It’s a shame that fruit salads pretty much go by the wayside the moment it gets colder than 60 degrees outside. I guess it’s just one of those lovely, light, refreshing type things that makes hot summer days that much more bearable. Summer is fruit salad’s time to shine.

However, some of my favorite fruits come into season once the mercury drops below 50 up here. I’ve always had an affinity for tart and puckering fruits and citrus. I was shocked to learn that the majority of people I’ve met in my adult life did not know what a grapefruit spoon was. I was even more floored and slightly disgusted by the people who did know what a grapefruit spoon was but admitted to sprinkling the fruit with sugar first. One might say it defeats the purpose?

After Thanksgiving sins, I really felt like a fresh clean slate and all the newly seasonal fruits were calling my name, this is how this salad was born. Lightly sweet, but at times tart, totally refreshing, and the pomegranate seeds give a nice crunch. The acid from the dressing and the grapefruit also soften the apple slices as the salad sits. I think that the salad looks really pretty with all the slices and segments, but to make for an easier spoonful, giving the apples and grapefruit a cut down in size might make things more bite friendly.

If you wanna be “that person” at the holiday party, by all means, this is perfect. It’s so darn pretty and it would be a nice break from the general heaviness of holiday party eats, if, of course, someone decides to take the chance. You know what I mean by “that” person, right? The person who brings fruit salad to what is essentially a calorie-carb free for all. Those events are usually a “give me all the cookies, cream sauce, and butter you have” type of situation. I can’t guarantee that this beautiful thing won’t be largely ignored among the other goodies on the dessert table. Call it a palate cleanser if you will. Regardless, it’s even better the next day, so it’s a great make ahead dish. Oh! And wouldn’t this be a nice combo in a winter sangria?

I do plan on bringing this to a holiday shindig this weekend! So I will be that person (I’ll let ya know how it goes!) But by that person, I mean that I will also be bringing a cake that has nearly two sticks of butter and enough sugar in it to kill a small pony. It’s all about balance people.

Winter Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4 clementines, peeled and segmented

1 grapefruit, peeled and segmented (Video on segmenting citrus! So helpful!)

1 apple, cored and thinly sliced

1 pomegranate’s worth seeds

In a small bowl whisk together lemon juice and honey.

Add all fruit to a large bowl and pour the lemon-honey dressing over the fruit. Gently mix to combine, careful not to break up the fragile grapefruit segments. Serve cold and if there is time, let it sit before serving to meld and get juicy!

**Note on this since I've made it a few more times since originally posting: there's no real need for the dressing. It does add a layer of flavor for sure, but let's just say you're out of lemons or don't have honey or are watching for added sweeteners -- just leave it out. The grapefruit provides a nice base layer of juice. Also I've been subbing in orange segments for the clementines and I haven't looked back. ---M

I’m still mourning the end of my beautiful, lovely, first year of my CSA. My last pickup was about a month ago. Although, somehow, my fridge is still overflowing with vegetables.

I’ve got bundles and bundles of chard, kale, and carrots. Pretty yellow carrots which, I might add, I am having a hard time eating just because they are so pretty. It's a problem of mine, see here.

The escarole and beans in this soup below were from my farm share. I’d never encountered the beans previously. Although, now I have been spotting those pretty pink thangs all over the farmer’s market. If you can’t find the beans or the escarole at the greenmarket, just sub in another leafy green, like kale or chard and some dried or canned cannellini beans

In New York, it is going to be GROSS and rainy this weekend. While I am staunchly pro-sunshine --- cold, rainy, winter weekends do give me a nice excuse to catch up on several episodes of The Wire and get all sorts of cuddly with the boy and the cat, because obviously I am also staunchly pro-snuggling.

A warm bowl of soup really rounds out the picture, don’t you think?

Escarole Sausage Soup with Cranberry Beans

Ingredients:

1 pound hot italian sausage, squeezed from casing

dash of olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

approx. 2 cups shelled cranberry beans (can substitute dried or canned cannellini beans if desired)

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon paprika

1 bay leaf

1 head escarole, torn into bite sized pieces (can also use any other winter leafy green - they may need more cooking time however.)

shredded parmesan for garnish (if desired)

Directions:

In a large pot over medium heat brown sausage until no longer pink. Scoop sausage onto a plate and set aside. Add a dash of olive oil to the sausage fat and then add the chopped onions. Scrape up the brown bits from the sausage while stirring the onions, coating them in fat. Saute onions until soft and translucent. Add garlic to onions and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sausage back in, along with beans. Lastly, add in the broth and water. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, and bay leaf.

Bring soup to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook until beans are soft and creamy, about 45 minutes. If you substitute canned beans, they will only need about 15 minutes to warm through. Stir in escarole and let wilt into soup, approximately 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Serve with grated parmesan on top, if desired.

Yield: approximately 8 cups