The Seven Series: Sloth

The second course is the deadly sin: Sloth

Man has always fallen prey to this deadly sin, in my definition, “if drained you shall lay but not in feign”. A perceptive waste of time indulged by an individual is one of the prominent traits of “sloth”.

Laziness is not a very difficult feeling to shrug off, especially when one’s idle, and when one’s idle, the feeling of idleness escalates to indomitable heights and eventually leads to a point of no return.

Sloth does not only terminate at one’s feeling of lethargy, but it roots deep inside an individual’s personal outlook towards life. Being complex individuals, there could be many reasons arising out of situations to make you feel a little laid back, which is not a very bad thing, considering you pause just enough to wind yourself up and begin again; but winding yourself up without reason would only tweak your mind, body and soul to a point where you would most definitely snap.

Money, Mollycoddling and Immaturity play a vital role in introducing sloth into your life. Too much of anything they say is bad, but if any one of these go into your system in great quantum’s and hit your personality, well you are on a road to non-existence.

The real world would expect an individual to keep busy, regardless of whether the returns are fruitful or not. Keeping one self occupied is the biggest antidote to sloth and you will have nothing to lose except that feeling of inadequateness and laziness, if, it ever decides to cross your path.

The forbidden, or should I say foreboding, fruit variety of the second kind is the Braeburn Apple. A deliciously crisp and firm apple with alternating red and orange-yellow streaks is a fantastic fruit when chilled. The crispness intensifies with the cold and you can feel the bite much before you have bitten into it. This is an excellent addition to cold salads and the burst of flavor closely shadowing the other ingredients to merge well with them, makes it a wonderful salad apple.

This salad is a simple concoction of fine ingredients put together meticulously to give you a melodrama of taste. This recipe shall keep you far away from sloth as it keeps your taste buds alive even though the dish looks sloppy enough on its own.

Gingered Apple, Dill & Green Salad with Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

A punchy treat to an otherwise simple salad which includes a tantalizing apple cider vinegar dressing coupled with peppery dill and fruit blast mellowed with the earthy flavor of ginger.

Ingredients

• 1 Braeburn Apple (sliced, and kept in chilled water)
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 large bowl of mixed greens
• such as – Lettuce, Iceberg, Arugula & Romaine Lettuce
• 1 small bunch – Dill leaves (hand torn and washed thoroughly)

For the dressing:

• 3 tablsp Olive Oil
• 2 tablsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tablsp Dessert Wine / Sherry (Optional)
• ½ tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 pinch garlic powder
• 1 tsp Sugar
• Sea Salt and Pink Peppercorns to taste (you may use fresh green peppercorns, crushed)

Add the grated ginger to the chilled water in which the apples are soaked and let the ginger lightly infuse the fruit. This should take about 15 minutes.

Mix all the ingredients of the dressing in a small jar with a lid, screw the lid on tightly and shake the mixture vigorously. Keep in the refrigerator to chill.

In a large bowl combine the greens, hand torn into bite sized pieces and the dill. Drain the apples from the chilled water (easier way is to dunk the contents into a colander). Add to the greens. Spoon half of the dressing onto the salad and toss well. If you feel the dressing is right, keep the balance in the refrigerator (this can be stored for over a month), otherwise you may use all in one salad.

Watch out once again tomorrow for the next deadly course …