Granola Two Ways

( Martha Stewart granola, cooling )

Margot and I are constantly looking for recipes that can replace store bought prepared foods. While there are granolas you can buy from the store that are made with all natural ingredients and offer the high fiber and low fat that make granola a healthy breakfast or snack, not all granolas are created equal!

Making granola is very easy. Once you have tried it you will likely never want to buy granola again! For this this post we picked two different recipes with slightly different ingredients to make at home.

My mother made me a batch of granola as part of a Christmas gift. She used a recipe from Martha Stewart magazine. I thought we would start with that which harnesses maple, a friendly New England flavor.

We made a half batch of the original recipe with a slightly different mix of nuts.

1 ¾ cup rolled oats
1/8 cup chopped pecans
1/8 cup whole almonds
1/8 cup chopped walnuts
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla

The walnuts will burn if allowed to cook too long. Keep the mix agitated to avoid this.

The resulting granola was quite similar to the gift I received although I felt ours was a bit understated in comparison. I’ll have to ask my mom if she veered off the recipe somewhere. This granola is light in body. The sweet maple flavor intersects with enough salt to keep things balanced.

( ready for the mix! )

For our second recipe we pick the Easy Homemade Granola from the Amateur Gourmet blog. This recipe uses honey and brown sugar instead of maple syrup and adds dried fruit for some extra flavor and texture.

We made the full sized recipe. We used different nuts and fruits and altered the process just a bit.

2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole almonds
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Mix oats, cinnamon and salt together in one bowl. Whisk oil, honey, sugar and vanilla together in microwave safe bowl. Heat the wet mixture in microwave for 30 seconds. Pour wet over dry. Mix well.

Spread on a parchment covered baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Mix after 15 minutes, add nuts and finish cooking. Allow to cool. Mix in fruit.

( how can you not want this? )

Margot and I both believe this is some of the best (Margot has said best ever several times) granola we have ever had. This is definitely a lot sweeter than the first recipe and the addition of the fruit definitely bumps of the texture. I am sure if we continue experimenting with granola we might find some additional secrets, but I would have a hard time not returning to this recipe as the basis for anything else I tried!

( ready to eat! )

I got a tweet, not long after I mentioned I was making granola, asking what the best wine pairing was with granola. I hadn’t thought about it but you can’t ask me such a question and not expect an experiment to happen! Cabernet Franc Ice Wine was my answer. The flavors between it and granola number two were in real harmony. It wouldn’t be something I would do often, but it sure was fun!

Cheers!

--Jason

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