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!

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)