Make sage bundles for smudging? White sage is normally used for that, but there's no reason you can't use culinary sage for the same purpose. Save some for gargling for a sore throat too.

Suggest that you dry the leaves and store in air tight canning jars. Usually, I grow maybe 2-3 plants and its more than enough for my needs. I use it in sausage making as well as in stuffing for chicken and turkey. It also goes with with a stuffed pork chop or pork roast. It is a bit spicy hot, so if you like the spice it will be used up quickly. When I dry it, I use a dehydrator as the faster it dries the more flavor it retains. I only dry the leaves and try to remove most of the stems. I crumble and rub it between my hands as its a bit fiberous like a big gob of cotton once its crumbled, hence the term 'rubbed' sage. In any case, my dried sage is almost gone now, and that was from 3 years ago, so I started up a couple of new plants this year.

To add to what others have said....

Herbs that you dry yourself can make good gifts. Small canning/jelly jars work well for storage and gift giving. Sage does dry and store well. I would leave the leaves whole until rubbing them right before packaging them up for someone. I tend to leave my dried herbs (the leafy ones) whole until just before using. They keep more of their oils and flavor that way.

FataMorgana

Thank you for all the great infomation!!
What is smudging?

Smudging is more or less the indigenous people of North & South America's equivalent to incense. Non-indigenous people do it now as well. See the link below.

FataMorgana

Here is a link that might be useful: WiseGeek - Smudging

Make sage pesto as you would basil pesto, it's delicious. Get large shrimp and devein. Place small sage leaf where the vein was, wrap in bacon and bake or grill. Yum. Make sage fritters. Make browned butter and sage for pasta.

Use the leaves as a toothbrush. Very good for teeth and gums, removes plaque and leaves a wonderfully fresh taste in your mouth as well! You can dry the leaves and grind them to a powder and use that as a toothpowder as well - instead of toothpaste. Just dip a damp toothbrush into the powder and brush as usual. You'll get through a lot of sage that way.

Baked Sage Leaves
1 bunch large sage leaves
1 egg and 2 egg whites, lightly beaten together
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup fine toasted breadcrumbs or flour

Preheat oven to 200°C. Spray a nonstick baking sheet with olive oil. Using a pastry brush, brush the sage leaves on both sides with the egg mixture and season with salt and pepper. Dip each in breadcrumbs or flour, turning to coat on all sides, shaking off the excess. Arrange the sage leaves on the prepared baking sheet. spray the tops of the leaves with oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake until crisp and nicely browned, 10-12 minutes. Serve at once as an antipasto or garnish for other dishes.

Fried Sage Leaves
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons cold water
1 egg, beaten
a few tablespoons white wine (or hard cider)
1 egg white
1 tablespoon melted butter, cooled
pinch salt
pinch sugar
plenty of fresh sage leaves
oil for deep frying

Mix the flour and water to a smooth batter. Mix in the beaten egg and stir well.Pour in the wine. Beat the egg white into soft peaks and fold into the batter. Add the butter, salt and sugar and stir the batter once more. Wash and dry off the sage leaves, dredge them in the batter, and fry them on both sides in hot oil until crispy. Serve with meat.

Chop a handful of sage finely, saute in olive oil with a little minced garlic. Stir in some chopped parsley, and toss into cooked pasta. Serve as a side dish with chicken, fish or meat.

Sage Crackers
4 cups self raising flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh sage
1 cup milk
3/4 cup
extra virgin olive oil
coarse salt

Heat oven to 220°C. Mix together the flour, salt and sage. Add milk and 1/2 cup olive oil. Stir until mixture forms a ball. Knead lightly about 10 times. Divide the dough evenly into 16 pieces. Flatten pieces, one at a time, on a working surface dusted with flour. Roll out as thinly as possible, allowing ragged edges, and turning dough over frequently to make rolling easier. Place 2 crackers on each baking sheet. Brush lightly with some of the remaining oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Best served within 8 hours of baking. To serve, tear crackers into pieces and serve with spreads or dips.

Take sage leaves and put under skin of chicken or turkey before cooking either indoors or out.

Sage is useful for people that must watch their salt because it either brings out the natural saltyness of food. Works for some but not for all as each person has different tastebuds.

I had dinner at an upscale restaurant where the chef deep fried sage, a whole stem with 4 or 6 leaves attached, and used it as a garnish on the dinner plate. It was quite elegant!

Sage blooms early summer. Make sure to leave some plants free from harvesting until after blooming. I find the blooms beautiful and so do the bumblebees. The blooms are "bumblebee blue" as I call that purpley-blue that bumblebees favor so much. The blooms won't affect the taste like in some other herbs.

FataMorgana

Thank you sooo much for all of the wonderful ideas. I had no idea I could use sage in such ways!! I have more than 20 large plants, so I'll be sure to let some bloom!

Sage makes a relaxing tea, the old timers feel it may ease breathing problems to some extent but it has good flavor regardless. Enjoy!

Jackie

I would have never thought of tea - thanks!!!

Just remember that sage tea is a medicine, not a beverage. One cup of herbal tea is a medicinal dosage for an adult.

Amongst other things, it is used to regulate menstruation and to treat menopausal symptoms, especially hot flushes. Quickly reduces perspiration. Helps reduce milk flow when weaning babies.

Avoid large doses when pregnant. Sage will dry up breast milk. Excessive consumption should be avoided because of the thujone content of the plant which can cause dizziness, convulsion and rapid heartbeat. Avoid if suffering from high blood pressure or epilepsy. Medicinal doses should not be administered to young children. Avoid long-term medicinal use.

The innocent looking sage is not very innocent anymore.

Actually we use sage to smudge away negativity for ceremony and or for personal protection...it's not in no way the equivlant to "incense".
BTW we use species of Artemesia not Salvia for this purpose. Also depending on what part of the country, there are several sages used...back home (ND/SD/NE)it's Elk Horn Sage mostly used. Up here in parts of Eastern WA a different one is preferred and more abundant that White Sage.

What would poultry stuffing be without sage? When someone mentioned tea above I don't think they meant "sage tea." However, adding a leaf of sage to regular iced or hot tea makes for a refreshing and tasty difference from mint. (Or use both together...) When I'm baking breaded chicken breast or loin pork chops I will often put them down on a single layer of sage leaves. Toss the leaves, and enjoy the hints of sage in the meat. Also, we get early bumblebees who love the sage blossoms. It seems to flower earlier than anything else in our garden. When all else fails, do what I do with my basil and rosemary, which seem to go COMPLETELY out of control every year  I've got folks where I work salivating waiting for this year's crop of basil. Train your friends to love your herbs!

Thank you very much for all of the GREAT ideas!!! Its starting to blossom now....

I just have to second the fried sage. It is wonderful fried in butter until crisp and poured over mushroom ravioli. YUM!
I have never utilized my sage until this year and not I am very excited to start cooking.

Surplus dry sage can be used in grilling or preferably smoking. Throw the wood straight into the fire.

I keep a huge pile of thyme cuttings for the same purpose. Sage smoke is perfect for smoking a turkey.

Use the woody stems from sage, thyme, and rosemary for making wonderfully aromatic smoke from your wood fires. You're only going to discard these portions anyways.

FataMorgana

You guy are are great - SOOO creative.

I've also got people asking for the stalks of my rosemary after the leaves are taken off to use as skewers for kebabs during summer grilling season. I would imagine if the stems are woody enough you could use sage stems the same way.