Thai Stir Fry Basil Chicken

   When I was at Chennai, I managed to buy some Thai Basil leaves at a supermarket. Back at home in Salem, I picked the Basil leaves and planted the stems in a potted plant. I was thrilled when new shoots sprouted out and now I have a tiny Basil garden! A couple of days back , I gathered my first batch of basil leaves and decided to try out this absolutely awesome Thai Stir Fry Basil Chicken. I don’t know whether this is an authentic recipe, as I’ve never tasted Basil Chicken in a Thai Restaurant. I followed the basic recipe in Temple of Thai with a few changes here and there.

The Basil plant in my garden:

Here’s how my dish turned out to be :

Thai Stir Fry Basil Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 kg boneless chicken breast, sliced into strips

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 cup sliced onion

3 tsp dark soy sauce

2 spoons oyster sauce

3 spoons fish sauce

1 spoons red Thai hot sauce

2 teaspoon fresh lime juice

2  whole red chilies( pounded with a mortar and pestle)or crushed paprika flakes

1 cup fresh Thai basil leaves (or 1/4 cup dried basil, soaked to soften)

 1 teaspoon palm sugar

1 cup mixed bell peppers

Dash of ground white pepper

2-3 spoons oil

!/4 cup spring onions or green onions chopped fine.

Method:

Mix the fish sauce, oyster sauce, red hot sauce in a bowl .Add palm sugar and lemon juice whisk all the ingredients .Keep aside.

• Heat a wok.
• Swirl in the oil.
• Stir in the garlic.
• Add sliced onions and stir for a few seconds.
• Add chicken slices. Stir-fry till brown
• Stir in bell peppers
• Add the sauce mixture and stir-fry till brown and cooked.
• Mix in the fresh basil leaves and spring onions. Stir-fry for another half a minute, or until the basil is wilted and the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with white pepper. Stir.
• Serve with plain steamed rice.

                      Enjoy! :)

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Time for Jellybeans

  I came across a blog, Just a Little Place to Write, where every Wednesday they post a photo or a word and anyone can write anything with that prompt! It can be short or long or whatever ,as long as one just writes! I thought that it was fun and impulsively I decided to write a short post on the prompt of the week ‘Jellybean’

Here’s what I wrote:

  Jellybeans! The multicolored assorted tiny bean shaped confectionery? How I eyed them greedily in the comic books as a child! I felt I was being denied the ultimate goodie as they were not available in our country then. The very word ‘jelly bean’ has a sweet musical lilt to it, is’nt it? I even wished my Tooth Fairy placed some jelly beans under my pillow in exchange for my tooth!

  However, time flew and jelly beans were shoved behind my mind .I have passed middle age and now all of a sudden I’m greedy again for Jelly Beans! Yes, you guessed it! Google’s latest Android OS Jelly Bean for smart phones and tablets! I’m finally going to have Jellybeans! :)

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Worse to Impossible

  Have you ever been in a situation where you think that it just cannot get worse and it does? Have you ever been swept along in a series of events which are not rational or reasonable? Have you ever had problems for which there seem to be no solutions? Your painful trial is like a heavy load which bears you down with agonizing sadness.What do you experience during those impossible difficult times? Don’t you feel absolutely and totally frustrated, helpless, and vulnerable as you are powerless to make the situation better? Not believing, distressed, you look on like a zombie!

 Well, what have I done when faced with such a situation?

First reaction - Question God, ‘Why?’
Second reaction –Self-pity
Third reaction – Give in to a bout of tears.

I feel like I have hit the bottom and cannot go down further!

I do wish fervently that I could adopt Garfield’s theory - ‘When life puts you in tough situations, don’t say why me? Just say try me!’ Great! But then, I’m not a cat! I’m just a mere human and a woman! 

However, over the years I have slowly but surely cultivated a method which has helped me tremendously. So, here’s what I do now! 

It goes as follows:

I close my eyes tightly, breathe in and out and concentrate on God my Savior, Jesus. I WILL God’s hands to touch my forehead, my temples till I FEEL His touch and experience peace and calm. The situation is still there happily hovering over my head, but then, I have peace and I am calm. I keep repeating, ‘With God all things are possible’ Now I have the courage and strength to carry on, move on , laugh out with the impossible situation still perched safely in the background! Only Hope and Faith can carry you through these difficult situations. Firmly believe that, ‘If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it’ 

 This works wonders for me! 

I love this awesome quote by Christian singer Wintley Phipps :

“It is in the quiet crucible of your personal, private suffering that your noblest dreams are born and God’s greatest gifts are given, in compensation for what you have been through.”

How do you deal with an impossible situation? Any feedback is most welcome!

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