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Trader Joe’s Olive Tapenade

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Trader Joe's Olive Tapenade

Trader Joe's Olive Tapenade

We found a wonderful new (to us) product at Trader Joe’s this week: Trader Joe’s Olive Tapenade: Traditional.  We have tried a Trader Joe’s tapenade item before, but it was discontinued last year and we have not found another product to take its place- until now.

This wonderful product (which is found in the refrigerated case near the salsa and hummus) is an excellent version of a tapenade.  There are nice big pieces of olives, pimentos and garlic in this spread giving a lot of flavor in each bite.  This is one of those yummy items to have in your frigid to add some pizzazz to an ordinary meal or snack

Are you familiar with the many ways to use Tapenade?   Here are a few ways we like to enjoy this Trader Joe’s Olive Tapenade:

  • Spread thinly on a cracker or slice of bread
  • Tossed with hot pasta and Parmesan cheese
  • Spooned onto a piece of baked fish after cooking
  • As a dip with vegetables
  • But our favorite is in a  cold pasta salad!

This is how we used our container of Trader Joe’s Olive Tapenade. We bought all the ingredients at Trader Joe’s as well- So easy and convenient! First we cooked some whole wheat pasta,  then sliced some cherry tomatoes in ½, added a can of garbanzo beans, sliced some green onions and used the Olive Tapenade and some Balsamic Vinegar as the dressing. We mixed everything all together and …. well…. YUM!

The pasta salad was very colorful and all those flavors combined overnight and the next day the  pasta salad was just fantastic!

Do you like Tapenade? Have you tried this item? What did you think?

How to Cook Raw Shrimp

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or the SUPER EASY way to cook raw shrimp

We get this question a lot from friends. It seems like many people struggle and stress about cooking raw shrimp. They always tell us a horror story about overcooked and rubbery shrimp with hardly any flavor- YUCK!

Well, we have a solution to your shrimp cooking troubles:  Introducing the easiest way ever to cook raw shrimp.

This method is a combination of quick cooking and quick chilling (if you are going to eat the shrimp cold like in a shrimp cocktail) to prevent the shrimp from overcooking.

If you are using frozen shrimp (like Trader Joe’s frozen raw shrimp) make sure to thaw them before cooking. This is easily done by placing the shrimp in a plastic zip top bag, removing the air, and submerging the bag in a bowl of lukewarm water for about 20 or so minutes. We place another  bowl on top of the shrimp to keep them under the water while we are thawing. Check the water every 5-7 minutes and add warm water when necessary.

What you need:

  • 1# of raw shrimp (we like Trader Joe’s frozen raw shrimp) thawed if they are frozen
  • 1 lemon cut in slices

How to:

1. Fill a 4 quart or larger pan with water and bring to a full rolling boil.

2. Add the lemon slices and the thawed raw shrimp.  Stir a couple of times

3. Turn the stove off, cover the pan and leave to cook for 4-5 minutes. Now if you have super small shrimp, check them after 3-4 minutes of cooking- If you have very large shrimp, check them after 5 minutes they may need another minute or so.  Shrimp are fully cooked when they are a solid “white” in the center.

4. Drain and the shrimp are ready to eat.

If you are going to serve the shrimp cold, place the hot cooked shrimp into a bowl of ice water, and stir for a couple of minutes, adding more ice if needed until the shrimp are cold to the touch. Refrigerate until you are ready to use them.

Variations:

  • “Old bay” type seasoning
  • Trader Joe’s Taco seasoning
  • Garlic
  • Onions
  • Lemons and limes slices

You can add any of these items to the boiling water or to the  shrimp once they are cooked.

We hope you enjoyed this easy way to cook raw shrimp. Now you will be able to cook and add shrimp quickly and easily to many meals. We like to eat shrimp in tacos, with pasta and tossed on a salad.

What is your favorite way to eat shrimp?