Apple Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

The bachelorette weekend happened. San Francisco, July 29-31. I am writing this on Monday, August 1, back in Seattle, tired and glowing.

Eunji landed Friday at 5 PM. I landed Saturday at 11 AM. Maya had booked us a rental house in the Mission, which we pronounced beautiful and moved into with too much luggage. Eunji had already been in San Francisco for almost twenty-four hours when I got there. She had been to Tartine bakery, to a taqueria on 24th, and to a Korean market in the Richmond. She had a plan. I laughed when I saw the plan. She said, "Unnie. I am using my days."

Friday night before I arrived, Eunji had dinner with Maya alone. They bonded over my cooking and my work ethic and (I assume) my general tendency to be intense. By Saturday when I arrived, they were basically friends. Maya said, "Your sister is amazing." I said, "I know." Eunji said, "Maya is amazing." I said, "I know."

Saturday we walked the Mission. We ate tacos (al pastor at La Taqueria, standing). We went to a wine bar where a very friendly sommelier let Eunji taste five wines in a row and she tried to explain the flavors in English and Maya was charmed and I was proud of both of them. We drank wine in Dolores Park. We sat on a blanket. Other friends joined — Maya's local friends, two of whom I had not met — and everyone was kind to Eunji and Eunji was, by 4 PM, giving Maya's local friends unsolicited opinions about San Francisco and laughing hard.

Saturday night was a long dinner at a Japanese place in Hayes Valley. We had kaiseki. Eunji had never had kaiseki. She cried a little at the end of the second course — a yuzu and tofu soup — and said, "I did not know food could be this quiet." I said, "I know." Maya said, "This is why we chose it." The weekend became about Eunji being welcomed into a friend group that was built around me. I cried twice. They were good tears.

Sunday we walked Golden Gate Park, ate pastries at Arsicault Bakery, took a cable car back to Union Square just because tourists do. Eunji took approximately 800 photos. She kept texting them to Jisoo. Jisoo, half a world away, was getting the weekend in pieces, in real time.

Monday morning Eunji flew back with me to Seattle. She stays through Wednesday. She is staying at the condo with us. James is delighted. He has been practicing his Korean. They are getting along.

Karen is going to meet Eunji on Tuesday. I am driving Eunji to Bellevue for dinner. Karen has been excited for weeks. She has been planning the meal. She is making a pot roast. Rosa will help. Eunji has said she wants to try a real American pot roast. She will love Karen's. Everyone does.

Dr. Yoon on Monday: we talked about how full my life has gotten this year and how I am holding it. I said, "I am holding it." She said, "I can see you are." She said, "Watch for the crash. The crashes come after the mountaintops. Take it seriously when it comes." I said, "I will."

The recipe this week is al pastor tacos, a version of which I attempted to make at home on Wednesday because Eunji said she had not gotten enough in San Francisco. I marinated pork shoulder in achiote and pineapple and cinnamon and garlic, sliced it thin, seared it hard, served it on fresh tortillas with chopped pineapple and onion and cilantro. Eunji ate four tacos. She said, "Unnie. You can cook anything." I said, "Not anything. I am still bad at French pastry." She said, "You will learn." I will learn.

After three days of standing-room tacos and kaiseki and pastries, after watching Eunji and Maya become friends over wine in Dolores Park, I wanted one more thing to make together before she flew home. We had pineapple left over from Wednesday’s al pastor, cinnamon still out on the counter, and a bag of apples from the market. So I made this salsa — bright and sweet and shareable — and we ate it on the couch with warm cinnamon chips while Eunji scrolled through her 800 photos and narrated every single one.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

For the salsa:
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and finely diced
1 large Fuji apple, peeled and finely diced
1 kiwi, peeled and finely diced
1 cup strawberries, finely diced
1 small orange, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons apple jelly or apricot preserves
For the cinnamon chips:
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Make the salsa. In a large bowl, combine the diced Granny Smith apples, Fuji apple, kiwi, and strawberries. Add the orange zest, orange juice, brown sugar, and apple jelly. Stir gently until everything is evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to let the flavors meld.
Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Prepare the chips. Brush both sides of each tortilla lightly with melted butter. In a small bowl, mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over both sides of each tortilla.
Cut and arrange. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut each tortilla into 8 wedges. Arrange the wedges in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the chips are golden and crisp. Watch them closely — they can go from golden to burned quickly. Let cool on the pan for a few minutes; they will crisp up further as they cool.
Serve. Give the chilled salsa one more gentle stir and transfer to a serving bowl. Arrange the cinnamon chips around it and serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Apple Salsa with Cinnamon Chips — A Taqueria-Inspired Snack for My Sister’s Last Night in Seattle