David Lebovitz's Herb Rub

Poppets, do I have a story for you. Four days before my manuscript due date, last Thursday, to be precise, I woke up feeling rather strange. This strangeness got worse all day and by the end of it, I found myself in the hospital with an anesthesiologist pumping stuff into my arm just before some very nice doctors relieved me of my appendix. Ain't that a kick in the head?

I got out of the hospital yesterday and am feeling a little bit like I got hit by a truck, both literally and figuratively. My head's still all woozy and I have the oddest tugging sensation on my insides and the deadline situation makes me want to cry and I really want to take a shower and it would be lovely to be allowed a cheeseburger for dinner instead of broth and boiled zucchini and to top it all off, I can't stop thinking about how, if I'd been born a Pilgrim, my life probably would have ended rather abruptly at 33. (Of course, if I'd been born a Pilgrim, a great many things probably would have ended my life much sooner than at 33, but logic and rational thought are not having a great day right now in the Mind of Luisa, so bear with me.)

I am trying not to wallow too much in the vat of Self-Pity (see Not Being Born A Pilgrim and so on for reference), but abdominal surgery, a missed deadline and the lack of a daily shower is starting to take its toll on your heroine. But before I slide completely off my rocker into the deep end, I need to quickly tell you about something sort of quietly wonderful.

It starts with my balcony, a little patch of white-tiled space nestled into the corner of our apartment building. By some stroke of luck, though it's on the courtyard side of the building and we are surrounded by apartments on all sides, no one can actually look into our balcony, which would be lovely if we were the type to sunbathe naked and as such is just sort of nice because we can have lunch out there in the summer without feeling watched (old Berliners love to watch people) and because I can neglect the plants out there without anybody giving me a disapproving look.

The only plants I have growing on the balcony are herbs, because I hate buying herbs only to see them grow black and moldy in the fridge and because I like my balcony plants to be useful, not just pretty. (Even if I do go and neglect them every now and then). I have high standards for plants, you see. So I've got two types of mint, oregano, thyme (that keeps migrating from its pot to other pots, magically), basil, rosemary, a very sad lavender bush and an exuberant spray of sage. So exuberant, in fact, that it sometimes feels as though it could be growing about half an inch a day.

The sage got to be a bit of a problem, in truth. To use it up, we tried eating a lot of ravioli in sage butter for a while. Surprisingly, that gets tired pretty quickly. So when I stumbled across David's method for using up sage, I never looked back. He first got the recipe from his friend Judy Witts Francini and, folks, it is a secret weapon if I've ever seen one. Now let me be clear: I have always nursed a healthy suspicion of herb salts. Or herb rubs. They seemed like a gimmicky way for chefs to sell products in grocery stores. The idea of cooking with them left me cold. But David has never led me astray. In fact, I'd probably eat a cold rubber tire if David told me that, marinated in Korean chile paste and sprinkled with sesame seeds, it tasted good. (Actually, that does sound good. Sweet cracker sandwich, people, I need some real food.)

So I cut back my sage and rosemary plants, chopped them up very finely with a mess of garlic and a big spoonful of Maldon salt and then let the mixture, sandy and herby and fragrant as all get out, dry on my kitchen counter for a few days. When it was good and dry, I packed it into a little jar and forgot about it. Really!

Weeks later, starving on a Sunday night, we had nothing but some nice bread and some very ripe tomatoes in the house. No cheese, no pasta, no nothing. Rummaging through the cupboards, I stumbled upon my herb rub. On a whim, I decided to quick-roast the tomatoes mixed with the herb mixture, liberally splashed with olive oil. What emerged from the oven was rather difficult to stop eating, especially when we started dragging the bread through the herby, tomatoey olive oil at the bottom of the baking dish. Next up was a pot of beans that I'd cooked into creamy submission, but that desperately needed some pepping up. I spooned the beans into a baking dish, mixed them with a bit of the herb rub, a good glug of olive oil and a few shreds of canned tomato and put that in the oven until the house smelled like a rustic Tuscan lodge (or something). We put pieces of toasted peasant bread into our deep soup plates and ladled the baked beans over the bread and attacked. Dinner was a quiet affair that night, nothing but spoons clanking against plates and lips smacking.

The herb rub has pepped up rice salads and simple roast chickens, a lackluster pork tenderloin and countless pots of beans. I've dipped into it over and over again until, a year later, the jar's entirely empty. Which is serendipitous timing, because my sage plant has gone into overdrive once again.

To sum it all up, people, you need this stuff in your stash. It will make countless Sunday night dinners, when you're cobbling together weird little meals out of odds and ends, that much better. It will make you seem refined and with-it when you mix it with olive oil and set it out for nibbles with some nice bread before dinner. It will help your balcony looking neat and groomed and, best of all, it just tastes so good.

That is all. I feel better already.

Herb Rub
Makes 1 small jar

A very large bunch of fresh sage, two to three times as much as the rosemary
A large bunch of rosemary
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1 heaping tablespoon Maldon salt

1. Pick the leaves off the sage and rosemary stalks. In a small food processor, chop up the herbs with the garlic cloves and salt until the mixture is pretty fine. Discard any sticks or seeds.

2. Spread the herb mixture on a baking sheet and let it dry for about three days. Once dry, store your herb in a tighly-sealed in a jar for up to a year.

Comments

[Suzy]

Well helloooooo!
This sounds yummy. My sage plant may have to be sacrificed for this recipe : )

[Andrea]

This (the herb rub) sounds wonderful. However, the appendectomy sounds horrible. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Luisa, and I'm glad you're not a pilgrim.

[lifediving]

OOF. Keep thinking about this herb rub and continue feeling better!

[Mary @ stylefyles]

Sorry you're not feeling well. You write beautifully. I will definitely be whipping this together.

[jenny]

this sounds amazing and makes me even more regretful that I did not get around to planting herbs on my (tiny) balcony this year. maybe I can find some herb castoffs at the farmer's market and get on this.

meanwhile, FEEL BETTER. so glad your sense of humor is intact even if the rest of you isn't just yet.

[Katharina]

That herb rub sounds rather amazing!
You should try Vicky Bhogal's Ginger Chicken Soup. That's what normally gets me through the times I feel to horrible to eat anything proper (obviously, guilt-tripping someone else into making the soup for you makes it taste even better).
I hope you feel better soon!

[Dorothee]

Gute Besserung und Danke mal wieder für eine tolle Lösung eines meiner Küchenprobleme!

[Gabby / Gypsy*Diaries]

OH my goodness I hope you´re feeling better! ;( At least the weather is cooperating with you and not trying to tempt you into jumping out of bed! The herb thingy sounds delish... unfortunately I´m in the process of organizing a funeral to every single one of my plants... my sunflowers and lavenders on my balcony, the oregano and other-stuff-I-dont-know-the-name-but-herb-for-sure in the kitchen and last but not least my office plant... yep... every single one of them died on me. I guess you really need to water this stuff every once in a while... ;)
xxx

http://gypsy-diaries.blogspot.com/

[Georgina C]

Perfect timing for this recipe. I was JUST looking at my overgrown sage wondering what to do with it.

[the twice bitten]

Oh Luisa, I think you need to pop your feet up and have a cuppa. Dont worry about leaving us for a few weeks. We'll still be here. Look after yourself and all the best with your hand in.

Take care of yourself Mrs.

xrx

[olga]

Luisa - yikes and oh lawsy and thank goodness you live in modern times when things like appendixes are extracted! Did they put you on the American equivalent of the BRAT diet (Bananas-Rice-Apple Juice-Toast - though i think it's the result of patient's mood that it should be named for)? feel better soon. sending you healthy wishes across the pond.

[Lynn]

I am so glad you're recovering, Luisa - I worried, after reading your Tweet!

And I'm glad you shared this - yum.

[Mercedes]

Oh my, do feel better. I had a ruptured appendix years ago and it was absolutely horrible. Our sage grows like mad too, now I can put it to some use :) One can only make so much sage butter.

[Hillary]

Luisa, I just had my appendix removed a few weeks ago. I totally feel your pain. It gets better soon, I promise!

[danielle]

luisa my dear, i too am thankful you are not (nor am i) a pilgrim! though i am deeply sympathetic to your shower/cheeseburger/deadline woes.

hugs and wishes or a speedy recovery~

[kristina - no penny for them]

oh my, i'm so sorry to hear - glad they caught it just in time. try and give yourself some time to rest, your health is more important than any deadline (says she who knows how dreadful they are, i really do). could you split the manuscript in two batches to buy yourself a little time?

in any case, do take care.

[Eleana]

Hope you are feeling better! Glad you made it and were NOT born in Pilgrim times!

[Melanie]

Feel better Luisa. In the grand scheme of life, this is just a small annoyance and a funny story to tell people. Take care of yourself and get well soon :-)

[Melanie Watts]

Yum! but do I need maldon salt? or will any old salt do? I hope you feel 100% soon.

[Merle]

Dear Luisa, I hope you feel well again soon!

[Annie]

May your recovery be speedy, hastened, perhaps, by the good karma you've earned from delivering me from the abundance of my sage plant and the tyranny of sage-pesto- and sage-butter-sauced everything. Because, you know, those things are so awful and karma really works that way. Anyhow, do feel better!

[Robin]

Ooooh, I just finally planted some herbs this weekend. Now I am extra excited. I hope you feel better and up for real food sooner rather than later! Manuscript deadlines were made to be fiddled with.

[agatha]

i've been writing your blog for years - so sorry to hear about your illness but glad you're feeling better (and NOT a pilgrim). i feel so connected to you through your writing - congratulations on your beautiful marriage - can't wait to read your forthcoming book! rest up and get well soon!

[agatha]

mistype - sorry, i've been READING (not writing your blog for years :)

[Charlotte]

Feel better soon Luisa. (and I'm glad for us, your readers and you that you are not a pilgrim). I wonder if I could make this rub with my mystery herb that is taking over my garden (a melon smelling oregano I think).

[Charlotte]

Luisa, you make me cry with laughter! You're entertaining even in a crisis. I do hope you feel better soon :)

[Luisa]

Thank you, lovelies. I'm feeling better, the deadline situation has been resolved and today I get to shower! :)

Melanie - you want a flaky salt that will help the herbs and garlic break down when you process them all together. If you don't have Maldon salt, this could be a reason to buy some! I promise that you will love it. It might be my favorite thing in the kitchen. :)

[Sigrid]

Gute Besserung!

And can you PLEASE tell me how you get your sage to grow like mad? Mine looks like it needs an oxygen tent. Or Viagra.

[Jessica]

Oh, I'm glad you're feeling better, even if only slightly. Surgery is, indeed, a kick in the head.
But then it could be worse; you COULD have been a pilgrim and died. I became very ill a month before turning 30 and came back from the brink of death (literally). Until then I had never contemplated that one, or I, could die before the age of 30. That's naive for you.
Feel better soon!

[Ziu]

If that makes you feel better, I had my appendix removed when I was 7. Imagine a life ending then! ;-|

The rub looks lovely! Yet I cant even grow my own herbs, British slugs like them even more than I do..

[Maria]

A friend of mine who is moving countries just donated to me her entire collection of herbs, pots and all. They sit happily on my already overcrowded balcony, and I was getting worried because, even though I hate letting things go to waste, there is a limit in my daily herb intake. You just saved me, thank you! I wish you a speedy recovery and 'ruhig Blut' with finishing your manuscript. You'll get there, your appendix won't!

[Caffettiera]

Get well soon! I really hate it when you are sick and cannot wash- the worst part for me so far of all my sicknesses, but again, I guess I have antibiotics to thank.
Love the herb rub - I'm going to make it next time my parents give me a big batch of their garden's herbs..

[Nuts about food]

Cannot believe you had surgery (poor thing!) and missed your deadline and you are still writing lovely posts and dispensing fabulous tips...

[Luisa]

Sigrid - ha, I do absolutely nothing besides water it (usually) every morning (but not when it rains). The balcony faces south, so when there's sun, the sage gets a lot of it... You're supposed to cut it back periodically and you shouldn't let it flower, but that is literally the extent of my knowledge. Good luck!

[Anya Sokha]

Luisa, despite all the adversaries you are remaining your bright, wonderful, witty self!

Wishing you a quick recovery! And the deadline? Well, I have no doubt it will be met in no time!

[Victoria]

Abdominal surgery is NO FUN AT ALL, that's for sure. But looking on the bright side, it didn't wreck your wedding, and you got it out in time and did not get peritonitis.

I am not a huge fan of herb salts myself, but if you say I need this in my stash, then I need it in my stash. I would follow you anywhere. After all, to name just two, you gave me Bill Telepan's Tomato Bread Soup and those rice-stuffed tomatoes, both of which I'm dreaming about since it's almost vine-ripened, bursting-with-flavor tomato season upstate.

Take it easy, and get well soon. Treat yourself the same way you would treat Max if he had just had his appendix out.

[Esther]

Its such great timing reading this! My sage plant is looking a little worse for wear, and its time for a trim! I didn't want to waste all the leaves though! Perfect! Herb salt coming up! :)

[Sarah]

Feel better Luisa! And you shouldn't worry about the missed deadline when you're so sick -- just tell your editor or whoever is bothering you that your fans (or at least this fan) would rather you rest and wait a couple of extra weeks for your book. We'll still be here.

[christine]

Hope you feel better Luisa! That sounds awful.

No rosemary this year, but a crazy thyme plant; I'm guessing once my sage recovers from the massive chop it received that I'll be whipping this up with some thyme instead, picked off the stems. This sounds lovely.

[Culinary School: Three Semesters of Life, Learning, and Loss of Blood]

I can smell how wonderful that is. But, then, I love playing with herbs. It was some of my time at culinary school (you can read all about it, here, if you're interested: "Culinary School: Three Semesters of Life, Learning, and Loss of Blood" - http://t.co/6yZyMNf).

[Diana]

Luisa - I'm glad that you managed to make through what sounds like a horrible day! LOVE reading your blog. It makes me smile.

Diana - Australia.

[CharlotteAuChocolat]

Oh no! I hope you feel all better very soon! This herb rub sounds delicious! We had the same over-flourishing issue with our basil last year, it grew into a veritable jungle! our sage was pretty docile, but it's true that pasta with sage butter does get old pretty quickly...

[Karista]

Brilliant rub recipe! Wishing you excellent health and huge success!

[Debjani Roy]

Gute besserung Luisa! And I didn´t realize that in westdeutschland one needs a private balcony to do some FKK sunbathing, it seems like every spot of grass in my old park in Pberg was occupied by naked sunworshippers as soon as the sun came out. But its good to know that your pensioners are just like ours, I had an old neighbour who would have a cushion on her windowsill so that she could spend ALL DAY leaning out of her window spying on the garbage cans. Yes, the garbage cans. Wobetide ANYONE who "misused" the garbage cans...

[TheKitchenWitch]

Sending you well wishes and hopes of a hot shower soon. The loss of an appendix is a bit of messy business; glad it got taken care of right away. My herb garden is actually a success this year (a shocker), so I might try this. It's true that David doesn't lead us astray.

[amelia]

you poor thing!!! i hope you feel better soon! here's something that might cheer you up momentarily? I just listened to a This American Life where this comedian hilariously explains the time his appendix burst-- The episode is called "A House Divided" and his story is the second act I do believe.

anyway, feel better!!

[Honeybee]

Get well soon!! Thank goodness you're not a pilgrim!

[june2]

When it's closer to autumn, try using up some sage by making hazelnut sage pesto. : ) Yes it is yummy on pasta, pumpkin filled ravioli especially, or tossed with baked winter squash cubes, etc. Using hazelnut oil isn't necessary but is really good.

[Stephanie Rose]

now i know what to do with all my sage! thanks. feel better!

[Sara]

Yay to not being a pilgrim! Feel better soon!