TJ’s CHANNA MASALA (spiced chick pea curry)

11 Jun 2021 6 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, Asian, frozen, General, Indian, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, spices, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: , , , , , , , , ,


Trader Joe’s Channa Masala (spiced chick peas with onions, tomato and spices)

Vegetarian

Trader Joe’s has quite a number of very good Indian foods in Frozen. Many of them are worth exploring, but this is one of my favorites. The next time you are thinking of an “Indian food night” I would definitely recommend checking this dish out.

Trader Joe’s frozen “Channa Masala” is very flavorful and very authentic tasting. Whenever I eat this I usually think, this could have been delivered from an Indian restaurant. That is how well spiced the dish is.

To cook it, you can either heat it in the microwave or you could cook it on the stove which is the way I usually do it. I let it defrost for about a 1/2 hour, then slip the frozen puck out of the package and put in a pan with a tablespoon of water. I always eat this with Naan or TJ’s excellent Malabari Paratha and Basmati Rice.

PS – no one says you can’t add something to this. I often add something ; for example frozen spinach or some packaged “greens” (kale, etc) then another pat of butter. This variation with added greens is an excellent combo.

$1.99 (10 oz package). Higher now due to price increases.

TJ’s Non-Dairy OAT BEVERAGE (aka OAT MILK)

03 Mar 2020 7 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, General, New, Products, Trader Joes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


oatmilk1

Trader Joe’s OAT BEVERAGE

I do still drink a bit of real milk, which I prefer in my coffee and tea. However I have been trying to cut down on milk I use on a daily basis, watching my cholesterol for one thing. Mostly now I use real milk to make my morning cappuccino and for putting in my tea.  But for some other uses where I formerly might have chosen real milk, such as on my morning breakfast cereal, I’ve gotten pretty used to milk alternatives such Soy Milk or Almond Milk. Having tried almost all the milk alternatives, I saw this non-refrigerated “oat milk” beverage at Trader Joe’s when it was first introduced a few months back. TJ’s seemed to have it in many places all over the store to push its introduction. I tried it. I loved it. I think its terrific! I think this is a good “milk alternative beverage”, maybe for me it may be the best of all the alternative milk products, beating out soy milk and nut milks. TJ’s OAT BEVERAGE has a creamy smooth taste with a subtle milky sweetness which is pleasing.

The label says: “who knew that oats and water could be mildly sweet“? Instead of adding cane sugar as an ingredient, we unearth the balanced sweetness by breaking down the starches present in oats to create sugar. The sugars created bring out a whole new flavor dimension. A smooth, creamy, mildly sweet and totally amazing beverage”

I think I like one only sees TWO INGREDIENTS – WATER and (hydrolyzed) OATS in this product. This is for the shelf stable box pack whereas the refrigerated oat milk interestingly has more ingredients in it.

Ingredients and Nutrition Facts

Basically this box of TJ Oat Beverage has taken the place for our “non-dairy milk” even over the almond milk stuff. A quart of the shelf stable Oat Beverage cost $2.29. It’s very convenient to always have one in your cupboard. Oh and by the way as far as dairy farmers are concerned nothing except what comes out of a cow should be called “milk” and I totally support dairy farmers as if we lose more numbers of them, we are screwed. Hence the labeling, “oat beverage” and not “oat milk”.

RAVE

TJ ORGANIC RED LENTIL PASTA

11 Dec 2019 1 Comment

by promacnyc in Products, Trader Joes Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,



Trader Joe’s (Giotto’s) ORGANIC RED LENTIL PASTA

 

Normally we eat pasta in my house at least once if not two or more times a week. My wife and I adore pasta. I’m good at making it. Or I should say “we used to” eat it that often! Recently my wife decided to try going “Gluten Free” and that has changed things not just for her but for “Us”. To keep life simple as far as eating and cooking, whats happened is basically we stopped eating pasta, much to my chagrin as you could say I’m a bit of a pasta freak. As Italians usually do, I could eat pasta almost every day. Really, I could be happy as a clam eating pasta every day, in fact I’d be super happy eating Linguine with clams!

So I really wanted to try something in the pasta department that we both could eat together, meaning I would give “Gluten Free Pasta” a try.

So I saw this Red Lentil Pasta at TJ. Unfortunately I was not impressed with this for cooking as a substitute for regular pasta. For me at least – that is someone who can eat gluten and wheat products – this lentil pasta would not be something I would willingly sub in for my “normal” pasta.

TJ Red Lentil Pasta is made from “red lentil flour”. Its even made in Italy! (I can imagine them rolling their eyes at making this stuff for all those crazy Americans) Uncooked, it looks quite nice, like a beet colored pasta. It has an interesting shape I was not familiar with, “sedanini”, a ridged, curved long ziti type shape.

When I cooked this, well this gluten free pasta just didn’t do it for me. This could never replace pasta for me, but again I don’t have to be Gluten Free. I had made a nice meat sauce sauce to go with this, a kind of Ragu for the lentil pasta, and cooked it up a bit with some some sauce just as I would normally prepare regular pasta. When we ate the finished pasted with the sauce we both kept commenting on that it was just not the same as eating pasta. Honestly we didn’t really enjoy it due to the somewhat odd texture we found. It didn’t have the chew of pasta. It seemed to get kind a bit grainy or granular when chewed, not smooth like real pasta.

To top things, the GF pasta’s at TJ are a bit expensive as well. A 12 oz package goes for $3. This is about 2 to 3 times the cost of TJ’s extremely good “regular” pastas made with semolina flour.

So I wanted to like this but didn’t, as I don’t have to eat this. it was a choice. On the other hand, my “gluten free diet” wife, found it to be not great but OK as in it was kind of “acceptable” if you can’t eat normal pasta but you want to eat something like pasta. If you HAVE to be on a gluten free diet, then you may find it OK too. I can’t think this will fool anyone as an excellent substitute for real pasta. For me, its kind of fake pasta frankly. A knock off.

Still I will try some of the other gluten free pasta products TJ sells, and see if they work better than this one made from lentils. TJ does have a few gluten free pastas: a black bean ziti, and a spaghetti made from brown rice and lentils. So if you must be gluten free, try all three and see which you like best out of what they have to offer. So just saying if you must be gluten free, then there are a few choices. Everyone raves about the Cauliflower Gnocchi (frozen). Again I tried it. I found it pretty good, but I still prefer TJ’s regular gnocchi. If you don’t need to be GF, like me, I find regular pasta and related products are superior to any GF ones.

If you are not gluten free and want an excellent pasta, get TJ’s Organic Spaghetti or Ziti. That is excellent high quality pasta, made in Italy, and is the equal to top Italian import brands sold in the US for 3-6 times what TJ’s sells it for, $1.29 for 1 lb, which is an excellent value.

If you are GF then this may be OK for you with a lot of sauce.

 

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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


 

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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


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 COFFEE BEAN BLAST Ice Cream

19 Sep 2018 7 Comments

by promacnyc in coffee, frozen, ice cream Tags: , , , , , , ,


Do you love coffee?

Do you love ice cream?

Then this is for you.

OMG amazingly good. Very good coffee flavor.

TIP: I improved it even more by sprinkling a little bit (or more) of very finely ground espresso coffee on top. Double Yum!

About $4 if I remember. Worth it.

Excellent TJ product.

 

RAVE

DISCONTINUED: Trader Joe’s Rice Sticks (Boo Hiss!)

17 May 2011 3 Comments

by promacnyc in Discontinued, General, Products, Rant, Trader Joes Tags: , ,


RANT

TJ’s Rice Sticks. I tried them once, and wrote a Rave post about them including a recipe. What happens next? Not a week later do I notice I don’t see them on the shelf anymore. At TJ’s, you know that feeling, uh-oh is this item going bye-bye? Sure enough I inquired at the front desk a week after that and the TJ’s manager looks them up on the computer. He tells me, “Sorry but the Rice Sticks have been discontinued’. Damn, damn, damn. Another fave gone bye-bye. Had I known, I would have purchased a dozen packs and squirreled them away for the future.

Discontinued and Trader Joe’s. Two words that seem to go hand and hand, huh?

STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH (the TJ website)…

5. Why does TJ’s frequently discontinue products?

Our mission is to bring you the best quality products at the best prices. To do this, we have to manage our store space well. Each of our products must “stand on its own,” meaning it must pay its own way. Each product passes certain criteria in order to earn its way onto our shelves – including a rigorous tasting panel.

There may be several factors that determine why we discontinue products:

  • It may be a seasonal product – for example, strawberries, which are in season only specific times of the year.
  • The gang way factor – because we introduce 10-15 new products a week, we have to eliminate 10-15 items in order to give our newest items a fair chance.
  • The cost of producing the item may increase, which would in turn increase the cost to you – if the item is not a strong seller, we may choose to discontinue it.
(Whatever TJ’s. If I want THAI RICE STICKS in future, I will go back to getting them at Asian markets like I used to before I met you.)
POSTSCRIPT: Lots of comments on this item. Especially from Gluten-free diet folks…

TJ’s Rice Sticks (and recipe)

03 May 2011 3 Comments

by promacnyc in General, Products, Recipes, Trader Joes Tags: , , , , , , ,


Noodles: I love them all. Any kind, any shape. Pasta, Spaghetti, Lasagna, Udon, Soba, LoMein and its cousin Ramen. One of my favorite kinds are fresh rice noodles (Ho Fun, Chow Fun) sold freshly made in large soft blocks. I have my favorite “Rice Noodle Lady” in Chinatown who sells from a open storefront on Grand Street and Bowery that I always buy from whenever I am in that area. She sells packages of rice noodles and other things. My favorite kind have dried shrimp and scallion mixed in. Most things she sells a $1; theres usually a line of people waiting to buy from her.

Fresh rice noodles are amazing but dried Rice Noodles are good too. They come in all shapes and sizes. These “Rice Sticks” or as Trader Joe’s says, “Thai Style Pasta” are a medium wide, flat rice noodle which is versatile, and can be used in a variety of ways for almost any Asian style dish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese… Simply boiled, boiled then stir fried, added to soups, stews, etc. They have a nice chewy texture (don’t overcook them).  The package says Made in Thailand. Ingredients: Rice Flour, water (so good for Gluten free diets).

Here is what I did with them, improvising a dish on the fly in just 10 minutes using some fish filets I had on hand and what I had in the fridge. It has some Thai and Vietnamese flavors.


RICE STICKS WITH SAUTEED THAI FISH & VEGETABLES

3 pieces of fish (I used Tilapia); Rub filets with some Thai red curry paste and salt; Marinate 20 mins.
3 sticks Celery, sliced
1 medium Onion, sliced
3 Dried Shitake Mushrooms, soaked in 1/2 cup boiling water for 30 minutes, sliced (save liquid!)
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1/4” slice Ginger, chopped

(variation: use shrimp instead)

2/3 package Trader Joe’s Rice Sticks

Sauce:
Thai Fish Sauce (Nam Pla), 3 tbs
Juice of one lemon or lime
Sugar, 1 tsp
Soy Sauce, 1 tbs
Water, 2 tbs
Red Pepper flakes, to taste
Dash of Sesame Oil

Mix ingredients for sauce. Bring pot of water with a little salt to boil. Sauté fish in 1 tsp of oil in a non stick pan. Flip fish after 2 mins to other side. Remove and keep warm. Add 1 tsp oil, and sauté the onions, celery, ginger and garlic about 5 mins. Add sliced mushrooms and their soaking water.

Meanwhile, throw the Rice Stick noodles into boiling water. Cook for 6-8 minutes (taste for doneness, do not overcook).

Add the fish to the stir fried vegetables. Cook 5 mins more on low heat to blend flavors. Drain noodles, plate and top the noodles with the fish and vegetables mixture; Serve with sauce on side to drizzle on liberally. Serves 2.

Bonus Recipe (simple!)

ASIAN SAUTEED RICE STICKS  (SIDEDISH)

Cook Rick Sticks according to directions (but only till al dente) Drain. Toss in a non-stick saute pan with a small amount of veg. oil. To rice sticks, add 1 tsp soy sauce, dash of oyster sauce, red pepper flakes to taste, and a drizzle of dark sesame oil; Toss this through, cook gently only 1-2 mins. Plate and top the noodles with 2 chopped scallions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, and a squeeze of little lemon juice or drizzle of rice wine vinegar. If you have cilantro (and like it) great too! 

Enjoy!

UPDATE: I don’t see this in the store! Oh no!

UPDATE2: Yup confirmed by TJ’s:  DISCONTINUED!!!!!!!

Trader Joe’s SOY CHORIZO

20 Apr 2011 7 Comments

by promacnyc in Products, Rave, Recipes, Trader Joes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,


(update: Since I originally wrote this years ago, I have come to the conclusion the Soy Chorizo recipe changed. Its different now; certainly I can see way less of that reddish oil that used to ooze out of it, which was quite flavorful and loaed with a big blast of cumin and other spices. Its OK now but not as good as it used to be. Here is my original review. It’s still OK. Just know it used to be better. IMO

This is my very first post and review on this new site! Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo:

Even though I’m not vegetarian I tried this as it looked interesting and sounded intriguing with the two words: “Soy Chorizo”? Actual Mexican Chorizo is a sausage made with pork. So what the hell do they mean by “soy” chorizo.

I found this quite tasty. I was kind of impressed by the taste of this vegetarian “chorizo” made with Soy Protein. It tastes like, well, kind of like real chorizo tastes like… And by chorizo lets state for the record in this case we mean Mexican chorizo (which is crumbly, raw, in a casing) and not the “Spanish chorizo” (which is firm and has been cured first like salami). 

TJ’s SOY CHORIZO is tasty and flavorful. I think this is suitably tasty for non-vegetarians as well as vegetarians. Its loaded with the correct spice flavoring of Mexican Chorizo like cumin and anatto and its nicely spicy. All of which really makes it taste “real” to me. I buy this all the time now. Its so tasty I don’t even notice or care if its real or “fake meat”. So again good for both omnivores, vegetarians and or the occasional vegetarian like me. This is one of Trader Joe’s most popular products. Google ‘Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo’. You will find tons of fans plus lots of recipes. If you haven’t tried it yet, this is highly recommended thing from TJ to try. I’ve used it in so many ways, and you will no doubt come up with more easily….

soychorpotatoeggYou could use it as Soy Chorizo used in a taco filling mixed with potatoes, onions, and eggs; see the pic for a great filling with these ingredients on a TJ Habanero Lime flour tortilla) mixed with other veggies. Use it crumbled on top of eggs (delicious) or mixed in an omelette. A recipe idea can be found here:

Recipes

I’ve added Soy Chorizo to pan-fried hash brown potatoes for really nice extra flavor (I add at very end). Added it to lentil stew or a soup; even put it on top of pizza instead of sausage! Its good in so many things, and a little bit can go a long way to flavor other ingredients. You can even make a un-vegetarian taco filling with half soy chorizo sautéed up together, for the chorizo flavor with maybe ground turkey or ground beef or pork if you prefer.

MAJOR TIP – Soy Chorizo is very messy to work with once you open the package. The package has a plastic tube casing crimped at the end. Be sure to VERY carefully slit open the plastic outer casing, then open the inner casing. What I do is open the package, pull out the tube, and kind of squeeze it out of the casing with my fingers, as needed an inch at a time. Even wrapped in plastic be warned, it gets messy sitting in fridge, as the dark red anatto oil  has a tendency to “leak” out so be sure to wrap it carefully, as the anatto oil will stain everything red. I double wrap the opened package in two plastic bags. Or better still, I have found the best way to keep leftover Soy Chorizo once the package is open is to is put it into a glass jar and spoon it out as needed. I label it with the date. I find it keeps a long time in the fridge, easily two weeks, and maybe even like 4 weeks ? As its vegetable based not meat based, it doesn’t spoil like meat and the oil and spices protect it from going bad quickly.

A 12 oz package is $1.99 (update: since I first wrote this the price was increased to $2.29 {2018} I find 12 oz of this goes pretty far as its strongly flavored.

Here is a recipe for Stuffed Mushrooms that sounds good from the Cooking with Trader Joe’s blog. I have to try this, it sounds yummy and easy.

Grilled Avocados and Soy Chorizo Tacos? That sounds good!

https://www.traderjoes.com/recipes/lunch/soy-chorizo-grilled-avocado-tacos

SOY CHORIZO FRITATTA

https://www.traderjoes.com/recipes/breakfast/soy-chorizo-frittata

Let me know what do you think of TJ Soy Chorizo? How and What do you use it for? If you have any ways you like to use it or recipes, please leave them here in the Comments.

RECIPE – QUESADILLAS WITH SOY CHORIZO

Soy Chorizo

Tortillas (Corn or Wheat/Corn)

Monterey Jack Cheese with Peppers

Baby Wild Arugula

Chopped tomatoes – or salsa – or avocado for garnish

Put a little oil in a pan large enough to hold 2 tortillas; add the Soy Chorizo on top of tortillas; top this with grated cheese; Top this with some arugula and a few chopped tomatoes or a bit of salsa. Cook 20-30 seconds until the tortilla becomes pliable so you can fold the tortillas gently into a half moon with a spatula. Press gently. Cook until bottom side is a little crispy and cheese is melted. Flip and cook other side, press gently. When done, remove and top with salsa or hot sauce or Sriracha, maybe some  sour cream, ripe avocado…chopped cilantro….

Enjoy!

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