October 19th: healthy fish and chips + chocolate granola clusters

Verdict:
Try Again: granola
Toss: fish & chips and granola clusters

This is another one of those nights where Greg and I don't totally agree. Okay, we have a lot of those days and nights, and not necessarily as relates to food. Child-rearing, cable bills, work-life balance, oh, the debates we do have. But this is not the forum for that.

Supper tonight came from October 2010's Chatelaine's "Thinner Dinner" feature: Butternut-Squash fries, Thai Red-Curry Tilapia and Napa-Cabbage Coleslaw. I thought this meal had potential for improvement. The squash fries were surprisingly good--not as good as sweet potato fries, mind you--and a nice change of pace for us. I'm always looking to add in a vegetable or two we don't eat regularly. The fish was too spicy for us, but that could be tweaked, and I like tilapia; it holds up well to baking. Greg is a little anti-fish, not counting salmon, but on this topic he just has to suck it up, as fish is too tasty and healthy not to diversify. And finally, I loved the Asian flavours of the coleslaw. The napa cabbage is tender, so this is a coleslaw that can be eaten as soon as it is prepared, whereas when I make a green cabbage coleslaw, I find it tastes better after it has sat for a bit. Of course, my half of the coleslaw had the flavour-enhancing addition of cilantro, so Greg's problem with this is probably based on his missing out on a major flavour contributor. Cilantro tastes like soap, my a**. Sorry, Dad.

Chatelaine actually delivered on the timing on this one: I managed to prepare the meal in about half an hour, not counting the break I had to take to help out O with her potty use, but that's to be expected. In the end though, I will toss the recipe because (a) Greg didn't like it and (b) I didn't LOVE it, and that is the rule. One of us at least must love it.

On the weekend, I made granola from a recipe given me by my friend Carolyn. This is a good granola recipe and I want to share:

Maple Granola

5 cups (1.25 L) oats
1 cup (250 mL) unsweetened coconut
1 cup (250 mL) chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
3/4 cup (175 mL) pumpkin seeds*
1/2 cup (125 mL) vegetable oil
1/4 cup (50 mL) water
2/3 cup (150 mL) maple syrup**
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
3/4 cup (175 mL) dried cranberries
1 cup (250 mL) currants***

Combine the first five ingredients (oats through pumpkin seeds) in a large bowl.

Combine the wet ingredients (oil through vanilla) and pour over the oat mixture, stirring to incorporate.

Bake on a sheet pan at 250°F (120°C) for 35 minutes, stirring twice.

Remove from oven and let cool. Add cranberries and currants.

For longer shelf life, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

*I used pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), which is, I assume, what they mean. 
**This is why I didn't have enough maple syrup left to make the maple-bacon icing properly.
***I intended to use currants, but found the only ones I had expired in 2009, so I tossed them in the compost and used raisins instead.

I've been eating this granola with yogurt for breakfast at work this week. It's good.

Tonight, after supper, O and I whipped up a treat using the above granola: from October 2010's Today's Parent: No-Bake Chocolate Granola Clusters. I didn't like these though; they were really sugary, and not in an attractive-to-my-tongue manner. Gone with you, recipe!

O, sticking the almonds on the top, sampling and wondering, "when do I get to eat one?!"