My busy lifestyle is taking its toll as quick-just-heat-up dinners and take-away lunches is becoming to norm. But luckily I stumbled upon this easy, healthy and quick salad which is the perfect meal to get the balanced lifestyle (diet) back on track, and allow me a few more minutes to relax and kick my feet up.

I treated myself to a lovely glass of Arniston Bay Chardonnay to complete this great meal.

Serves:             4

Total time: 25min

Ingredients

 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• - 4 teaspoons  salt
• - 1 teaspoon black pepper
• - 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes)
• - 1 tablespoon white wine or rice vinegar
• - 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• - 4 scallions (white and light green parts), thinly sliced
• - 2 Granny Smith apples (peeled, if desired), diced
• - 1/3 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
• - 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh mint
• - 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Directions

1. - Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Pound it to an even thinness. Place the chicken in a large saucepan and add enough water to cover by 1 cm. Add 3 teaspoons of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until no trace of pink remains, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a bowl of ice water for 5 minutes.
2. - Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the lime juice, vinegar, and sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the scallions and apples and toss.
3. - Drain the chicken and pat it dry. Dice the chicken and add it to the apple mixture along with the peanuts, mint, basil, and the remaining salt and pepper. Toss and divide among individual plates.

Source: realsimple.com

Keep Flying is a simple idea. An idea that matters. And an idea that belongs to all of us .It believes that its all of our responsibility to fly the flag. Every South African Brand; Every South African, and to recognize what the flag symbolizes: Us, and our unity.

A unity that brought the World’s Greatest Tournament to life in a way only we could. A unity that still reverberates across continents a world away. A unity that says to the  world, and ourselves: “Hear us, each one of us, as one. Our time has truly come”

“Keep Flying” is simply that. A call to fly the flag. A call to keep flying.

For more info on this initiative visit:  keepflyingtheflag.co.za

Although the World Cup drew to a close with a nail-biting final and Spain ending victorious, the event is still keeping the focus firmly on South Africa. As a result, Channel 4 (UK) recently created a Top 10 South African wine list and Arniston Bay had three wines on their list.

The perennially popular Arniston Bay Chardonnay Chenin Blanc, Arniston Bay Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot and easy-drinking Arniston Bay Lighthouse Collection White wine made this list.

Source: channel4.com

I love wine and salads but sometimes the pairing suggestions are misleading as the salad dressing plays a more important role than the salad.  It seems to me that the tail is wagging the dog when it comes to wine and salad pairing. 

I have come across numerous Salads and salad ingredients wine pairing suggestions but the salad dressing is the ingredient that needs to be paired with the wine. 

But in general salad dressing is one of the most difficult components to coordinate with wine because of its acidic nature.  So what do you do? 

The best thing to do is address the mayor acidity of some dressings. You can reduce the vinegar part of the salad dressing with olive oil our rich stock, like chicken stock. 

 Chef Josh Ash  wrote that a major problem in pairing salad and wine is the high acid level of most vinaigrettes, which wreaks havoc on wine, making it taste flat and flabby.  He suggests that you can avoid this conflict by making dressings that are less sharp but still vivid, with some of the following techniques.

Replace part or all of the red or white wine vinegar in a recipe with balsamic, sherry, or rice wine vinegar, which have fuller, mellower flavours.

Use fruit juice instead of vinegar. Obvious choices might be lemon or lime juice, but think also of orange juice, apple cider, cranberry juice or any fruit juice with a bright flavour.

Replace acid ingredients with other liquids that are intense, but not sharp, such as rich chicken, veal, fish or vegetable stock, Worcester sauce, soy sauce, juices from roasted meats or vegetables or roasted garlic purée. 

When designing a salad, be sure to include ingredients that have a natural affinity to wine like cheese, herbs, greens, nuts, fruits and more. 

My suggestion for middle of the road wine which will pair well with salads is the Arniston Bay Chenin Blanc / Chardonnay. This is a lovely versatile crispy and fruity wine.

The World Cup is drawing to a close as Sunday’s final between Spain and Holland will mark the end of this amazing show. It is going to be a titanic battle between these two European super teams. To give the night a Spanish flavour try this interesting and delicious Spanish recipe.

Recipe: Spanish Chicken and Rice

Serves 4

Total time 40 min

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 500g boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 5-6cm pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1 800ml can diced tomatoes, including liquid
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup pimiento-stuffed Spanish olives, chopped (optional)

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until golden brown, 2 minutes per side.
2. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the wine, tomatoes and their liquid, rice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
3. Stir in the peas and cook, covered, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Spoon the chicken and rice onto individual plates and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve with the olives, if desired.

Recommended wine

The well balanced Arniston Bay Sauvignon Blanc Semillon  will be the perfect match for this delicious Spanish meal.  

Source: realsimple.com

Frank Lampard hit the proverbial woodwork in his famous goal that never was against the German soccer team. Mexico was also on the wrong end of an offside decision and it seems that Fifa is now singing a different tune as the referees, who made blatant errors, are being “red carded” and sent home.

To show solidarity with the teams who received calls from the referees, I suggest to drink a balanced, wooded South African wine which will never be red carded like the Arniston Bay Chardonnay.

This on(sea)side wine is slightly wooded (oak) to give a perfectly balanced wine which will help in easing the disappointment of Lampard’s South African  ‘no-goal’.