La Petite Chinoise : LPC

Mary Mary Quite Contrary
How does your garden grow?

Bright red geraniums, star-shaped jasmine, a little pot of sweet basil and another of flat leaf parsley.

When I was in school, I was (apparently) a little terror at school. I don’t remember what heinous crimes I had commited, but I remember spending a lot of time in school garden patches under the watchful eyes of Sister Felicity and Sister Mary. I was practically the student slave: planting, re-potting plants and pulling out weeds.

Gardening was one part of the detention package and I blamed my bad luck for getting caught and spending an hour with the school’s strictest nuns under the hot sun, in the furthest, most remote part of the convent. I would count down to when I could join the other kids at recess time. For all the time I spent with the sisters, even with a wandering mind, I have learnt a thing or two about herbs and plants.

One of my herbs that I cared for and fell in love with is basil. What astonished me most was that basil keeps growing and growing in the sun while we had to keep other plants under a tarp. Basil loves sunshine and water and will flourish abundantly.

Basil is called “The King of herbs”… there are a few associations floating around about the royalty associated to basil. The (latin) name is okimon (basil) basilikos (royal). One story goes that only the king himself could harvest this herb and he did so using a golden sickle. Catherine di Medidi introduced basil into France in 1533 when she married King Henry II and again only her close Italian entourage had the rights to pick basil. This herb has done its tour of the royal ranks!

There are many varieties of basil. The most common is sweet basil, which is what I have. The other types that are often used are cinnamon basil (used in some teas), lemon basil (used with fish) and anise basil (used in Thai curries, also called Thai basil). The leaves of sweet basil curve when they are ripe, while the other types are somewhat flat and differ in length, but maintain a similar shape. You might also have seen purple basil in more “exotic” dishes. The leaves look like the sweet basil’s but are dark purple in colour. All basil leaves smell sweet and pungent, sharp and distinct!

If you have a pot of basil growing, pluck only the big leaves. When the flowers start to bud, nip it away quickly. Once the flowers start to grow and bloom, the leaves will lose their flavour. You must bring the pot indoors in winter and keep it near the window and warmish (min temp around 8 –10 degC). If you are buying basil leaves from the grocer or markets, wrap them with a moist paper towel/ Soupalin in a bag to keep them fresh in the fridge. Don’t use basil leaves if they are spotty or turning blackish. Unfortunately, they do not turn into purple basil.