A Trader Joe’s fan blog with some NYC attitude. Mostly raves with a few rants.
07 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in All Natural, can, General, Italian, New, News, Pantry, Prices, Products, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: new, no preservatives, product, Products, Trader Joes
Seen at Trader Joe’s New York City. NEW ITEMS Section. Large cans of tomatoes, the look a bit upscale. Locally sourced (New Jersey) “Vine Ripened, Kettle Cooked, Crushed Tomatoes” 28 oz for $3.49. Have not tried these yet. Want to. The picture on the label appears to look a bit like the elongated Roma (like San Marzano) type of tomato?
Here’s what I found on the First Field company website: https://first-field.com/shop/28-oz-crushed-tomatoes-bpa-free … good for sauce, pizza, etc
03 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in All Natural, fresh, Italian, New, News, organic, Pantry, Prices, Products, seasonal, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian Tags: Food, healthy, no preservatives, product, Products, review, Trader Joes, vegetarian
Seen at Trader Joe’s this “PANOPLY OF ORGANIC ITALIAN PASTA – A box of five uniquely shaped pastas. Serve with a variety of sauces and cheese. ”
its really nice looking. High Quality Artisanal Pasta. All natural, plant based colors. “Striped Farfalline, Striped Papillon, Lemon Flavored Torchietti, Striped Figchietti, Ortolana de Gallo”
Some of these shapes are quite rare to see in the U.S.
$9.99 for the 35 oz box. This box looks very gift-able to me….
20 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in All Natural, condiments, fresh, General, Italian, News, organic, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, recipe, Recipes, review, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: Food, Italian, no preservatives, Pantry, pasta, Products, Rave, review, Trader Joes
Trader Joe’s ORGANIC PAPPARDELLE PASTA NESTS. Imported from Italy
“Boils into toothsome bundles of sauce holding pasta”
INGREDIENTS: Organic Durum Semolina
I really like these little pappardelle “birds nests” noodles. When I want to impress people, I make these with a terrific sauce. The dish will always get a rave.
Looking at the rough texture on the exterior of the pasta, you can instantly see they are extruded on bronze dies, which top pasta maker’s use. Made for Trader Joe’s by an artisan Italian pasta company (“…one of the most highly-regarded pasta makers in Italy”) Trader Joe’s says the company also mill their “own local, organic, durum wheat semolina themselves”. Yes these are pricier than most of the pastas at Trader Joe’s however you can pretty much see these are “super premium”. I’m sure they would cost at least double what TJ’s sells them for at some high end market under a premium Italian brand name.
They cook up into a wonderful soft toothsome noodle which almost seem like an egg noodle, but they are just semolina. These noodles really take incredibly well to any sauce you can think of to serve with them. I especially like them with a hearty meaty sauce like a Ragu or Bolognese. They go great with TJ’s frozen “MUSHROOM MEDLEY”. They work for “spaghetti and meatballs” instead of the spaghetti, or with Cacio e Pepe, or Alfredo or a Carbonara sauce. Or add them to a soup.
For a really simple fast pasta in a pinch just toss the noodles with good butter and Parmigiano and black pepper for a simple yet sublime pasta.
When making these I usually allow about 2 nests per person/portion. “Boil gently for 12-13 minutes”. They used to be $3.49 but now sell for $3.99 for the huge bag (17.6 oz) TIP: I’ve even used these noodles making Chinese/Asian noodle dishes!
https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/organic-papperdelle-pasta-nests-069919
“They’re brought to us by one of the most highly-regarded pasta makers in Italy, who doesn’t just put in the hard work of crafting each batch of Pappardelle Pasta Nests into the tender, delectable noodles that they are — they also mill their very own local, organic, durum wheat semolina to do so.”
I would buy these again.
13 Aug 2023 Leave a comment
in All Natural, General, Italian, organic, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, recipe, Recipes, Staple, Trader Joes, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: artisan, Food, no preservatives, pasta, product, Products, Trader Joes, vegetarian
Seen at Trader Joe’s : NEW ITEM – Italian Artisan Organic Striped Farfalline (Bowtie)
Very colorful, from natural coloring’s. It has paprika, turmeric, beet and spinach. I think these would be great for a pasta salad for one thing? $3.49 for a 16oz bag. But then these are Organic and Artisanal.
https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/italian-organic-striped-farfalline-pasta-074547
“Farfalline is Italian for “little butterflies,” and these Farfalline certainly resemble their namesake. Each butterfly- like bowtie sports either green and orange stripes or red and yellow stripes—all from organic, plant-derived sources, including paprika, turmeric, spinach, and beet root powders. Cooked al dente, this Pasta becomes a proverbial canvas for an array of colorfully captivating meals. Cook Farfalline in boiling water for 8-9 minutes, then drain, and toss with Organic Roasted Red Pepper and Almond Pesto Sauce, Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce, or Cajun Style Alfredo Sauce for a quick and quite tasty pasta pairing. If pasta salads are your creative outlet, consider adding some Farfalline flair to your picnic fare all summer long.”
-Trader Joe
06 Aug 2023 1 Comment
in All Natural, fresh, General, Health & Beauty, Home Goods, Italian, jar, New, News, Pantry, Prices, Products, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian
Seen at Trader Joe’s NEW ITEMS. “Italian Sparkling Mineral Water” $1.99 (25.3 oz bottle)
Interesting. Compares with to say San Pelligrino? I didn’t try it yet but then I like and drink NYC tap water (well known to be good water!) My wife is the “only bottled water” one.
24 Jul 2023 1 Comment
in All Natural, can, General, Italian, New, News, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, recipe, Recipes, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: Food, healthy, Italian, no preservatives, pasta, pizza, product, Products, Rave, review, sauce, vegan gluten free, vegetarian
Everybody now knows that San Marzano Tomatoes are considered the ultimate canned tomatoes to make an Italian dish. Trader Joe’s came out with these that are “Marzanino tomatoes” (little Marzano) which I guess are in the same family but smaller than the standard San Marzano and possibly sweeter. The can has the small tomatoes in juice, cooked and peeled and ready to use in a dish. I usually get down and dirty and just dump them into a bowl and crush them up with my fingers to prep them for cooking in a sauce or dish.
These tomatoes were very tasty and a little sweet. They are great for making any tomato sauce or dish that calls for tomatoes, including pizza. I did make pizza using these as my fresh sauce. After crushing the tomatoes with my fingers, I used this as my fresh tomato sauce for my own version of a pizza Margherita, with fresh basil and mozzarella. The finished pizza came out terrific*. “Product of Italy” $2.99 a can.
*(Pizza dough – I made my own from scratch but if that’s too much for you, just buy the bag of fresh pizza dough from TJ’s ($1.49) – or you can use the ready to bake rectangular pizza crust there in the breads section.
22 Jul 2023 3 Comments
in All Natural, can, General, Italian, jar, New, News, Pantry, Prices, Products, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: Food, Italian, no preservatives, product, Products, Trader Joes
Seen at Trader Joe’s New Products section (Bway & 72nd St./NYC)
MUTTI TOMATO PUREE “SUL CAMPO”. In a nice glass jar. The sign says, “this is a robust tomato purée made with Rossoro tomatoes. Perfect for shaksuka, curry, marinara sauce and more….”
“Sul Campo” basically means “from the farm”. Meaning they make this right at the fields where the tomatoes are harvested to be a fresh tasting as possible. Unlike us in the US, Italians don’t really buy prepared tomato sauces in a jar. Typically most Italians open up a jar of a tomato purée or “passata” (they bought unless the family put up jars on their own from their tomatos). First you put a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, add some garlic, maybe some onion, and pour in the “passata”. Let that simmer for maybe 15 minutes and Voila! They have a fresh homemade tomato sauce in minutes, practically as easy as opening a jar of sauce. But this fresh sauce really tastes homemade.
Of course we can do the same. So when I just saw this I was intrigued enough to do an internet search, as in the past I bought the brand “POMI”, another big Italian brands purée that is well distributed in the US. I wasn’t familiar with this brand, MUTTI. In Itally its as well known as POMI. I’ve now seen MUTTI ads here so they are making a push into the American market.
Now the most interesting thing with this one is this purée is even more special than the regular tomato puree from Italy from Pomi or Mutti. This one says Sul Campo, a special “limited edition” version of Mutti’s regular passata. “From the field (farm)”. Its processed right at the harvest and Mutti labels this limited edition puree as “tasting like tomatoes just picked off the vine”.
This jar was $3.99 for about 20 ounces. PS – I’ve not tried it yet but intend to review it in future. It looks/sounds good! You can read more on MUTTI’s website below.
UPDATE: I went back and couldn’t find any. It seems to be all gone! Oh well. I hope there’s more of this coming someday. Maybe next summer?
17 Jul 2023 Leave a comment
in All Natural, General, Italian, New, News, organic, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, recipe, Recipes, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: Food, no preservatives, product, Products, review, Trader Joes, vegetarian
NEW PRODUCT section. Five different shaped pastas. Trader Joe’s organic pasta is really good quality pastas and this new one looks like a good addition to the lineup. One thing that came to mind looking at these shapes was it could be good for a cold summer pasta salad. $1.99 for 1 lb bag. PS- Her first summer pasta dish looks like it uses a very similar mix of these shapes.
11 Jun 2023 1 Comment
in All Natural, baked, bread, cheese, DIY, fresh, General, Italian, jar, organic, Pantry, Products, Rave, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: Food, healthy, no preservatives, Products, Rave, review, Trader Joes, vegan gluten free, vegetarian
One of my go-to items for an inexpensive and easy dinner is Trader Joe’s Organic Polenta, which I’ve mentioned before. Still it’s worth mentioning again as this is one of their inexpensive items, even one of the few products that is the same price as it has been in the past for years (shh.. I’m afraid if TJ’s see this they may raise the price)
A package of the Organic Polenta ($1.99) can make a meal for two, say with some sauce plus maybe some salad and bread. It’s easy to prepare too. You just slice up the polenta and then bake, broil or sauté it until it’s a little crispy and browned (do NOT microwave it thought they say that’s one way).
When it’s nice and crispy, just top it with your favorite sauce and grate a little cheese on top. If you want a change from a tomato sauce, a good thing to match the polenta with would be TJ’s frozen Mushroom Medley ($4) or sauté some mushrooms ($2.29).
Trader Joe’s Organic Polenta is shelf stable and can safely stay for a couple of months in your pantry, just like pasta. I always have a package of the polenta on hand and suggest you do too!
Want to spend less than $1.99? Well fortunately you can still buy some bags of pasta at Trader Joe’s for just 99 cents! Plus they have some sauces for $1.99.
30 May 2023 1 Comment
in All Natural, General, Italian, New, News, organic, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: healthy, Italian pata, no preservatives, organic, Products, review, Trader Joes
(CURRENT PRICE $2.49)
This is a new nice pasta shape at Trader Joe’s. It super!
I really liked this pasta which is kind of a ruffled edged, ribbony flat wide noodle. Think of a mini lasagna noodle. Those ruffled edges holds sauces well. Malfada Corta pasta is a nice hardy noodle and will be great with almost any sauce you can think of. Its Organic and bronze die cut semolina pasta.
I’ve made this with a number of different sauces. One dish was this pasta with a homemade ragu bolognese-style sauce. Yummy. We both really liked the combo. On another occasion I made a tuna pasta with a bechamel sauce mixed with tuna and peas. That combo was was Excellent as well. Really, this pasta is super.
TIP: It has a recommended cooking time of 8-9 minutes. I was making my pasta Italian style, meaning under-cooking it a bit then fishing it out of the water and putting it in a pan to cook with some sauce till its done (al dente). So I fished out the pasta before it was al dente, a minute or two under than so maybe at about the 6 minute mark (2 minutes under the recommended 8). The noodles went into a pan with a 1/2 ladle of the pasta cooking water (great “secret” ingredient in restaurants) and I then added about 1 ladle of my sauce. I cooked that mixing it all the time for maybe 90 seconds, and adding another ladle of sauce. Turned off, then the pasta got plated. I put some additional sauce on top as well as some fresh grated Parmesan. This “Italian pasta cooking method” imbues the pasta with the sauce so it’s way better than just ladling a sauce on top of dry pasta which is unfortunately how many people in the U.S. make pasta. Doing this horrifies Italians!
I would gladly buy this again. I think the Malfada would be a great match for TJ’s frozen MUSHROOM MEDLEY. Try that combo.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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