For a short while, Trader Joe’s was carrying fresh Salmon Burgers in the fresh fish section of the refrigerated case. Unfortunately for one reason or another they must have been discontinued these and TJ’s no longer sells fresh salmon burgers – which were pretty good. However TJ’s does carry a frozen version, “Premium Salmon Burgers”. Because these have a lot more ingredients listed than the fresh version had, I was a bit reluctant to try these but I finally did and found them to be actually a bit better than I had expected. At first, I tried cooking them defrosted (which the package says not do!) and I found out why. Defrosted they are so soft you can’t even get them out of the plastic wrapping without falling apart as you do it. Therefore I cooked them again, this time from frozen as the package states. Of course the salmon burger was much easier to handle when it was a frozen hockey puck. Interestingly I found the results cooking them frozen or defrosted came out about the same. I grilled the frozen salmon burgers, using the pan fry skillet method, as per the package cooking them for about 3-4 minutes per side in a little oil and butter. They were pretty tasty. We ate them on a brioche bun with lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce. On the plus side, the Sodium level listed is not terribly high which is good. I would buy these again. They’re $6.99 for a 12.8 oz package which contains 4 salmon burgers.
Also available at Trader Joe’s in the freezer next to these fish burgers are some other kinds of seafood burgers: Mahi-mahi burgers and shrimp seafood burgers. I will review these too in future.
Thin slices of pickles and onions in a sweet and spicy brine. Emphasis on spicy. You have to try these, they are just terrific.
Now when Trader Joe’s calls these “spicy” on the label, in this case they are not kidding! They are quite hot and seriously SPICY! Containing “capsicum oleoresin”. However they are Spicy Delicious. With a hamburger these were particularly terrific. For me these pickles are just one more amazing TJ Wow Product, something that’s unique and special. I’m even a bit addicted and once I start eating them I keep going back for more. While they are Seriously Spicy if you just eat them their own, when you add them as as ingredient and eat them say on top of a hamburger or tucked into a sandwich, you will get a moderated amount of the heat. These are about $2.70 a jar.
Yup, that’s it, this has one ingredient. Just Corn. But what they’ve done to it here, is this has been “FIRE ROASTED”. In other works cooked enough to get a few almost burnt bits. In my picture below as you can see, its gotten a tiny bit blackened from the fire roasting. This of course is the famouse “Maillard” reaction food gets from cooking which concentrates and amplifies flavor. In this case it makes this corn taste even better for example than TJ’s regular frozen corn — which is still also great by the way (and costs a bit less).
You can make this fire roasted corn just on its own. It was delicious when I simply sautéed it in butter to make a simple side dish. If you want to get fancy, hit that with a squeeze of lime juice too!
Naturally this corn is fantastic used as an ingredient as well. For example, add some to corn bread. Add it to salsas, to soups, stews and of course any Mexican dish, like some Mexican style rice. Its great for that.
This Fire Roasted Corn is great to have on hand in the freezer. It’s $1.99$2.49 NOW $2.79 !(1 lb).
Popular in Indian cuisine “Ghee” is butter that has slowly cooked to separate its milk solids from the fat so it doesn’t burn when cooking and can stay unrefrigerated. This is a Vegan “ghee” a blend of coconut and avocado oil. Now I’m not vegan myself, but just wanted to check out this product. It’s OK to cook with, neutral in taste. I think I would just prefer regular Coconut Oil which does impart a little coconut flavor. But if you are vegan this might be an option.
Trader Joe’s Trail Mix Crackers with mung beans, seeds, cashews, raisin, and cheese.
OMG. Crispy, crunchy, nutty, cheesy, raisin-y, sweet and salty… Just outstanding and a very original cracker. Each cracker supposedly is fixed up by hand, to place a cashew nut on it. These are seriously delicious. So much so that I promise you they will go fast, they just seemed to evaporate into thin air (ok more like your mouth). Plus you don’t get that many in a bag, so a little expensive, but very wonderful. Oh, and while delicious as-is right out of the bag there is no law that says you can’t top these with something to boot…like maybe a thin slice of CHEDDAR? Some peanut butter perhaps? About $2.50 a bag (4.5 oz).
Trader Joe’s INDIAN FARE YELLOW TADKA DAL is “A savory, creamy and spicy blend of lentils and spices” (PRODUCT OF INDIA)
Trader Joe’s has quite a bit of Indian foods on offer, some in the frozen foods section as well as some non-frozen ones too, such as this line of Indian dishes which comes in pouches. Some of these I’ve tried are really good, especially this one, TADKA DAL.
We ate this TADKA DAL last night and I have to say I found it surprisingly tasty, I’m mean as in “This tastes like it came from an Indian restaurant” level good. This Tadka Dal was very flavorful and nicely spiced with a wee bit of heat going on. I put it in a pan on top of the stove (they suggest heating in hot water). If you serve this dal with a few other things, you have a nice easy dinner… We had this with another dish plus cooked Basmati rice, some Garlic Naan, Mango Chutney and a salad. (Sidenote: I saw TJ’s has a new Indian condiment, “Garlic Achar” which I want to try)
If you add at least one other dish to the Dal such as TJ’s CHANNA MASALA you can have an easy and quite tasty pretty authentic Indian dinner. These TJ’s “Indian Fare” products come in shelf stable pouches and are not a bad deal at about $2 each (for 10 oz) I find these pouches of Indian items great things to have in our pantry for whenever we’re in the mood for Indian food, or come home and don’t feel like cooking but don’t want to order out either. These plus frozen Naan make fast super easy meals. I have not tried all of these Indian Fare pouches but there are a few varieties on offer. This Tadka Dal one is quite good and worth your trying. By the way, in case you want to know what “Tadka” refers to: Tadka translates as “tempering.” It is a method widely used in Indian cuisine, in which whole or ground spices are heated in hot oil or ghee and the mixture is added to a dish.“
TADKA DAL: ingredients include yellow split peas, butter, oil, tomato, chili pepper, salt, cumin, onion, curry leaves, yest, mustard see, tumeric…. The Sodium level listed is a bit high, so compensate for that with other dishes (such as using less salt to make your rice)
Trader Joe’s Pain De Campagne (French Country Bread) – Minimalist packaging huh? But trust me, if you see this bread, grab it. It’s delicious. In a bakery I’m thinking this would sell for about 6 or 7 bucks? Trader Joe’s had it for about $2.80 for just over a 1 lb. piece.
Ingredients include: Water, Unbleached Unbromated Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Rye Flour, Whole Wheat Flour, Dark Beer…. We are talking serious bread folks, good bakery bread. Naturally this will greatly benefit from being refreshed with a baking or toasting in the oven for 10 minutes to get it crusty again.
I do find it pretty funny they write on the package: “Contains Wheat. May Also Contain Gluten”.
“Use like garlic. Delicious on avocado toast, in butter and sauces, on vegetables and proteins, or any time you want extra depth of flavor”
This is a pretty interesting Trader Joe’s product, a bit of an unusual find. Now a few years ago, they sold something in the produce section labeled “Black Garlic”. It was from Japan. It basically looked like a whole head of garlic you had forgotten about in the pantry that had shriveled up and turned completely black! Wild looking! I tried it. Inside shriveled shells were cloves of black garlic inside were softish and absolutely delicious, chock full of UMAMI. I found it to be a kind of amazing, and pretty unusual product for Trader Joe’s to carry. This stuff eventually vanished or was discontinued, anyway I stopped seeing it. Now a year or two later, I noticeed this small jar in the spices section. “Ground Fermented Black Garlic…Made In South Africa”. The black garlic has been dried and ground up into little tiny black bits that can be sprinkled onto things. It tastes garlicky but different from fresh garlic or garlic powder for one thing this was fermented. It’s full of Umami, adding extra depth of flavor to whatever you put it on. I did think it’s a little on the pricey side at $2.99 for a tiny 1 oz jar but I have found it does last a bit. It’s terrific added to sauces and as they mention vegetables. I am trying this on so many things. Avocado anything especially. I am thinking this is a hidden gem that many will look at and bypass and it may vanish in the future. So as we don’t know how long this product will last, if this sounds interesting, grab one to try.
“Trader Joe’s Indian Masala Simmer Sauce makes a wonderful base for authentic Indian meals.“ Masala Simmer Sauce is a Indian style spiced tomato-based sauce which can be used as the main sauce component to easily make a tasty Indian inspired dish that could come together in as little as 15-20 minutes. We made a very tasty Indian style stewed dish with chicken and vegetables using the Masala simmer sauce. It turned out really tasty, served with basmati rice and Naan and some chutney. The sauce is concentrated so you can thin it with water as they suggest (TIP: after emptying the jar into the pot just half-fill it with 8 oz of water, shake it up and pour that into your pot). Or if you want to make a coconut milk version use 8 oz of coconut milk instead of water. I haven’t tried that yet but I know that would make a wonderful dish.
The spices used in this include: pureed ginger, tumeric, cumin, fenugreek, red pepper, cinnamon and clove. All of which combine perfectly with the tomato base to make a very delicious combo. Naturally there’s nothing stopping you from adding some more spices, and I’m in that camp. I had added additional chopped ginger and fresh garlic plus a 1/2 chopped onion which I browned up first in some ghee (butter) before adding the sauce. As they suggest on the label, this sauce works very well to make a stewed dish with boneless chicken, either breast or thigh meat. Even tastier might be chicken on the bone which one would cook 20 minutes more but boneless works fine and is easy. Add in some frozen veggies (peas, or haricot vert green beans, or edamame) during the last five minutes if you like. I do. Serve the finished dish with basmati rice and some Naan for sopping up all that delicious sauce. We ate this with TJ’s MANGO GINGER CHUTNEY which matched beautifully. Of course one can make this strictly vegan or vegetarian. Just use either tofu and/or just vegetables (veggies, plus beans for protein like chick peas or lentils….) In short, TJ”s MASALA SIMMER SAUCE can be the base of a very tasty dish which is easy and delicious. A 15 oz jar was $2.69.
(UPDATED) This brand “Wholesome” organic coconut palm sugar has has now been replaced by Trader Joe’s own brand, “Trader Joe’s Organic Coconut Sugar”.
FAIR TRADE. CERTIFIED ORGANIC. ALL NATURAL. LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX
“Made from the nectar of the coconut palm tree flower”
I really like this organic coconut palm sugar sold at TJ’s under the original brand name, “Wholesome”. For one thing it tastes amazing in my morning coffee, specifically my Moka pot, Cafe con Leche that I make every morning (#mokapotlover).
This coconut palm sugar is a brownish, granulated sugar which has its own distinctive but subtle taste. The taste of coconut palm sugar is a bit different from brown cane sugar or Turbinado sugar, and I’ve switched to this palm sugar especially for coffee, as it just adds a little something, a very nice subtle flavor. It’s delicious with just a hint of caramel and vanilla notes. I am also using it on yogurt too, just a little sprinkling is excellent. This palm sugar is excellent in any Chinese or Asian recipe which calls for sugar, which most do.
I see people on the net saying how this is “low glycemic” compared to cane sugar, but frankly I don’t know much about that, but I figure it’s important to those watching their blood sugar levels as it may relate to diabetes. So in that sense, this must be a better sugar if you are concerned with your blood sugar level.
TJ sells this palm sugar for $3.99 a one pound bag (which is cheaper than Wholesome sells it for directly) LINK BELOW TO “WHOLESOME” WEBSITE WITH MORE INFO
“Wholesome Organic Coconut Palm Sugar is a rich, unrefined brown sugar that makes an ideal substitute for conventional brown and white sugar. Beyond baking, it’s an excellent choice for sweetening your preferred coffee, preparing sauces and perfecting your favorite Asian dishes, all thanks to its rich molasses taste and caramel overtones.
Made with Care Contrary to its name, this sugar doesn’t actually come from a coconut, nor does it remotely taste like coconut. The brown sugar’s rich caramel flavor is produced by tapping the sweet nectar from the tropical coconut palm tree flower (a process that’s similar to how maple trees are tapped for maple syrup production). The nutrient-rich juice is dried in a large open kettle drum and condensed into a delicious whole brown sugar. A natural sugar substitute for baking, this organic product will add depths of flavor to all your favorite recipes.”
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