Trader Joe’s Mini Lemon Blueberry Scones

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Trader Joe's Lemon Blueberry Scones

Trader Joe's Lemon Blueberry Scones

Just in time for a rainy day here in Arizona: an afternoon tea party. Yes I know it is HOT here, but…well sometimes you just go with your gut and do something unusual, right?

It is Monsoon time here in Tucson and that means the possibility of about 2 hours of very strong rain any day now….

What it really means is that there are clouds in the sky, and rain in the mountains that surround the city. We will get a daily report about the “chance” of rain today in the city center  (say 30-50%) but rarely does it happen here for us (Hey it’s a desert, right?)

So while we were shopping at Trader Joe’s and the dark clouds were all around the city, we thought we might celebrate and have a little tea party.

OK we really meant to tell you was that we were going to buy these tasty scones and make some tea and enjoy them together. NOT that we were going to invite lots of folks over for a fancy snack or something… Yes it was really just an excuse to purchase these delicious looking blueberry lemon scones:  Trader Joe’s Mini Lemon Blueberry Scones.

Good news: The scones did not let us down. They were full of blueberries, and glazed with a lemony- sweet crust that actually had bits (some were big) of lemon peel visible. The scones were moist and “short” which is a nice way of saying they were a bit crummy…

A Trader Joe's Bluebery Scone

A Trader Joe's Bluebery Scone

Now we would not call these scones “mini”, but rather “just right” they were a nice sized snack, and they would be a nice addition to a larger tea party  selection if you wanted to go all out on your tea with sandwiches, cakes etc….

We wanted to go quick and simple so we just stopped for the scones.  And at 3pm  sat for a few minutes and sipped our tea and nibbled our scones and watched the dark clouds gather up on the edge of town.

Hey maybe tomorrow it will rain?   (That’s OK we have 4 more scones…..or do we???)

Have you tried these scones? What did you think?

Trader Joe’s Bavarian Rye Bread Instead of a Bagel?

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Trader Joe's Bavarian Rye Bread

Trader Joe's Bavarian Rye Bread

Are you looking for new bread? Do you want something a little different for your next sandwich?

If you, RUN to Trader Joe’s today and give this bread a try: Trader Joe’s Bavarian Rye Bread. We recently ate a loaf of this bread and enjoyed every last crumb!

It is funny how it happened. We were looking for a bagel to have with some Smoked Salmon and cream cheese and did not see anything that really grabbed us. I mean Trader Joe’s has lots of great bagels, but quite frankly we were in search of a new flavor. We started to expand away from the bagel section and into the tortilla area when we spotted this loaf.

We did not know it at the time, but it was just what we were looking for.

We sorta had an A-HA moment right there in the store! We quickly purchased the bread, some Trader Joe’s whipped cream cheese with Chives and a smoked salmon. Oh Yeah breakfast was a calling! (all we needed now was to purchase a Sunday paper…hint hint Trader Joe’s…)

We toasted the bread while the coffee was brewing. Then pretending the slices of bread were actually toasted bagels, spread the cream cheese on and arranged the salmon slices on top.

Trader Joe's Bavarian Rye "bagel"

Trader Joe's Bavarian Rye "bagel"

Funny but this discovery might actually be BETTER than the bagel (eeks!)

The bread was thinner than a bagel would be and WOW the flavor from that Rye Bread- Just Excellent!! (and no pesky seeds!) This made the flavor from the cream cheese and the salmon seem somehow stronger without that extra bread… hmmmm

We are so glad that we ventured out and away from the usual bagel to try something new.

Give this bread a try when you are next searching for a new flavor for your sandwiches (or bagels as well)

Trader Joe’s Tea Time Treats

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Trader Joe's Mini Orage Cranberry Tea Scones

Trader Joe's Mini Orage Cranberry Tea Scones

We love the English tradition of afternoon tea. We both have traveled to the United Kingdom and enjoyed eating Afternoon Tea in a wide range of English Establishments. Some of these Teas have been real “meals” that included sandwiches and other goodies, while others were much simpler, just tea and a scone.

As a result of these travel experiences, we feel that there is something fun about eating tea and a scone in the afternoon. Especially on a day when it is a little cold and rainy…..

Now since that is a rarity in the summer in Tucson, what we like to do is to pop in a movie that takes place in England and turn town the air conditioning a degree or two…. Then  enjoy….

Today’s movie choice…. A Room With A View

Today’s Tea choice…..Trader Joe’s Earl Grey

Today’s Scone….Trader Joe’s Mini Orange Cranberry Tea Scones

Trader Joe's Earl Grey Tea

Trader Joe's Earl Grey Tea

These scones were the whole reason that we had this cute tea party in the first place. On our trip to Trader Joe’s yesterday someone left this package in the case near the eggs, so when I was choosing a dozen eggs – bingo! There they were….

Being weak when it comes to scones…. Once they were in my hand, it was all over…. I then purchased the tea and began to think about which English movie we would indulge in on a HOT Sunday afternoon in Tucson…

The scones were just wonderful by the way. They had a sweet glaze over the whole scone and the inside was tender and bursting with flavor from the cranberries and orange peel. YUM! Trader Joe’s Earl Grey Tea is one of our favorites- with great flavor and not too much “earl” to over power the taste of the tea.

We hope you get to enjoy your own tea party soon!

Trader Joe’s Sparkling Clementine Soda

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Trader Joe's Clementine Sparkler

Trader Joe's Clementine Sparkler

This is a delicious and refreshing soda to try on a hot day this summer. We are hitting 100 degree now on a regular basis here in Tucson (the norm for the first part of June) and so we are looking to try new, cool items when we brave the heat and go shopping at Trader Joe’s.

This product recently caught our eye on our recent visit and in the pages of the May, 2010 Fearless Flyer.

In the Fearless Flyer, the headline for this product –on the front page no less- read: Oh My Darlin’ This Clementine Sparkles! And for some strange, unknown reason, that title just caught our eye.

Now to be frank, we both love orange sodas, but find it a bit too sweet and bubbly for drinking on a regular basis.  This product solves our orange soda hang-ups by not being soo sweet, actually containing real fruit juice (an amazing 84% juice) and by being lightly carbonated. WOW you can’t get much better than that!

We were laughing and saying how much this drink reminds us of a Buck’s Fizz (Champaign and orange juice) but naturally without the “kick”.

BUT, along those lines, it would be a wonderful new item for a brunch- light and tasty and it looks beautiful in a glass.

Glass of Trader Joe's Clementine Sparkler

Glass of Trader Joe's Clementine Sparkler

Have you tried the Sparkling Clementine soda yet?  Please leave us a comment to tell us what you thought…