Photos by Amy Sheridan
A friend reminded me recently of something we learned in High School. I believe it was Wordsworth that championed the idea of “man’s affinity with nature”. I couldn’t help but think of this as I walked the farmer’s market recently. I was in the best mood, skipping as I shopped. As I was humming “Walking on Sunshine,” I felt happier than I’d been in awhile. And then someone commented on the bouquet in my hand. I was holding a tiny bouquet of fresh basil. Baby basil. It was the smell of it that had first attracted me, and I had added to it daffodils, a bag of English peas and asparagus. The perfect spring bouquet with my anise laced baby basil as the star. The Ligurians believe that basil is magical, and some believe the herb can lower anxiety. It’s interesting that’s it was the first thing I picked up at the market, that my mood lifted and my case of “the winters” seemed to dissipate. Too early for a tomato salad, I paired some of my baby basil with a simple potato salad and the rest I chopped and served with butter over my English peas.
Seek out your own instant happy. Look for the first of the season basil, the kind that’s grown in the ground, not a greenhouse. Give it a good sniff. Breathe deep. Be gone anxiety and stinky mood! Be gone cobwebs of winter and ho hums of cold and rain. Spring is here. Time to begin again. Nature is fresh and new. And you can be, too.
To possibilities,
Rachael
