Herb of the Month: Basil

I chose basil as the herb for February, because basil is the herb of love. This herb is extremely fragrant, and there is a very distinct aroma between the varieties of basil. Absolutely a favorite in the garden and the kitchen.

Health Benefits

A health benefit of basil should be sheer happiness, because the smell just enlightens all my senses. It makes me happy, happy! But, the greatest benefit of fresh basil is being full of antioxidants. There may be antioxidants in dried basil, but fresh basil is where you most benefit of these antioxidants.

Uses

Basil is used in many culinary dishes. It is common in Thai and Italian cooking. You will see it show up in many of my kitchen creations.

My favorite way to use basil is on pizza. Pictured here is my version of a Margherita Pizza. This was before my pizza went into the oven, but the tomatoes, zucchini, and basil came right out of the garden. You cannot really see it here, but it does have a homemade pesto sauce made from the sweet basil in the garden.

Another favorite dish of mine is to make tomato and basil soup. It is pictured here with a homemade Zucchini Bread with Moroccan Spice. Hmm… Come to think of it, this meal uses the same main ingredients of tomatoes, zucchini, and basil.

Did you know…

There are more than 60 varieties of basil, and I grow several of them in the garden – Sweet Basil, Thai Basil, Mint Basil, Purple Basil, and Lemon Basil. While basil means happiness to me, Greeks and Romans originally thought otherwise. Basil was associated with hatred or mourning. The Greeks thought “that basil exists only to drive men insane.” The Italians have come to know basil as a symbol of love, and this is exactly what I wish to believe.