As September turns into October and the air turns crisp, I inevitably get tired of taking lunch to school. I’m enough of a hippie that I refuse to use a microwave, but when it’s drizzling and grey outside and the leaves are gathering in unlovely wet heaps on the sidewalk, a hot meal starts to sound quite nice. I start to wonder whether I should buy lunch today, or crash one of the residence cafeterias and demand vegan soup from an unsuspecting first year.
Each time—or at least most of the time—I manage to resist the temptation, and reason myself out of the impulse to eat out. I look at the grey sky and the wet leaves and try to conjure up a feeling of righteousness. I am saving money, I am eating healthy food, I am saving some infinitesimally small part of the environment by not using a plastic fork.
In more extreme cases, I resort to Waldorf Salad.
Waldorf Salad has the power to turn a rotten, miserable, drizzly day into one filled with glorious autumn sunshine. The bright tastes of lemon juice and the crunch of celery banish the slimy wet leaves to some far-off storm drain. Use a fresh local apple, and it may even improve the colour on the trees.
Waldorf Salad:
• 1 small apple, cut into a large dice
• 2 stalks of celery, sliced
• 2 Tbsp raisins
• 2 Tbsp walnut halves
• ¼ Cup plain yogurt
• ¾ tsp lemon juice
• Salt and pepper
Mix the apple, celery, raisins, and walnuts together in a medium bowl. Whisk together the yogurt and lemon juice and toss it with the salad. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Variations:
• Add some diced cheddar or crumbled blue cheese
• Use pecans instead of walnuts
• Substitute ½ Cup sliced grapes for the raisins