Winter Apple Salad #recipe by @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  I admit, Mr. Right and I have never been big fruit eaters. I haven’t consciously set out to change that this winter, but with last month’s Fennel, Celery, and Pear Salad and and now this winter salad, you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise.

It’s a change that might just stick. 

The apples and celery put the crisp in this salad, perfect for winter, while the pecans add crunch, the grapes a touch of sweetness, and the cranberries just the right amount of pucker. It’s nice made ahead of time, at least 30 minutes or longer, to let the flavors blend. 

The original recipe called for mayo or Greek yogurt; I increased the amount slightly and used a combo of each, although I used plain, low-fat yogurt. We’re not enamored of the Greek varieties available here – although we love them IN Greece! – but if you have one you enjoy, give it a try. Fruit salads have a reputation for flexibility for a reason! 

This one is great any time of day, including breakfast!

I always start with half the lemon juice called for in a recipe because it’s so easily overdone, and you can always add more. A tablespoon was just right for us, although you may want a little more or less depending on the sweetness and tartness of your ingredients. Start small and taste until you’re happy!

Because food should always make us happy, right?

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Winter Apple Salad 

½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped

3 Honeycrisp apples, cored and chopped (no need to peel)

1 cup celery, thinly sliced (2-3 stalks)

1 cup red or green grapes, halved

½ cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons mayonnaise 

3 tablespoons plain yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Spread the nuts on a pie plate or other oven-safe dish and toast 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Remember that nuts and seeds continue to cook as they cool.

Prepare the fruit. In a large bowl, combine the apples, celery, grapes, and cranberries. Chop the pecans and add.

In a small bowl, make the dressing. Combine the mayo, yogurt, and honey. Add half the lemon juice. Whisk or stir until smooth and taste; add more lemon juice if necessary. 

(Oops! Forgot to take the picture before I poured the dressing over the salad!)

Dress salad and mix well. Taste and adjust the lemon juice, adding salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve with additional cranberries and pecans if you’d like. 

Makes about 6 cups. 

How do you like your fruit in winter -- easier in some climes than others!

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

TO ERR IS CUMIN:A Spice Shop Mystery (Seventh St. Books, out now in paper, ebook, and audio)

From the cover: One person’s treasure is another’s trash. . .

Pepper Reece, owner of the Spice Shop in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, wants nothing more than to live a quiet life for a change, running her shop and working with customers eager to spice up their cooking. But when she finds an envelope stuffed with cash in a ratty old wingback left on the curb, she sets out to track down the owner.

Pepper soon concludes that the chair and its stash may belong to young Talia Cook, new in town and nowhere to be seen. Boz Bosworth, an unemployed chef Pepper’s tangled with in the past, shows up looking for the young woman, but Pepper refuses to help him search. When Boz is found floating in the Ship Canal, only a few blocks from Talia’s apartment, free furniture no longer seems like such a bargain.

On the hunt for Talia, Pepper discovers a web of connections threatening to ensnare her best customer. The more she probes, the harder it gets to tell who’s part of an unsavory scheme of corruption—and who might be the next victim.

Between her quest for an elusive herb, helping her parents remodel their new house, and setting up the Spice Shop’s first cooking class, Pepper’s got a full plate. Dogged by a sense of obligation to find the rightful owner of the hidden treasure, she keeps on showing up and asking questions.

One mistake, and she could find herself cashing out. . .

Available at Amazon  * Barnes & Noble  * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * And your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. 

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.