< previous page | page_139 | next page >
Page 139
| You can find information on these and more in the recommended sources listed in this chapter. |
| STREET SMARTS |
| Basil Tea |
| ''I make basil tea after big meals, or after eating foods that don't agree with memost of which I still can't resist," says Laurie Berg, twenty-nine, a public relations executive. "It not only calms my stomach but also soothes me all over. Sometimes it soothes me so much I fall asleep!" She steeps 2 teaspoons of dried basil in 1 cup boiling water for 15 minutes, then strains. |
| Storing Basil |
| To enjoy basil year-round, blend fresh leaves with enough olive oil to make a smooth paste. Then freeze in an ice cube tray and add to soups or pasta all winter long. |
| You can also chop basil or other herbs, put 1 tablespoon per cube in an ice cube tray, add water, store in a heavy plastic bag, and freeze. |
| Herbs |
| What, exactly, is an herb? "The friend of physicians and the praise of cooks," said the emperor Charlemagne, and that may be as good an answer as any. Some say herbs are any "useful plants," but as James Duke, botanist and author of The Green Pharmacy, points out, all green plants are useful, so that doesn't help much. Duke prefers to define herbs simply as "medicinal plants." |
| Much research on the medicinal properties of herbs remains to be done; herbalists base many of their claims for herbs' healing powers on observation alone. However, there is increasing scientific evidence to back these claims, much of it based on research into the phytonutrients found in abundance in many of these plants. |
| Although many of the herbs listed below may prove beneficial when taken in medicinal dosesand most offer little risk of side effectsyou should only do so on the recommendation of your health practitioner. But incorporating herbs in your healing menus is a guaranteed route to boosting nutrition and flavor. |
| Basil |
| Among the most popular of herbs, basil has a sweet flavor that marries well with all sorts of Italian dishes. |
| Basil contains monoterpenes, phytonutrients with disease-fighting antioxidant properties. It aids digestion and can soothe cramps, upset stomachs, and gas, |
< previous page | page_139 | next page >