I can’t believe it’s the end of March already. A quarter of the year has gone by, and soon summer will be here. Summer is one of my favorite seasons. The weather is nice, everyone is relaxed and going on vacations, and I get to wear my cute little summer dresses and sandals (yes, I specifically chose not to mention that it is also bikini season…ugh)!

I’ve traveled to many places during my summer vacations, both near and far, and have fond memories of each one of them. However, one of the best trips I had was in 2006, when my hubby and I went to Napa for our 5th year anniversary. And while I don’t know the difference between a Syrah or Shiraz (besides the fact that I have 2 Indian friends that also go by those names), or what the hell a decanter is used for (which is why I once put the lovely red roses my hubby gave me into it), my hubby is a wine freak.

We would spend our day wine tasting (well actually, hubby did the wine tasting. I had the duty of writing down all his comments about the wine in his wine notebook, that I stupidly bought for him), but at night we would try the many fine restaurants in Napa. I can still remember everything we ate at each restaurant, and how good it tasted (why can’t I remember more useful things like where I parked my damn car at the local mall?).

Anyways, one of the wineries we went to actually had a restaurant in there too (thank God), so that we could actually dine in the outdoor garden, while enjoying our delicious lunch and a nice glass of wine. It was quite romantic.

I had a tomato and basil pasta dish, with a pan seared chicken breast on top, and it was so good. The pasta was light, fresh, and simple, perfect for the summer months (hubby had 2 bottles of wine, with a side of soup and salad). Ever since then, I’ve made a similar pasta dish whenever I feel like summer is near.

Today I awoke to beams of sunlight shining through the window, baby birds chirping excitedly outside, and hubby walking around in shorts exposing his blindingly pale legs, and I knew, summer is near.

So today I made my delicious Tomato and Basil Pasta with Chicken, and it brought back all those wonderful memories from 3 years ago. Just the smell of it reminded me of summer.

This dish is simple and fresh, exactly what a summer dish should entail, so here the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of chicken breast fillets
• 4 medium sized tomatoes, cubed
• ½ cup of fresh basil, julienned
• ½ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup of tomato sauce
• 1 box of bow tie pasta
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Tomato and Basil Pasta with Pan Fried Chicken Breast

Chicken Marinade:

• 2 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley leaves
• lemon zest from half a lemon
• juice of half a lemon

Directions:

1. Rinse and pat dry the chicken breast
2. Put the marinade ingredients on chicken, and set aside
3. Heat a pan with oil and add garlic, and tomatoes and stir fry about 4 mins, or until tomatoes are soft
4. Add the tomato sauce, and let boil
5. Once boiling, add the mozzarella cheese, followed by the half the fresh basil
6. In another pan, heat, add oil, and cook the chicken breast about 4 mins on each side on medium heat, or until no longer pink in the middle
7. In another pot, boil some water, add the oil, salt and pasta, and let cook for about 8-10 mins until al dente (follow instructions on the box)
8. Slice up the chicken, put the sauce on top of the pasta, and garnish the pasta with the remaining basil and enjoy!

So I’ve been unemployed for more than a month now, and while it may have been fun the first few days, my patience is wearing thin. Things I used to be able to enjoy (eating out, going shopping, taking nice vacations) are now a distant memory. I can’t even remember the last time I left the house with anything besides my gym outfit on. (And seriously, I doubt my old track pants from high school, which are a tad tight now, and my ratty old south park t-shirts from signing up for new credit cards in college, even constitute as a gym outfit.)

But as much as I love shopping and adding new pieces to my closet, I miss eating out even more. My hubby and I use to eat out every weekend, as a treat for my slaving away in the kitchen for an hour a day, five times a week. But those days are long gone (hubby says we need to save money for our mortgage and bills, and lectures me about how these are hard times and that I need to think outside the box).

One of the restaurants I long for the most, is this cute little Thai place in the city. It is small, but quaint, which makes it quite romantic especially since the place is lit by small candles (and everyone looks better in candlelight!). They have the best Curry Chicken there.

Since eating out is no longer in our budget, I have now been given the task to create my own delicious curry to be enjoyed in our dining room (the only up side is that I can now control the lighting in the room, and on the days where I am too tired to drag my ass to the shower after a sweaty day at the gym, or too lazy to wash the free makeup trial I got at the local mall by a blind lady at the MAC counter because I had nothing better to do, we are practically eating in the dark).

I have made curry many times at home before, but I always used the store bought curry cubes that you simply add water too. But these days I’ve been craving for the real thing! So I bought all the ingredients, and even bought modern white plates just like the restaurant, in hopes of having the same happy feeling I get from eating out. And sometimes…I even amaze myself!

I couldn’t believe how good it turned out! It is the best curry chicken my mouth has ever tasted (and my hubby’s)! The chicken was juicy and tasty, the potatoes and carrots were cooked perfectly, and the curry sauce was light with a hint of coconut (I just drooled onto my hello kitty robe). It is truly perfection.

My hubby got so upset thinking about how much money we wasted eating at that Thai restaurant week after week, when I could’ve easily made the same thing at home but even better! Which gave me a great idea. I now have a tip jar on my dining room table, where I politely ask for half of what we use to pay at the restaurant for the same dish. (Now that’s a deal, if you ask me. New gym outfit, here I come!).

So without further delay, here is my Curry Chicken with Coconut Milk recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1lb boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
• half a bag of baby carrots, or two regular carrots cut into bite size pieces
• 3 medium sized russet potatoes, cut into large chunks (about the size of 2 bite sized pieces. The smaller you cut the potatoes, the faster they will disappear when you cook them, so if you like potatoes, leave them bigger)
• 1 medium sized white onion , sliced
• 1 large green bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 slices of ginger
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

curry chicken with coconut, served with coconut rice

Marinade:

• 2 tablespoons garlic salt
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 2 teaspoon Lee Kum Kee chicken powder
• 2 teaspoons curry powder

Directions:

1. Put the chicken with the marinade ingredients in a bowl, and set aside
2. Boil a pot of water, and add the oil and salt in the water, followed by the carrots and potatoes. Let boil about 10 mins, or until the carrots and potatoes are slightly tender on the outside, but still a little hard on the inside. Then rinse under cold water, and set aside.
3. Heat a pan with the oil, garlic, ginger, and onions, and let cook for about 3 mins, or until slightly brown.
4. Add the marinated chicken, and stir fry about 7 mins, or until chicken is no longer pink.
5. Add the coconut milk, and turn to low heat, until boiling.
6. Add the green bell pepper.
7. Serve over rice, and enjoy!

Since I have so much free time these days, I have taken the initiative to go back to the gym. The last time I went was before I was married in 2007, when I was trying to look good in my wedding dress. I bought a 3 year membership back then, because the more years you pay for, the cheaper it is (yes, I am a sucker).

The day before I got married, I told my trainer it was my last day, because what good is it to get married if you still need to work on looking good? To me, that was one of the biggest advantages of getting married. I could get fat, sloppy, and just really let myself go in the looks department, and my husband would still be legally bound to me forever.

But because of the present unfortunate circumstances, I have hauled my ass back to the gym. I was actually looking forward to going to the gym (you can only watch Maury Provich so long until you realize the uncle is always the baby daddy). But the moment I stepped foot in the gym, all the unpleasant memories came raining down on me.

While the gym I go to is relatively new and clean, it still doesn’t hide the fact that it reeks of BO, that the body building wannabes are constantly making loud grunting noises as if giving birth, and that people seem to think that it is ok to wear whatever you want to the gym (I thought this big lady had no pants on, until I realized her tiny shorts were sucked into her big ass). I am all for freedom of expression and I heavily support being proud of your own body and all that, but still, we should be considerate of other people’s eyes.

I also find that every time I am in the gym, I get hungry. Not because I am burning off hundreds and hundreds of calories, but because the smart asses that work at 24, think it’s a really good idea to put on the Food Network while everyone is working their asses off trying to get in shape. As a result, I go straight to the kitchen when I get home, to stuff my face. But on the plus side, I do come up with a lot of cooking ideas while watching those mouth watering cooking shows.

Today on Barefoot Contessa, she was making baked herb chicken with a side of vegetables, and it looked delicious! I was trying hard to make a mental note of all the ingredients she was using, but once she hit 10, I gave up. I figured I’d just go back to my own tried and true chicken drumsticks recipe.

It is so quick and easy, and again, the oven does all the work. I make chicken drumsticks at least once a week, because it is so quick. I even have marinated drumsticks in the freezer that I just take out, thaw, and throw in the oven. It can’t get any easier than that!

So here is my recipe for Chicken drumsticks, and because that is so easy to make, I’ll throw in my recipe for vegetable medley (otherwise known as whatever veggies are still left in your fridge):

Ingredients:

• 6-8 chicken drumsticks (medium sized)

chicken drumsticks and vegetable medley

Marinade:

• 2 cups Italian dressing
• 2 tablespoons parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons garlic salt
• 2 tablespoons black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Rinse the chicken drumsticks under cold water, and pat dry
3. Cut 3 slits in the meatiest part of the drumsticks, so the marinade can hold better
4. Evenly coat the drumsticks with the marinade ingredients (save one third of the marinade for later)
5. Line a baking dish with foil, and lightly coat with oil
6. Place the drumsticks on foil, and let bake for 30 mins, then turn the drumsticks over, and pour remaining marinade on top
7. Let bake for another 20-30 mins, or until chicken is no longer pink inside
8. Let cool for 10 mins, then serve

For the Vegetable Medley:

Ingredients:

• Half of a large white onion sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 each of a large green and red pepper sliced
• 2 small zucchinis, sliced
• 2 small yellow squash, sliced
• 1 pat of butter (about the size of a starburst candy)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. To a heated pan, add the garlic, onions and butter
2. Add the zucchini and squash and stir fry for 3 mins, or until slightly soft
3. Add the red and green peppers, and stir fry another 3 mins (the zucchini and squash should still retain its color. If it is turning gray or is soggy then you have cooked it too long)
4. Add the salt and pepper

I recently went to visit my hubby at work, being that I am unemployed, and have nothing better to do (oh wait, plus i really wanted to see him =)). Anyways, he works in downtown SF, and everyone that lives here knows how crazy it is to drive around there. (Not to mention, I am a Chinese woman driver, and yes I fit the stereotype exactly!) We decided to go to this Thai restaurant called Siam Kitchen, that happened to be right across the street from a parking lot.

Anyways, we walked in, and of course there was a line since it was 1245. So we patiently waited in line, meanwhile I was busy checking out the decor and the menu. For a place that seemed to have that many customers, I was surprised the decor wasn’t a little nicer. They had the typical purple paint and elephant statues, which apparently is symbolic of the Thai culture, because I’ve seen in in every Thai restaurant I’ve been to. Other than that, it was just a large room filled with tables and uncomfortable chairs. The menu had the typical Thai items, which was a good sign I guess.

My hubby has been there a few times, mostly for take out, since he is a busy computer geek and something or other is always crashing. But he always orders the same thing, roast duck over rice. I look throughly through the menu, and of course, always order the same thing, pad kra praow (otherwise known as ground chicken with basil and peppers). And then the ordeal began.

We waited, and waited, and waited for our food to come. We watched as people who had sat down a long time before us finally get there food. I was starting to think we would never get our meal by the time 25 mins hit. Things started to get blurry, and I was feeling faint (I must eat every hour or so. I don’t have a health condition, I just like to eat). Finally, after 30 mins of ordering, we got our food. Of course, expectations were high at this point.

I looked over at my hubby’s plate, and it was as if he ordered duck skin with lots of fat, and maybe a few pieces of actual meat on the side. Nevertheless, hubby ate it because he was “starving like marvin” as he would say. My plate was also a disappointment. The chicken was dry, the dish had no flavor. And at that point, I would’ve even eaten the crap my sister calls her signature spaghetti (which is just over cooked spaghetti noodles, and ragu tomato sauce that was microwaved), yet I couldn’t get myself to eat more than a third of the plate. Hubby and I left half full, and went over to pick up the car only to find out it cost $11 to park for one hour. What a rip off! That’s when I vowed never to visit hubby again, and to make my own Thai dish at home! (Only kidding, of course I will still visit hubby on his birthday, I’m not that cruel).

Anyways, which brings me to my recipe of Thai chicken with basil and sweet peppers. I didn’t follow any recipes. I just added what I thought would be good in that dish, and surprisingly it turned out really good. Hubby thought I had ordered pick up from a Thai restaurant! I can’t believe how easy it is to make. I will never order this at a Thai restaurant again!

So here is my version of the thai dish pad kra praow, or ground chicken with basil and sweet peppers:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of ground chicken
• 1 medium sized yellow onion minced
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 2 each of the small sweet yellow, red, and orange peppers cut into slices (or one larger red and green pepper)
• one small package of white mushrooms sliced (about 2 handfuls)
• 1 quarter size piece of ginger cut into slices

My Thai chicken with basil and sweet peppers, with a side of cooked cucumbers

Marinade:

• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon chinese hot sauce
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley leaves
• 2 teaspoons basil paste (or 2 fresh basil leaves)

Directions:

1. Add the marinade ingredients to the ground chicken and mix until even (do not overly mix, otherwise the chicken will be tough) and set aside
2. Cut up the garlic, onion, ginger, and peppers and set aside
3. Heat a wok and put in the oil, garlic, onion and ginger until slightly browned
4. Add in the ground chicken and stir fry until browned and evenly cooked
5. Add in the mushrooms and all the peppers and cover with lid for about 5 mins (or until peppers and mushrooms are a little soft but still a little crunchy)