#21: Go big or go home

Last week, I purchased a gigantic apple from the farmer’s market.  I’m not talking big.  I’m talking a massive, colossal, enormous, elephantine, whopping apple.  When I brought it to the grower-seller to purchase it, along with a few other apples and some field greens, he actually said:

Whoa.  That’s a big apple.”

The guy to his left stopped mid-way through selling a bagful of butternut squash to admire the specimen.

Dude, that is big!”

So, I’m telling you, this apple was no ordinary apple.  When I purchased it, my intention was to chop it up for a dinner salad.  I often use fruit (lots of apples, pears, grapes, mango, or whatever other fruits are in season) in meal-sized salads alongside Gorgonzola or goat cheese, a handful of walnuts or pecans, and my homemade balsamic vinaigrette.  Sometimes I even go crazy and throw in some sliced chicken breast.  I never get tired of these meals because the season, the place I purchased the items, or the specific combination I went for that evening always makes the experience different.  Whether my husband gets tired of salad for dinner is another story; a meal just isn’t a meal for him unless it involves a bread product.

So, I thought this particular apple was destined for dinner.  But I’m in the third week of this challenge and things are starting to get desperate.  I looked at the apple.  It looked at me.  I decided to take a glamour shot of it alongside a size-verifying object.  You know, like a quarter.

This apple is not messing around.

The more I viewed it from the artist’s lens, the more it sucked me in.  The apple was shiny and plump and calling my name.  So I went for it.  The first bite was glorious—crisp, sweet, and just the right amount of tart.  The next few bites were pretty darn good too.  By minute five, I wasn’t feeling so psyched about the gargantuan apple.  I tried to pawn it off on my husband.  He looked at the quickly-browning flesh and turned me down.  My dog gave me the “what’s-that-I-might-want-to-eat-it” look that he gives whenever I have something (edible or not) in my hands.  I held it out to him.  He sniffed.  And then he walked away. I got through about 2/3 of the apple before I gave up.

Lesson learned: It’s easy to “go big or go home” when you’re already home.