ALDI – Reggano Creamy Garlic Pasta & Sauce – Food Review

07/10/2017 by

ALDI, Pasta And Sauce, Creamy Garlic, Reggano, Nutrition, Review, Calories, PriceJuly 10, 2017

Garlic literally wreaks from the package when first cut open.  That theme continues until the last pasta shell has left the bowl.  This is truth in advertising.  And I’m all for the truth.

ALDI, Pasta And Sauce, Creamy Garlic, Reggano, Nutrition, Review, Calories, PriceFor the garlic lovers among us, this is a hit.  Some water, milk, margarine/butter and the contents of the package are turned into a side dish which is just about as good as many restaurants serve, in about 15 minutes of cooking time.  While the bag only contains two servings, these are two satisfying servings.  In a pinch this might be stretched to three servings without people feeling the need for more.  Click on images to enlarge.   Price – 69 cents

Calories – 340 per serving prepared (250 in the package)

ALDI customer contact URL – https://www.aldi.us/en/contact-us/

Trader Joe’s Double Cream Brie – Food Review

07/10/2017 by

trader joe, review, nutrition, price, calories, double cream brieJuly 10, 2017

This was a much better experience than the last Trader Joe’s brie I tried.   This brie had a much firmer, but still soft, texture.  It was sliceable and didn’t run off the knife.  The taste was mild with a touch of tartness.  Overall the taste was a pleasant experience.  The texture was melt-in-the-mouth.  There was a kind of velvety mouth feel to the cheese.

For the lovers of stronger cheeses, you won’t be offended by this, but you also may not be satisfied.  For the brie lovers out there, this is probably a winner.

Price $5.99 per pound
Calories 100 per ounce
If you’re looking for double plus one creamy brie, try here.

WPC – Delta Blues – Photography

07/04/2017 by

Memphis In May, Delta Blues, musicians, club, street photography

Put on my blue suede shoes
And I boarded the plane
Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues
In the middle of the pouring rain
Songwriter: Marc Cohn
Walking in Memphis lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Click here.

WPC – Transient Moment – Photography

07/04/2017 by

street photography, transient, wpc, park, summer, hot, water, dog

For more fleeting images, click here.

Target – Sweet Earth – The Curry Tiger Burrito – Food Review

07/04/2017 by

Sweet Earth, curry tiger burrito, food, review, vegan, calories, nutrition, price

July 4, 2017

Normally I limit my food reviews to ALDI and Trader Joe’s products which have a national presence as opposed to many supermarket chains which are more regional in nature.  However I’ve recently discovered these in the “plant-based protein” freezer at Target and was impressed with them.  So here’s a review.  If there’s a Target near you with a grocery section, you might want to check these out.

As noted above, I like these.  Unlike many frozen burrito products which seem to lack texture and flavor, these have both.  There are several types of Sweet Earth burritos which vary slightly by ingredients and spices.  All are reasonably good, but this one stands out because it is the most flavorful and has a bit of a kick to it.  Those are two things I like.

The product is labeled as vegan and “Non GMO Project Verified.”  As a meat substitute it has 19g of protein – not bad.  Most likely due to being wrapped in a flour tortilla, carbohydrates are moderately high at 45g.  It’s surprisingly filling and long-lasting at only 320 calories each.

Calories  320 per burrito (1 serving, 198g)  –  Price $2.99,  $2.50 on sale

Trader Joe’s – Eggplant Parmigiana w/ Grilled Eggplant – Food Review

07/04/2017 by

trader joes, eggplant parmiagiana, calories, price, nutrition, reviewJuly 4, 2017
This is not a great eggplant parmigiana, but a pretty good eggplant as an eggplant.

This is another one of the seemingly endless variations of Trader Joe’s “eggplant with tomato sauce and melted cheese” products.  This one features eggplant which are “grilled”.  Now I suspect the grilling was done on one of those industrial strength machines that moves a conveyor belt of eggplant slices through some kind of flame.  But the pieces had grill marks on them, so who are we to quibble about the method.

trader joes, eggplant parmiagiana, calories, price, nutrition, reviewWhile I usually have no patience for waiting on an oven to cook these kinds of entrees, this time I followed the oven directions. Instead of large slices of eggplant, these are actually smaller pieces of a slice.  That makes it somewhat easier to eat without needing a knife to cut through the usual slices.  The tomato sauce was not very flavorful.  Much of the mozzarella seemed to have melted into the sauce instead of forming a nice cover for the eggplant.  The result was a  somewhat watery tomato/cheese sauce without much flavor intermixed with a few small islands of melted cheese.  As a parmigiana, it was disappointing.

However as just eggplant, the eggplant was pretty good.  The best bits and tastiest, were those with the skin on – more flavor and more chew.  The pieces without skin we’re still tasty, but no as much.  Being grilled, there was no breading on the eggplant as is often done with fried eggplant slices.  Overall I liked this, but not because it was a good eggplant parmigiana, but because it was good eggplant.

Price ??? (lost receipt)   Calories  270 per container (1 serving)

WPC – Needle Sharp Focus – Photography

06/20/2017 by

wpc, focus, needle sharp, cactus, monochrome

To stay focused,  click here.

Amancay – Torrontés – Reserva 2014 – Wine Review – Trader Joe’s

06/20/2017 by

Trader Joe's, white wine, review, price, amancay, torrontes, 2014June 20, 2017

This is the first item I’ve ever seen marked down at Trader Joe’s.  But that’s not why I picked it up.  I picked it up because an Amancay red I had a few weeks ago was an okay and interesting wine.  This purchase didn’t fare as well.

The wine has a clear pale yellow color.  There’s a brief fruity aroma on first opening which soon disappears.  In the mouth the wine is earthy and tart with something of the taste of concentrated unripe green grapes.  The wine worked surprisingly well with an anchovy pizza. The wine balanced the strong tastes from the pizza, especially the saltiness from the anchovy.  The pizza balanced out the acidity from the wine.

This is not a white wine for me.  It’s too harsh. The wine is better with food than by itself, especially stronger tasting foods. Chilling helps the wine some.  A few days in the refrigerator sealed after opening seemed to help the wine mellow some.  Balancing out the negatives is the very low price (marked down).   Price $3.99.

ALDI – Benton’s Fig Bars – Food Review

06/20/2017 by

ALDI, Bretton's, Fig Bars, Nutrition, Review, Calories, Price

June 20, 2017
As if struck by lightning, every so often I’m amazed at how many calories some foods have.  A package of these fig bars has a total of about 1,400 calories in it, and costs only 99 cents.  That’s pretty much a day’s worth of calories for someone who is inactive.  Of course these calories are just about all carbohydrates which is good for providing energy, but not much else.  Living off something like these alone would leave someone with a serious lack of protein. That’s the end of my lightening moment for today.

However, with moderation and self-control, these are a nicely sweet treat if you like figs.

Read the rest of this entry »

WPC – In Working Order – Photography

06/14/2017 by

To see what else is in order, click here.