Japanese Tuesday

I think I'm trying to force a theme here.  But today's lunch had a slight (very slight, actually) Japanese feel to it.  I guess it was just the fish and rice, but let's call it International Week here at A Packable Feast:

• broiled tilapia over a bed of basmati rice
• pineapple chunks
• green salad with red bell peppers smushed in with a tangerine
• rosemary and thyme walnuts

Well, the rice was leftover from our extravagant Sunday night take-out dinner.  But the tilapia filets were sitting in our freezer, begging to be cooked this week.  Anyway, on to the nuts!

I made a big batch of these nuts as holiday gifts for the office.  I put them in little jars and made some little gift bags.  Rats! I just realized I should have taken a picture of them for this here bloggy wog. Sorry.  I got the recipe from a recent issue of Self Magazine.  Here it is:

Rosemary and Thyme Walnuts

• 5 teaspoons olive oil
• 5 teaspoons pure maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 3 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 cups walnut halves
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat oven to 350°. In a bowl, whisk 5 tsp olive oil with 5 tsp pure maple syrup and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper. Stir in 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary and 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme. Add 2 cups walnut halves; toss well to coat. Spread evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until fragrant and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme and 1/4 tsp kosher salt. Cool completely.

I just had another big realization.  I used 5 TABLESPOONS OF OIL AND MAPLE SYRUP instead of 5 teaspoons!!!  What the heck was I thinking.  No wonder they were so sweet and oily!! Sheesh!! I can't believe I was so stupid.  Anyway, learn from my mistakes.  Read your recipes carefully, kiddies.