This is another staple at home here. It may not be the creamiest peanut butter, but like many everyday items at ALDI it’s reasonably priced, good quality and similar in nutritional value to many major brands. It also tastes good and goes well with jelly. Calories 180/2 Tbsp (32g) Price $2.99 per 40 ounce plastic jar
ALDI – Sea Queen Crab Cakes – Food Review
03/16/2017My expectations weren’t high and they were met. These are crabby and mushy. That description is not uncommon when it comes to crab cakes. A really good crab cake consists of chunks of crab meat with a little bit of mayonnaise based filler to bind everything together and maybe a thin layer of breading to give it some crunch when it’s pan fried. Outside of one or two restaurants I’ve been to a long time ago, it’s hard to find anything like that. Most crab cakes in stores, and even restaurants, tend to be like this, with indistinguishable pieces of crab mixed with breading to form a crab mush which is then fried, or in this case baked at home. There was a good bit of crab flavor which was satisfying for those looking for a crab fix. But overall, like Diogenes, I’ll continue to look for the honest crab cake. Calories 170 per crab cake Price $5.49 – package of 4 cakes, plus cocktail sauce
WPC – Robin Wish – (not) Silent Spring – Photography
03/11/2017“I wish people would reread Silent Spring. I’d like to be here to enjoy the spa treatment next year.”
For more wishes. Click here.
Borelli Nero D’Avola IGT NV – Wine Review – ALDI
03/11/2017
Trader Joe’s – Falafel (Heat & Eat) – Food Review
03/11/2017Now 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.
WPC – Osprey Road Taken – Photography
03/04/2017
A quick hidden turn off a winding hilly two-lane road somewhere in the Black Hills of South Dakota led to a small lake with an Osprey floating in silhouette above it looking for a fish dinner.Trader Joe’s Simply Nutty vs. Kind Dark Chocolate, Nuts, Sea Salt Bars – Food Review
03/04/2017It’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
Trader Joe’s – Parsnip Chips – Food Review
03/04/2017Now 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)
WPC – A Perfect Match – Wine and Pizza – Photography
02/23/2017Looking for more things that go together? Click here.
I’m especially proud of this picture because it was made from scratch dough and secret recipe tomato sauce. Anchovies, onion, green pepper and mozzarella completed the pie. It was pretty awesome! Next I’m looking for a pizza peel and a Chef Boyardee hat. I already have the mustache!












