Absolutely great pantry item. For something that just comes out of a can, I have to say this chickpea dish is really tasty. Super easy. Pretty cheap! This can even become dinner in a snap.
The Greek flavors here are all good, with lemon, parsley, cumin, garlic and black pepper and as this is sitting, marinating, the seasonings have permeated into the chickpeas so they are way more tasty than if you just these on poured.
If had any complaints about this my only very small complaint would be the oil as of course, this has soybean oil (cheap) as opposed to olive oil (expensive) to cut down the cost. However this is easily fixed – Just add some of your own good olive oil.
I poured off most of the sauce and added a glug of good Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which improved it, of course. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice too while you are at it, which will brighten it up so it tastes like you almost made it yourself. This would be great for say a picnic. We ate it as a side dish with some Falafel and thats a good match. Or add a can of this on top of salad greens to add some bean protein. Trader Joe’s describes this as kind of a “deconstructed hummus” as it has many of the same ingredients in it as hummus does. In fact I served it alongside some hummus and even put a bit of this on top of the hummus which is a typical serving style to put a few chickpeas on top.
So useful. I consider this a must have item in the pantry.
“These are really seedy, really crunch savory flats, made for us in Norway using the bakeriets proprietary process. The crispbreads make a wonderful snack on their own or are perfect with cheese and soup.”
Salmon and cucumber on crispbread – open faced sandwich
In Norwegian, they are known as “Knekkebrod”(Crispbreads). I’m crazy about these super crunchy Scandinavian crispbreads / crackers, and I buy these all the time. I always want to have these in our house. These are good for breakfast, lunch or dinner, As far as crackers go, these are not Junk Food but Health Food. They’re absolutely loaded with seeds and whole grains. They’re super healthy crispy platforms for almost anything.When we say these are “crunchy” we’re not kidding, they’re stupendously crunchy, as in can’t hear yourself talk crunchy. These make a great match with your favorite hummus or any dip or spread. They are great for those Scandinavian open faced sandwiches of course. Load these up with some Lightly Smoked Salmon with cream cheese or mayo (see pic below) and you will be in Heaven (or more appropriately, Valhalla). Smoked Salmon is great too of course. Cheese of any kind. Ham… you name it, it tastes great on these. You can break them in half carefully to make a smaller size if you want. A Top 10 Trader Joe’s Item!
PRODUCT OF NORWAY. 8 oz package is $2.99. I would buy them again.
NEW ITEM Trader Joe’s “Seasoning in a Pickle” Dill Pickle Seasoning Blend.
Another of those products Trader Joe’s comes up with that until you tried it, you had no idea you needed, and then having tasted it you realize you now need this to be in your life, always. How do they do that?!
So yet another good addition to Trader Joe’s ever growing seasoning blends. I really like this DILL SEASONING BLEND. Basically if you like dill or pickles so will you. It’s loaded with dill and yes, tastes like a dill pickle with bit of pucker, the tang coming from vinegar (powder). So what can you do with this seasoning? For one thing, it’s great with potatoes. I sprinkled quite a bit on some mashed potatoes and it made them taste really special. It will be great with potato salad. Boiled or roasted potatoes. I even tried it on cottage cheese and I liked that too. Eggs? For sure. Salmon? Perfect. Especially good on the new Roasted Salmon Fillet. Dips: mix it with Greek Yogurt or sour cream. Coleslaw for sure! Basically I will be experimenting with this and try it on everything I think it might work with.
“Made from a mix of alluringly aromatic spices, including garlic and dried dill, plus bright & zippy powdered vinegar, this stupendous Seasoning lends its tangy, salty, and delightfully dilly pickle profile anywhere it’s used. Sprinkle it generously onto roasted veggies or baked potatoes straight out of the oven, shake it over freshly scrambled eggs or Ground Beef Patties just before cooking, or make a dill-licious dip by mixing a few heaping tablespoons into a tub of sour cream or Greek yogurt.”
For those of you into the BUTTERMILK BRINED CHICKEN I have a feeling this will turn it into a way tastier bird.
Of all the different kinds of hummus Trader Joe’s sells, I wanted to try this one for awhile. When I finally tasted it, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it is. In fact the ROASTED GARLIC HUMMUS just became my new favorite of all the hummus I tried. Though this can change weekly!
This one just has that little extra something from the roasted garlic which makes this one standout. It’s delicious and has just the right amount of the mellow roasted garlic flavor that blends perfectly with but does not overpower the overall flavor of the hummus. It was $1.99 for years but has gone up to $2.29 (8 oz) Yes, all of TJ’s hummus has gone up, sigh! Try this with TJ’s PITA CHIPS which are go great with hummus or eat the hummus with your favorite chip, crackers, or warm naan or pita bread.
Columbia (“cafe de Columbia”) is justifiably well known for coffee. Historically Columbia is among the most famous coffee producers in the world.
Trader Joe’s carries so many coffees, it can be hard to pick one. If you want one of the best all-around coffee’s that Trader Joe’s carries, I would say this is the one to start with.
Trader Joe’s COLOMBIA SUPREMO coffee is a classic that’s been around for over 20 years. It just hits all the right notes of everything most people love about coffee. Plus it’s been one of the most reasonable coffee buys there to boot (it’s “value sized”).
SUPREMO coffee is very well balanced, robust with a mild acidity. It has the most lovely aroma when you grind it up. Not too mention the design, with those colorful, beautiful TOUCANS on the can!
TJ’s Colombian Supremo comes as whole beans in a medium roast, and is perfectly roasted for almost all types of brewing methods: filter pour over, moka pot, drip, french press, V60, espresso makers. The huge 28 oz (which used to be 32!) container may seem a bit pricey at $14.99 however when you price it out, that comes to around $8 a pound, which is quite reasonable for a decent quality coffee like this. Since the can is so huge what I do to keep the beans as fresh as possible, is pour the beans into a few zip lock bags, get as much air out as possible and freeze them. Then I take them out of the freezer as I need them. Of course, grinding the beans just before brewing is ideal for maximum flavor and aroma and I recommend that if possible. Trader Joe’s 100% Arabica COLOMBIA SUPREMO Medium Roast Whole Bean Coffee, $14.99 for 28 oz.
All Natural. WHOLE GRAIN. GLUTEN FREE. Loaded with fiber. What’s not to like?
Trader Joe’s ROLLED OATS are good. Among other uses, I use these to make OVERNIGHT OATS which make a terrific breakfast. Need a no-recipe recipe? Here you go: Put some rolled oats into a container and cover them with your favorite ‘milk’ (I use TJ’s Oat Milk) and add some Kefir or yogurt. Stir, cover and leave the the container in the fridge overnight. Options? Maybe add a hint of a little natural sugar, some dried fruits: raisins or cranberries. The next morning you will have yummy but not mushy Overnight Oats ready and waiting for breakfast. These DIY ones are better (and way cheaper) than the prepared overnight oats TJ sells already made in the refrigerator, which for me are way too mushy from having sit “overnight” for a few weeks (!) To Serve: top your Overnight Oats with some fruit, sliced bananas perhaps, and maybe something crunchy, like cereal or Granola. Maybe some chia seeds too! I tried TJ’s “toasted rolled oats” but I didn’t taste any toasted notes any different from these oats (those say organic and cost more of course. So I stick with buying the bag of these rolled oats. This large bag of Trader Joe’s Rolled Oats is $3.99 (for 2 lbs, or $2 per pound). Of course you can cook these oats up for hot oatmeal. Personally I do prefer the texture of TJ’s Steel Cut oats for oatmeal and buy those as well. Use these oats for baking, and cooking too. I mix these into meatloaf for the binder.
To me, this was one of those Trader Joe’s products which once you try, you say to yourself, “This is something I didn’t even know I needed but now that I know how good this is, I want this in the fridge from now on”.
When I saw this in the NEW PRODUCTS section. Like so many Trader Joe items, you are curious if it’s any good. Well guess what, TJ’s DILL PICKLE MUSTARD is really good. It tastes exactly what the name says it is, mustard with dill pickles. It’s a good classic American yellow mustard with dill pickles in it and a lot of dill flavor. Hitting two good tastes combinations at the same time. If you like dill pickles you will probably love this as much as I did.
I put it on a hot dog and it was so good with this mustard. What if I put this on a cheese sandwich? What about on a melted cheese sandwich? I can even see mixing a little bit of this into mashed potatoes too…?
I just checked out a new product at Trader Joe’s, their sliced Marble Ryebread.
Now as a native New Yawk’r – and a member of the tribe – I grew up eating rye bread so I know what a really good rye bread should taste like. So I can’t lie and tell you this TJ’s rye bread ranks with the best NYC Jewish bakery rye bread, however this Trader Joe Marble Rye is a very decent rye bread. Opening the bag, you do get that slightly sour & wonderful Eastern European smell of that rye bread has. This is not at all like crummy tasteless supermarket commercial rye bread (think “Levy’s” – ugh!). This is a decent if not stellar rye way better than that supermarket crap with zero taste and texture. Here is the most important thing to know about TJ’s Marble Rye Bread – it is especially good when it is TOASTED and that’s the way you should eat it. Toasting this bread really improves this bread and makes it show it’s potential. Toasted up and spread with some good butter, this rye bread is delicious. I always eat it toasted, and strongly suggest you do as well, even if just a little bit. Toasting it improves it 100%. I hope that point is clear. It will make a lovely sandwich or even a great grilled cheese! This marble rye bread is $3.49 for a 20 oz loaf. A bakery rye bread here in NYC is really expensive now, likely $6-7 a loaf – so this is a decent deal for a more than decent rye bread that you don’t have to go to a bakery to get. I would buy this again. If you like rye, check out TJ’s version. It’s adds a nice Euro variety to TJ’s breads on offer.
Trader Joe’s new imported Organic BUCATINI has pretty much become my favorite pasta that Trader Joe’s has. This is a high quality organic artisanal pasta in a shape called bucatini, which is a long pasta like spaghetti but with a little hole (buca) in the middle.
The hole really helps this pasta to absorb sauce way more than spaghetti does (twice as much). Bucatini can be really a good match also with hearty sauces such as a Bolognese sauce or ragu. This pasta is excellent obviously for most Italian pasta dishes, and a few even specify this shape, (recipe idea links below).
In the picture is a simple pasta dish I made with this bucatini pasta and just a basic marinara tomato sauce. Even with just marinara and cheese it made a delicious pasta.
Cooking tip: This says cook for 8-10 minutes. I would suggest pulling it from the water under al dente – say around the 7 minute mark THEN FINISHING it in a pan with sauce for a minute or two so it can absorb the sauce and flavor a bit. So pull the slightly undercooked pasta, toss it into a pan with maybe 1/2 the sauce you are serving it with, and finish cooking the pasta with the sauce adding 1-2 tablespoons of the cooking water as needed. (watch Vincenzo do this in the video below) Always save a 1/2 cup of your pasta cooking water. Starchy pasta cooking water is the magic “secret” ingredient to cooking pasta the way Italians do. Finish cooking the pasta for a minute or two until it’s al dente or to your desired degree of done-ness. Plate it up and serve with a bit of extra sauce on top. Garnish with a little grated cheese and chopped parsley. The Bucantini swells up a bit with the sauce giving it a delicious texture and taste. You can even try this Bucantini pasta to make Asian noodle dishes! No really. It works pretty well as an Asian noodle in a pinch.
TJ’s Organic Bucatini pasta is selling for $1.49 for a 1 lb. package. Ingredients: Organic Durum Semolina. PRODUCT OF ITALY. Here’s a few recipe ideas for bucatini too….
“This blend combines Ethiopian delicacy with Latin verve…Notes of chocolate, nougat, cherry”
A blend of African & Latin American coffees –
The terrific graphic design of this bag of BUUNII AZMARI coffee beans really caught my eye when I saw it recently in Trader Joe’s NEW PRODUCTS section. Bold bright colors and stylized images that kind of say “farming”….
The best news is that the coffee inside is as good as the outside. This Azamri BUNNII blend is an excellent coffee in a whole bean (light) medium roast. The bag says “medium” but its actually more like the so called blonde roast which has gotten a bit popular. Some people complain Trader Joe’s medium roasts are actually a shade darker than most “mediums” (me, i like dark). This coffee is from a smallish coffee outfit called BUUNNI COFFEE which I am glad to learn is sold under it’s own brand at Trader Joe’s, a kind of rare feat if you know TJ’s usually re-branding of stuff. The packaging for Trader Joe’s looks different from BUNNIs usual packaging so likely it was specially made especially for Trader Joes. Whoever did it did a great job of graphic design.
Opening the convenient zip closure (yet more good design) I got a lovely smell. When I ground the coffee up the aroma was truly excellent and it did have as the bag says, “notes of chocolate, nougat, cherry…”. This coffee has a perfect mix of the best of “African” and “Latin American” coffee styles, for good reason, as that is exactly what this blend is composed of: two Ethiopian single origin coffees mixed with a coffee from Honduras. It has that “winy” sharp African coffee note which that is then balanced by the Latin American smoother notes of the single origin Honduran. All around I found this to be an excellent blend, roasted perfectly to bring out the best of this coffee, in this case a bit of a blond roast. Trader Joe’s is selling it for $9.99 a bag (12 oz). I would buy this again, gladly and hope you give it a try; I kind of feel that everyone might like this coffee, which I’ve had at their original location (Buuni) when they had just opened years ago way up on Inwood at the tip of Manhattan.
I found this to be an impressive coffee for a fairly decent price, well worth checking out if you see it and are a real coffee lover!
BTW, this would be great mixed with darker blends too! I’ve done 50/50 with some dark ones and loved that mix.
update: i went back to buy more and couldn’t find it; I am thinking (hoping) just out of stock… we’ll see – update2 – its back in stock (jun 2022)
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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