Archive for the ‘food’ Category
12/31/2016
December 31, 2016
This was a gift. Really this was a re-gift, which was probably a re-gift again from someone who picked up the bag and didn’t notice it was whole beans. Whatever the tortuous path, it eventually ended with me as I have a coffee grinder. I’m not proud.
The coffee has a mild but nice aroma in the bag. The brown colored beans and oil are consistent with the indicated medium roast. Brewed, the coffee has a fairly strong earthy flavor with a noticeable lingering bitterness. There’s some acid feel and tartness, especially as the coffee cools, eventually settling (and unsettling) in the stomach.
This is a milder version of a typical Starbucks coffee. For those who like Starbucks, this should be a familiar taste. It’s drinkable black. Personally, I’d drink this with some half and half as I normally do the few times I’m in a Starbucks. Price ?? – it was a gift
Tags:breakfast blend, coffee, medium roast, review, reviews, starbucks, whole bean
Posted in coffee, food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items | Leave a Comment »
12/24/2016
December 24, 2016
Can organic grapes make an inexpensive California wine good? On first opening, the cork had a fairly strong scent of vinegar reminding me of our first-generation next-door neighbor when I was growing up, who used to press his own grapes and make large barrels of wine in his backyard. He’d give my parents some bottles which generally turned to vinegar in a few weeks. But man, those few weeks were fun.
I doubt this one will turn to vinegar even if it has no sulfites added. And that, no added sulfites, is another reason I picked this up off the shelf. How many wines do you see with no, added sulfites?
Being a blend per the label, the wine is non-vintage and non-varietal (although a 2015 Trader Joe ad claims this is 100% Merlot). Umm, well, if we go with the label, that leaves out cutting and pasting from some Merlot review. But that’s another reason this wine reminds me of that backyard brew so many years ago. There’s no telling exactly what went into the bottle
What came out of the bottle is a fairly smooth mildly dry red table wine that’s very drinkable once you realize that red wines don’t really have to taste the same. This one will puzzle your taste buds into saying, what is that? When they give up trying to answer that question they’ll say, I like it. The only possible negative is a strange earthy taste that’s really not very objectionable once you get used to it. Maybe the taste is a bit of young tannins or maybe they do ferment in old wooden barrels? I don’t know if being organic had anything to do with it, but this inexpensive wine is good.
Growing up, we ate a lot of pasta with a thick red sauce that started as canned whole tomatoes and olive oil in tins, both from the old country, washed down with the backyard wine. This wine brings back pleasant memories. Price $5.99.
Tags:california, inexpensive wines, red wine, review, roule rouge, table wine, trader joe's, wine review
Posted in food, Trader Joe's, Wine | 4 Comments »
12/10/2016
December 10, 2016
This is another fine wine from Italy at Trader Joe’s for a very reasonable price considering the quality. The wine is dry and totally smooth with an earthy mouth feel and enough bite/character to separate this from a lesser Chianti. This is possibly the most enjoyable wine I’ve had in 2016.
You may ask, what does the word Classico add to a Chianti? Chianti Classico specifically refers to an official area within the Chianti region of Italy. That specific area was also the first in what’s now the Chianti region to attempt to define and regulate its wine. Being the first to define the Chianti wine, and predating the official Italian regulations, the wine gets to wear the “classic” designation. Along with the geographical requirements, a Chianti Classico wine has a different set of production regulations which separate a Classico from the standard Chianti designation. After that it’s up to the skill and pride of the winemaker to produce a quality product. In this bottle, there is an overabundance of skill and pride producing a very very nice wine. Price $9.99.
Tags:2014, chianti classico, docg, Il Tarocco, inexpensive wines, italy, red wine, review, table wine, trader joe's, wine review
Posted in food, Trader Joe's, Wine | 3 Comments »
11/26/2016
November 26, 2016
I wonder if the jar was mislabeled? Except for on the label, what seems to be missing is the pineapple. There are plenty of references in the ingredients to pineapple. But if they’re in the jar, I missed them.
To be fair, wash away the red stuff and there really are pieces of pineapple in the salsa. Take a spoonful of the salsa by itself and there’s an interesting complex blend of flavors. On a chip, the complexities are muted.
I was expecting a sweet-hot salsa experience. What seems to be in the jar is a very mild tomato based salsa.
Aside from expectations, this is a nice tasting mild salsa. If that’s what you’re looking for give this a try. But if you’re expecting a pineapple experience, move on.
Calories 15 per 2 tablespoons (30g) Price $1.99 -12 ounce jar (340g)
Tags:calories, food, nutrition, pineapple salsa, price, review, tj, tj's, trader joe's
Posted in food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 7 Comments »
11/26/2016
November 26, 2016
It’s Swiss, but it’s French. Hmm? Well it’s a Swiss-style cheese made in France. But saying that would probably get me thrown out of the country. Both countries!
Let’s just say that if the word Madrigal was misread as Magical, that would be a good description of this cheese. At $5.99 a pound this is a very good semi-hard cheese that actually tastes like a Swiss-style cheese, albeit a milder Swiss cheese. The only thing to be careful about is the thin wax covering that sort of blends in with the cheese and tends to stick between the teeth if measures aren’t taken to avoid it. Don’t ask me how I know.
Calories 100 per ounce (28g)
Price $5.99 -per pound
Tags:calories, cheese, food, france, madrigal cheese, nutrition, Président, price, review, swiss-style, tj, tj's, trader joe's
Posted in food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 2 Comments »
11/19/2016
November 18, 2016
Dark chocolate covered liquid center cherries are my favorite treat. Come gift-giving holidays, the family gets off cheaply as this is my usual present. But no complaints. Will the addition of alcohol to the mix make these even better?
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Tags:calories, candy, confection, dark chocolate, food, hungary, liqueur cherries, price, review, tj, tj's, trader joe's
Posted in cooking and related items, food, Trader Joe's | 3 Comments »
11/12/2016
November 12, 2016
I needed to buy two bags of these chips to do this review. The first bag had very little seasoning. The second bag had more seasoning, but still on the light side. In other words, there wasn’t very much of that sour cream and onion flavor in either bag. Other than the seasoning, these are nicely done chips – thin, cooked perfectly, and not very salty. At $1.39 per bag they’re not much more than a 1 ounce bag from a vending machine. But if you’re looking for that sour cream and onion flavor, you may be disappointed with these chips. Calories 150/1 ounce (about 13 chips) Price $1.39 per 9.5 ounce bag
Tags:aldi, calories, clancy's, food, potato chips, price, review, reviews, snacks, sour cream and onion
Posted in ALDI, food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items | 6 Comments »
11/12/2016
11/12/2016
Can single origin, 2 ounces less, 30 cents more, and a map of South America make a better cup of coffee? In short, yes if you follow directions.
There’s not much aroma coming from the bag when first opened. There’s not much aroma coming from the cup when brewed. There’s not a horrible taste coming from the cup, but not much of a coffee taste either. There’s a strange earthy/woody taste on first sip ending in a slightly bitter taste on the tongue and a little bit of acid feel in the stomach. It’s not the best cup of coffee on the planet, but it’s entirely drinkable especially when taken with food. Based on memory, compared to the other ALDI coffees reviewed here this is a better cup of coffee. Price: $4.29
About directions: I used too much coffee brewing my initial cups. When I cut the amount down to just a little more than what’s recommended on the bag, the coffee was much better as reviewed above.
Tags:aldi, coffee, colombian, food, ground, popayan, price, review
Posted in ALDI, food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items | Leave a Comment »
10/29/2016
October 29, 2016
Thick, creamy, sweet swirls – this couldn’t be better. Rather than a whole cheese cake which takes up a considerable amount of space in the freezer, there are two cheesecake slices in this much smaller packaging. The slices may seem to be on the small side, but when considering the 310 calories per slice and the feeling of satisfaction after eating, the size is just about perfect.
The cheesecake part is slightly tart, as cheesecake should be. The nice tasting strawberry swirls add some sweetness when encountered. The cheesecake sits on a graham cracker crust. At a dollar per slice this is more than worth the extra time spent at the gym to work off those calories.
Price $1.99 (2 slices) Calories 310 per slice
Tags:aldi, belmont, calories, cheesecake, cooking, food, price, review, strawberry swirl
Posted in ALDI, cooking and related items, food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items | Leave a Comment »
10/18/2016
October 18, 2016
The very bottom line on both these drinks is, they’re very similar sparkling sucralose sweetened flavored water with a few vitamins thrown in. For me ICE has a slightly better flavor. However there’s not enough difference between the two that I buy one over the other. When in ALDI I’ll throw a few Frost bottles in my basket and when in another store I’ll throw a few ICE bottles in my basket.
There is a considerable difference in price per bottle, 49 cents for Frost and generally around $1 for ICE. While that’s a 100% difference, the relatively low cost for either and the few bottles I purchase doesn’t break or make my food budget either way. Sparkling Frost, I assume, is ALDI’s store brand under the PurAqua product line. Sparkling ICE is a national brand available in many retail outlets.
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Tags:aldi, beverage, calories, drinks, food, price, review, sparkling frost, sparkling ice, sucralose
Posted in ALDI, food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items | 2 Comments »
December 31, 2016
Ain't Found A Good Title Blog 