Cucumber and Avocado Salad with Purple Basil

A few months ago my mom helped me plant a little herb garden in a simple medium sized pot. She has quite the green thumb, and I have yet to inherit it, so I decided I wanted to learn. We went to Whole Foods and bought organic herbs and organic dirt, and a short while later I had my own little farm on my patio. I bought organic rosemary, lemon thyme, green basil, and purple basil. Thyme is probably my favorite to cook with flavor wise, but I LOVE the color of the purple basil. It tastes pretty much the same as green basil, but is is so much more visually pleasing. I know I mention a lot that we eat with our eyes first, and I think it is especially important to make vegetables look pretty and appealing so that we enjoy eating them more often.

As a side note, I have to admit that I don't have patience for people who claim,"I don't eat anything green. It's gross." Oh really? Green is gross? You mean, the color that symbolizes new life, calm, and peace? You don't want to eat that? Rolling my eyes at you. Be an adult and eat your vegetables. I promise they can be delicious. How can they be delicious? Add some fat! Add some healthy fat. Please don't tell me that you still think that fat makes you fat. It doesn't. In fact, you NEED healthy fats to help you absorb all the good stuff that you get from veggies. Ok, I'll stop ranting, and just give you a recipe that is the perfect example of vegetables that taste fresh and great, with some wonderful healthy sources of fat.

Cucumber and Avocado Salad with Organic Purple Basil
Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

1 organic cucumber, diced
1 avocado, diced
2 tablespoons of small diced red onions
juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon of high quality, organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon of chopped organic purple basil (green will do fine if you can't find purple!)
1 teaspoon of sea salt
20 grinds of fresh pepper
1/2 a teaspoon of organic garlic granules

Directions:

*Ok, it's this simple: mix everything together in a bowl. You can let all the flavors marry in the fridge for 30 minutes if you'd like, but honestly I usually just eat this right away.

I hope you guys enjoy this quick and easy side dish as much as I do, and I encourage you to grow some of your own herbs. You just need enough space for a medium sized pot, a decent amount of sunlight, and enough patience to try to remember to water it. If I can grow these on my tiny balcony, anybody can!