Caprese salad

I started growing basil out of a tin a few months ago. By the end of July, three stalks had sprouted and reached 20+ centimetres. A couple of stalks had also started to bloom. So last weekend, I pinched off the blooms, harvested the leaves, and pruned back the stalks. 

The leaves I harvested was more than enough for me to make two generous plates of caprese salad.

Caprese salad, with homegrown basil

Taiwanese 3-cup chicken 三杯雞

One of my favourite dishes from home is 三杯雞, or, literally, three cup chicken. Cooked in sesame oil, rice wine, and soy sauce with a load of whole garlic cloves, fresh slices of ginger, and Thai holy basil (九層塔), this dish is always a reminder of how an over-abundance of flavour can work. Thai holy basil can be hard to find, but my local Asian market sometimes stock it.

Three cup chicken

Basil panna cotta

Husband brought home a basil plant when I asked him for some fresh basil to go with the fresh mozzarella and tomatoes I got a few days ago. Naturally, a lot of basil was still in the pot. I also had nearly a full carton of double cream after making a batch of pecan maple scones (recipe to come) so I thought I'd experiment with a basil-infused panna cotta.

Basil panna cotta with summer berries

Trio of pepper torta

Wanting something vegetarian for dinner tonight and to use up the bell peppers that had been sitting in the fridge for a few days, I made a trio of pepper torta (like the Spanish tortilla but sans the patatas).

Slice of trio of pepper torta