Spinach Salad Wrap with Green Apple, Dried Cranberries and Dijon Dressing

It's been difficult to get into the spring mindset due to Boston's dreary weather the past few weeks. Throwing on my clunky rainboats and heavy rain jacket on the way to the grocery store doesn't really get me in the mood for summer salads and barbeques. However, the good news is... the Copley Square Farmers Market opens tomorrow! Even though the forecast is more rain all week, the farmer's market will be my little ray of sunshine. I'm taking the day off work tomorrow to go to a networking breakfast at Fenway Park, then spending all afternoon wandering the local vendors down at Copley. Hopefully the rain will deter fairweather fans and I'll get the good stuff!

My roommates and I are hosting a going away dinner in our apartment on Thursday for my friend Jess, who just graduated and is moving to Texas to do Teach for America. Thursday night dinners became a sort of ritual this year with my girlfriends as a way to stay in touch despite our crazy schedules. (Look back here at my post about our first Thursday night dinner.) I always offer to cook on these nights, and this Thursday we're leaning toward Mexican so I'm hoping to find some nice produce for a few impromptu salsas at the farmers market. Whatever we stuff our faces with, the night is bound to be filled with lots of laughs and tears. It's my first college friend to graduate and move away, so this Thursday dinner will be bittersweet no doubt.

Anyway, enough blubbering. Here's a salad wrap I threw together yesterday for lunch. I'm trying to fill my diet with loads of fruits and veggies to counteract all the baking that's been going on in my apartment. I don't usually love veggie wraps, but this one was so hardy I had to bring the rest into work for lunch today. The Dijon dressing is perfect with the green apple and dried cranberries. I made a bunch of it to use in salads later this week. My trick - when your Dijon mustard is mostly gone, use the remains to make this dressing! Pour your olive oil and seasoning right into the mustard jar, shake it up, and store what you don't use.

Oh, did I mention my birthday is on Wednesday? Maybe I'll find a nice treat for myself at the farmers market for an early celebration. :)

Spinach Salad Wrap with Green Apple, Dried Cranberries and Dijon Dressing
Makes: 1 wrap  Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 whole wheat tortilla wrap
1 egg
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 green apple
1/8 cup cherry tomatoes
2 tbs Gorgonzola cheese
1/8 cup dried cranberries
2 tbs Dijon dressing*

Directions
Start by bringing a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add one egg and boil for ten minutes. Remove from heat, dump out the water from the pot and run cold water over the egg until covered. Let cool.
Lay out whole wheat tortilla on a flat surface and spread a bed of spinach across the middle, leaving room on either side to roll up the wrap at the end. Next, chop the green apple in half and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Half the cherry tomatoes and place apple and tomatoes on top of the spinach.
Crack the hard boiled egg and slice it into small pieces over the wrap. (Optional: For a healthier wrap, remove the egg yolk and add only egg whites.) Sprinkle Gorgonzola and dried cranberries, and add Dijon dressing. Finally, roll up the wrap, pulling the short sides up to close the ends and pull one long side on top of the salad, tucking it in tight before closing the wrap.

*Dijon dressing: Combine 1 part Dijon mustard, 1 part olive oil, sea salt, coarse ground pepper and lemon juice in a small jar. Shake well before serving.

Apple Crumble Muffins

I love to bake, anything from bread to cake to pie. Even if my pantry is empty, there's still always a good supply of flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and other baking essentials. Here's a recipe I found online for apple muffins with a cinnamon crumble on top. (You can see one's already missing a bite on the right side.) I made these in my boyfriend's apartment and between us and his roommates, they were gone by the end of the day. The only problem I had with these muffins was that they were really crumbly and barely stayed together. The cinnamon crumble on top was delicious though. I think next time I'd try this recipe in bread form and hope it would hold together a little better.

Apple Crumble Muffins - Adapted from College Candy
Makes: 24 muffins  Prep: 10 minutes  Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter 
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
2 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples

Directions
Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs.
Mix in flour, baking powder and cinnamon, then pour in milk. Fold in apples and pour mixture into muffin tins.
Sprinkle cinnamon crumble on top and bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Cinnamon Crumble 

Ingredients
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, cubed

Directions
Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix, cutting the butter with two butter knives to the size of small peas and coating with dry mixture.

Perfectly Seasonal Apple Cider Syrup

Another simple recipe I'd like to share, and a favorite from my childhood - my mother's apple cider syrup. I can't get enough apple cider come fall. This syrup is easy to make and, in my opinion, far better than maple syrup which, as a native New Yorker accustomed to fresh-off-the-tap maple syrup, says a lot. This apple cider syrup is super easy and tastes great with apple pancakes (seen above). It makes three cups so with one batch of pancakes there should be half left over. I'm thinking it would also be great on some sort of apple dessert with vanilla ice cream... mmmmm my sweet tooth is swelling just thinking about it. Look for that recipe to come.

Apple Cider Syrup
Makes: 3 cups  Prep: 10 minutes  Total: 15 minutes 

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons baking mix (Bisquick)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh apple cider
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup butter

Directions
Mix dry ingredients in pot, then add cider and lemon. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for one minute, then immediately remove from heat and add butter.