Posts Tagged ‘price’
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 »
11/08/2016
November 8, 2016
A tale of two Goudas. Yes, this is not the way Charles Dickens started.
Here we compare two Gouda cheeses, not two cities. We’ll compare this cheese and the more mature (aged) Gouda cheese here.
But first, this is a nice mild soft cheese. It’s good by itself. I’ve also tried it melted with cheddar cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich and melted on onion soup. Both worked well. But if you’re looking for a stronger more mature cheese taste, this is not what you’ll want.
This cheese is soft, has little or no rind, is very mild in taste, has no crystals, is aged around 6 months, and has a red wax covering which helps tell its age. Our older Gouda has much more flavor, is semi-hard, has a noticeable rind, contains calcium lactate crystals, is aged probably twice or thrice as long, and has a black wax covering indicating a more aged cheese.
In a nutshell, the difference between the two is the taste and texture which changes the same cheese over months of controlled aging from a soft mild cheese (this cheese) to a harder tastier cheese (here). Oh, and, the older cheese is twice the price. That’s the story of a tale of two Goudas.
Price 5.99 per pound Calories 110 per ounce (28g)
Tags:calories, cheese, food, gouda, gouda cheese, price, red wax, review, tj, tj's, trader joe's, young gouda
Posted in Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | Leave a Comment »
11/08/2016
November 8, 2016
This cheese has a creamy, but not soft, texture in the mouth. There’s a nice nutty flavor with a hint of sweetness. There’s some crystallization in the cheese which you can feel as the crystals come in contact with the teeth. That’s typical of an aged Gouda. This is a very good cheese.
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Tags:aged gouda, calories, cheese, food, gouda, gouda cheese, old amsterdam, price, review, tj, tj's, trader joe's
Posted in Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 2 Comments »
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 »
10/29/2016
October 29, 2016
If you like house white wines from an open bar at a convention or similar gathering, you’ll like this more than me. If that doesn’t appeal to you, leave this one on the shelf and look for a better white wine. In fact those past generally bad convention white wines are the main reason I avoid white wines today.
Lacking any sweetness and having a stomach churning acidity half the bottle ended up being recycled back to sea. Perhaps in a millennium it will come back as a red. We can only hope. Price: $3.99
Tags:2016, price, review, reviews, tj, tj's, trader joe's, Vinas Chilenas rose, white wine, wine
Posted in Trader Joe's, Wine | 4 Comments »
10/23/2016
October 23, 2016
The microwave has never smelled this good. If this was just a big bowl of the sauce, I’d be perfectly happy. Complex flavors in the sauce kept the mouth happy. Little bits of seasoning were like Easter eggs in video games, pleasant surprises that made each bite a slightly different adventure. Be aware, this is not for the squeamish. Along with the flavor is a medium heat in the mouth changing to a hotter burn in the throat.
The fish was firm and not oily. It’s hard to tell if the fish added any flavor to the dish because the sauce overwhelmed it. My dinner contained a nice large thick piece of fish. The basmati rice was also nice having separate dry grains of rice with a firm texture. The rice had a slightly different taste, most likely due to the seasoning in the rice. A bite of the rice also mediates some of the heat from the sauce.
For anyone liking good spicy food, this should be at the top of your list to try.
Calories 380 per package Price $3.49
Tags:box lunch, calories, curry, exotic, indian food, korma fish curry, price, review, reviews, tj, tj's, trader joe's
Posted in Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's | 10 Comments »
10/23/2016
October 23, 2016
It cleans glass. It contains ammonia. It works as good as other products. Is there more to say? I use it on counters and the stove also. Check the cleaning instructions on your appliance and counters for recommended cleaning products before using. My only complaint, there isn’t a refill bottle available. The spray bottle seems to be the only way ALDI sells this. However at 89 cents per spray bottle, it’s less expensive than using most other brands’ refill bottles.
Tags:aldi, freshine, glass cleaner, price, review
Posted in ALDI | 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 »
10/18/2016
October 18, 2016
This is surprisingly good for $2.89. But there are better out there for a few dollars more. A weak red color for a Cab, leads to a slightly fruity aroma in the glass changing to an aroma of a rough red table wine. Nothing bad so far. The first sip is a little fruity and slightly sweet. In subsequent sips the sweetness is gone. There are no tannins to speak of which is consistent with the semi-dry description on the label. Maybe some oak, or something close to oak in the taste. The only negative is a somewhat strange type of astringency causing excessive cheek puckering. Don’t ask for pictures. I’m not sure it’s a Cab, if you’re expecting what’s commonly expected of a Cab.
Pairing with some leftover restaurant grilled chicken and chorizo (think spicy), it was not the best companion. The spicy food added to that cheek pucker.
The problem I’ve had in the past with very inexpensive wines (like $2 Chuck) is that the quality varies widely from bottle to bottle. I don’t know if that’s the case here, I’ve only had this one bottle. Would I buy it again? If I did it would only be to see how the next bottle changes from this one. For 3 or 4 dollars more it’s possible to get a much better red wine that’s consistently good – think Italian, think Tuscany, think DOCG, think sangiovese grapes. If you’re on a tight budget or think puckered cheeks are cute or just say one day, what the heck, give this a try. Otherwise pop for the extra few dollars. On the other hand if you’re at a major retailer that “also sells wine”, looking for a $10 bottle of wine, save yourself a few dollars and buy this one. Chances are this will be just as good. Price $2.89.
Tags:aldi, cabernet sauvignon, california, cheap wine, price, review, reviews, wine, winking owl
Posted in ALDI, Wine | Leave a Comment »
10/09/2016
October 9. 2016
For the mildly adventurous this is the more flavorful cousin to Trader Joe’s Steak & Ale Pies. Similarly, this pie heats up nicely in the microwave. While a little chewy, the crust is not soggy after heating. Considering it was heated in a microwave, the nicely flavored crust is fairly crispy. Instructions for oven heating are also included.
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Tags:calories, chicken balti pie, curry, food, price, review, tj, tj's, trader joe's
Posted in cooking and related items, food, Trader Joe's | 9 Comments »
11/12/2016
Ain't Found A Good Title Blog 