Olive Trees?!? Yes….wow, cool. For $13 it’s yours. Need to make up with someone? You could give them an olive branch!
Seen at Trader Joe’s: OLIVE TREE Plants For Sale!
26 Jul 2022 1 Comment
in All Natural, DIY, General, Home Goods, New, News, organic, plants, Prices, Products, Rave, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: healthy, no preservatives, product, Products, Rave, review, Trader Joes, vegan gluten free, vegetarian
Trader Joe’s VEGETABLE MASALA BURGERS
25 Jul 2022 7 Comments
in All Natural, Asian, General, Indian, Meh, Products, Rant, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian Tags: Indian, Meh, no preservatives, product, Products, review, Trader Joes, vegetarian
Ingredients include: potatoes, canola oil, carrots, green beans, bread crumbs, peppers, corn…..
I’m not vegetarian but I like to try out vegetarian foods occasionally and see if they are any good. I would say Indian cuisine may have the greatest, most flavorful vegetarian food. Its one of the great world cuisines.
Trader Joe’ sells a number of very tasty Indian foods. Some are quite good, so I’ve given a number of them raves, like the CHANNA MASALA and PALAK PANEER, both good finds you can get at TJ’s. Which bring me to: Trader Joe’s VEGETABLE MASALA BURGERS.
The picture on the package looks enticing. Plus they are are called “Masala Burgers with Authentic Indian Spices“.” (“Masala” refers to mixed spices). To be honest when I tasted this, all I could think of was where are these “Authentic Indian Spices”? Personally I find this quite plain tasting, and for my tastes, lacking in tasty spices. Sure, I agree Indian food is not always highly spiced, but generally, it is very flavorful. Especially potato dishes. Thinking of for example a potato masala dosa. So my short review. Just OK. Pretty Meh. That’s just my opinion as I gather from quite a bit of Feedback here that these Masala Burgers are actually quite popular.
Vegetarians especially seem to appreciate these vegetarian / vegetable burgers. I just find them a bit too bland.
Comparing these for example to a dish like a potato Masala Dosa, in that dish the the potato filling will have a ton of flavor plus quite a bit of all kinds of “masala spices”. So I just wish these tasted a bit more like a potato filling you would find inside a potato masala dosa. Trader Joe’s Vegetable Masala Burgers are made primarily with potatoes. I think of this basically as a mashed potato burger with a few veggies.
The concept is not bad, I just find the execution not as good as some of TJ’s other Indian foods. Again, many which are excellent. When I see Indian people buying things at Trader Joe’s I figure that a sign of being tasty.
So this is one of those items which you will just have to try and decide for yourself. At least be sure to pair these with the great MANGO CHUTNEY and some good sauce(s) you like.
One burger has 140 calories.
Trader Joe’s does sell quite a few tasty Indian foods which I find quite good in the frozen section. For example, the super tasty CHANNA MASALA (chickpea curry) which I love as well as the BHAINGAN BHARTA (eggplant) and superb PALAK PANEER (spinach) entrees. All three of these I find excellent. Some people really like the Samosas too. Perhaps you could pair these Masala Vegetable Burgers with the Palak Paneer spinach dish, or Channa Masala for a good combo?
HOW TO COOK : These are already fully cooked however you still need to brown them up before eating them. Cook them in a skillet for 3-4 minutes per side in a little butter and oil until they look golden brown and delicious. They should get nice and crispy looking on the outside. The crispy texture makes these.
TIP: Do not microwave these as they will not get crispy!
If you have curry powder I would suggest a sprinkle. At the very least I would add a little crushed garlic or even garlic powder if you make them.
Be sure to enjoy them with something full of flavor like the excellent MANGO CHUTNEY
I think they needed a little something to them to jazz them up. Maybe Sriracha or Peri-peri sauce. Zhough. Bomba. Magnifisauce. The thing that perked this up a little bit for me was putting on a little TJ’s TAMARIND SAUCE, basically a tamarind chutney sauce. Perhaps some CHILE CRISP would be good for these?
I think these may really benefit matching with either Trader Joe’s GARLIC ACHAAR or Mango Chutney
My wife told me “just one is enough” for her – that is not a good review from her, as she likes most anything I make. So personally we didn’t find these as good as some other Trader Joe’s Indian frozen items. But again, these do seem popular and a few readers have written in that they really like these Masala Burgers, especially if they do something to it to jazz it up. I have two good friends who are vegetarian who told me she loves these TJ’s Vegetable Burgers and buys them all the time.
As they say, to each his own.These might be worth checking out to see what you think, especially if you need vegetarian options.
Vegetable Masala Burger $3.49 (4 burgers, 10 oz)
(NOTE: Contains Wheat, bread crumbs)
INGREDIENTS: POTATOES, CANOLA OIL, CARROTS, GREEN BEANS, BREAD CRUMBS (WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, YEAST, SALT), BELL PEPPERS, ONIONS, CORN, WATER, SALT, SUGAR, SPICES, GINGER, CELLULOSE GUM, GREEN PEPPER, CITRIC ACID, TURMERIC
Trader Joe’s PEANUT & CRISPY NOODLE SALAD KIT
23 Jul 2022 2 Comments
in Asian, condiments, fresh, Products, Rant, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, vegetarian Tags: dinner, Fail, lunch, rant, review, salads, Trader Joes, vegan, vegetarian
“CRISPY NOODLE SALAD KIT: The crispy part of the kit includes a package of tiny fried rice “CRISPY NOODLES”. The problem? After you put on dressing? These become “Not Crispy” Noodle bits.
Pros: The Asian style Peanut Dressing they give you is tasty. It’s a bit similar to TJ’s Organic Sesame Dressing (so you could make something like this yourself using that dressing)
Cons: Cabbage as the first ingredient in the salad. I thought it was cut way too big so the salad is a bit tough and too chewy. The softer Romaine lettuce, not cabbage, should have been the first ingredient IMO, plus this cabbage should be sliced thinner. However the main problem with this whole idea for a “Crispy Noodle salad kit” is obvious. The moment you mix in those “crispy noodles” (which are tiny, see pic) with the dressing and mix it all in, the “crispy noodles” become not crispy, of course. Maybe if they used some larger kind of crispy noodles, maybe like the kind you get in a Chinese restaurant? For me, these little fried rice noodles are a Fail. We both though this salad just wasn’t good. I won’t buy it again. Its goes for $3.99. You want crispy? What might work is add some lightly crushed PLANTAIN CHIPS to this. Or croutons.
update: a fan of this reported in the Comments they’ve reduced the amount of noodles for one thing. Shrinkflation!
Trader Joe’s ORGANIC TOASTED SESAME DRESSING & marinade
19 Jul 2022 7 Comments
in All Natural, Asian, condiments, General, jar, New, News, organic, Pantry, Products, Rave, recipe, Recipes, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: Food, healthy, no preservatives, product, Products, Rave, review, Trader Joes, vegetarian
Trader Joe’s says “A versatile dressing that can be used for salads, marinades and dips.”
I really like this. It’s one of Trader Joe’s best dressings.
It’s delicious as well as versatile. It’s an organic Japanese / Asian sesame based dressing which is great for any salads and I found for making coleslaw/slaws. Savory and a little sweet, with lots of Umami. When I say Versatile I mean this is more than just a dressing for salads. It is also an excellent marinade. For one thing its terrific with chicken. Marinate the chicken in some of this sauce for 1/2 hr or more before grilling, then brush on some more near the end as a glaze. You can also do the exact same thing with Tofu. It is really great as a sauce with the Baked Tofu. Slice up the tofu and pour some of this sauce over and sprinkle with scallions. Its also good just added on top of any sauteed veggies. Cold noodles with sesame sauce (add some more toasted sesame oil and some peanut butter and soy)
You could even mix in a tablespoon of chunky peanut butter into a some of this dressing for a Thai type variation.
Now $3.99 for a 12 oz bottle.
I would buy this again.
Trader Joe’s VEGAN BRIOCHE LOAF
18 Jul 2022 Leave a comment
in baked, bread, General, New, News, Pantry, Products, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian Tags: Products, Trader Joes, vegan, vegetarian
Saw this yesterday at Trader Joe’s New Product area. I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks pretty interesting if you’re Vegan – which I’m not.
Has anyone tried this yet? If so, please leave a comment with what you thought of this.
Trader Joe’s THAI SWEET GINGER SAUCE
14 Jul 2022 Leave a comment
in Asian, condiments, fish, General, jar, New, News, Pantry, pescatarian, Prices, Products, Rave, seafood, spices, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: Dumplings, Food, product, Products, Rave, review, sauce, Trader Joes, vegetarian
Trade Joe’s new product: THAI SWEET GINGER SAUCE. It seems to be flying off the shelves, people seem to love it. I am guessing mostly for all the frozen DUMPLINGS they buy?
I tried it and I can say it’s pretty good (though I do like my homemade dipping sauce). This sauce is quite thick and garlic-y. Ingredients include pickled garlic, coconut sugar, and coriander. Personally I think it needs even more ginger. I added some fresh grated ginger, and I found it very improved. I also found it good with something spicy added (Bomba or Peri-Peri) However even just poured out of the bottle this stuff is good. Serve this with all of your frozen dumplings obviously, either fried or steamed/boiled ones. Its quite good on sautéed tofu. Grilled chicken of course! Grilled shrimp? Perfect for shrimp or any fish for that matter. Even just try this on top of rice or just grilled veggies. It will add flavor.
THAI SWEET GINGER Sauce is $2.49 for a 10 oz bottle.
Yesterday it was out of stock. It’s popular and people are really buying up this stuff!
Is this replacing the red bottle of SWEET CHILI SAUCE? I am afraid thats gone now. I like both sauces and the chili sauce has been a must have item for me for ever. Sigh. I will have to go back to getting CHILI SAUCE in Chinatown. Its a staple condiment in Asian cuisine.
Trader Joe’s PAPPARDELLE egg noodle pasta (RECIPE)
12 Jul 2022 1 Comment
in All Natural, Italian, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, recipe, Recipes, Trader Joes, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: cheap, dinner, ideas, lunch, no preservatives, pasta, product, Products, Trader Joes, vegetarian
“Pappardelle is a hearty noodle with many uses. Traditionally this hearty noodle is served with high-flavor chunky sauces made from game or pork… We like it with a robust Bolognese. It’s perfect for soaking up the flavorful juices of a pot roast and an ideal noodle for soups…”
Trader Joe’s Pappardelle noodles are good, hearty Italian egg noodles. These are especially perfect with robust chunky sauces, like a ragu Bolognese. A bag is $1.99 (8 oz). Here’s what I learned from making these a few times. To bring out the best of these noodles I suggest you don’t just cook them and put them on a plate and top with sauce. If you are just serving these with butter and cheese that’s OK to do. But if you are serving with a sauce (Bolognese maybe?) these will taste best if you finish cooking them in the sauce for a minute or two at the very end. Meaning pull them out of the water at about 4 or 5 minutes, drain (but not too thoroughly) and finish cooking them with 1/2 your sauce till they are al dente (save a little of the cooking water, which you can add to get the sauce consistency you want). Again grab them after about 4 minutes of boiling, throw them into a pan with about 1/2 cup of sauce per portion, cook and toss gently for a minute or two, until the noodles are cooked to your liking. The noodles will absorb the sauce and all the flavors, and make for a very hearty dish (see my dish, served with some asparagus as a side). Top with a bit more of your (reserved) sauce and a little grating of Parmesan.
Pappardelle with Bolognese sauce is made for each other so that’s definitely a combo you should think of for these noodles. If not a homemade ragu Bolognese you can easily use Trader Joe’s TURKEY BOLOGNESE “just sauce”. I can’t say it’s great, but it’s decent if you don’t want to make your own (see my easy turkey ragu bolognese recipe below)
RECIPE – FAST & EASY TURKEY BOLOGNESE: Brown up a pound of ground turkey (optionally you can use ground beef, or mix of 1/2 pound each ground beef and pork, or Impossible meat for that matter). Sauté on high heat in a tablespoon of EVOO. Once the meat is browned nicely add 4 cloves of crushed fresh garlic, 1/2 a chopped onion (optional: a grated carrot) and turn down to medium heat. Add a spoon of wine, balsamico or just water to deglaze the bottom of the pan scraping up any bits. Saute on low covered for about 3 minutes then add a can of ROASTED TOMATOES (with or without chiles). Rinse out the the can 1/4 to 1/2 way full with milk. Add that in. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Italian herbs. Simmer on low for 20 minutes. Serve the sauce with a hearty noodle like Pappardelle.
Trader Joe’s GREEN JACKFRUIT & recipe for Pulled BBQ Jackfruit
12 Jul 2022 Leave a comment
in All Natural, bread, can, DIY, General, jar, recipe, Recipes, spices, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: dinner, DIY, lunch, meatless mondays, Products, review, sandwich, Trader Joes, vegan, vegetarian, vegetarian meat substitutes
Jackfruit is a tropical fruit, popular with vegetarians as a “meat substitute”. When cooked it can have the texture of “pulled meat” such as pulled pork or chicken or ropa vieja. It doesn’t have much taste but it easily absorbs flavors and sauces and it’s quite good cooked up with BBQ sauce as “pulled jackfruit”. Trader Joe’s carried a pouch of PULLED JACK FRUIT IN SMOKY BBQ SAUCE in a green foil pouch (see below) but it got discontinued. Alot of people liked it and I did too, despite not being vegetarian. TJ’s does sell this can of JACKFRUIT so you can make the same thing fairly easily yourself, just mixing this can of jackfruit with your favorite BBQ sauce. A can is only $1.99 too!
How does one use Trader Joe’s Green Jackfruit in Brine, you ask? It takes on a “meaty” texture, and, much like tofu, absorbs the flavors of sauces. Our favorite preparation involves cooking jackfruit in barbecue sauce, where it eventually shreds like pulled pork, ready to be piled on a warm Honey Wheat Hamburger Bun and crowned with crunchy cabbage.
https://www.traderjoes.com/home/recipes/pulled-jackfruit-sandwich
HOW TO MAKE PULLED JACKFRUIT MINI SLIDER BUNS: After opening the can, dump the liquid out and put the fruit into a colander. Rinse the jackfruit thoroughly and drain it. To get the texture, I just used my fingers and crushed up the jackfruit piece by piece. The seeds you can mash or crush or leave as is. Sauté the jackfruit in a pot in some EVOO (or butter) for about 5 minutes on low heat, stirring it gently. Add your favorite BBQ sauce (1/2 cup per can?) in. I used the SRIRACHA ROASTED GARLIC sauce, a good match. Cover the pan and simmer on very low heat for about 20 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so and making sure it doesn’t burn. It will be thick when done. Turn off the heat and let it rest for about 10 minutes. When you are ready to assemble the sandwiches, put a scoop of the jackfruit on†o the bottom half of a TJ’s ALOHA BUN (or brioche roll). Top with some coleslaw and the top half of the bun. Enjoy! A bit messy to eat but quite tasty! 1 Can served 2 of us easily with the fixings.
Directions as per TJ’s website
(note I liked it without the water, or just a few tablespoons)
- Prepare Pulled Jackfruit: Drain jackfruit and pat dry. Partially shred jackfruit chunks into smaller pieces. In a sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add jackfruit and sauté for five minutes. Add BBQ sauce and water to pan and stir to evenly coat jackfruit. Cover pan and simmer on medium-low heat, 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally and pulling jackfruit apart as it becomes tender.
- Prepare Tangy Cole Slaw: While jackfruit cooks, in a large bowl, toss cabbage blend with mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
- Prepare Sandwiches: Place a scoop of pulled jackfruit on the bottom of a bun. Top with diced onions, coleslaw, and bun top. Eat and repeat until satisfied!
Trader Joe’s ORGANIC BROCCOLI SLAW
28 Jun 2022 1 Comment
in All Natural, fresh, General, Trader Joes Tags: healthy, product, Products, Rave, review, sidedish, summer, Trader Joes, vegetarian
This package can make a really really good coleslaw. We really liked the slaw made with this, a variation from a regular salw made from cabbage. To make the slaw, I basically used the recipe on the package with one difference. I used way less than the “one cup” of your favorite salad dressing as they suggest. You don’t need that much; if you need more sauce just add a little vinegar and a little honey or palm sugar. Yes it does say “organic shredded broccoli stalk”. I promise you won’t even know, the finished slaw will soften up and be like any regular coleslaw after it marinates for awhile (20-30 minutes). Personally I never throw out the stalk when I make broccoli, I peel and cook it – but when I met my wife, she just chopped of the head and threw out the rest!
(here’s my modified recipe) COLESLAW : Dump the package in a bowl. Add one grated apple (grate on box grater with skin), add a handful of dried cranberries or golden raisins, add about an ounce or two of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and add just enough of your favorite dressing to lightly coat things (maybe a 1/4 to 1/3 of cup? The package says 1 whole cup of dressing – come on, that’s way too much. I used TJ’s Organic Ranch Dressing. Or you can just add some mayo. A sprinkle of DILL SEASONING will be nice in this. Mix everything up and let it sit for about 20-30 minutes in the fridge to marinate. It will soften up. The slaw can easily stay in the fridge for the next day. This is a very tasty and healthy side dish!
And you can cook this too. Just sauté these veggies for about 3 minutes in a butter or olive oil if you prefer a cooked dish.
Trader Joe’s “SPICY JOLLOF SEASONED RICE MIX”
19 Jun 2022 2 Comments
in General, New, News, Pantry, pescatarian, Prices, Products, Rant, Rave, recipe, Recipes, spices, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: Africa, african, controversial, controversy, cuisine, diaspora, Food, Nigeria, party, product, Products, Rave, review, Rice, Senegal, Trader Joes, vegetarian
Trader Joe’s “SPICY JOLLOF SEASONED RICE MIX” with dried tomatoes, onion and garlic
There was actually a little controversy across the internet when this product first came out, as some viewed this as a bit of cultural appropriation on Trader Joe’s part. What is JOLLOF RICE ? It’s a very famous African dish eaten widely across parts of West Africa, especially Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and The Gambia. Even in Africa the dish has a little controversy. Whose version is the best? Is it Nigerian or Ghanaian – or Senegalese where it has a different name (Tchebu Jen) ? The dish is considered the national dish of Senegal where it’s Thieboudienne or Tchebu D’jen. (The word “Jollof” is an English variation of the word “Wolof” which means both a language and a people/tribe)
In my lifetime, I’ve eaten many many plates of authentic Senegalese Tchebu D’jen in many African restaurants back in the day when there were a dozen African restaurants on 116th Street in Harlem when the street used to be known as Petit Dakar . I love this dish and variations of it. Taste a real version of this dish if you ever have the chance. An authentic “JOLLOF RICE” (aka Party Rice, aka Tchebu Djen) from Nigeria, Ghana, or Senegal is an amazing dish. It’s complicated to make with a number of ingredients, another reason that Trader Joe’s coming out with this “instant” version caused a wee bit of controversy on the internet. The mix was developed by a Nigerian family here I believe.
Here’s my take. Out of the package, this is a far, far cry from an authentic African Joloff Rice. I fixed it up when I made it. It has some potential if you fix it up to make something better, not close to what your Nigerian granny would make but something semi-OK and better than just making this package as is.
Here’s my suggestions on how to fix this up: In a large pot, put a tablespoon olive oil and butter (you probably don’t have Palm Oil which is best) Stir in a huge tablespoon of tomato paste. Cook for 30 seconds and add a chopped up tomato, 1/2 a chopped onion, 4 cloves of garlic minced. Cook 2 minutes, then add your cooking liquid (water, but chicken or veggie broth would be better). 3 cups as the package says is a lot. I reduced to about 2 3/4 cups as the veggies have water. Add a few carrots and a 1/4 cabbage. Boil for 5 minutes. THEN add the package of this “JOLOFF RICE” mix. Add some Smoked Paprika and as much as you like of some spicy mix of PERI-PERI, BOMBA, or ZHOUG . Once it boils lower to a simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes. Turn off heat. Let it sit 5 minutes covered to absorb all liquids. When you are ready, serve rice with vegetables on the side/top, and serve some of those spicy sauces on the side for people to adjust to their tastes.
Tchebu Jen is made with smoky dried stockfish in the broth and served with fresh fish. I ate it with some fish on top (smoked sardines and salmon) Other ideas are serving this with grilled chicken or maybe grilled SHAWARMA chicken.
TJ’s SPICY JOLLOF SEASONED RICE mix is $2.69 for an 8 oz package.
https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/spicy-jollof-seasoned-rice-mix-070883
“Originating in West Africa as far back as the 14th century, Jollof rice is more than just an esteemed and storied dish, it’s a cultural force of its own. It’s served as the inspiration for countless recipes across the African diaspora, including jambalaya and gumbo. It’s even sparked a friendly (if not, at times, heated) rivalry between a handful of nations regarding who makes the best version. If you’ve ever had the chance to try it, you know exactly why it’s remained such a vital part of African cuisine for over 700 years.”
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