Apple and Pomegranate Crisp, AKA the Antioxidant Special

So, today was the first time I'd ever cracked open a genuine pomegranate, while making "Brenda's Apple and Pomegranate Crisp". Let's say it's an adventure and a half getting those seeds out of there, though once you get the hang of it, it goes faster. Anybody have tips on that? (Edit: Wikipedia tells me that the fruit can be opened and seeded in a bowl of water, where the seeds sink and the to-be-discarded debris floats)

True confession: I have "issues" following recipes to the letter. This is, I believe, a hereditary condition stemming from my mother's side, where all of the cooks in the kitchen are convinced that they know just the right tweaks.

Now I'm working on it; when trying a highly-rated recipe for the first time, I try to stick as close to the original as I can manage, so that I have a baseline. The only differences that I did tonight was adding a dash of ground cardamom because ever since my college roommate showed me how to crack cardamom pods open to make homemade chai lattes, I've been a bit obsessed with the flavor. Oh, and I used a butter/canola oil spread that I had gotten for free (or close to it) with coupons - instead of plain butter, because I just don't happen to have butter around the house that much.

All things considered, it is a good thing that I planned an extra-light dinner of veggie sushi and salad, because this crisp is tartly, decadently awesome. The closest comparison I might make is homemade cranberry sauce, but this dessert has several more dimensions, especially when served with a garnish of Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Buns ice cream. :o) Not that I would, uh, know that from first-hand experience or anything.

In any case, if you've never handled a pomegranate, this is a good recipe for rookies to try it out! Pomegranates and apples are both on sale at Giant this week.