So I had originally started this blog to challenge myself to cook at home with Ian everyday however unforeseen circumstances (i.e. out of town meeting with my boss) caused me to take a break for a few days. When I arrived back, we were disrupted by a float trip and hanging out with friends but then on Sunday, I decided it was time to get back on board by trying something quick and simple… this led to the Broccoli Apple Salad.
The recipe said to slice the stem of the broccoli into super thin disks (approx. 1/8”) then do the same with the florets. Well, the stem was pretty huge and I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to use the ENTIRE stem or just the smaller parts attached to the florets. I couldn’t tell from the picture in the cookbook so I just went ahead and used the whole thing. Honestly, it was fairly difficult to cut the disks that thin and it took quite awhile to do. Maybe I just need more practice or I guess it couldn’t hurt to invest in a decent knife as the one I used came from dollar general and cost a dollar. But whatever, it did the job and I eventually got the broccoli sliced :)
Then came time for the apples. The cookbook says “halve and core the apples”. This sounds simple enough, except for the fact that I was sure about the “proper” way to core the apples. When I eat apples, I normally just eat them whole and don’t worry about slicing or taking out the core. As dumb as it sounds, I decided to turn to google for advice. According to google, there was no clear concensus on the matter, everyone had their own methods and several people suggested using an apple corer. Since I didn’t have one, I just did the best I could figure to do which basically ended with me butchering the first half with a knife and spoon. For the second half, I decided to try a different technique. This time I made straight cuts around the core and it turned out much neater.
After getting both apples cored, I started slicing. This was a little time consuming like the broccoli but again, I’m sure that with time, I’ll get faster. When I got all the apple pieces sliced as thinly as I could, I added these to the bowl holding the broccoli and proceeded to make the dressing.
The recipe offers 2 options for dressing and I decided to go with the first simply because it had fewer ingredients and looked easier. :)
I started by juicing the lemon and since Ian’s mom’s trick of heating the lime in the microwave worked while making my salsa, I decided to try the trick again for the lemon. I stuck the lemon in the microwave for 15 seconds before cutting and squeezing it and I didn’t have any problems with juicing it. I squeezed all the pieces, picked out the seeds, added 1 tbsp of olive oil, some salt and pepper and it was good to go! Super easy :)
I started by juicing the lemon and since Ian’s mom’s trick of heating the lime in the microwave worked while making my salsa, I decided to try the trick again for the lemon. I stuck the lemon in the microwave for 15 seconds before cutting and squeezing it and I didn’t have any problems with juicing it. I squeezed all the pieces, picked out the seeds, added 1 tbsp of olive oil, some salt and pepper and it was good to go! Super easy :)
Last, I put all of the ingredients in a large Tupperware container, put the lid on and gave it a good shake. The salad turned out looking beautiful!
I suppose I’m just not a huge fan of raw broccoli because I didn’t necessarily care for the broccoli stem slices so much. If I make it again, I would probably not do as much of the stem and try the second dressing option. The way this turned out, it’s something I would eat if I wanted to snack on something healthy but not necessarily something that I LOVE the taste of. With that being said, I did end up snacking on this for several days and eventually finished the whole thing. I was actually really surprised by how well the apple slices held up during that time. I had previously read that lemon juice was supposed to be good for keeping apples and other sliced foods fresh but I didn’t think it would work THIS well.
The entire cost for this recipe was $3.40 which amounted to $0.85 per serving.
The entire cost for this recipe was $3.40 which amounted to $0.85 per serving.