TJ Soy Ginger Marinated WILD COD FILLETS

20 Nov 2019 1 Comment

by promacnyc in All Natural, fish, frozen, Rave, Trader Joes Tags: Asian, cod, fish, Food, healthy, natural, no preservatives, pescatarian, Products, Rave, recipe, review, Trader Joes

soycod1

I picked up a package of Trader Joe’s “Wild Soy Ginger Marinated Cod Fillets” in the Frozen section at TJ’s to try. I was quite satisfied, this dish turned out to be really good. This marinated cod costs about $7/lb. – very much on the lower price end for almost any fish these days, and this is wild caught cod from the Atlantic, so another good find at TJs.

This cod is tasty, and easy-peasy to make. I followed instructions on the package about defrosting them overnight in the fridge. An overnight thaw in the fridge is always the best method for defrosting as thawing slowly is best to preserve the original quality. So just remember you need to think about this the day/night before if at all possible. If after an overnight thaw, you find its not completely defrosted when you are ready to cook you can put it in the sink in a pot and run a stream of cold water over the unopened package for 5-15 minutes till it feels completely defrosted. I didn’t try the method on the package where they say you can defrost in a bowl of warm water, in fact I would completely say never use warm water, its too fast and damages cell structure. If you really need to do a “quick defrost” again run a stream of cold water on it till defrosted (again, “emergency only” method). A fish monger told me to do it with cold running water.

On the package they suggest 3 methods to cook the cod – in a skillet, bake it or microwave it. Me, I decided I would cook the miso cod by broiling the fish and glazing them with the marinade. Broiling is a typical Japanese method of cooking. I took the fillets out of the package with tongs careful to reserve all the marinade for later use. I placed the drained defrosted fillets in a black cast iron pan (my favorite cooking utensil), dotted them with a little butter and put the pan under a very hot (pre-heated) broiler. The fillets were not thick. One was a little bit thicker. So I cooked the fillets for about 3 minutes then took the pan out of the oven so I could pour over that reserved marinade over the fillets. Aha! The reserved marinade will make you a very nice soy miso glaze. So I immediately put the pan back under the broiler to finish for about just another minute or two, keeping a close eye on the fish and the glaze which was all bubbly and browning up. As you can see the glaze browns up beautifully, thickens, to make a nice sauce for the fish, and obviously keeps the fish moist and not dried out. You can even put another little bit of butter in the pan and hit the fish with freshly ground pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lemon. I forgot to mention I threw in some frozen shelled Edame (soy beans) around the fish to cook with it. The edamame were a perfect match with the fish, along with some some rice. There’s a Japanese meal for you.

We really enjoyed this. Sometimes cod fish can be a bit boring but this miso / soy marinade treatment makes this product very good. You can hit it if you like with even more freshly grated ginger (I generally do).

To sum up I found TJ’s Soy Ginger Marinated Wild Cod Fillets to be super convenient, easy to make, and really tasty. I would buy it again, and in fact have a few times since I first tried this. This is becoming a Go-To item for me at TJ now and I usually have a package in our freezer.

RAVE

soycod1

Trader Joes’s (frozen) AHI TUNA

15 Sep 2019 7 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, fish, frozen, General, Pantry, Products, Rave, recipe, Recipes, Trader Joes, update, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: Ahi Tuna, Asian, fish, Food, frozen, healthy, Japanese, no preservatives, Products, Rave, recipe, review, Trader Joes

“The secret to cooking Ahi Tuna is not to overcook it”

What is Ahi Tuna? “Ahi” is Hawaiian for YELLOWFIN TUNA

“Yellowfin tuna, scientifically known as Thunnus albacares, is a popular species of tuna found in tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. They are often marketed as “ahi” in Hawaii and elsewhere.”

Trader Joe’s sells AHI TUNA STEAKS, in the section with their other frozen fish.

My package was labled “Wild Caught, Product of Spain” (fished from Spanish waters in the Atlantic)

Ahi Tuna is one of my favorite fishes that TJ’s carries. and I highly recommend trying it if you never have before. It’s so good, meaty and satisfying.

If you have any leftovers, its delicious served cold the next day, maybe over a bed of rice or a salad.

How To Cook Ahi Tuna: First off, defrosting the fish. The best way will be a slow “overnight” defrost in the fridge. While the slow defrost will give the best result, if you didnt plan ahead, you could you can try putting the package of fish in a bowl in the sink, then running a slow stream of cold water over it. Leave it like that. That will take perhaps an hour to defrost that way.

TIP: Do Not Nuke the fish to defrost it; it will ruin the texture of the fish, making in mushy.

The package states you should “remove from package before defrosting”. I’m not quite sure why… anyone have a clue? Anyway I defrost it in the fridge overnight in the package and it seems fine.

MARINADE: Once the fish is defrosted I marinate it for a half hour to an hour before cooking. As far as marinades go, I generally make a typical Asian/Japanese style marinade: Soy sauce, fresh grated ginger, fresh ground black pepper, a pinch of honey or brown sugar, plus some oil, either olive oil or better still a teaspoon of TJ’s dark roasted sesame oil. You can add some type of acid if you like: a tiny amount of cider vinegar, lemon juice, or sake if you have it. You should serve it with some fresh Lemon or Lime.

Cooking Ahi Tuna: The first rule of AHI tuna is don’t overcook it. Its very easily overcooked. It is crucial that you don’t overcook ahi tuna as it can dry out easily. So be careful with your cooking time. Personally I think AHI is best cooked in the Japanese “Tataki-style” way which is just searing the outside on all sides and leaving the center a bit pink (See pic above).

I generally cook it in a black cast iron pan over med-high heat with a little oil, and/or butter, searing the outside for 60-90 seconds on one side then turning with tongs to cook the other sides for a minute. You can use the tongs on the sides but again be careful not to overcook your fish. After you do it once or twice you will get the hang of cooking this way.

When done, take the fish out of the pan, and let it rest on a plate for a few minutes before you slice it. Which you will do against the grain like a steak. Be sure to save the pan juices and any juice that runs out on the cutting board to pour over your fish.

You can deglaze the pan with sake, rice vinegar, or even a splash of water, or some extra marinade that you saved at the beginning. I found that if you marinated the fish and use that marinade to deglaze the pan there is protein that coagulates when you cook it, so it glops up a little (I just thin it with soy and some water, it doesn’t bother me too much, it makes it thicker thats all). If that gloppy stuff bothers you, don’t use the marinade, make a fresh sauce to serve with the fish. Here’s some ideas for sauces….

“Butter Shoyu” (Soy Butter Sauce) Put a fat dollop of butter in the pan along with a little soy sauce, a terrific combination. Mix it well and and pour over the Ahi. Serve with slices of fresh lemon or lime.

PONZU: Another classic Japanese sauce. Combine Soy sauce and fresh Lemon Juice. Do not cook this, just mix together. A bit of grated lemon rind would be a gourmet touch.

As in the photo of my finished Ahi, it should end up seared on the outside and pink in the center, just how pink is up to you. I like mine like it is in the thickest part, the center (just this side of raw) while my wife likes it as it is cooked on the ends (medium) which I think of as overcooked. As a final touch, I sprinkled some sesame seeds on top, sliced it against the grain, and put it on a bed of arugula, pouring the pan juices over the top. Ahi Tuna is really delicious and I am sure your family will also love this very steak-y fish.

You could even try it as “Poke” I guess (ceviche style). I am willing to eat it this way but my (Japanese) wife won’t let me make this as poke as she says this is not “sashimi grade tuna” (true) which costs three times as much, selling for about $25/lb instead of this at $8/lb. So at 8 bucks a pound this is a another good deal from Mr. Trader Joe.

ASIAN MARINADE: 2 tbs soy sauce; 1″ peeled fresh ginger, grated; fresh ground black pepper, a little honey or brown sugar, teaspoon of sesame oil (or olive oil) plus lemon or lime juice for a marinade (you can make a bit more and save some to serve on the side). Marinate in the fridge (on fully defrosted fish) for 30-60 minutes turning it once. Cook as desired.

Having said how great this fish is please let’s not eat TOO much as this species is on the “near threatened” list. We eat AHI tuna no more than once a month. Though this says the Atlantic Yellowfin is sustainably harvested.

TJ Fresh Mozzarella Log (w/ CAPRESE SALAD recipe)

02 Sep 2019 4 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, cheese, fresh, General, Products, Rave, recipe, Recipes, Trader Joes, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: Food, fresh, gluten free, homemade, hot weather, natural, no preservatives, olive oil, prices, Products, Rave, recipe, review, Salad, salads, snacks, summer, Trader Joes

RAVE

I think I can get this review in just in time for End of Summer when one can still find excellent tomatoes. The perfect thing to pair with juicy farm fresh tomatoes is this Trader Joe’s Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Log. Unlike the firmer low moisture “pizza” mozzarella, fresh mozzarella is a softer milky fresh cheese. Fresh mozzarella is perfect for pairing with tomatoes, basil and good virgin olive oil for a super easy and delicious classic: a “Caprese Salad” (Insalata Caprese) Caprese Salad is the simplest of Italian salads, with sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and fresh basil leaves, dressed with olive oil. Like a Pizza Margherita, it features the colors of the Italian flag: green, white, red.

This mozzarella is shaped as a log and is pre-sliced into rounds which makes this super convenient and easy. Open it, and put the rounds of cheese on a plate with sliced tomatoes. You can arrange them artistically, alternating tomato and round of cheese if you want to impress but even just cutting the slices into quarters and tossing with cubed tomatoes is fine! Douse with some good extra virgin olive oil of course! Sometimes I add a few capers and a little of the caper liquid.

With some good bread you have a super easy dinner or lunch and a small slice of heaven ready in minutes especially if you can find great tomatoes. Serve this salad to guests and they will love it. And the fresh mozz is good of course just eaten as is, put on a cheese plate, or used to make a terrific sandwich.

A 1 lb package is $~~4.99~~ ($5.99) which for fresh mozzarella is as usual, a pretty good deal chez Trader Joes.

RECIPE CAPRESE SALAD (INSALATE CAPRESE): Layer alternating slices of tomatoes and mozzarella on a plate or platter. Tear up a good number of fresh basil leaves and sprinkle them all over everything. Drizzle with some good extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. (OPTIONAL: some jarred capers with some of their juice, or a very small amount of a vinegar especially Balsamico) Serve with a nice crusty bread.

(Post Summer) If you can’t get great tasting beefsteak tomatoes get the small cherry egg shaped Italian tomatoes Trader Joe’s carries. They are a little expensive but are really tasty, cut in half, and mix up with cut up mozzarella. Can you make pizza with this mozzarella ? Yes, it will give up some more liquid so a super hot oven is important.

Trader Joe’s SAUERKRAUT with Persian cucumbers

18 Aug 2019 8 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, General, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: fermented, Food, gluten free, healthy, homemade, natural, no preservatives, product, Products, Rave, raw, review, Trader Joes, vegan, vegan gluten free, vegetables, vegetarian

If you love sauerkraut, as I do, then you may find this Trader Joe’s sauerkraut is among the best you ever had. It’s great.

Trader Joe’s even says if you are not a fan of the stuff, this may change your mind about SAUERKRAUT. Now that’s confidence in your product, huh?! Unlike commercially made mass-produced sauerkraut which is cooked, this one is a raw, fermented food product which doesn’t even have vinegar. TJ’s says its made by a small batch producer in the traditional way, which is simply cabbage treated with salt and left to ferment. Old School. The real McCoy. “This is Sauerkraut like your great grandma used to make.”

It has some Persian cucumbers (pickles) in it as well which add even more more crunch and variety. This Sauerkraut goes perfectly with hot dogs of course, as well as sausages. This kraut would go especially with TJ’s excellent German made BAVARIAN BRATWURST previously reviewed, with a Rave. As we know now, fermented foods are very good for your digestive system, gut health and overall health in general. It’s considered healthy to eat something fermented on a regular or daily basis. A spoonful of this (or kimchi or kefir) every day and your gut bacteria will be aces.

Trader Joe’s Sauerkraut with Persian cucumbers is $3.99 for a 14 oz. container.

Ingredients:, Cabbage, Persian Cucumbers, Salt, Garlic.

Sauerkraut is great with these Cheddar Chicken Sausages

Trader Joe’s UNEXPECTED CHEDDAR CHICKEN SAUSAGE

Trader Joe’s ORGANIC COLESLAW “KIT”

10 Aug 2019 8 Comments

Super easy, organic Cole Slaw Kit. Just dump the contents into a bowl, fish out the packet of dressing and mix everything up together. That’s it, you’re done. Now, when making a slaw its best made about an hour in advance (and keep in the fridge, to keep crisp). Everything will become all nice and cole-slaw-y when the cabbage has “pickled” a bit and the flavors meld together. You could let it rest more, say 4 hours or even make it the night before. Slaws change over time. From crispy to mellowed.

The package contains shredded green and red cabbage and carrots, all organic. The organic dressing is a tangy, slightly sweet & sour dressing in the mayonnaise/ thousand island vein with lots of poppy seeds which add a nice flavor. Everything blends up well to make a nice, tasty fresh “homemade” cole slaw. Could you make this yourself easily with some cabbage, some carrots a hand shredder and some dressing? Of course, and I do many times during the summer especially, but if you don’t feel like doing “all that work” this kit makes it super easy. It doesn’t make a huge amount of cole slaw, about a pint of finished slaw after you let it sit for at least an hour when it will “shrink up” a bit as it marinates. A package is 10 oz and costs $2.69

Image by promacnyc

TJ’s ROSEMARY HAM

02 Aug 2019 7 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, Prices, Products, Rave, snacks, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized Tags: Food, fresh, Ham, no preservatives, product, Products, Rave, review, Trader Joes

Trader Joe’s Sliced Rosemary Ham

RAVE

Oh wow, this is some wonderful tasting ham with an amazing flavor, aroma (rosemary) and an amazing texture. I find this to be a superb, out-of-the ordinary sliced ham. It doesn’t say exactly where its produced so I imagine in the U.S. but to me somehow its has an Imported taste and quality. The back of my mind says “Italy” but they would state that I would assume on the package. No matter, if this is made right here in the US I’m pleased to know WE can produce this quality too here at home! This is what I would call really good “adult ham”. Its not too salty nor sweet, it has just the right balance of both salinity and sweetness. Oven roasted with rosemary. ALL NATURAL INGREDIENTS. MINIMALLY PROCESSED. No Nitrates, Nitrites, its cured with all natural, real ingredients on the label that you can recognize without a dictionary, such as : Sea salt, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar cane, and of course rosemary. You get a pronounced aroma of rosemary as soon as you open the package but the rosemary flavor does not overpower the flavor of the ham, it enhances it perfectly with a lovely rosemary coating you can see on the edges. Sliced super thin, it has a super tender, fall apart melt in your mouth texture. Probably cooked for a long time, low and slow. Its so tender and comes apart so easily into shreds that if you don’t want to rip a slice as you remove it, you need to do it carefully.

I love this ham and find it to be a superb TJ product. It’s a little more expensive than the other ham I usually buy (Black Forest) at TJ ($3 for 8 oz). This one is $3.29 for a 6 oz. package, which is 6 slices. But for this quality, a bit less than $9/lb for a sliced ham this good, is not untoward and certainly worth trying. I would imagine if you are having guests and put this out on a plate rolled up into little bites with a toothpick….you would get a lot of “hey where do you get this ham ?”

Trader Joe’s AUTHENTIC GREEK FETA in brine

19 Jul 2019 18 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, dairy, General, Products, Trader Joes Tags: cheese, Food, fresh, greek, homemade, hot weather, no preservatives, olive oil, Products, Rave, recipe, review, Salad, trader joe’s, Trader Joes, vegetarian

AN OUTSTANDING FETA CHEESE

RAVE

“You know how many kinds of feta exist? Thousands. Every place you go in Greece, they make feta” (Greek cheese monger in Astoria Queens)

TRADER JOE’S AUTHENTIC GREEK FETA in brine. Imported from Greece.

Though feta cheese can be made from many kinds of milk, it’s said sheep’s milk produces the best feta. That is a 100% Sheep’s Milk feta. It has the aroma and tangy flavor of a sheep milk feta along with a firm texture, but its not dry, its pretty creamy. The cheese comes in two large slabs in a salt brine which is the way feta should ideally be sold as well as kept in your fridge.

Brine preserves the texture and flavor. I find this not overly salty but just right; You will eat it with other things in which you can use less salt. There are a many types of feta cheese made in quite a few countries. It’s made from cow, goat and sheep milk. Feta made from sheep’s milk is produced in France, Bulgaria, Israel and of course, Greece. Greek Feta may be the best of them all though I honestly like feta from all of the countries I just mentioned for different reason. (French feta is creamy for example) TJ has an Israeli feta too, excellent though more expensive than this one. It has a creamier texture. Start with the Greek one, so you have a baseline.

One thing about this TJ Feta which is NOT good: the packaging. Its terrible, because this plastic box is REALLY HARD TO OPEN. In fact its a right pain. Look carefully at the top. The thin top part is a lid that once you can open it will come off. First break the corner seal by ripping a small plastic tab in one corner of the tub. Then you can (hopefully) pry the top off carefully Do this flat on the counter, slowly so the brine doesn’t fly out everywhere. TIP: You can use a butter knife to help get the lid off, prying it. Once you open it a few times, it gets easier so don’t give up, though you will curse whoever designed this terrible packaging. Anyway the feta inside is good and worth it (but still, argh!). And by the way don’t throw out the brine when the cheese is finished (more on this later).

Here’s just a few ideas on what you can do with feta cheese. I mean yes it’s delicious just by itself but it’s so versatile to have in the fridge to use with other things, like….

Greek Salad: Put a slab of feta on top of salad greens, chopped up cukes and tomatoes and voila, you have a Greek salad. Throw on some olives if you have them. Drizzle a good slug of very good Extra Virgin Olive Oil on and squeeze on fresh lemon juice. Grind on fresh black pepper. You can even vamp it up with more proteins like hard boiled eggs, drained canned tuna or sardines, or grilled chicken. Serve some good crusty bread and you have a lovely, super easy dinner in minutes.

Watermelon and Feta salad: Cubes of sweet watermelon with cubes of salty feta is a Genius combo. I’ve decided I don’t need olive oil on this, just the two ingredients and a grind of black pepper. But if you like with EVOO go for it. Fresh ground pepper is good with this.

Shakshuka and Feta: Use TJ’s frozen Shakshuka starter: add cubes of this feta as you cook it. Fantastic!

Feta cheese is often used in cooking: one of my favorite Greek dishes is “Garides mi Feta” (Shrimp with tomatoes and Feta) It’s fantastic!

The latest craze is that “Baked Feta Pasta” recipe that is making feta cheese hard to find so many people started looking for it, producers could not keep up!

As this feta is imported from Greece of course it costs more than the small pack of feta cheese TJ carries at $3 for 8 oz. which is pretty good if made from cows milk but it’s not great like this imported Greek one. This Greek feta is $6.49 for 10 oz (drained). So figure about $10/lb for a real “Product of Greece” feta, which is a decent price for real Greek feta. Honestly this stuff will make your meal or dish, so worth the occasional splurge.

Oh and remember I said keep that brine? You can actually use it. That milky feta brine actually has flavor. Melissa Clark in the New York Times put out a great recipe for chicken using brine, plus you can marinate chicken breasts in feta brine for 30-60 minutes; Bake, broil, pan grill…! They will be SO juicy from the brining.

https://food52.com/recipes/69859-melissa-clark-s-feta-brined-roast-chicken

https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/primers/article/feta-guide

https://food52.com/blog/23031-how-to-use-feta-brine-water-salt-tricks-tips

Trader Joe’s SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE

03 Jul 2019 83 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, Discontinued, General, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rant, Staple, Trader Joes Tags: jam, product, Products, Rave, review, Trader Joes, vegan, vegan gluten free, vegetarian

(NOTE : MAY 2021 – Sadly this product was DISCONTINUED. I gave this a RAVE

Now its a RANT for another great item they discontinued

(they came out with a Seville marmalade fruit spread in 2024/5 however not sure if that continues to still be available either)

If you can’t find some locally here’s a link for a decent brand Marmalade on Amazon which is made with correct (bitter) orange for $7.

https://amzn.to/4qVz4BO (Bonne Maman)

https://www.tastingtable.com/2079431/boomer-breakfast-staple-spread-marmalade/

A new generation seems to be discovering how good marmalade is!

Trader Joe’s SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE (Discontinued)

This Post is for Archival Purposes

If you are a fan of a traditional English orange marmalade then you will probably enjoy this as much as I did. Trader Joe’s SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE is a proper English marmalade. Yes the label states that it’s a “product of Canada” but let’s ponder that a moment. Since Canada was under English rule for some time, one of the remnants of that time the Brits must have passed on to Canadians was how to make marmalade. Because this jar of marmalade is delicious.

Made from Seville Oranges (Bitter Orange) which are de rigeur for proper marmalade. Its a thin-cut marmalade, having small bits of chopped peel with a good balance between the Seville orange peel, juice, pectin and sugar, and overall an good balance of the perfect combination of bitter and sweet you want. Let’s call this jam for the adults. Not sure if kids will like it, but if yours do, consider them to have an “elevated palate”. That could get expensive when they grow up.

From the label: Seville Oranges are the backbone of a proper orange marmalade. The bright high-acid juice and the thick rough skin are transformed when cooked, becoming intense, yet balanced: the perfect topper for toast or scones (well put Trader Joe’s)

AND ENGLISH MUFFINS (see pic)!

I ate this marmalade for breakfast this morning on a perfectly toasted TJ Classic English Muffin, along with a pat of good Irish Kerrygold butter and a nice dollop of this marmalade, along with my morning cappuccino. Very yummy and delicious and perfect together. All was right with the world, well at least till I finished my muffin. If you are a marmalade fan, this does the trick. A big jar, which is over 1 pound goes for $3.49, another Trader Joe’s great value.

Rave became RANT

UPDATE (May 2021) SIGN IN STORE SAID IT WAS DISCONTINUED !!! CURSE YOU TRADER JOE’S – the fans of this marmalade are ANGRY! Read the Comments!

OPTIONS: I saw found jars of the TJ one on Amazon for outrageous rip-off prices from “enterprising” folks who resell Trader Joe’s products for profit at severe markups: $60 a bottle?!! I don’t think so, folks.

A more reasonable option might be to try some English made brands (Tiptree or Wilkinson’s – or you can make your own Marmalade with this DIY one from Robertson’s “Ma Made” Seville Marmalade – you just add sugar and water, and maybe the juice of a lemon. One can will make tons of marmalade so put it up in jars…. (2 cans for $20 = $10/ea plus a bag of sugar) update; 2 for 20 was not bad however the price is now ridiculous ($36)

Other offerings on Amazon

https://amzn.to/3AwVYom – “Bonne Maman Orange Marmalade (France)” $4.99 = anyone tried it? Let us know if good.

Finally make it yourself DIY?? Here’s a recipe

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/seville_orange_marmalade/

Trader Joe’s ORGANIC TOFU (& RECIPE)

03 Jun 2019 12 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, General, organic, Products, Rave, recipe, Trader Joes Tags: Asian, Food, fresh, healthy, no preservatives, product, Products, Rave, review, tofu, Trader Joes, vegan, vegan gluten free, vegetarian

I can tell by the stats that a good number of visitors to the site are interested in posts about Tofu.

Therefore I’ve been wanting to write up a post reviewing this tofu that I always buy at Trader Joe’s most anytime I go there, along with a simple basic recipe on how to prepare an easy tofu dish. Interest in tofu is well deserved of course, as tofu is an excellent, high-quality protein that is plant-based and is inexpensive. So what’s not to like?

Even if you, like yours truly, are not vegetarian, tofu is a good thing that you should be eating for so many reasons. Tofu is healthy, good for you, good for the planet, and is versatile and easy to use in many ways. If tofu is not already on your typical “mains” or “proteins” list when you go shopping I would suggest tofu be added to your list. How about Meatless Mondays? Thats a good start! In our house we usually make a Japanese “tofu steak” type recipe once a week or so.

“Trader Joe San’s ORGANIC TOFU” in the pink & white package is a good tofu. Not too soft nor too firm, it takes well to being cooked up as described here. Not for most of us Americans tofu pretty much seems to have “no taste” on its own. However what tofu does quite well is absorb flavors. What flavors should you think about? Obvious ones are all Asian flavorings: Soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, cilantro…. You can not go wrong with these flavors cooking tofu. What about texture? I like cooking my tofu till its “golden brown” and develops an outside surface texture with a slight bite to the tooth, which it can get if cooked in certain ways. So one of the ideal ways for me to make it is to grill it until golden brown to improve the texture and then serve it with some kind of sauce.

Here’s a very basic and easy recipe to make grilled or sautéed tofu.

1. Take the tofu out of the package, pour off all the water, and set it over a colander or strainer to drain as much water as possible. Let it sit for about an hour. I sometimes put a few plates for a little weight and pressure.

2. Cut the tofu carefully. First into slices about 1/2 inch thick, then if you want smaller pieces, cut those into half. Heat up a non-stick or cast iron pan till it is good and hot with a teaspoon or two of vegetable oil and add the tofu slices (a little sesame oil added now is great for extra flavor). Let it cook for about 10 minutes at medium heat until the tofu looks golden brown when you check it. Flip the slices over and cook the other side till also golden brown. In the picture below I’ve sprinkled on some fresh ground black pepper too.

3. When the tofu slices are browned, now is when you either go one or two ways with sauce or flavoring. One way is to add the sauce (ingredients) to the pan and cook in the sauce till they are absorbed mostly. The other way is to remove the golden brown slices of tofu to a serving plate, then make your sauce and pour it over the tofu and around it. Both ways are good and I would suggest trying both methods and see which you prefer (the pouring over keeps the crispy texture of course a bit more). I like both ways and make it both ways depending on my mood.

How to Make a Basic Sauce: Sauté freshly grated ginger and chopped garlic for a few seconds till fragrant in some veg or sesame oil, then add your liquids: 2-3 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce (Trader Joe’s sells this). Maybe some veg or chicken stock too. A teaspoon of Sesame Oil (TJ). Optional: Mushrooms, Oyster Sauce, Sriracha, Fish Sauce, chopped scallions, pinch of sugar or honey, and Cilantro if you like it. If its very liquid you can add a little cornstarch/water slurry to thicken up the sauce.

Lazy options: If you prefer to just buy a sauce for your tofu steak: Try TJ’s SOYAKI or TJ Ginger Soy salad dressing. Sriracha and Soy. Anything flavorful that might go well with it.

A package of this tofu feeds 2 or 3 with other things (rice, sides) and costs around $2. Cheap!

Marinating also is a good technique for flavor. Here’s a good sounding recipe for Baked Tofu.

https://kalynskitchen.com/baked-tofu-recipe-with-soy-and-sesame/

B & F HOLISTIC NATURAL DRY CAT FOOD

12 May 2019 4 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, pet, pets, Products, Rave, Trader Joes Tags: Bench & Field, cat, cat food, cats, dogs, Food, healthy, pet, pets, product, Rave, review, Trader Joes

RAVE

I’ve previously reviewed the same brand, Bench and Field natural cat treats which are great. This is their dry cat food called “BENCH & FIELD HOLISTIC NATURAL FELINE FORMULA”.

Bench and Field make excellent pet food products. Their tag line is “Health Food for Pets”. Pretty good line, you gotta like that.

The B&F HOLISTIC NATURAL dry cat food is the more expensive of the two brands* of dry cat food Trader Joe’s carries, the other being the dry food sold under TJ’s own brand name, which is also quite good and a bit more economical.* So I buy both brands of food, on and off. Both of the dry cat foods TJ carries are quite good and better than say, large commercial brands like Purina Cat Chow, Meow Mix, and the like.

Compared to the TJ brand dry cat food, I would say Bench & Field scores a bit higher from a standpoint of ingredients listed, which if you look at the label all seem to be good, “honest”, healthy stuff (for instance, no “chicken by-products” which even Purina Pro Plan has). The label says 32% protein which comes from a variety of meats and grains: chicken, brown rice, anchovy, sardines, egg, oatmeal. Also has a bunch of fruits and veggies, plus other good stuff if you look closely at the listed ingredients like kelp, quinoa and a lot of probiotics too! Yes – “Health Food For Pets”.

I cut and pasted this info from B&Fs website (and no i don’t work for them, just reviewing a decent product)

HOLISTIC NATURAL FELINE FORMULA NUTRITION & INGREDIENTS

For cats of all ages and the owners who love them, Holistic Natural ™ Feline Formula is the right choice. Fortified with vitamins and minerals, and made with a bounty of wholesome, healthful ingredients including:

Nature’s Greens and Grains including oatmeal, flaxseed, organic quinoa and dehydrated kelp.
Made with fruits and veggies including carrots, sweet potatoes, cranberries, apples, peas, papaya, blueberries and more.
Omega 6 / Omega 3 Fatty Acids and flaxseed help maintain skin and coat.
3 Primary Antioxidants: Vitamins A, E and Beta-Carotene.
Oatmeal & Yucca Extract and Flaxseed.

More info can be found at Bench and Field’s site

TJ’s sells 3 lb bags of this Natural Dry Cat Food for $7 (which works out to about $2.30/lb) (UPDATE; TJ’s dry cat food was discontinued!) The other dry food they carry, again quite good, is Trader Joe’s brand “Premium Dry Cat Food” chicken and rice formula. The packaging went from a green paper bag to a plastic pink bag now, and the price which was $5 for a 4 lb. bag went up to $6 (so about $1.50/lb). This is also a good quality cat food, I buy this too, so if you want to save a bit of money the TJ brand is definitely an option (compare the labels of the two bags) Certainly the 4 lb “TJ” bag, lasts a bit longer of course. My two furry friends love both bags of the dry food TJ sells, TJ’s and B&F.

When I feed my cats I mix wet food with dry food and add a spoon of water and mix it up. Most vets say dry food alone is not ideal for cats. So mix it up, with some wet with the dry food. Some cats don’t like to drink water or don’t drink enough water daily. If you have non-water drinkers, you can even get them to drink water mixed in with the wet food and then they’ll probably lap up the smelly water (sneaky huh?) Tuna water works really well in our cat household.

DIY HOMEMADE CAT FOOD RECIPE: BTW, I make my own wet cat food for my cats and if you are a DIY type, you can too. Really its not that hard. Here’s a simple cat food recipe to try out. Boil 3 or 4 chicken legs with plenty of water to cover for an hour and a half or so to make a nutritious bone broth. Simmer until the chicken basically is falling off the bone. Bones and cartilage have tons of collagen. Throw in a handful of brown rice (and/or steel cut oats) and a few organic carrots, maybe a small potato, maybe some frozen peas. Cook all till soft, another hour on simmer with the cover on. Remove the chicken and bones with tongs. Let it cool a bit and take all the meat off the bones, keep the cartilage too (you will chop that). I use my fingers to debone everything, messy but effective. Chop all the chicken stuff up with a large knife including the cartilage and skin. Throw the chopped chicken back into the pot. Cook another half hour then mash everything up with a potato masher till it looks like well, cat food. Throw in an egg and mix in and cover it for five minutes. The egg will cook from the residual heat, if it doesn’t put on a small fire for 3 minutes. Let it cool for an hour or two. Package it. I save my yogurt tubs with lids for storing this. Use within a week or so or freeze the rest.

If your cats reject this food, it may not have the strong cat food smell they are used to, so in that case you can put a can of their favorite wet food (or skipjack tuna) and mix it into the DIY food. Always give cats some commercially made food (dry or wet) which contains needed nutrients such as Taurine which is vital for cats. If your cats still reject the food, put some canned cat food or a little tuna on top of this until they get used to your DIY wet food. Good luck!

Update – * since this was written TJ discontinued the dry food they sold under TJ brand. B&F Holistic is now the only dry cat food they carry. (Winter 2020-present)