KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 -- The heat can be unbearable. Too hot to cook, certainly.

Times like these what I desire is a salad, a chilled salad and not the warm sort made from roasted vegetables and meat.

No leafy greens, please. The last thing I want is to tackle a forkful of unruly arugula. In fact, as few add-ons as possible - no chunks of chicken breast, no scattering of pumpkin seeds, no wodges of cheese.

Though that last ingredient does give me an idea.

A late summer in Trento and a long, multi-course dinner at my Italian friend's home. His mother prepared a classic insalata Caprese - freshly plucked leaves of basil, generous wedges of mozzarella cheese; and vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced just as thickly.

And so it goes, the colour...