ALDI – Peanut Delight Creamy Peanut Butter – Food Review

03/16/2017 by

ALDI, review, calories, price, nutrition, creamy, peanut butter, peanut delightALDI, review, calories, price, nutrition, creamy, peanut butter, peanut delightMarch 16, 2017

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

03/16/2017 by

ALDI, Sea Queen, Crab Cakes, price, review, calories, nutritionALDI, Sea Queen, Crab Cakes, price, review, calories, nutritionMarch 16, 2017

My 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 by

“I wish people would reread Silent Spring.  I’d like to be here to enjoy the spa treatment next year.”

wpc, wish, robin, spring, not silent spring, rachel carson, environment, ecologoy, bath

wpc, wish, robin, spring, not silent spring, rachel carson, environment, ecologoy, bath

For more wishes. Click here.

ALDI – Millville Simple Nut Bar – Almond, Cashew & Sea Salt – Food Review

03/11/2017 by

ALDI, Millville, Simple Nut Bar, price, calories, review, snackMarch 11, 2017

That’s exactly what this is, a simple nut bar. It’s almost nuttin’ but nuts held together with just enough gooey stuff to make a bar.  There’s a little bit of sea salt added in, but not enough to be very salty.  There’s no chocolate coating or drizzle.  Some dark chocolate would’ve been nice in my opinion.  But it’s still good without.

The nuts are large and identifiable by species, just in case you’re into matching up the ingredients to the label.  Oooh, there’s a cashew!

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Borelli Nero D’Avola IGT NV – Wine Review – ALDI

03/11/2017 by

March 11, 2017

A medium red color yields a slight earthy aroma in the glass.  After that, there’s not much else.  In the mouth there’s a little alcohol burn and a hint of cherry.  There may be a stray tannin or two which accounts for the earthy taste and mouth feel.   There’s nothing bad or offensive in the taste.  This is a simple $5 wine.  The price sets the expectation for what’s in the bottle.   It’s entirely drinkable, but probably best with food as there’s not much to savor by itself.  While there’s nothing special about this wine, at the same time it’s still equal or better than some $10 wines at mass merchandisers.   Price $4.99

 

 

Trader Joe’s – Falafel (Heat & Eat) – Food Review

03/11/2017 by

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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WPC – Osprey Road Taken – Photography

03/04/2017 by
osprey, south dakota, cloudsA 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.
For other roads taken?   Click here.

Trader Joe’s Simply Nutty vs. Kind Dark Chocolate, Nuts, Sea Salt Bars – Food Review

03/04/2017 by

trader joe, dark chocolate, nuts, sea salt, review, price, nutrition, simply nutty barskind, dark chocolate, nuts, sea salt bars, review, price, nutrition
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.

trader joe, dark chocolate, nuts, sea salt, review, price, nutrition, simply nutty barskind, dark chocolate, nuts, sea salt bars, review, price, nutritionThe 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

03/04/2017 by

trader joe, review, parsnip chips, priceMarch 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.

trader joe, review, parsnip chips, price, nutritionThe 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

02/23/2017 by

pizza, wine, wpc, matched

Looking 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!