Easier Than Pie Apples & Honey Salad

The combination of apples and honey takes me back to every year at Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. It's this classic, traditional food pairing that's supposed to symbolize wishes for a sweet new year, and it's definitely a duo worth keeping. Because of that, I immediately think of honey any time I'm adding apples to a recipe and need a little extra something to get the dish to reach a new level.

I'm still playing catch up from all of the meals I made while on vacation all of those long weeks ago, and this recipe for an Apple and Honey Salad is next up on my checklist. I made this as an impromptu lunch on a steaming hot day, and was really pleased with the result. It really couldn't be much simpler; the most complicated part is slicing the apple, and god knows I don't have any artsy, skillful tips to make the slices come out as perfectly as those bagged, sliced & ready to eat apples from the grocery store. I took a butter knife (sadly, the sharpest utensil on hand in the borrowed vacation house) and hacked away as gracefully as one possibly can with a butter knife - that is to say, not very gracefully at all. I would not serve this at a five-course dinner party without honing my technique, but the slices made it into my mouth without difficulty, which is really all that matters when it comes to a spontaneous vacation lunch recipe.

Apples & Honey Salad
Serves: 1
The Ingredients
1 apple, on the small-to-medium side
1 - 1 1/2 C spinach
Honey, to taste

The Method
1. Wash and dry the spinach, placing onto a plate.
2. Slice the apple as best you can, keeping in mind that you're going to want to eat this without a knife (unless you are, in fact, less lazy than I), and fan over the spinach.
3. Drizzle with honey (really, a very little amount goes a long way; I used a very hefty drizzle and wound up regretting it, as it overpowered the other two ingredients)

You see, I told you this was easy, quick, and very refreshing for a hot day. The fiber in the apple keeps you full, the honey lends a light sweetness, and the spinach base gives all sorts of power nutrients without a ton of heavy calories. You've probably seen many nut-and-apple salads out there, so I'm sure that you could add many things to make this a little bit fancier - cranberries/craisins for an autumn salad, a little bit of a peanut butter dressing to add some saltiness and protein, who knows. However, I love how simple this three-ingredient salad is, without any changes. You really can't go wrong.