Posts

Trader Joe’s Fantastic Coffee Selection

/10 Comments/in /by
Coffee Selection at Trader Joe's

Coffee Selection at our Trader Joe's in Tucson

Well, as you know from reading this blog, we love to drop by Trader Joe’s for a coffee. Yes, you are right we are talking about the sample coffee that is always available when you shop, not a Trader Joe’s Specialty Coffee Shop (although we would just love that second  option).

Those cute little cups of coffee are soo good. We usually head to the samples first, and fix a cup so that by the time we are shopping in the wine department, the little cup of coffee will be cool enough to finish. Hey- no point in trying to check out of the store with a hot shot of coffee in a paper cup, right?

So thanks to these samples, we have tried all kinds of coffee. We love the sample system as it gives us the confidence that we will love the coffee when we get home as we have tried it first in the store. (Also, as we have said, Trader Joe’s will give a refund of an item that you do not like- simply return with the receipt.) Also thanks to the samples we know which coffees to buy. Our Trader Joe’s store has a lot of coffee to choose from, and sometimes it is hard to make a decision about which one to try.

Right now we are enjoying a coffee that we have not previously tried: Trader Joe’s Fair Trade Organic Bolivian Blend. It is a medium dark roast coffee which is perfect for us, who do not enjoy those darker roasted beans.

What are your favorite kinds of coffee at Trader Joe’s??

Brunch Ideas From Trader Joe’s

/in , /by

More great breakfast ideas from Trader Joe’s website (Click here to view) If you have not visited the Trader Joe’s website in a while, take a quick trip there now, you will like what you see!

A few days ago, we were paging through the online Trader Joe’s Frequent Flyer catalog, and saw some new ideas in the recipe area. Many looked like they would not only be easy but tasty made with the good stuff from Trader Joe’s.

OK they all looked fabulous but the one that really stood out for us was the Blueberry Waffle Bling. This was most likely due to the fact we LOVE blueberries and “cream” (such as whipped cream or creamy yogurt or even sour cream). There is a recipe (PDF) that you can download, print and take shopping with you at Trader Joe’s- How convenient!

Note: This PDF did take quite a while to load so be prepared for a small wait. This could be due to the fact we had a LOT of stuff open on the computer, but we wanted to let you all know.

Anyway the clever folks at Trader Joe’s started with two Trader Joe’s Toaster Waffles and then jazzed them up with a great sounding filling of:  cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and some fresh or frozen blueberries. From the look of the photo, they used the frozen blueberries which would have a nice, blue sauce to drip or drizzle on the waffles.

What you need (4 servings):

  • 1 package Trader Joe’s Frozen Waffles
  • 1 package Trader Joe’s Cream Cheese
  • 1 package Trader Joe’s Blueberries (we like the frozen mixed berries)
  • 2 TBS. Trader Joe’s Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Trader Joe’s Vanilla

How to:

1. Mix up the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a bowl or even in the food processor. You can soften up the cream cheese by zapping it in the microwave for 10 seconds, then waiting 30 seconds and repeating a couple more times until the cream cheese is slightly soft. You don’t want it to melt. After mixing in the sugar and the vanilla, taste to see if you like how it tastes, as you may want to add more sugar or vanilla. Set aside. You could make this mixture a few days before-so that you have this part ready ahead of time.

2. Toast the waffles according to package directions. When hot, spread the cream cheese on one waffle; add some blueberries and then top with another waffle, more cream cheese and more fruit. You can serve this with some Trader Joe’s real maple syrup if you like.

3. Enjoy!

Variations:

  • Use other fruit such as Strawberries or Mango chunks.
  • Add some lemon peel to the cream cheese mixture.
  • Add Maple syrup to the cream cheese mixture- Taste to see if you need/want to add the sugar as well.

This looks so fabulous on the web page, we are defiantly going to try this recipe soon.

Have you tried it before? What did you think?

How to Peel a Papaya

/2 Comments/in , /by

Do you love to eat tropical fruits, but have difficulties when it comes to preparing them?  We just love papayas and when we saw them next to the bananas when we were shopping recently at Trader Joe’s we knew we would be taking one home with us. YUMMZ!

Now many years ago, when Kris worked in one of those big resort hotel kitchens, she learned a quick and easy way to peel and cut up papayas. This way may seem a bit strange at first, but once you peel a couple of fruits this way, you will be a pro.

Note: This way will work for other large fruits  such as honeydew and cantaloupes and pineapples.

1. To start, we recommend that you wash the outside of the papaya with some fruit and vegetable wash (or even baby shampoo) with a cloth and rinse well. This step is optional, but it just ensures that you are not making all the fruit dirty (some of the fruits we pick up in the store are a bit dusty- but maybe that is a Tucson thing) as you cut off the outer skin.

2. Cut off both ends, and stand the fruit up on your cutting board. Now cut the outer skin off in long strips, starting from the top and moving to the bottom. Use a “sawing” motion and keep the fruit strips about 1 inch or so wide. (This takes some practice so cut up all the fruit you can so you can get really good.)

Papaya with both ends cut off, and long strips being removed

Papaya with both ends cut off, and long strips being removed

3. When all the skin is gone, cut the fruit in half and remove all the seeds. Rinse to get all those pesky little seeds out.

Papaya with skin removed and split to show seeds

Papaya with skin removed and split to show seeds

4. Now your Papaya is ready to cut up and enjoy!

What do you think? This really is such an easy way to clean and cut up fruit. We hope you give it a try soon.

Trader Joe’s Recipe Revamp- Shallot Vinaigrette

/2 Comments/in , , /by

Trader Joe’s Recipe Revamp- Shallot Vinaigrette

We had a chance to catch Rachel Ray’s 30 minute meals on Monday.

Here is the link back to the 30 Minute Meals show that we watched

It was like seeing an old friend again, as it has been a long time since we have had a chance to watch 30 Minute Meals. FUN!

So, as usual Rachel makes a fantastic looking meal. But what really caught our eye (and our taste buds) was her Bistro Style Shallot Vinaigrette.  This looked just fantastic, so we tried it tonight. Now we did not have the exact ingredients that Rachel Ray used on her show, but thanks to Trader Joe’s, the ingredients were all close, and the resulting dressing was just wonderful!!

Trader Joe’s Recipe Revamp: Shallot Vinaigrette

  • 2TBS grated shallots (we did not have shallots, so we used ½ a  garlic clove and some sweet onion for the rest)
  • 2 TBS Orange Marmalade
  • 3 TBS Dijon Mustard (we just bought Trader Joe’s Whole Grain Dijon Mustard, and used that, but only 1 TBS to make sure it was not too mustardy for us)
  • 2 TBS sherry vinegar (we used Trader Joe’s apple cider vinegar)
  • 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper

1. In a bowl, add the grated shallots (or onion-garlic mixture), the Orange Marmalade, the Dijon Mustard and the Vinegar. Whisk together until smooth and combined.

Ready to mix up

Ready to mix up

2. Add the olive oil in a thin stream, as you continue to whisk. Add salt and Pepper.

3. Taste and see if you would like more mustard, more marmalade or if you need more Salt and pepper.

The finished salad dressing

The finished salad dressing

We served this wonderful dressing on a spinach salad (spinach, onions, tomatoes and carrots) with some roasted fish on top. It was a hit! We will defiantly make this dressing again.

Here Again is the link back to the 30 Minute Meals show.