Apple Pecan Salad

Field trips. Gosh, I LOVED field trips when I was a little Glo.

Seriously, somebody tell me w h y we don’t still take field trips as adults? Maybe I wish for these things because I only pretend to be an adult.

A most memorable field trip for me was the County Line Apple Orchard. It’s the smell. When I’m grocery shopping and I put my nose really close to an apple and sniff it, I’ll always think of that field trip.

I grew up in Northwest Indiana, and elementary school is one of my most vivid memories. When you’re 7 years old and walking through an apple orchard, it feels a little bit like a charming movie scene. Perfectly spaced columns of trees, with their forbidden fruit dangling low; yet not low enough to pluck, due to my 7-year-old-unimpressive height.

The Orchard Shop looked like a big red barn, charmingly farm-like. All the workers wore smiles on their faces, as they offered us fresh hot apple cider. The humid climate of northwest Indiana made the fragrance of apples even stronger.

We walked single file and held hands sometimes to avoid becoming the lost child – all those elementary rules. But I craved independence to run through the rows and climb the trees that weren’t for climbing.

I still love apples and eat them frequently. Lately, Andy and I particularly enjoy the tart, citrus flavor of Granny Smith Apples.

So this week, I created a tart apple salad that I’m very proud of! I was driving home from the grocery store when, behold, a moment of genius. “Apple-potamus Salad”

8 small Granny Smith’s
the juice from 1 lemon
3 TBSP honey
1 & 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt
1 heaping cup pecans, chopped (roasted at 375 for 10 min)
tiny salt pinch
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries

So the first step. Slice the dickens out of those apples. Core them first, of course. But don’t skin them. That’s where the pretty is.

Place your apple slices in a bowl.

In a separate mixing bowl, use your lemon squeezer and get all that fresh juice out of your lemon.

Add the honey. (I nuked it for 10 seconds so it was kinda runny – easier to mix in)

Use a hand mixer for 30 seconds, to get the lemon and honey dissolved together. I poured this over the apples and mixed until they were all covered (citrus also prevents apples from browning). Then I strained the remaining liquid out, back into the liquid bowl.

Mix pecans and raisins with the apples.

Now’s the time to add your greek yogurt, tiny salt pinch, and blend it up til smooth. Maybe 30 more seconds. Lick it, it’s sweet-creamy-citrus. Just perfect.