. The best part was sopping up the sauce on cut pieces of fresh challah. Mmmmmmmmm!

"Let us be grateful for those who give us happiness; they are the charming gardeners who make our soul bloom."

~Marcel Proust

Grazie amico, thank you Marianne!