Recently, I’ve been IN LOVE with the taste of basil. For me, it was an acquired taste – I thought it had such a strong alien herby flavor but something just clicked one day.

Last night I made a dish with some shell pasta, mozzarella, basil, parmesan cheese, sauce made of tomatoes and chicken stock, and meatballs made from romano cheese, ground chicken, italian parsley, panko breadcrumbs. Italian food reminds me a lot of Chinese food in that many dishes are just different combinations of the same ingredients.

It was pretty good… and we were all full. But not as full as Elise.