Living Sage-ly

Posted by Kate W on Friday, July 20th, 2012

I love being the hostess. I always have. I get nervous going to other people’s parties. I always worry I won’t know anyone and that I’ll end up huddled by myself in the corner like I’m at a middle-school dance. When I do meet new people, I end up babbling nervously. If they have a story, I always have one of my own that springboards off of theirs and back to myself. That’s fine once or twice; it establishes a rapport and some common ground. But do it too often and you look like a one-upper. Hostessing is so much easier than guesting. For starters, I am already guaranteed to know everyone. And my main conversational contribution can revolve around everyone else’s comfort level. Checking to make sure everyone’s well-fed and hydrated is the only way to keep me from nervously making everything all about me.

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Hostessing becomes a little more difficult when you have a small child, though. I can never predict when my daughter is going to get clingy and whiny and decide that her playpen is worse than a jail cell. So preparing complicated dishes that need a lot of prep time doesn’t really work for me. As a result, I like to cook dishes that are fabulous but also quick.

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The other day, my mom and my aunt picked up my elderly grandmother from her assisted living facility and brought her by for lunch after a doctor’s visit. I knew they’d be hungry when they arrived, so I decided to whip up a quick frittata. The base of it was sausage and potatoes, which I cut up and cooked ahead in the morning and stored in Tupperware while the baby was napping. Once I knew they were on their way, all I had to do was quickly reheat the sausage and potatoes in my cast-iron skillet along with some artichoke hearts. While they were heating through, I quickly beat several farm-fresh eggs (a great source for vitamin D), then stirred in grated cheese, salt, pepper, and sage. I poured the egg mixture into the skillet, gave it a quick stir, and then let it cook until the eggs were firmed up. I transferred it to the skillet and finished it in the oven for twenty minutes.

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My frittata was a quick dish with little cleanup required, and the addition of sage really boosted its health quotient. Sage has a great aromatic quality and elevates any savory dish to something special, while also providing great nutritional benefits. It’s a rich source of Vitamin A, calcium, iron, and potassium. It’s also a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory qualities.  It can even boost your brain function, which is apropos as wise people are considered to be sages. I guess I was awfully sage to put it my frittata!

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