Happy Tummy Talk #1 : Chicken Pesto Rotini Pasta

Two blog posts in a row?  It doesn't hurt, right? I was just on a writing roll right now. However, being a novice in putting up my thoughts out in the open aka this journal online, I am not really sure what type of things I should write about. Maybe there is a category I SHOULD write about but to be honest, I just WANT to write about anything under the sun. Hence, after a series of blog posts about personal life events, I thought of sharing one of my favorite, if not my favorite, pasta dishes, Chicken Pesto. For my first food post (yes, I plan to make this a cooking series), I thought what better way to make your tummy happy than a healthy Italian dish like this. Agree? 

For this particular recipe, I used Rotini or the corkscrew-looking pasta and made pesto sauce from scratch.

If this looks appetizing to you and you love anything pesto like I do, keep reading! ♥

Here are the ingredients you will be needing:

Any brand of pine nuts and parmesan cheese will do but for cheese, I prefer the wedges over the bottled ones, just because you can freshly grate it yourself. For olive oil, just make sure to get the extra virgin one. Basil leaves are pretty easy to find. I hope I had a basil plant at home but I don't, so I had to buy from the supermarket. If you have one, make sure to use it for extra leafy freshness! :)

Lastly, pick up a pasta shape you adore. 

Being a non-long pasta lover, my personal favorite is penne and rotini. 

Let's begin, shall we?

STEPS:

FIRST --- Throw in 2 spoonfuls of pine nuts in a small pan for roasting. This will only take a minute or two so take the nuts out of the pan when it turns slightly golden brown. This step is crucial to bring the nutty flavor out. Then, set aside.

SECOND --- Now is a good time to boil 450 grams of pasta into a large cooking pot, so it will be ready right in time for the pesto sauce. For those who have not prepared pasta before, make sure the all of the pasta is submerged in water. Additionally, reaching its boiling point does not mean it is ready. A tip would be stabbing one piece with a fork to know if it is soft enough. I personally like al dente (a little firm) pasta so don't let it boil for too long if you prefer the same. 

THIRD --- Prepare 4-5 cups of basil leaves (enough to coat 450 grams of pasta) and throw it into a food processor. Chop the 2 cloves of garlic and add it in with the roasted pine nuts.

FOURTH --- Squeeze out a quarter or less of a lemon. I love the citrus taste in my pesto, so you can add less or skip the lemon if you don't like it.

FIFTH --- Put on the lid and start the processor until the mixture is completely grounded.

SIXTH --- Pour in the extra virgin olive oil bit by bit while grinding until the mixture reaches a creamy consistency. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

SEVENTH --- Place the mixture into a bowl and add a good amount of parmesan cheese. For me, the cheesier, the better.

EIGHTH --- Now onto the meat part. Fry the chicken under medium heat until it is slightly brown in color.

NINTH --- Drain and transfer the pasta into a mixing bowl. Mix the sauce with the pasta and add in the chicken. For my own liking, I added roasted tomato. Just pan fry it with a little bit of olive oil and I promise, the tomato flavor changes the pesto game ten times better. That is, at least, my opinion. See for yourself!

TENTH --- Serve it in a plate, sprinkle with cheese and TADAH! You are ready to dig in!

I once disliked pesto anything but now, it is one of my favorites! 

Try this recipe and I swear you would not regret it! 

So how's my first cooking blog post? I hope I get an A for A-ffort :)

'Til the next,

Macy

Squamish Valley Music Festival

"Hello, Squamlings!" It is the first statement that I laid my eyes on as I opened my festival tickets for the Squamish event held from August 7 until 10. I purchased my tickets a month ago and got them two weeks prior to the event. I guess all I'm saying is Andrew and I had a good laugh with the word 'squamling'. Well, I would prefer squamlings over squamlets any day. Hahaha! 

Regardless of their term choices, this event was one for the books although I did not attend the whole weekend. That one Sunday was more than enough of an experience to know that music festivals will be one of my things from this moment on. It was tough picking between Friday (Bruno Mars & Foster the People) and Sunday (Arctic Monkeys & Eminem) but after realizing that I already watched Bruno live and it was ten years ago since Eminem last visited Vancouver - not to mention the act before him is Arctic Monkeys, I knew, then, that Sunday was the way to go!

I ain't no hippie shiz, I am a kid of the 90's

Since I know Burnaby to Squamish can be a long ride, I opted not to drive. One of my friends, Andrew, and I decided to book a shuttle ticket so we do not have to worry about traffic, energy for driving, directions and parking fees. The $50-dollar shuttle ticket was a good decision because the ride back and forth was our moment to take naps and get our music vibe on [c/o the shuttle driver who busted out some pop songs on our way there]. 

For the first couple of hours, we just explored around the area. If I am not mistaken, there were four stages, namely: Stawamus, Blueprint, Meadows and Tantalus, the main stage. 

Right here is one of their pathways to the different stage areas. 

Blueprint Stage

Stawamus Stage

They had food stalls everywhere. The entire place had a cashless system but as long as you load money onto your wristband through their top-up booths, you are good to go! They also had booths for clothing apparels, tattoo shops, and SVMF merchandise.  

cashless food stalls

dino walking around

ya know, just 9-foot people chillin'

this guy and his artistic skills

For the reason that we did not know most of the bands who played in the daytime, Andrew and I decided to eat our packed lunch and play cards under this awesome tree with disco balls for a short while.

When we were full from lunch, what better drink to complement our meal than one from Beer Garden, right? My drink of choice was really good!

Jack Daniel's Coktail Punch

At around 5 in the afternoon, Andrew and I decided to go back to the Tantalus Stage, where Arctic Monkeys and Eminem played at 8 in the evening, to get a good spot. 

On our way there, we had too...

....anchor a long strand of balloons for photo opp

...take photos at the SQUAMISH sign

...and admire the beauty that is this weather in this fine fine music fest day.

If you have been reading this blog since the beginning, you know I would not pass on taking fashion photographs for my lookbook account. So here they are:

Check out that art piece behind me!

We reached the Tantalus Stage and believe me when I say, I was pumped to see Arctic Monkeys and most especially Eminem perform I had to run for it! Haha! Just kiddin'.

...but for real though.

We found a pretty decent spot and listened to the indie band, Lord Huron. I did not know them but I think they were really good! 

Lord Huron

When the clock struck 8, the Arctic Monkeys came out and played their hearts out! I was so stoked to hear Do I Wanna Know, Arabella, and Snap Out of It live, you have no idea!

Right by Arctic's last few songs, I had to go to the pit stop and I kid you not, it was the longest wait I have ever had for a pee-pee. The sun was still out when I fell in line and it was dimming when I finished. It may be the only con I can think of with outdoor events like this. Thank God the cubicles still smelled decent by the end of the day and they never ran out of sanitizer 'cause truth be told, I am a slight germophobe.

VIP area

And yes, the moment we have all been waiting for the whole day, Eminem in flesh!!!

Truly beyond satisfied by his song choices! I told myself as long as he performed Airplanes, Love the Way You Lie, Not Afraid, and Lose Yourself I am good, and he did!!! Thank you, Eminem for a great concert!

Around 11:00 late evening, 15 minutes before his act ended, I told my friend that we should sneak out of the area because it will be crazy to exit together with thousands of other bodies. Not to mention, our shuttle leaves at 11:30PM. Luckily, we had a smooth exit and we were able to catch our ride home.

This event was, indeed, one for the books! I cannot wait to attend my next music festival! I am thinking one of the biggest music fests, Coachella! What do you think? Yes or yes? 

Anyway, this is already becoming a long rant about my experience which only goes to say I really enjoyed and would do it again! To the others who love music and festivals in general, you have got to experience this at least once. It was worth the tan, although God knows I did not need to get any darker. Hehe. To the other squamlings, care to share your experience as well? I hope it was similar to mine! GREEEAT.

'Til the next,

Macy

How I Spent My Long Weekend

I know, I know. Long time no update for me these past couple of weeks! Not to worry 'cause I am back to writing on my public journal aka this blog! Speaking of journal, I still can quite remember how I used to have a diary that has a lock on it when I was in elementary school and how I did have a diary version 2.0 in college just to glue tiny memorabilias like movie passes, flower petals, adventure photos and what not. Oh, the nostalgia!

Anyway, I am getting out of purpose here! I meant to share about my long weekend which was basically composed of my part-time work on a Saturday, a family bbq picnic by the lake on Sunday, and a movie date with my sister on BC Day. I only got to document our Sunday picnic at Buntzen Lake (Port Moody, Coquitlam) so here's how it went...

A family that builds a tent together, gets to build the tent faster lol

 Here are a couple of family photos that are very mandatory in every family trip. We kind of look good in these photos, if I say so myself :)

All smiles

Wacky

Before enjoying the scenery and of course good BBQ, I had to channel the inner style enthusiast in me and take more than enough #ootd's!

(clothing brands edited onto the photos for your pleasure, fashion readers)

Afterwards, I took photographs of the exquisite scenery at Buntzen! This is truly a gem, if you ask me.

Of course, how can I not dare take advantage of Mother Earth's gift as a perfect backdrop for #selfies, right?

I was obviously enjoying the sun at this point.

....and here's me being all dramatic and photo-esque!

I also had to take pictures of the girl behind my well-shot photographs, my sister, Ella!

Kuddos to your acquired skills, guuurl.

My brother, Micko, having a world of his own.

Presenting my parents of 22 years... hehehe.

"Let's take a picture together" -Mom

The parentals are still hip for #groupies, yes?

Enough of the family photos, here's #foodporn for you. 

Chicken Barbecue

Grilled Cucs and Red Peppers

After eating our lunch, we just decided to relax and enjoy the view and what other people were up to. We took a nap in the tent which was technically not a nap because mine was a 2-hour one. Well, it just makes sense considering I only had 45 minutes of sleep the night before this because we had to drive to the lake at dawn to get a good spot. Everybody knows Vancouverites love their picnics by the beach especially on long weekends like this.

View from our spot

None of us went swimming so we decided to just take the Buntzen trails to get our hiking/trekking shoes on.

Taking photos and simply staring at nature's beauty especially the waters for hours are no tasks at all. Personally, this is my definition of downtime and probably the most relaxing activity in the summer. We had plans to go to Whistler for water rafting, bungee jumping, & ziplining but things changed at the last minute. However, I ain't complaining 'cause this was the perfect getaway from the city noise. 

'Til the next,

Macy