Monday 26 January 2009

Basil

I was reading the Age Good Weekend the other day and came across three facts about Basil I did not know.

1. The word basil comes from the Greek word basileus, meaning royal or king.

2. Basil is probably native to India, then likely spread to Iran and other tropical areas of Asia, where it has been cultivated for more then 5,000 years. European countries did not start using basil until the 16th century.

3. Basil alleviates constipation, diarrhoea, coughs and withdrawal from marijuana addiction, and is a cure for worms and warts. Applied to the skin topically as an oil, it can draw out insect, bee or snake venom.

Well – there you have it hey….I don’t know about its powers of alleviation and curative properties…but I do know that I really like to eat it.

We grow it in our garden every year and we eat it in salads, as a garnish on lots of things and of course we make pesto, a family favourite! Yum, Yum!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Morg,

Three very interesting little facts about basil..............

Daniel and I bought a basil plant last summer and Daniel appropriately named her 'Basil'.
Basil was good to us and for several months, she supplied us with many tasty leaves for a variety of dishes. The favourite would have to be our homemade napoli sauce which was simply garlic, semi dried tomatoes, passata and last but not least 'Basil'.

Basil has been gone for awhile now but Daniel and I never forget the extra flavour she added to our napoli!

Thanks 'Basil' you were a gift from nature..............

Love Kell oxox

Innocent Eyes Photography said...

Basil definitely has those healing powers. I have used in Lawson's nappy to take the heat out of mild nappy rash. It clears by morning. C x