I have had a stressful few weeks and now with it being school holidays it seems even more stressful – granted I don’t have to wake up at 5:30 am anymore, I do have to entertain my children while trying to get some meaningful work done. It seems my children are at the age where they are too big for the jungle gym, the trampoline is boring, there is nothing to do and I’m such a boring mom! Yet we live on an Estate opposite a community center, the kids have bikes and my neighbour has a heated pool! But there is nothing to do! So when I dropped my girls off at their dad’s house – Yes, I am a statistic that makes up for the high divorce rate in South Africa – and with my partner away, I was more than ready to take on a Me-Myself-&-I weekend.
I decided instead of doing the usual sushi night out, as hard as it was to resist especially on half price night – I would instead release some tension and stress, by being creative and doing what I love to do, cook, have a drink and enjoy a relaxing, detoxing bath by candle light.
Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Feta and Peppadews
These are roughly the ingredients but you can adjust them according to your own personal taste, particularly the peppadew, feta ratio.
Ingredients
- 4x Large Chicken Breasts
- 200g Feta Cheese, crumbled
- 80g Peppadews, chopped
- 1 tsp Italian Herbs
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
- salt and pepper
- Cous Cous
Method
- Slice the chicken breasts through the middle leaving only a slit open at one end, don’t cut all the way through you just need to make a pocket so you can stuff them.
- In a bowl mix the Feta, Peppadews, Italian Herbs, Olive Oil, Lemon Juice and seasoning together.
- Stuff the mixture into the chicken breasts.
- Roll the chicken breasts in the Cous Cous to evenly coat.
- Place on a wire rack on a baking tray and bake at 160 Celsius for 20 minutes – careful to not over cook, otherwise the breasts will dry out, the rack prevents the chicken from becoming soggy and instead keeps the cous cous crust crispy and crunchy.
Serve with roasted vegetables, salad or anything your heart desires. I served mine with roasted vegetables just because it was easier and I love roasted vegetables done in olive oil with a touch of seasoning.
Dinner done, I decided to maximise my down time and ran myself a hot, detoxing bath. This is a must do, normally accompanied with a glass of wine, candles and you can even throw in a good book, or not! What makes this a detoxing bath is a combination of salts and oils.
Detox Bath Mixture
Ingredients
- Course Sea Salt – available at most health shops.
- Epsom Salts – Available at most supermarkets, the sachets are at the small Spars and the boxes you’ll find at Pick’nPay or Makro.
- Sesame oil/Baby Oil – The sesame oil you’ll get from a health shop and the Baby oil from any supermarket.
Method
- Throw in 1/2 cup Sea Salt, 1/4 cup Epsom Salt and a splash of one of the oils. The Sesame oil is supposed to draw toxins out of your body according to Ayurvedic practitioners. The Baby Oil just makes you feel good, smell great and leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth.
I mentioned that a glass of wine compliments and completes a me-myself & I relaxation evening, but really any drink will do, or if you don’t drink, then no drink is clearly also fine, after-all, it’s all about you. Lately I’ve been on a vodka and lime on the rocks kick, introduced to me by my vibrant english friend Michelle, it’s a great party drink, especially if you want to dance all night. I decided that instead of wine I would indulge in a glass or two of vodka and lime on the rocks, which I decided to also go the creative route with, I was on a roll and decided that instead of using the cordial mix, which I did have in the cupboard, I would make my own lime syrup mixture, I had all of the ingredients, so why not?! Then I had another thought, I’ll try and be healthy (as healthy as this could ever be, but hey, I had had a stressful week so my though processes were a little muddled) and instead of using normal sugar I’ll use Xylitol (this is supposed to be a healthy alternative to your normal sugar) – I took a pot out, put 50 grams of Xylitol and 1 tablespoon of real Lime Juice and left it melt into a syrup, which took no time at all. I was so impressed with myself I think there were a few self back-pats being handed out. I then filled my glass with one shot vodka, one shot of my extra special syrup (insert back-pat) and headed off to my candle lit, steaming bath.
Probably two hours later and after my second drink I started to not feel so good. I thought of everything I had eaten that day, was the chicken bad, was it the psylum husks I had that morning (another detoxing ingredient), then a bell started chimming in my head, an article I read somewhere, where? Xylitol, to be taken in small amounts as it can cause a severe upset stomach in large doses! The self-back pats become self-bum kicks! How stupid! I can’t tell you how I paid for that mistake.
I can confidently confirm that you should not use Xylitol to make your own lime syrup! or any other syrup for that matter! Use with caution, great care and in small doses!
The moral, don’t get creative with Xylitol! But do try vodka and lime on the rocks or with a splash of water, it’s one shot for one shot. Enjoy that hot, steaming detox bath! Oh and let me know what you think of the chicken?
Durban Dining 