Apple Salad with Honey Dressing and My First Cookbook

I believe my recipe/cookbook fetish started long long ago, but it's been on hold for many many years. I can remember as a teenager wanting to cook here and there (but that's about as far as it went). My mother was a very simple cook (hamburgers, spaghetti, sloppy joes, pork chops and maybe some steak or chicken and side dishes were always from a box; rice-a-roni, macaroni and cheese, julian potatoes (YUMMY) things like that). We had a hot cooked meal every night but it was nothing fancy and nothing different. I even remember a time when my mom was working in the evening and I was paid an extra allowance to cook dinner for my family.

Fast forward into my young'er adult life.....

(My cookbook which of course I now think is pretty lame)

Over the years I have collected, gathered, keep magazine clippings of recipes and stored them away for one day when I may get to make them. Around 1993 when my twin daughters were born I was determined to get all my recipes in order. First, I used the peel back photo album style and just stuck them in there and then I started on this huge quest to type ALL the recipes I had into the computer. Computers were not as common then as they are now. I typed day and night, day and night (with newborn twins and as a single mother, I guess I was bored?). I finally completed this AMAZING cookbook (so I thought at the time). I purchased notebook folders, I bought material and covered them to look beautiful and then gave them to all my family for Christmas (I would say in about 1994-1995). Believe it or not I still have mine and I think my mom and a few of my aunts have theirs too!

I have never made ALL the recipes that I typed in that book over 17 years ago and I am not sure I ever will. There are no photos in my book of recipes because back then it was not so easy to just import a photo into a word document. But in that book are a few very special family recipes that I have used over and over again and I plan on sharing them here on my food blog.



My Great Recipe Cards (1984-1986)



And today's recipe is not from my recipe book and not a family recipe but it is a lonely little ole' recipe that I had from WAY BACK WHEN that never made it into the cookbook and has been dragged along with all my other recipes and cookbooks through the years. (also I'd like to add that I have never ever made it before this weekend). You can see by the looks of the recipe card, its from the old "recipe packets" or "recipe cards" that I probably subscribed to at one time (anyone remember those), I just find it so fascinating these old recipes.



Made this salad with the delicious apples we picked in Oak Glean, California.



Apple Salad with Honey Dressing

from My Great Recipes Packet

1 head of iceberg lettuce (we prefer the bag of romaine or mixed lettuce)

2 medium apples

1/2 cup walnuts

Tear lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Cut unpeeled cored apples in thin slices, if not serving right away toss apples in lemon juice. Add the walnuts right before serving. (I prefer to just wait on the apple too and slice right before serving so they do not turn brown).

Honey Salad Dressing

1/2 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp honey

1/2 tsp dried tarragon

1/2 tsp salt

Blend the above five ingredients; let stand for 30 minutes to blend flavors.

Whisk together again just before serving.