Autumn Apple Salad, My Middle Eastern Grocer, and Me

Beyond decent coffee and lots of easily obtainable heroin, the nicest things about my area of Brooklyn are the Middle Eastern grocery stores around the corner. There’s a small row of them, two of which have bulk grains, nuts, and dried fruits stretching from here to eternity. Their foods are about a billion times cheaper than my supermarket, and one of the places is even pretty clean, which is an unexpected bonus.

I bring this up is because this past weekend, I found the brain-meltingly tasty Autumn Apple Salad II on AllRecipes. It’s a simple, easy-to-make, totally delicious Waldorf-esque concoction flavored by yogurt, tart apples, toasted almonds, cranberries, and cherries instead of heavy cream and/or mayonnaise (my most hated food-like item). And since most of that stuff costs a bundle around here, the whole scrumptious shebang would have gone unmade had it not been for my aforementioned Middle Eastern grocer.

(And that, my friends, would have been tragedy. Because this salad, if I haven’t mentioned, is good.)

I popped in on Saturday, and among the trays of baklava and tins of Turkish Delight were jars and jars of every wrinkled delicacy in existence: figs, raisins, pineapples, ginger, prunes, apricots, and of course, cranberries and cherries. The almonds were located just a few urns down, hidden in a menagerie of pistachios, walnuts, pecans, and every other nut you could imagine. I could have stayed for hours, just browsing (and occasionally picking), but instead, paid my $1.77 and left.

Fortunately, within ten minutes of arriving home, I had Autumn Apple Salad II to comfort me. (Not to belabor the point, but: good.) The Boyfriend loved it, too, and I’ll be making it muchly next Fall, when Granny Smiths are actually in season.

Anyway, enjoy. And get grocer-in’.

Autumn Apple Salad
Makes about 4.5 cups of salad, or 6 servings of ¾ cups each
Adapted from All Recipes.

4 tart green apples
1/4 cup toasted blanched slivered almonds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped dried cherries
1 (8 ounce) container light vanilla yogurt

1) In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir until thoroughly mixed and apples are coated.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
150 calories, 3.3 g fat, 4.5 g fiber, $0.89

Calculations
4 tart green apples: 320 calories, 0 g fat, 20 g fiber, $2.97
1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds: 167 calories, 15.9 g fat, 3.3 g fiber, $0.73
1/4 cup dried cranberries: 103 calories, 0.4 g fat, 2.2 g fiber, $0.48
1/4 cup chopped dried cherries: 100 calories, 1 g fat, 2 g fiber, $0.56
1 (8 ounce) container vanilla yogurt: 210 calories, 2.5 g fat, 0 g fiber, $0.57
TOTAL: 900 calories, 19.8 g fat, 27.2 g fiber, $5.31
PER SERVING (TOTAL/6): 150 calories, 3.3 g fat, 4.5 g fiber, $0.89