This creamy soft log of goat cheese is actually one of my favorite cheeses Trader Joe’s carries. Along with it’s cousin the “honey chevre” log which has a tiny bit of sweetness from honey.
Chevre means goat in French. The cheeses are of course made with goat’s milk. If thought sounds off putting dont worry. TJ’s version is really a very mild, creamy chevre cheese with a light pleasant taste and aroma. The “Honey Chevre” is the same cheese but they’ve added a tiny bit of honey. I really like that version. I would suggest you to buy the Honey Chevre version first, if you’ve never tried any kind of goat cheese before. Goat cheese and some sweetness go so well together which is why chevre is often paired with fruit or coated with chopped cranberries or blueberries, and TJ’s has those fruity coated cheeses too.
These goat cheeses will be a great addition especially for a cheese board, and goat cheese matches wonderfully with fruit. Slice it up and serve with apples or grapes in addition to crackers and a crusty baguette.
TJ’s says “This lovely Chevre is fresh, soft, and unaged – lower in fat, calcium, but higher in vitamin A than cheese from cow’s milk. And with a lower lactose content, makes it more tolerable for many children and elderly people who may have a tougher time processing lactose.
As a side note, TJ’s has one goat log coated with dried herbs. I am not crazy for that one, I just don’t think its as good as these other two as I found the dried herbs had a slightly bitter aftertaste. You can make that yourself fresh chopping up some herbs and rolling the log in them.
If you are lactose intolerant goat milk & cheese is supposed to be easier to digest.
These are called Savory Mini Thin Rice Crackers and they’re really tasty and really good. I just love them. They are about the size of a quarter. They’re incredibly crunchy and are delicious as a snack by themselves as well as equally delicious used like any cracker. Spread something on them, some cheese or spread or peanut butter and jam. Top them with a slice of ham, cheese, or whatever you want. If you are someone who is Gluten Free (I’m not) these are primarily made from rice. Ingredients listed are : rice flour, sesame seeds, safflower oil, tamari soy sauce powder, maltodextrin, salt and garlic powder. These light colored ones are $3.49 a bag (8 oz). There’s another multiseed kind (with Tamari) that are darker that are also good and are $3.99.
According to the Nutrition facts label there are 130 calories in 38 crackers! So pretty Low Calorie as far as snacks go and not heavy in the Sodium department either. So I’d say this is a pretty healthy snack as far as crackers you can buy.
BRINED, BONE IN, HALF TURKEY BREAST (fully cooked SOUS VIDE)
“This fully cooked turkey option takes less than an hour to reheat in the oven. Marinated in a brine of salt, sugar, black pepper and garlic herb butter. “
A week out from Thanksgiving, I noticed this option at Trader Joe’s, a half breast of turkey that already fullycooked, and basically just needs re-heating. This as something that might appeal quite a few people. Those who don’t want to cook a whole bird from scratch, yet want to have turkey on the table which is almost home made. In this case they’ve done almost all the prep and cooking for us so all this needs is finishing up. This turkey breast needs about 45 minutes in the oven.
It’s a half breast of turkey which was marinated (brined) and was cooked “sous vide” – a cooking technique top chef’s love as it keeps meat juicy and tender (I am guessing they’ve hit the skin with a torch?). The quality here is top notch.
“Our Midwest supplier splits a full turkey breast, leaving the bone in, and marinating it in a brine of salt, sugar, black pepper, and garlic-herb butter. The Half Breast is then seared, and slowly cooked sous-vide. It’s not an exaggeration to say this approach produces a moist, juicy, and tender Half Turkey Breast with rich, slow-roasted flavor-and in just 40 minutes, versus the multiple hours it takes to cook a whole turkey. Find our Fully Cooked Brined Bone-In Half Turkey Breasts (about 2.5 pounds each on average) in our refrigerated deli section.”
UPDATE: We finally tried this this year, and is actually quite good! Maybe even fantastic. In fact everyone commented, multiple times, at how good this turkey was. You could not ask for a better cook on a breast of turkey (which are so often overcooked and dried out). The turkey here came out really moist and juicy with a perfect texture, and it had great flavor.
I got the smallest package I could find (which was 2.8 lbs) and it easily fed four people, along with our side dishes. How easy is it? Well basically all you are doing is re-heating this. The directions are 25 minutes at 375 covered with foil, then remove the foil and give it another 15 minutes (so 45 mins total) while basting with the pan juices. Let it rest for five minutes before slicing.
My only gripe with this was I love crispy skin and the skin didn’t get crispy even after the extra 15 minutes of baking uncovered. However nobody really cared as the turkey itself was so good. Next time I would just put it under the broiler at the end. You might try that (5 mins?)
Though not exactly cheap this was so good, so convenient, saving us so much time and effort, and getting so many multiple compliments, that we deemed it worth it.
If you are looking for a really easy way to get some delicious breast of turkey on the table, frankly you may want to consider this.
(our TJ turkey)
Most of the packages I looked at seemed to total around $32 to $40, running around 3 to 4 pounds each. Sure $10 a pound for turkey breast isn’t exactly cheap but then you are paying for the convenience as it will save a good deal of work and time.
We found the quality top notch. Plus say you like breast/white meat anyway, like we do. So there is almost no waste. All you need to do is maybe add a package or two of gravy, cranberries, and some frozen sides like mashed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, etc.
One can come up with an almost home made Thanksgiving pretty easy sourcing it all at Trader Joe’s, though things will add up
This turkey breast seems a bit of a popular item for TJ, in fact the next time I went there I found it was Sold Out for the day.
How To Heat This: The “preferred method” is in the oven. Instructions on the package. Will take about 45 minutes total. Personally I would not pick microwave as the way to cook it.
“Aged Sheeps Milk” is a new Spanish cheese at Trader Joe’s. It’s been aged in a regional extra virgin olive oil (“Cornicabra”) for about 4 months.
it had a nice nutty and slighly tangy taste and reminded me slightly of a Pecorino, which is also made from sheep’s milk. I tried a small piece by itself and then tried it sliced thinly on some crackers. Very nice. I then added a little fig jam on that, and really like the salty / sweet combo. I think this cheese would work well on a cheese plate.
I also tried some of this cheese grated onto pasta, where it works just like Pecorino. I would buy it again. $5.99 for a 6 oz hunk.
“Serve this firm-yet-creamy Cheese as an appetizer before the big meal, alongside a bowl of Nuts About Rosemary Mix and juicy Honeycrisp apple slices. Or let a freshly toasted Ciabatta Roll soak up the olive oil as the Cheese accompanies an array of leftovers in sandwich form.”
They had this New Item right near the checkout line and so I was waiting I checked it out and then I noticed the sample station (Back, finally. Yeh!) happened to be offering samples of this so I grabbed some to taste. Yum. So good. This nut mix really looked “gourmet” with big pieces of top quality nuts: almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans and it had a little flavor of rosemary which elevated the whole combination.
I assume this is a seasonal Fall/Xmas special nut mix and is specially geared for Thanksgiving and holiday get togethers. This would impress any guest who would probably ask you where you got it.
TJ’s says: “Every good get-together needs a good snack mix, which is precisely why we like to keep a canister of our Nuts About Rosemary Mix on hand…roasted almonds, cashews, hazelnuts (aka Filberts) and pecans, all mixed together with a rosemary and sea salt spice blend spiked with just a touch of sugar.”
This stuff is super. I love it. Limited supplies so grab a bottle while you can if you are interested!
In case you are not familiar with it, Japanese yuzu is a citrus fruit that looks like a lemon, but is quite different and unique with its own distinctive flavor. It’s used quite a bit in Japanese cuisine. Among other things they use it to make Yuzu Kosho, a spice of the zest combined with chile pepper for a spicy citrus-y condiment. Yuzu kosho has been discovered by chefs here. “The secret weapon condiment chefs are putting on everything… It’s the closest thing you’ll get to a silver bullet condiment that’ll instantly impart depth to your dish. Chefs know it—they’ve been using it at their restaurants for years—and it’s time you did, too.”
This sauce has yuzu kosho combined with “small batch vinegar” to make a hot sauce that you can add a few drops or more to any food, to give it a real spark of flavor.
The sauce is really tasty and gives a nice citrusy kick to anything you put it on. As far as the spice level here, I would call it just mildly spicy, maybe “medium”, certainly not knock you head off spicy, so it may appeal to many people who can’t take too much heat.
What can you use Yuzu Kosho sauce on? Almost anything. The question might even be rephrased as what can’t you use it on? Its good on chicken, fish, salads, eggs, meats, tofu, pretty much anything you can think of. I just tested it on good old cottage cheese and it elevated something boring to a new taste.
This is worth trying if you like to taste unique items as as they say “limited” if you want to try it, grab one while you can. $3.99 a small (100 ml) bottle.
“Bowtie shaped pasta from Italy with sauce holding ridges and toothsome texture”
NEW ITEM: Trader Joe’s “artisan” organic pasta “Farfalle Rigate”, bow-tie pasta. Unlike the other regular non-artisan one they sell, this organic artisan version comes with ridges. Ridges hold sauce a bit better. This pasta is bronze die cut. The recommended cooking time is 10-11 minutes.
When I made it I did find it had a nice toothsome texture, and was a little better than the regular one ($1.29).
Trader Joe’s says “limited supplies” of this, so if you see it and are interested pick up a bag. Trader Joe’s ORGANIC FARFALLE RIGATE PASTA is $1.99 for 1 lb. I would buy it again.
“In addition to providing an even more satisfyingly toothsome texture (especially when cooked al dente), these ridges also make their bronze-die-cut Farfalle Rigate that much better at holding our Basil Pesto, Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce, or any other pasta sauce you choose to toss them in. While we find that they’re especially suited for richer, creamier sauces, the truth is, you really can’t go wrong with Farfalle of this quality. Even just a bit of your favorite TJ’s olive oil, minced garlic, and crushed red chili peppers will make a fantastic Farfalle aglio e olio.”
“Classic English Muffins – A breakfast essential” – I agree 100%!
I buy Trader Joe’s “English muffins” all the time. I just love these for breakfast, plus. They come in two versions, the regular classic one and a whole wheat version. Both are good versions of a classic English muffin with lots of nooks and crannies. They come already partially “fork split”. Just use your fingers or a fork to complete the job and gently open the muffins slowly. You want as many nooks and crannies as possible. Never ever cut a muffin open with a knife as you get a flat surface with no crannies.
Toast them until golden brown and delicious and enjoy with some good butter and maybe some strawberry or apricot jam. Muffins do kind of burn easily so watch them carefully when you toast them, a few seconds can take it from perfect to a little burnt.
Other than breakfast, can you do other things with them? Sure. These make a great base for many things, like a sandwich of say a fried or poached egg with ham, or some peanut butter and banana? The base for some avocado toast. Finally of course Americans came up with a great use, our famous kid and adult beloved Pizza Muffins maybe? Toast, top with a little sauce and mozzarella and voila.
There are six muffins in a package (12 oz). Now $1.99, still a pretty good deal. I would buy them again. The other Brit style breakfast treats are also good and I’ve previously mentioned are TJ’s English Crumpets (though they cost more).
TIP: What I do after a day or two in the fridge, is open all the muffins up and then put them back in the package and then freeze them. This makes it easy to just take them out and toast them.
I’ve been buying SKIPJACK TUNA in a can at Trader Joe’s for years, but when I went to get it recently I noticed they also now have it in those new tuna “pouch” packages.
First though, what is Skipjack Tuna anyway? It’s one of many varieties of tuna, and also called bonito. In Hawaii they call it, aku. In Japan its katsuo and it’s very popular, sold fresh in the fish market. I’ve made fresh katsuo, and its delicious lightly grilled on the outside and raw in the middle.
Skipjack tuna is quite tasty and has a nice flavor. One reason I get it is it’s the most sustainabletuna we can buy, more sustainable than albacore tuna or other tuna species, as you can see : (Source: Nereus program)
On the pouch it says … “this wild skipjack tuna was sustainably caught (by pole/line) without the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs)” that reduces by-catch (other fish).
When I tried the new pouch version of the skipjack I liked it (well, other than the smaller amount* you get!) Ingredients: “skipjack tuna”. The can says “ingredients: skipjack tuna, water, salt”. The pouch doesn’t say “dark chunk light”. Just “wild skipjack, hand cut, hand packed”. The tuna is compressed into a flat brick, the shape of the pouch, with just a small amount of juice, some natural juices at the bottom (its not packed in water). I dumped the whole pouch of tuna and juice into a bowl. You have to break up the tuna brick and flake it with a fork. I added a nice heaping tablespoon of Trader Joe’s Organic Mayonnaise plus a pinch of vinegar, and tasted it on some toast, and it made a nice tuna sandwich. This skipjack tuna pouch is $1.79. Much cheaper compared to the other kinds of tuna at Trader Joe’s. All in all, I’d say this new pouch of Skipjack Tuna is worth trying if you’ve never bought it before so you can compare it to the one you usually get. Obviously if you want to have “tuna to go” this is great for that (picnic, work…)
“Each tuna is tested for mercury and only those meeting specific criteria are chosen”
*Comparing the former can version of the skipjack tuna which I have in the pantry with the new pouch version, you will notice though the amount of tuna in it has been downsized by an ounce. The pouch says “net. wt 3 oz” (85 gm). The can “drained wt. of 4 oz” (113 gm). Another sign of that well known tuna shrinkage that’s been going on for years.
Sidenote: you may have heard of katsuobushi – which is yes made from katsuo which has been smoked and dried.
UPDATE: I may be mistaken in that they’ve will no longer offer the skipjack tuna in a can, or at least today I saw both versions of it on the shelf, together. It’s possible Trader Joe’s is going to offer both versions, pouch and can? Perhaps some people prefer pouched tuna to a can? They are the same price – but one does get a one ounce more in the canned version. I will have to compare both against each other….
“FRESH CHEESE TOSSED IN PICKLE SPICES – Perfect for snacking on the go, our fresh cheese curds pack a serious squeak and just the right amount of pickle goodness”.
We know that Trader Joe’s loves “all things pickle”, a food trend that TJ’s is quite fond of. One more addition to it is these PICKLE CURDS made in partnership with a cheese producer Beehive Cheese in Utah. These curds are squeaky little nuggets of fresh cheese lightly coated with dill and pickle spices to add extra flavor. They’re simple but tasty especially if you like pickles (raises hand). I can see these being good for a picnic, or just as a snack, or on the go, or even as part of a cheese plate – with some cornichons too of course! Take them out of the fridge before eating as you want these at room temperature. A bag has 4 oz.
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