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.
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?
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.
These Are So Good! They kind of reminded me of a Creamsicle, but grown up and much better. But rather than orange and vanilla these bars have MANGO and Vanilla, which is just a super combination. The vanilla ice cream on the inside is really good. Surrounding that outside is mango sorbet which has a delicious, intense flavor of mango. These are perfect for Summer but frankly I would want to eat this anytime. If you see these MANGO CREAM BARS I suggest you grab them to try.
All of Trader Joe’s versions of body butter are good. My wife and I love the smell of their Pumpkin Body Butter which might be seasonal?
However I have to admin that this new one, Trader Joe’s BRAZIL NUT Body Butter, seems even better though than the other one’s. This has the addition of oils from “Bertholetia Excelsa Seeds” (aka Brazil Nuts) plus other ingredients from Brazil, like Acaî and Guarana. When we compared the Pumpkin Butter to this Brazil Nut Butter, this one has a creamier feel. It’s just a dollar more than the pumpkin body butter.
I even read online somewhere that this very reasonable TJ’s product ($6) is being called similar to a crazy expensive brand called Bum Bum Brazilian body creme which is something like 5 times the price of this one… Honestly I wouldn’t know about that, however my wife and I both thought this body butter was very creamy and smooth and it made our skin feel smoother and smelled terrific.
Trader Joe’s BRAZIL NUT BODY BUTTER is $5.99 for 8 oz. TJ’s also has two other related Brazil Nut products, a body wash and a body scrub. My wife and I said we’d buy this again.
“Thick, rich, and smelling of summer, this mega-moisturizer is crafted with an impressive list of ingredients, including coconut oil, shea butter, açai extract, guarana extract, and, of course, bertholletia excelsa seed oil—a.k.a. Brazil nut seed oil.”
I liked this granola. Its a bit different from TJ’s regular oat based granolas – which by the way are gluten free if made from oats!)
This Loaded Fruit and Nut Gluten Free Granola is made with corn for one thing, in the shape of some thick corn flake things…they are round cup shapes that are kind of a very thick and crunchy “corn flakes” TJ says they’re “super crunchy, lightly sweetened, corn-based, cup-shaped, circular flakes”.
It also has some rice based small round things that may remind you of Rice Crispies but much better of course. It has just enough fruit and nuts to justify the name “loaded”. I still usually toss in a few dried cranberries. This gluten free granola is super crunchy. It holds up very well to milk, and it matches great with yogurt. I like this as nice super crunchy topping on my morning yogurt & fruit. “Enjoy it as a snack right out of the bag”
Yes do I like this stuff by itself as a snack, again super crunchy. TIP: I usually turn the bag a few times and shake it to distribute all the things before pouring some out. TJ’s GLUTEN FREE GRANOLA is $3.99 for a 12 oz bag. It contains among other things, almonds, coconut, hazel nuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, raisins, cranberries, coconut….
I would buy it again.
Gluten Free? Sure, but most all granola is made with oats which are of course Gluten Free.
“WITH NOTES OF TROPICAL FRUIT, DARK CHOCOLATE AND HONEY….THIS MEDIUM BODIED LIGHT ROAST MAY SET YOUR SPIRITS SOARING LIKE IT’S NAMESAKE…”
This is a current offering (Summer 2023) at Trader Joe’s in New Products. Its another one of their Small Lot Coffees. Sure these can be hit or miss but frequently you can find a coffee which is a Gem – like that Ugandan Rwenzori small lot coffee, which was one of my favorite coffees I’ve ever gotten at Trader Joe’s.
Well here’s another small lot coffee coffee from Trader Joe’s to which I give a huge thumbs up. I thought this was another wonderful coffee, this time a coffee from Honduras estate, called “Colibri Esmeralda”* . I really liked it. First off as far as the roast description, Trader Joe’s calls this “Light Roast”. We know Trader Joe’s roast descriptions are all over the place and are sometimes off. This one is almost on point. Maybe I would say just this roast is wee bit darker than some of TJ’s other Light roasts (example, the excellent AZMARI BUUNNI blend) . so I will say “LIGHT MEDIUM” roast. Its perfect for the coffee.
I brewed the freshly ground beans in a Moka potand found the resulting brew to have a wonderful aroma and taste. Its pretty terrific. I think this would work well in any coffee brewing method, including drip or espresso machine. All the flavors in this coffee were well balanced and blended showing lovely tropical, fruity notes. Everything is balanced, smooth but with a tiny bit of pleasant acidity, so it even had a bit of boldness. It has many interesting flavors going on, and frankly as soon as I finished it I wanted another cup! I found this to be a terrific and interesting coffee.
It was $8.99 for a 12 oz bag. I found this particular small lot TJ’s coffee to be a Gem, and is certainly worth trying if you like exploring interesting new coffee’s without breaking the bank. Personally I intend to buy a few bags while it is available because as we know TJ’s Small Lot coffee’s frequently sell out in a month or two as they are “Limited Editions”. I do hope this Honduran coffee is one that we will see again in future.
Trader Joe’s SPICY HONEY; it’s honey with chili, so obviously sweet and spicy. Make that Quite Spicy!
Now back in 2010, I had first heard of something called “Mike’s Hot Honey” . It created a bit of a buzz in the NYC food scene when it came out. I actually first tasted Mike’s Hot Honey on a delicious pizza from Paulie Gee’s in Greenpoint, Brooklyn that Mike had come up working there doing pizzas. His Arugula Pizza with Honey was Mike’s hot honey drizzled over fresh arugula on the pizza after it came out of the oven. The whole thing was just terrific. Also the place (if you can, go try a Paulie Gee’s pizza). Mike was marketing his hot honey (his was made with a Brazilian birdseye chili). Hot Honey began to catch on with chefs. Hot honey became a thing. Other vendors came out with similar products. Trader Joe’s jumped on the hot honey bandwagon too a few years ago. They came up with what they call “Spicy Honey”. TJ’s spicy honey is quite good. It’s quite spicy as I said so you use it sparingly, just drizzles of it at the end on something. Interestingly I just realized as I had a bottle Trader Joe’s first sold it in an 8 oz container and the sold it for I think $3. Recently they increased both the price and the size. Its now 12 oz for $5. It’s Organic too I think. This is really Terrific if you’re into Sweet and Savory. I drizzled some on my Japanese Curry Rice last night, perfect addition.
“From something as simple as a baked sweet potato to something as rich as a slice of New York Cheesecake, a drizzling of Organic Spicy Honey Sauce instantly gives anything it’s added to an extra element of complexity. Try it on sandwiches, pizza, or shrimp tacos for an elevated everyday eating experience. Give it a go over pan-fried Gnocchi, roasted carrots, or barbecued meat skewers for a bit of gourmet experimentation…”
If you’ve never heard of it before, “horchata” is a beloved and famous Mexican drink. It’s made from milk, rice, water and cinnamon and super refreshing served ice cold on a hot day. I didn’t know of horchata until I first visited Mexico years ago. I absolutely fell in love with it with my first sip.
Well this new ice cream from Trader Joe’s is “inspired” by this Mexican drink. They say its a “sweet cinnamon and rice ice cream with horchata flavored cookie pieces”. The little pieces add little bits of crunchiness in the smooth ice cream. I found TJ’s new flavor to be quite good. In fact, our pint went pretty fast! Here’s what TJ’s has to say….
“The popular Latin American beverage called horchata [or-cha-ta] is creamy and sweet, like ice cream. With no good excuse not to, we decided to take it all the way there—from smooth beverage to frozen dessert! Trader Joe’s Horchata Inspired Ice Cream delivers all the delicious flavors of horchata in every spoonful.
Like many ice creams, its rich base includes cream, milk, egg yolks, and cane sugar. We horchatized it by adding cinnamon and brown rice flour, plus a touch of sea salt. And since inclusions are fun, we also added pieces of horchata-flavored cookies, contributing a nice textural variation.”
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.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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