3 ways to use Onion

 

Before I get my onion to the above stage- I needed to go out and clip some green stems.

I decided to save the seeds this year as most topple over and fall to the ground.  The seeds can be used as an ingredient and add flavor to food. 

I used a small mesh party favor bag so that the bloom can continue to breathe while the seeds dry. Once bloom turns brown, I cut it off and I also cut the green onion “stem” as close to the main bulb as possible.  I washed, sliced and gave it a spin in the salad spinner until it was mostly dry. 

My mom has had this food dehydrator since the 90s and it works great. I think these cost about $30 at big box stores or cheaper at thrift shops.  I placed it outside patio/cover so it doesn’t stink up the house.  I would check on it every 90mins until it was dried and would snap. 

Once dried, I stored it in a glass jar. Some I grind in a coffee/spice grinder until minced size.  Then I placed in a labeled minced onion jar.  I overly ground dried onion until it was powder and placed it in my onion powder jar.  That’s it- 3 types of green onion textures from just a few stems.  Plus nigella/onion seeds. 

Save seeds for giving to friends to grow onions or to use as a spice.

Resources:

Ways to use nigella (onion) seeds:

https://www.liveayurved.com/how-to-use-onion-seeds-in-the-kitchen.shtml

https://www.tarladalal.com/recipes-using-nigella-seeds-kalonji-onion-seeds-552

My Sage Saga

 I attended a native ca cooking demo at Artemisia garden nursery.  

Antonio Sanchez gave us some amazing treats to try: sage pesto, sage ice cream, and a simple syrup sage used to sweeten lemonade.

So after I came home with another sage plant- I decided to share photos of all the different sages I have and their uses:

Above is my common garden culinary sage. This one I bought a few years ago at a big box store.  It’s the famous herb used during thanksgiving and fall flavors. When recipes call for sage- most likely it’s referring to this one.  In an omelette or small sauté pan, I melt butter and add in a few leaves (3-5 depending how fragrant and small they are), cook until butter is golden brown.  I cut leaves with kitchen scissors into small pieces and add it to my stuffing/dressing.  Butter can also be added to stuffing, mashed potatoes, or used to baste turkey.  Maybe this year, I’ll try it with some Cleveland hybrid sage.

Above is my 1st native or 2nd garden sage: Salvia Blanca- I bought it to dry its leaves and use for smudges.  I heard Antonio and Abe Sanchez mention that this plant is for medicinal and not so much for culinary purposes.  But one of my friends in Baja said that one of her friends cooks with it.  I also went to a coffee shop in VdG (Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada Baja Ca) that had simple syrup infused with white sage and the flavor while strong, complemented the coffee.  

The above photo Sage 3: hummingbird bird sage has an amazingly sweet fragrant smell- ripe pineapple/tropical.  I had one plant in January 2026 when I purchased it and in just 5 months there are 3 plants in the pot.  One of the plants has a beautiful flower with 3 pompom flowers spaced on one stem. As recommended by Antonio Sanchez, I cut the bloom off to promote plant growth.  I think this one will make an amazing ice cream, simple syrup, and I enjoy sipping it as a sun tea. There was an online recipe to fry these leaves- I tried doing it and it’s in previous old post.  Its leaves are sticky like white sage, but the leaves are more green and have scallop edges.

After seeing Eat California and another video, both mentioned cooking with Allen Chickering sage.  It has a strong perfume smell- it’s a hybrid between purple sage and a Cleveland Sage. I mentioned to Antonio Sanchez that my plant was leggy and not bushy- he recommended I cut it back and fertilize it.  In the freeze wild video they mentioned Cleveland sage would make a great ice cream flavor. This one resembles the leaves of a rosemary (oil/sticky leaves) and a lavender (fuzzy/fragrant).  Almost any recipe that calls for lavender can be substituted for this plant.

My newbie in late April: early May is this Baja Pitcher Sage.  It looks and smells a lot like my hummingbird sage and I even had to look up to see if they were the same plant.  It also has a sweet smell. 

As of late May 2026, this Salvia Pozo Blue (grey musk sage) is the newest family member.  It’s a Cleveland Sage hybrid.  I couldn’t resist buying a sage on the day of the demo class when they had a discount! 

I have infused herbs in cream based ice creams before- I recommend placing the herb into the milk the night before (cover and chill in fridge) overnight and then bring to a simmer.  Maybe in fall, when all my Sages are big, I’ll do a Sage ice cream tasting.  Same ice cream base can make a crème brûlée, panna cotta, and flan. Cream base can also be made into whip cream, 

For simple syrup- I rub leaves in sugar, so sugar can be infused with the herb.  I also simmer water with the herb like making a tea (strain). Then I add equal parts of herbal tea water with the infused sugar and return to heat until sugar dissolves.  Simple syrup can be frozen to make a sorbet, it can be drizzled on fruit, used to flavor coffee, tea or lemonades.

Further down my older posts, there is information on frying hummingbird sage. Maybe now that I have different sages, I can try frying the different ones to see how they come out.

Liz Savory Seasoning Mix:

Resources:

Artemisia Garden Nursery 

https://artemisianursery.com/

Freeze Wild:

https://youtu.be/NbbvUx5yoyw?si=mAmR_D2A01SLXikA

Eating California! Video:

https://youtu.be/CNxiyJuvd8Y?si=n5kPJcu0JqO3RwrV

Berry Barrel garden

 I don’t have a lot of space in the Los Angeles Garden- so my friends are shocked when I tell them all the different herbs, fruits and plants I grow. But-  it’s really just strategically placed containers and my greenstalk garden towers.  

My goal this year is not only to have an edible garden but an edible native ca/Baja ca garden- and one thing that thrives in California is strawberries. I dedicated a whole greenstalk to strawberries (my parents pulled out the front lawn strawberries I had planted them in 2010.  My dad’s biggest complaint was - he didn’t like the strawberries coming from the dirt.  So I figured if he doesn’t see the dirt and only delicious strawberries hanging out the pockets of my green stalk, he’ll enjoy them. (Only time will tell).

But my kids like all kinds of berries, so I found out blueberries, blackberries, boysenberry, huckleberries, and currants are also native to California.  These are more bushes and would need more space than a pocket can give. I decided to plant some in a half cut wine barrel and in a giant pot that I place under a lemon tree.  The way the sun hits, the berries get plenty of morning and noon sun, enough to thrive.  I got a bushel and berry blueberry plant that should stay small. Currants and huckleberry can be pruned down.

I’ve never heard of huckleberry- so when I found out is was a Ca native- I grabbed it. I’m excited to see what the fruit looks like and taste. Just above it is a blue crop blueberry I bought at Aldi- I had bought 2- then found out I needed a different variety so that it can better produce.  I gave one away and searched up a small container variety through bushel and berry and got a peach sorbet.  While there are blueberries native to CA, I doubt these two are (I recently found out blue crop isn’t even zoned for Ca- so who knows how that will go. And peach sorbet seems to be bred to be small, so I don’t think that’s natural- but I need small varieties since I have so much growing in one container.  I added worms and need to feed them, so I decided to double pot my boysenberry- it will have room to grow and I can easily lift it to feed my worms.  I’m excited to grow boysenberry since it’s a huge hit at Knotts berry farm. I’m such a fan, I even have the knotts cookbook.  Behind it is my chaparral currant- it’s a native berry that I’m also excited to try.  I think growing fruits we are familiar and new native varieties will help my family to taste new fruits.

My berries needed a plant ground cover- (I’m strawberried out) and mint grows the fastest and would be a perfect companion to berries.  I found San Miguel Savory or also known as San Diego Yerba Buena- a rare and slightly at risk mint that grows from Santa Ana to Baja Ca in the chaparral area. I bought it at artemisia garden nursery. I planted it towards the front and when I brush against it- the smell is so refreshing. The small white tubular flowers are beautiful and would make a great garnish in a fruit salad, smoothie, or mocktail drink. Let me know what you know about San Miguel Savory (clinopodium chandleri) and how you would use it in recipes?