Nuts About Nuts About Granola

As much as my little foodie heart would hate to admit it, I love children’s cereal. No not acceptable children’s cereal, I mean the good bad stuff that I grew up on in the 70’s and 80’s. Cocoa Puffs, Trix, Lucky Charms, Fruit Loops, Cocoa Pebbles…and God save the person who gets between me and a box of Count Chocula. Yup that’s right, cartoon character on the box, sugary, evil cereals. Jay likes to talk about how he could only choose from Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies. My response, your mom had 2 kids to get out the door, my mom had 6. I think at some point she was just happy that we had something to eat. Her threat when we did not want the dinner she made “The only thing you can have to eat for the rest of the night then is cereal.” Hmmmmm liver and onions or Trix: decisions, decisions.

Recently I have been making a conscious effort to eat fewer processed foods. One of the many commandments of eating this way is never eat a cereal that turns the milk a different color. Wow, there goes my whole list. I have tried some Kashi cereals and they are ok but they just didn’t give me that sweetness I was looking for. As always Jay came to the rescue.

During a “Foodies Night In” event Jay won a prize from the sponsors NutsAboutGranola. With the gift certificate he received he went online and placed his order. We got Jungle Fever, Off Road Edition and Lover’s Combo. Each was well balanced and had the sweetness I was looking for without being overwhelming Each had something different to offer.

Jungle Fever – At first I was hesitant as this had coconut in it and I am not a big fan of coconut. Taking a deep breath and reminding myself that this was about foodie exploration I topped it with some vanilla almond milk and dug in. I was very pleasantly surprised, the coconut though present was not overpowering. The mixture of the oats with the macadamia nuts and lemon infused flavor gave an overall feeling of tropical fruit and flavors. I really liked this and one serving kept me satisfied for a while.

Off Road Edition – Again covering it with vanilla almond milk this also had a great fruity flavor and that natural sweetness you only get from dried fruit. Though OK with the milk it was actually better to eat it right out of the bag as the website suggests. I will say that the dried fruit had a tendency to be very chewy but since granola is suppose to be eaten in smaller portions that really did not bother me.

Lover’s Combo – Peanut Butter Granola and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Seriously, need I say more…ok…I will. The great thing about this is that there is just enough of the chocolate so you can still taste the granola, which is quite good. This was wonderful with the almond milk but even better with a banana mashed right into it.

Though each was great, and I look forward to trying more, the Lover’s Combo was by far my favorite. It is the one that brought me back to that naughty feeling I had with my childhood favorites. I may just have to break up with Count Chocula, I hope he can get over it.

Mangia,

Margot

Nuts About Granola Review

Today I am reviewing a sample pack of Off Road Edition granola from NutsAboutGranola.com. The fee-free sample was provided after I contacted them indicating I would be interested in trying their product and writing about my experience on our blog. Nuts About Granola is a Pennsylvania based company with product placement in a number of retailers in their local area and an online storefront for those of us living elsewhere.

I have enjoyed granola and similar products like trail mix, dried fruit, roasted nuts, etc for the majority of my life. Granola isn’t in my grocery cart every week, but when I do crave it I tend to try different and new products wherever I can find them. Local, organic and natural products tend to satisfy that craving better, primarily because they actually have good flavors that aren’t overrun by things you wouldn’t want in a snack.

Eaten plain the Nuts About Granola granola presents a nice balance of sweet, salty and aromatic spices. The sweetness is not overwhelming, a very nice asset for a granola. There is a mix of oats, nuts and dried fruit including almonds, peanuts and walnuts in addition to dates and cranberries.

I finished my sample with some vanilla flavored almond milk which served to enhance the spices in the granola making me think of using it as a crumb topping for an apple pie. The product is very fresh with nice crispy edges to the oats and nuts while the dried fruit still contains a bit of moisture making it easy to eat. A great breakfast on a rainy day at the beach!

I would definitely recommend checking out the entire product line from Nuts About Granola for your snacking and cooking needs. At a recent #FNI TweetUp I was told they also sell granola bars, something I am definitely going to have to try on our autumn hiking expeditions. And to be sure, an apple pie using the granola in a crumb topping will be made real soon.

Thank you to Sarah and the staff at Nuts About Granola for offering a sample of their product. I'll be back for sure.

--Jason

It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere - #fni #cocktails

The Foodie Night In TweetUp #fni hosted by Cooking With Caitlin last night was on the topic of cocktails. The tweets were flying fast and furious and the questions provoked a lot of useful AND humorous comments about cocktails, entertaining and party guests! Much thanks to Cooking With Caitlin for organizing these weekly events. Check out the post event wrap-up here.

Last night's event was sponsored by Crispin Cider and the Savvy Host Market both of whom gave away some excellent prizes, including two Crispin Cider Summer Entertaining Gift Packs and a BarBasics-In-A-Box (to the left), which in fact we were lucky enough to take home!!! This is going to be a nice addition to my weekly cocktail experiments and a nice piece to take with me when I head out to tend bar. Hopefully I can give it a good run through on vacation. A big thank you to both sponsors and congratulations to the other prize winners.

I've never had Crispin Cider and several of us asked about where we might find it. Originating from Minnesota, I suspect I'll be able to turn some up eventually. The feedback from several participants who were enjoying it or had had it in the pastdemands a first hand experience.

The night before I made some cider-based cocktails (click for the post) to give me some inspiration for the TweetUp. As the yesterday went on the heat and humidity rose and I started thinking of smooth frozen cocktails and the beach. Jamaica of course! To kick-off my end of the #fni I made some Jamaican Dirty Banana cocktails in the blender. Here is my recipe, which is an adaptation since I didn't have any rum cream available.

Ancient Fire Jamaican Dirty Banana

4 oz fat-free coffee creamer

1 oz Appleton Gold Rum

1 oz Creme-de-Banana

1/2 oz Malibu Coconut Rum

2 very ripe bananas

dash of cinnamon

6 large ice cubs

Add all ingredients except the ice cubes to blender and blend smooth. Add ice and blend until well crushed. Server in a tall glass with a straw. A float of rum on top is customary, but is truly a preference.

I'd also like to thank @cozifamily, @girlfriendology, @intoxicologist, @Cocktails_365, @hoperatives and @winemedineme for helping organize and for offering expert advice to all the participants.

Use the links in the first paragraph to check out this event for yourself. I hope to see you there sometime soon!

Cheers!

Jason

A Mid-Summer Night’s Cocktails

I’m going to be logging in for the Foodie Night In #fni tomorrow on the subject of cocktails. No reader of mine is surprised by this so let’s just get going.

The Spice Sherpa @spicesherpa tweeted about Ancient Fire at a #fni two weeks back. The comments were a great honor and the people seem like a lot of fun.

I looked into the guests and sponsors for August 9th and came across Crispin Ciders located in Minneapolis, MN, makers of super-premium hard ciders. Bingo! I know this corner of the fermented beverage world both as a drinker and a maker. I checked their web site and found a richly supplied section on mixology using their products. This is not something I have done much with my homemade, and for no specific reason at all. We have made punch from it and the flavored version are more like cocktails than the plain varieties.

Tonight I decided I would make some apple and hard cider inspired drinks using my own cider from 2009 and other items in my bar. The new addition to the bar was a bottle of Lairds Applejack. I don’t know how many times I have come across it in recipes and couldn’t imagine it. Having never had it the descriptions didn’t do it any benefits. Apple flavored bourbon is the best description, but I had to try it to believe it. I made two drinks using it and a medium-dry cider made in my hard cider and yeast selection project last year. All of my cider is still, meaning no bubbles making them shakable without explosions. Good for bartending.

Ancient Fire Grilled Apple

1 oz Laird’s Applejack

1 oz Jim Beam White Label Bourbon

2 oz Ancient Fire 2009 Hard Cider #3

¼ oz ginger syrup

1 orange wedge

Mix in a shaker and pour over orange wedge into a cold martini glass.

This drink means business. It is strong, full flavored, medium-sweet with plenty of apple. The citrus and ginger impart a zip that complements the hotness of the liquors in that “hot off the grill” sensation.

Ancient Fire Smashed Apple

I made a tequila-sage smash from Imbibe magazine last month. I twisted it up a bit here to create a drink you might easily experience a lights out from!!

4 oz Ancient Fire 2009 Hard Cider #3
1 oz Hornitas reposado tequila
½ oz Laird’s Applejack
½ oz honey syrup
1 large lemon wedge
4 sage leaves (from out back!!!)

Smash sage leaves in palms of hands. Muddle with lemon in the bottom of a cold shaker. Add ice and all remaining ingredients. Shake well and pour into a tall glass.

This drink was my favorite of the two, basically an apple –sage lemonade with some tequila and whiskey in it. Summer, anyone?

Weekend Bonus!!!!

I made a white sangria yesterday using a recipe I first crafted last month. It came out excellent again so that means it is finally worth sharing. I’ll tell you that you shouldn’t doubt the power of this stuff.

Ancient Fire Tropical White Sangria

2 canisters frozen Welch’s Passion Fruit juice mix
3 bottles of medium-dry white wine (I used Pear (2), Peach, G/R blend)
6 oz ginger infused simple syrup
4 oz VS brandy
1 empty canister (above) water
1 orange
1 lemon

Mix well, add sliced fruit. Allow to chill and mix in fridge. Makes 1 gallon

I can’t wait to swap notes on cocktails, entertaining, snack foods and fun parties with the crew online for the Foodie Night In tomorrow night. Check our Twitter feed for some updates and comments.

Cheers!

Jason