October | 2024 | Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants)

Trader Joe’s WILD BLUEBERRIES (from Quebec, frozen)

10 Oct 2024 4 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, frozen, General, ice cream, Staple, sweets, Trader Joes, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: blueberry, Canada, Food, GF, healthy, ingredients, no preservatives, pancakes, product, Products, Rave, review, smoothie, smoothies, Trader Joes, vegan gluten free, vegetarian, wild

FROZEN – GREAT FOR SMOOTHIES

“Trader Joe’s Wild Boreal Blueberries are little blue gems grown with absolutely no pesticides in Quebec’s Boreal forest region. The Boreal is a collection of protected lands that spreads across Canada…. The fruit grown in the Quebec Boreal thrives on the healthy soil conditions and unique climate of the region. The sweet tart flavor of these wild blueberries is unmatched. Try them for yourself in everything from cereal, muffins, cakes, smoothies and ice cream. They really are wild”

We really liked these blueberries. They are something buy them all the time at Trader Joe’s as they are great to have in the freezer. Not only are these one of my favorite Trader Joe’s products, I hear they are favorites of TJ’s employees as well which is really how you know something is good.

These frozen wild blueberries from Canada are small but full of flavor. These will defrost pretty quickly at room temperature if you just take them out for 10 minutes or so. You could also run them under cold water for maybe 10 seconds in an pinch but I feel like that washes some flavor away. When defrosted you can use these just as you would use fresh berries. We use them in our bowls of cereal and yogurt or kefir, mix them into oatmeal, or put these on top of vanilla ice cream – a super yummy combo! These blueberries are great for making smoothies of course, in which case you can just pour them frozen right into your blender with your other ingredients. I’ve even made excellent blueberry jam from them, and of course they are great to use in baked goods, for example blueberry muffins or even pancakes! Topped with some maple syrup naturally.

$3.49

This great $1.50 Trader Joe’s product is finally back !!

07 Oct 2024 1 Comment

by promacnyc in All Natural, can, cheese, condiments, Discontinued, DIY, fresh, General, Italian, jar, News, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, recipe, Recipes, review, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: healthy, no preservatives, product, Products, Rave, review, Trader Joes, umami, vegan gluten free, vegetarian

Double Concentrated Tomato Paste, Ingredients: Tomatoes. Salt

For some time I mourned the loss at Trader Joe’s of their handy Italian TOMATO PASTE in a tube which they “discontinued” maybe a year or two back. At the time I asked the TJ’s Captain to look it up and he said it was not even on order and that he was pretty sure it was gone for good. Fortunately it magically appeared back on the shelves recently at my Trader Joe’s and for that I say, HOORAY! So did Trader Joe’s change their minds? Did they lose a supplier and could not find one for years? Who knows? In any case I’m just glad to see this as this is a product I used to buy all the time.

Sometimes you don’t need that whole little can of paste, so the great thing about the tubes of tomato paste – an essential kitchen item, people – is obvious. Say you just need 1 tablespoon of tomato paste for something. Now you don’t have to open a whole small can up. Then figure out what to do with the rest. With the tube one just squeezes out the tablespoon. The paste in the tube can last a few months in the fridge. Which is better than finding that half used up can of tomato paste in the back of the fridge which I forgot I had, which now looks bad so I throw it out.

$1.49 (which is half what the tomato paste in a tube costs at regular grocery stores)

BTW did you know that tomato paste is one food that is Pure Umami*?

GOOGLE:

*Tomato paste is a great source of umami flavor:

Umami-rich Tomatoes are naturally high in glutamates, which are chemicals that create umami, the savory depth of a food. Concentrating the flavor of tomatoes into tomato paste makes it a powerful umami ingredient.

Versatile – A small amount of tomato paste can add a lot of flavor to many dishes, including soups, sauces, stews, braises, and bread dough.

Easy to use – A tablespoon of tomato paste can have the same flavor as 100 fresh tomatoes.

Flavor develops with browning – Browning tomato paste in the skillet caramelizes the natural sugars in the tomatoes, which enhances the umami flavor and reduces acidity. To brown it, just add some tomato paste into oil or butter on med/low heat and gently stir for about 3 mins or so till it darkens in color.

Other ingredients that are high in umami include: Miso paste, Soy sauce, Aged cheeses, Potatoes, Dried mushrooms, Anchovies, and Fish sauce.

Trader Joe’s Red Bell Pepper, Garlic and Parmesan Cream Cheese Spread

05 Oct 2024 2 Comments

by promacnyc in bread, cheese, condiments, dairy, fresh, General, Italian, New, News, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, recipe, Recipes, review, snacks, spices, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: cheese, chicken, dairy, dinner, Food, pasta, Products, Recipes, review, Trader Joes

“Our newest Cream Cheese Spread is celebratory, creamy, super savory, and full of flavor for all your summer schmearing needs. Trader Joe’s Red Bell Pepper, Garlic & Parmesan Cream Cheese Spread is a zesty combo with a heavy-handed sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, is flecked with red bell pepper, and studded with minced garlic throughout.”

( FYI it says “Limited”) so you may or may not find this…)

When I just tasted it on a spoon by itself. It seemed a bit on the strong side, predominately tasting of parmesan cheese. Of course its meant to be a spread, so I put a shmear of this cream cheese on a cracker. They were very good together. I used this spread the next morning on a toasted bagel spread with this stuff, topped with lots of slices of cucumber. That was quite good. It was good on bread and many things. In fact, I can easily see using some of this added to a pasta dish, thinned out with a bit of pasta water to make a creamy sauce. I’ve learned recently that some Italians actually use cream cheese mixed into pasta to make it creamy! I think this could match well in a sauce with sauteed cherry tomatoes.