Archive for the ‘Trader Joe’s’ Category
04/15/2017
April 15, 2017
Sriracha Sauce has had its 15 minutes of fame. Like many other “instant” successes, Sriracha is still around even if not as prominent. Many companies have gotten on the Sriracha bandwagon over the last few years with their own Sriracha labeled product variants. Unfortunately many times these variants lose something in the translation. This chip is one product where much of the label has made its way into the product.
If you’re familiar with Red Hot Riplets chips, this compares in a tamer way. Instead of “dumbing down” the Sriracha flavor and heat to meet the lowest common denominator of the purchasing public, this chip retains a unique flavor and a heat which is above average for a chip. While spicier than most chips, the heat here is still in the mild to medium range. The lattice cut also adds a nice firm crunchy texture to the chip. Price $2.29 – 7 ounce bag Calories 150/ounce (28g) (about 13 chips)
click images to enlarge
Tags:calories, chips, food, potato chips, price, review, snacks, sriracha, trader joe
Posted in Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 2 Comments »
04/09/2017
April 9, 2017
The gimmick for this wine is the grapes grown at two different altitudes. That’s how it gets its name and label. The wine consists of 50% grapes grown at 1100 meters and 50% grapes grown at 700 meters. The idea is that each altitude (and environment) adds different characteristics to the grapes and ultimately the wine. And how does that work?
This wine is very similar to the Amancay Malbec reviewed last week. Both come from the Mendoza region of Argentina. The aroma is strong and earthy in the glass. The wine is dry and earthy in the mouth. The color is deep purple. There may be a bit more body and a bit less dryness than the Amancay. This would be a more interesting wine than the Amancay if not for a somewhat harsh aftertaste. Price $8.99.
Tags:2014, argentina, malbec, price, red wine, review, reviews, tj, tj's, trader joe's, wine
Posted in Trader Joe's, Wine | 1 Comment »
03/31/2017
March 31, 2017
This Malbec from the Uco Valley of Argentina has a deep purple color in the glass with a mild fruity aroma. On the first glass there’s a bit of alcohol burn in the nose and the back of the throat. In the mouth there’s a dry watery feel. The dryness is not overpowering, but definitely there on the roof of the mouth. For those who don’t mind a dry red wine, this is a reasonably good wine for the price. The simple but elegant label is a bonus. Price $6.99.
Tags:2014, argentina, malbec, price, red wine, review, reviews, tj, tj's, trader joe's, wine
Posted in Trader Joe's, Wine | 3 Comments »
03/31/2017
March 31, 2017
This is a domestic (US) extra sharp cheddar from Wisconsin. While it’s a nice cheese, especially considering the only $4.99 per pound price, it’s not what I’d call an extra sharp cheddar. So just as a reality check, I went out and purchased an extra sharp cheddar from Kraft. The Kraft cheese is “sharper” but not as sharp as I remember it. Still however, the Kraft has more of the cheddar flavor I was expecting. As would be expected, both have more flavor when allowed to warm to room temperature. As a comparison, the Kraft came in at around $7 per pound slightly on sale at a regular super market. The texture was similar for both cheeses, solid but soft. For those wanting more flavor in their American-style cheeses, the TJ extra sharp cheddar will give you that at a reasonable price. For those wanting a still more flavorful cheese, look elsewhere.
Calories – 120 per ounce. Price $4.99 per pound. Coming up next week is a TJ X-tra X-tra Sharp New York Cheddar. We’ll see. As an aside, I nicely paired both of the cheeses above with some Amancay Malbec.
Tags:calories, cheese, extra-sharp-cheddar, food, price, review, reviews, tj, tj's, trader joe's, wisconsin
Posted in food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 1 Comment »
03/27/2017
March 27, 2017
This Cab hails from Yecla, Spain. Briefly it’s an earthy, strong Cab that’s not very smooth bordering on rough. Along with the earthy mouth feel is a little heat on the tongue and back of the throat. Although I haven’t had any recently, this reminds me of a good two buck Chuck. In the glass the wine is a watery medium-dark red. This wine can easily overpower some foods. Other than the style, which some people may not like, there aren’t really any overpowering negatives. This is drinkable and not bad for a $5 wine as long as you like your wine and women (or men) strong and rough. One final thing, the wine is labeled as Kosher. Price $4.99.
Tags:2015, cabernet sauvignon, inexpensive wines, kosher, red wine, review, Spain, table wine, Terrenal, trader joe's, wine review
Posted in food, Trader Joe's, Wine | Leave a Comment »
03/27/2017
March 27, 2017
The star here is the corn masa. The dough (masa) retains a nice taste and texture, neither too dry and certainly not wet, in its trip from freezer to microwave. Although there’s not much of it, the cheese is chewy and stringy. Green chilies are randomly placed throughout the cheese, but otherwise not very noticeable. The heat level is mild unless you get a big piece of chile, then it’s a medium heat. By far the cheese filling is a minor player. The tamales come wrapped in nicely trimmed corn husks.
Calories 280 per 1 tamale (140g)
Price ??? (lost receipt) – 2 tamales in package
click images to enlarge
Tags:calories, cheese green chile tamale, food, nutrition, price, review, tj, tj's, trader joe's
Posted in food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 4 Comments »
03/16/2017
March 16, 2017
This is another one where it would be way too easy to eat the whole package in one sitting. A very little bit of a smokey peppery earthy taste mixed in with creamy, but not soft, English cheddar is the best description I could come up with. That description doesn’t do it taste justice. It may not be to everyone’s liking, but this is very good.
Of particular note are a couple of the lesser ingredients, anchovy and bamboo fiber. What’s This For? Well I sure don’t know, but whatever the reason the whole seems to work just fine.
At $9.99 per pound, this is in line with similar cheeses at Trader Joe’s. The calories, at 110 per ounce (28g), are also similar to other cheeses.
Tags:cheddar, cheese, england, food, italian, review, reviews, tj, tj's, trader joe's, truffles
Posted in Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 15 Comments »
03/11/2017
March 11, 2017
Now I’m not the world’s most prolific falafel eater. But I have had them in restaurants. And for no other reason then to attempt to pronounce the name, you should give them a try sometime when you’re around Mediterranean food. If you do want to give them a try, DON’T (do not) try these.
A falafel is one of those foods that’s a blank canvas to which the chef has to add the splashes of color (metaphorically). These have few splashes of color.
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Tags:calories, falafel, food, nutrition, price, review, tj, tj's, trader joe's
Posted in food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 5 Comments »
03/04/2017
March 4, 2017
It’s predominantly* almond (Kind) versus predominantly* peanut (Simply Nutty) in this nut-off challenge. For those who need to know quickly, Kind has the bigger nuts. That’s important, because when you bite into them, Kind requires a little more jaw power. However once in the mouth and chewed around some, the texture is indistinguishable between the two.
For those who like their nuts slightly salty, Kind would be your choice. In comparison, Simply Nutty is just that – not much of a salty experience here. Holding all the nuts together at the base, for both, is a dark dark brown chocolate. Some of the same is drizzled on the top of the nuts. I guess the drizzle is for decoration, but could be there for the lickers among us who might want to slowly savor the experience. Licking from the bottom would be too messy. So, the dark chocolate on both is very much the same, good, but nothing to write home about.
The products are very similar, with small individual preferences being the deciding factors between the two for most of us. Finally, these type of comparisons usually come down to price. The Kind bars are 4 bars for $4.99 and the Simply Nutty bars are 5 bars for $4.99.
Kind – Calories 200 per bar, Price $4.99 – box of 4 bars
Trader Joe’s Simply Nutty – Calories 200 per bar, Price $4.99 – box of 5 bars
*Based on the first ingredient listed on the ingredient label
Tags:calories, dark chocolate, food, Kind, nuts, price, review, reviews, sea salt, Simply Nutty, snack, tj, tj's, trader joe's
Posted in Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | Leave a Comment »
03/04/2017
March 4, 2017
When there’s a chip made from some previously little known vegetable (or anything in the plant kingdom), it’s a good guess that that vegetable will be the new superfood of the year. Or is it megafood of the year this year? And I’d guess, if I had to guess, we’ll be hearing more about parsnips pretty soon.
Now that we know how we got here, how are the chips? Surprisingly, these are much better than one might expect, considering that most of us don’t have a clue what a parsnip is.
The bag has a mixture of thin, moderately long and short, curly pieces of slightly orange crispy things in it. There’s not much flavor to them. A slight sweet flavor predominates. That’s about it. For a chip, there’s barely a hint of salt.
A good chip has only one real test, can a person sit and eat the whole bag in one sitting? For these chips, the happy answer to that question is, yes.
Price $2.99 – 5.2 ounce bag
Calories 120/ounce (28g) (about 12 chips)
Tags:calories, chips, food, parsnip chips, price, review, snacks, trader joe
Posted in Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 2 Comments »
April 15, 2017
If you’re familiar with Red Hot Riplets chips, this compares in a tamer way. Instead of “dumbing down” the Sriracha flavor and heat to meet the lowest common denominator of the purchasing public, this chip retains a unique flavor and a heat which is above average for a chip. While spicier than most chips, the heat here is still in the mild to medium range. The lattice cut also adds a nice firm crunchy texture to the chip. Price $2.29 – 7 ounce bag Calories 150/ounce (28g) (about 13 chips)
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