Monday 16 March 2009

Pineapple sage


I was wondering in class today when I came across a plant in the window its called Pineapple sage . It smelled so good.

Salvia elegans, commonly called Pineapple sage, is a perennial shrub native to oak and pine scrub forests at 6,000-9000 ft. in the highlands of Mexico and Guatemala.[1] It has tubular red flowers and an attractive scent to the leaves that is similar to pineapple. It produces numerous erect leafy stems and flowers in the late autumn. The red flowers are attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies. In a highland temperate forest in central Mexico, pineapple sage was found to be one of the three most-visited species by hummingbirds.[2]
From here

What could you cook with this? . I found these Ideas.
Walnut & pineapple sage paste
2 cups walnuts, 2 cups (packed) p. sage leaves, 3 cloves garlic, 1/3 to 1/2 cup walnut oil. It's wonderful on pork and chicken. I also sauteed some leeks in butter, added white wine and the walnut/p. sage paste and used it as a topping for grilled salmon: heavenly! From here

You can fry the leaves and serve as an appetizer: dip them in egg thinned with water and olive oil, dip in flour, fry quickly in oil, salt and pepper. from here


Here is lots of great Ideas http://www.nefffamilyfarm.com/PineappleSage.html

Pineapple Sage Salsa
2 cups fresh pineapple cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 cup sweet red pepper
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon chipolte pepper, crushed (hot chili powder can be substituted)
1/4 cup pineapple sage flowers, coarsely chopped

Note: To get 1/4 cup of flowers, you'll need 20 or more flower stems of pineapple sage. It's a bit tedious, but you need to pluck the tiny, bright red flowers one-by-one. It's okay of you end up with a little bit of the sepals (the green stuff around the base of the flower.)

Combine all these ingredients in a nonmetallic bowl. Cover, then refrigerate for at least 12 hours before using. This allows plenty of time for the flavors to meld.

The salsa is also good as a dip with chips or served on seafood. And believe it or not, it tastes pretty good on ice cream, too! You might consider eliminating the onions, even though they're sweet.

Pineapple Sage Chicken

1/4 C Teriyaki or Tamari Or Soy sauce
1/4 C honey
1/2 C Olive Oil
2 TBS lemon Juice
2 TBS Apple juice
2 tsp ground ginger
Handful of Pineapple Sage leaves chopped
Boneless Chicken Breasts
Marinade chicken in above ingredients. Cook on grill
Serve with Pineapple kabobs

Pineapple sage is extensively used in Mexican traditional medicine, especially for the treatment of anxiety. Although scientific information about these medicinal properties is scarce, a preliminary study on mice found support for the plant potentially having antidepressant and anti-anxiety properties.
From here

I cant wait to try some of these.


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