Posts

SuperBlues Blueberries Now At Trader Joe’s

/in /by
SuperBlues Blueberries

SuperBlues Blueberries

Summer arrived for me at Trader Joe’s today in the form of SuperBlues blueberries

I can remember picking blueberries as a child at my Grandmother’s house in Massachusetts. She had rather a lot of bushes and I remember them as being very tall as a child (I would love to go see them now!).

Anyway in the mornings, we would get up, get dressed and practically race into the kitchen to get handed a coffee cup. This was our morning “blueberry pail” and we would take our cup out for a morning adventure of collecting blueberries right from the bushes.

We would hunt around in those bushes for the biggest blueberries that we could find and leave those smaller ones to pick in the next day or so. When we returned to the house, we would rinse them off and use them on top of our cornflakes. Then my brother and I would have a contest to see who had picked the biggest blueberries.

Well, I was a kid again last week when we were shopping at Trader Joe’s. There at the sample counter (of course) were the biggest blueberries I have seen in a long time. The package said SuperBlues and that was an excellent description.

These blueberries were HUGE (I am not sure if you can tell in the photo, but some were as big around as a nickel!) and full of flavor. Trader Joe’s sampled the SuperBlues with some vanilla yogurt- simple and delicious.

SuperBlue Blueberries in oatmeal

SuperBlue Blueberries for Breakfast

We served them up at home on our oatmeal for breakfast. Boy they really took me back to picking and eating blueberries at my Grandmother’s house (although I was missing the cornflakes!).

So if you see these SuperBlues at your Trader Joe’s store, pick up a packages and enjoy a taste of summer.

5 More Mother’s Day Brunch Ideas

/1 Comment/in /by

So we went to Trader Joe’s last night and found a few more great ideas for Mother’s Day Brunch. There are so many great items on the shelves, that we just kept turning the corners and saying “what about …. “ again and again. We hope this next list will continue to help you think of a great meal for your Mom, or any brunch really.

1. Eggs in a bun

We saw this cute idea on the internet last fall, and WOW it really stood out for me as super cute! You take a dinner roll or a larger bun (we used Trader Joe’s Brioche buns), cut the top off, and add an egg (or two, depending on the size of the bun). Sprinkle with cheese, green onions, salt and pepper- anything you like and bake in a 350 degree oven until the eggs are cooked. Ours took about 30 minutes.

2. Stuffed French Toast

Stuffed French toast is much easier to make than it sounds. In fact, you can “stuff” the bread the night before and then just dip in the batter in the AM and cook. We like to take two pieces of bread and spread one side with cream cheese and the other with jam, and stick them together. Then in the morning, dip them in the egg batter (eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla) and cook like normal.

3. Baked French Toast

Can you tell that we love French Toast?? This idea is more like a breakfast bread pudding. Trader Joe’s has wonderful different kinds of breads that would be super in this dish -think of brioche or another rich eggy bread. One time we used that Italian Holiday bread Panetone- WOW! Ok you take eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla (just like regular French toast) but you pour this into a baking dish. (4 eggs and 2 cups of milk for a 8×8 pan) Then cube up some bread (stale is great) and soak it into the milk and egg mixture.  Bake in a 350 oven for 3-45 minutes until puffy and fully cooked. Add cinnamon and sugar to the top if you like before baking.

4. Egg in Toast

Who does not like an egg in toast? Simply cut a circle (or use a heart cookie cutter) into a piece of bread and toast it in a pan in butter. When hot, crack an egg into the center of the bread and let cook for a minute before flipping over to cook the other side.  When you use the heart shaped cutter this becomes a great Valentine’s breakfast item as well- and you also have a little heart shaped piece of toast to go along.

5. Oatmeal

Oatmeal does sound a bit plain for breakfast, but there are many ways you can jazz it up for a special Mother’s day brunch. You can top it with yogurt, fresh fruit, frozen mixed berries or even sour cream and brown sugar. We love oatmeal with bananas, fresh blueberries and toasted pecan pieces. Or try a spoonful of jam and top with crunchy granola cereal.

Bonus:

Can you tell we thought of another one, AFTER we wrote the post title? What about Bagels, cream cheese and lox (smoked salmon)?  Trader Joe’s sells a number of different kinds of bagels as well as a few different kinds of smoked salmon or lox. Add a little bit of lettuce, some sliced tomatoes, sliced red onions and capers and you have a fantastic  tasty brunch item.

There are many wonderful ways to celebrate your Mom on Mother’s Day. We hope you find one that works for you.

Breakfast is GREAT at Trader Joe’s

/3 Comments/in /by

oatmeal, banana, pecans, maple syrup

We are addicted to our breakfast.

What is it you ask? What can be so good so early in the morning?  Wait for it… OATMEAL!

You can’t believe it can you??

Let us clarify. This is not just any oatmeal. This is organic, long cooking and hearty oatmeal that stays with you throughout the AM. This is the kind of oatmeal that cold cereals only dreams about becoming… This oatmeal is a star at the breakfast table.

OK maybe we are just getting carried away?

But we really do like this oatmeal. Because it is long cooking, sometimes we cook a batch the night before. Sometimes we cook up an even bigger batch for 2-3 mornings when there is NO extra time. Usually, we bring the oatmeal and water to a boil in the pan and then turn off the heat, and then go for our morning power walk. When we return, the oatmeal is nearly finished with only about 5 more minutes left to cook.

Then the real fun begins.

The toppings! What better way to keep your breakfast new and different then by changing up what you top it with? We have tried bananas and apples, raisins and dried cranberries an assortment of nuts, apple butter (WOW- just delish) and even granola (yes made from oats too) in a zillion combinations. What about whip cream and chocolate chips?

Right now for our breakfast we are serving up a most excellent batch of oatmeal topped with sliced banana, toasted pecans, blueberries and a swirl of maple syrup. Yum. If you have not tried a bowl of oatmeal in a while, we suggest you start. It is a great way to start a wintery morning when it is dark and cold, and we live in Tucson! Now just so we are clear here, this is not a Trader Joe’s brand, it is  a product that has the “Trader Joe’s seal of approval” and is sold in their stores. We also purchase all the wonderful toppings at our Trader Joe’s store as well.

Oh yeah…. want to know the secret to delicious oatmeal that we discovered in some cookbook, some show or on the Food Network?

Don’t stir it too much.

Really, just leave the oatmeal alone and “shake” the pan once or twice. OK… stir it quickly to make sure that it is not sticking on the bottom, but then stop and just swirl or “shake” the oatmeal around the pan. It is a myth that making oatmeal uses the same skills as making risotto. You do not need to stir it constantly. If you do, you only wind up with a gummy, pasty mess that no one wants for breakfast. When you “shake” or swirl the pan, the oatmeal grains are more separated and are still nutty.

Warning:  Go slowly when learning this technique, as we have spilled oatmeal on the stove a couple of times when we first started… Ugh….

Let us know if you have tried this oatmeal and how you like it. What toppings do you love on your oatmeal? Please leave your comments below and let us all know.

Have a great, OATMEAL start to your day!

oatmeal, pecans, bananas, blueberries