Nathan and I have completely different morning routines. He wakes up early and bikes to work while I wake up later and take the metro. He doesn’t really like breakfast and eats a granola bar at work simply so that he doesn’t starve and I love breakfast and make myself something every morning.
Last week, I got a Google chat message from Nathan that went like this:
Nathan: hrm, i bought the store brand granola bars because they were on sale and they taste kinda like cardboard…with honey. Oh well, its not like normal ones are god’s gift to humanity or anything
Katryn: Maybe we should try homemade granola bars and put everything we want in them!
And thus…this weeks posting was born!
Nathan was buying his own granola bars because he doesn’t trust me to select them for him. He knows that if I chose they would be gross branny-bran seed & nut healthy granola bars and Nathan prefers his granola bars to toe the line between candy bar and breakfast food (aka 98% candy.) For this reason, we knew that when we made granola bars we would need to make ‘his and her’ varieties to suit our respective tastes. Nathan’s granola bar variety is chock full of dried fruit, nuts, chocolate and sweet coconut while mine are a more simple mandarin orange and ginger variety.
After deciding on our granola bar flavors we were faced with the decision of whether or not to pair our granola bars with wine and beer. Well, since this IS a pairing blog we obviously HAD to pair our breakfast treats with adult beverages. I’m so glad we did! The combinations were surprisingly good and the flavors of the beer and wine played up the dominant flavors in our granola bars. Bring these granola bars on your next Spring hike and don’t forget the beer and wine!
Katryn’s Wine Pairing: Oveja Negra Sauvignon Blanc
Rating: 7.75 out of 10.0
I bought this bottle of wine because of the sheep on the label that reminded me of nature and then being in nature reminded me of eating granola bars on a hike so it seemed like the perfect bottle of wine to pair with my bar. Nathan thought this train of thought was a bit of a stretch but, be that as it may, this ended up being a good pairing! The wine was a bit mediocre on it’s own but the flavors in the granola bar drew out undertones of ginger and citrus in the wine. The wine was light and medium-dry…perfect for a ‘snack wine’ with a granola bar!
Nathan’s Beer Pairing: Indian Brown Ale, Dogfish Head Brewery
Rating: 8.75 out of 10.0
This beer was an interesting but great drink! According to the brewery, the Indian Brown Ale is a hybrid of a Scotch Ale, IPA, and a Brown Ale. The beer combines the maltiness of the Scotch Ale, the nuttiness of a Brown Ale, and the hops of an Imperial IPA where each of the flavors balance each other out into a beer that is well balanced. There are also tastes of coffee and roasted malts that reminded me of an Imperial Stout as well. Drinking this beer after taking a bite of my manly granola bars was almost like drinking an alcoholic granola bar. The flavors of the beer complimented the granola bar so well that I couldn’t tell where one started and the other stopped! Nothing says a bachelor breakfast like a granola bar and beer to start the day off right!
Katryn’s Mandarin Orange and Ginger Granola Bars
Ingredients:
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup unsweetened coconut, loosely packed
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup dried mandarin oranges, chopped (I found these at Trader Joe’s and they are SO good!)
3/4 cup uncrystallized, candied ginger, chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish.
Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.
Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the oranges and ginger and stir well.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.
Nathan’s Cranberry Chocolate Granola Bars
Ingredients:
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, loosely packed
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup roasted, lightly salted peanuts
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish.
Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.
Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the cranberries, raisins, chocolate chips, and peanuts and stir well.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.
