October Observances

I’ve always liked the world ‘serendipity’ meaning, according to my old Third International Webster’s Dictionary, “an assumed gift for finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.” At one time I created a character called Serendipity Black who was a combination investigator and adventurer. I never wrote any stories about her though I think I did have some notes. I’m not sure that I’ve still got them – it was before the time of computers. Anyway, that’s for future investigation and possibly a future blog.

In looking up the word just now, I discovered that it comes from a Persian folk tale called ‘The Three Princes of Serendip.’ Something else to investigate further.

My serendipitous experience in early October occurred when I posted on Facebook some photos of plants from my garden that I was bringing indoors. One of these was a variety of basil I’d not grown before that I chose just because the picture on the seed packet was unusual. The leaves looked different but tasted quite like the basil I was used to. A friend asked about the photo, said she wasn’t familiar with that type of basil. This set me off looking at my seed packet again where I discovered that the variety was called Tulsi or Sacred Basil, highly regarded in the Hindu religion. The seed packed (which I hadn’t read earlier) also stated that the plant is a common ingredient in Thai cooking and medicinal teas.

I began to search for more about this and other types of basil, as I thought there was a variety called Thai Basil and I wondered if it was the same as mine. I discovered a great many valuable and agreeable things!

This is what I found about my basil. From https://www.verywellhealth.com/holy-basil-4766587  "But in Western medicine holy basil is perhaps most valued as an adaptogen (a substance that helps the body adapt to stress). The plant has been used to combat the negative effects of stress in the body, maintain stable blood sugar levels, and promote longevity."

I’ve made a tea with my Tulsi twice. I put several sprigs plus a mint tea bag and some honey in a teapot and poured boiling water over. I liked it and maybe it will have the effects mentioned above. I’ve got the plant in a pot inside so more tea coming up.

Additional information came to light. I usually grow sweet basil which comes in several varieties, often Italian.

Now that I've grown this different variety and found out more about it, after the fact (I did use some of it in pizza, and dried some and it seemed similar in flavour to my usual), I decided I needed to find out how many different kinds there are - lots!! These include other Italian sweet varieties such as Genovese and Napoletano as well as lettuce leaf basil. Yes, it actually looks like lettuce! This is one I’d like to try because you could make a lot of pesto from not very many plants. 

Then there are colourful types of such as Dark Opal and Purple Ruffles.                                                                                                 

For a somewhat different flavour you can try Lemon or Lime Basil.

And yes, there is a variety called Sweet Thai Basil but it seems to be different from Tulsi.

And more varieties yet! So if you're feeling adventurous next spring, try some of these. https://morningchores.com/types-of-basil

October has continued with very nice weather (serendipity?), though we do need rain. I’ve been able to do lots of clean up work in my garden, though there’s still work I want to do – prune my Saskatoon bush and my raspberries, and some more raking of leaves.

I’ve been reading a lot – old books (The Godstalk Chronicles by P.C. Hodgell, Fer-de-lance by Rex Stout) and ones new to me (John A. The Man Who Made Us by Richard Gwyn).

In regard to Rex Stout (he wrote mysteries about the gourmet and large detective Nero Wolfe) I had another serendipitous experience. I was browsing Hoopla (the site connected to your library that has eBooks, TV and movies) and I came across a 2012 TV series that features adaptions several of Rex Stout’s books. But it’s an Italian series with English subtitles. The main characters (Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin) have been transported to Italy. Though they are still characterized as American, they both speak fluent Italian. I’ve watched two of the episodes so far – what a romp!