Homemade granola and day three of our adventure....

At some point during each day, I have a snack of yogurt and blueberries with an addition of something crunchy - usually some sort of cereal or whatnot. I go through phases of what I like to add in and I've been trying to figure out something new that we could make instead. The first idea that came to mind was of course granola, which just happened to be perfect since it had been quite some time since we've made a batch!

Most granola recipes are not all that low in calories, though this recipe is not too bad; they usually have quite a bit of oil or may be sweetened with a lot of sugar. This Peanut Butter Granola is a little different as it is sweetened with apple cider along with honey. To get that sought-after crunchiness, you do need to add some fat to the recipe - but instead of using oil, smooth natural peanut butter makes a fine stand-in. Along with adding a healthy fat, it also gives the granola a rich nutty flavor. Now what would granola be without some nuts and dried fruit...so we added sliced almonds, dried cranberries and chopped dates which brought their own unique textures and a bit more natural sweetness. As we made it, this granola does not clump together in large clusters, which we both happen to prefer, so you may need to tweak the recipe if that is something you want. I thought it went paired very well with my yogurt mixture, but I found myself going back for dry handfuls to snack on throughout the day... dangerous!

Tonight's dish of Asian Rice with Shrimp and Snow Peas brings us to day three on our trip around the world in recipe titles! With very little effort, this dish came together quite fast with the majority of the time spent waiting for the fragrant brown jasmine rice to cook. While waiting, a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, hot sauce and minced garlic is combined to dress the finished dish. Once the rice has almost finished cooking, peeled shrimp and snow peas are quickly cooked in a pot of boiling water. They are then added to the floral rice and the combination is then tossed with thinly sliced green onions and the salty Asian dressing. With a scattering of nutty toasted almonds on top, dinner was on the table and our plates were cleaned in no time! Since there is nothing to thicken the dressing, it is really on the thin side - we thought it was more of a way to season the dish rather than to thoroughly coat the ingredients. I also think we might have liked just a dash of sugar or squirt of honey to help balance the flavor a little more in the dressing.

Recipes
Peanut Butter Granola
Asian Rice with Shrimp and Snow Peas